English
2007-11-06 14:35 by jens
Besides working on the Landcruiser in Paris we've also been busy implementing language support in our blog. A big thank you to Annika Börje and Josh Paglia who have been working hard translating the site to English. Me and Andreas will take care of translating the blog entries when we get som spare time. Hopefully we will be able to translate most of them before the trip is over. :-)
A new radiator
2007-11-07 12:22 by andreas
While waiting for delivery of the new radiator Jens has been working hard on implementing language-support on our blog. I took a long walk trying to find some place to fix the car at. We are after all in the middle of Paris and it's not abundent of open places where you can work on a car, but of course I found a sunny spot.
A few wrenches and a screwdriver is really all you need to change the radiator on a Landcruiser. Long arms and legs is not mandatory but helpful. After three hours the sun started to sink below the trees and the headlamp was turned on. Jens came by and promised Coq au vin for dinner and around seven the last bolt was put in place and new cooling liquid added. Finnaly we can continue our trip!
Good bye Paris!
2007-11-07 13:25 by jens
After a few days at Malins and Nams place we are now ready to leave for Portugal. With some luck our car will work better this time with the new radiator.
It's been great hanging out with Malin & Co on their boat but it's also really nice to finally get going. Big thank you to Malin and Nam for their hospitality and help with finding spare parts for the broken Toyota!
From Paris to Lagos
2007-11-11 17:53 by jens
We left Paris after one last lunch at Malin and Nams place and headed towards Portugal. With the new radiator in place it felt like all our problems had been solved but we still pondered what our next problem would be. Despite our wild guesses none of us managed guess it accurately. The trip down south through France went without mishaps and we parked our car next to the big rigs at 11 p.m. as usual.
Next morning began with Swedish välling and start and we quickly drove down to the Spanish border. After about an hour the mountains started to tower up in front of us and the new radiator was set to test. Even after an hour in second gear on a very steep climb the dial would not move more than half way to the red area. Such a relief!
Late in the evening we left the highway to get some diesel and find some place to eat at. After we filled the tank we accidently took a wrong turn when trying to get back on the highway. Instead we ended up in a deserted village that looked exactly like some place out of an old Clint Eastwood movie. Most of the houses where deserted with broken windows and no doors but there was one house with a bar, restaurant and hotel. At first we were hesitant about entering the place but it was late and we were hungry. The entrance to the restaurant went through the bar where the locals were drinking beer and the smoke was thick. 20 pair of eyes watched as we entered. It didn't feel that comfortable so we quickly moved on to the restaurant where an old television was flickering in a corner. After some language trouble we managed to order a fish soup for starter and some kind of meat as main course. The food was great and we got some ice cream for dessert. And it only costed 8 euros! When we payed we got a ticket each to swap for an espresso. The locals in the bar didn't look that terrifying any more so we ended our dinner with a coffee in the bar.
We crossed the border to Portugal the following day. Wide and smooth roads and not as hilly as we had thought. Unfortunately it didn't take long for the Portuguese police to spot us. In our ignorance we had thought the Swedish traffic rules would be the hardest. We do like rules in Sweden as you may know. The strategy was to comply with the Swedish rules and count on trafficking regulations being more relaxed in the rest of Europe. What a mistake. Portuguese regulations apparently is much harder when it comes to trailing boats and our trailer was simply to short and we didn't have the mandatory sign on the back of the boat. After a short discussion the police wanted to confiscate the car, boat and my drivers license. It didn't feel very good. We figured out that it was possible to move the rear lights to lengthen the trailer while the officers measured the boat. After half an hour of continued discussion and measuring the police officers came up with the brilliant idea to move the mast forward. So with the rear lights pulled out and the mast moved forward we could continue our trip.
In the evening we where only 20 miles from Lagos when we stopped for the night. The night was warm and it felt good that the trip through Europe was almost over. The next morning we started early and entered Lagos after just 30 minutes drive. Amazing to finally be here!
Pimenta shipyard...
2007-11-12 22:46 by jens
The reason we choose to go to Lagos was Pimenta Shipyard. According to one source this place should be cheap and a good place to put the boat into the water. When we arrived to the spot where the shipyard should have been there's nothing left but an big open area and a bulldozer plowing the absolute last that's left from Pimenta Shipyard into the ground. Apparently the previous owner died a few months ago and the yard was sold to a new owner that was more interested in the land than the shipyard.
Luis saves us!
2007-11-13 20:40 by jens
We recovered pretty fast after realizing that Pimenta Shipyard no longer existed. Instead we roamed around Lagos asking if there was any one that knew where you could park a boat for a few days. We found Luis among the old fishing boats. He had been married to a Swedish girl and lived in Östersund, Sweden for one winter before realizing that Sweden is a cold and dark place and fled back to Portugal. With the help of Luis we found a spot by the old fishing boats for our J80.
Now all that's left are some final preparations before we can put the boat back into the water and sail away for the canaries.
Finally the boat is in the Atlantic!
2007-11-15 23:28 by jens
Today the boat finally touched the water of the Atlantic Ocean. Everything is rigged, stored and fixed. The Landcruiser has got a new home at a used car dealer. For 120 euro we have parked the car at the dealers yard. With some luck he has not sold the car when we get back.
Lagos, probably the best seafood in the world
2007-11-16 11:39 by jens
We are now sailing to the Canaries after almost one week in Lagos. Since we didn't have any expectations we was really surprised by Lagos and especially its seafood. We are going to miss our favorite place, Snack-bar a Lota. Genuine place, nice people and some of the best fish we ever have eaten. If you ever visit Lagos you have to eat at Lota. It's situated by the fishing wharf.
We would also like to thank all friendly Portuguese people that has been helping us!
No wind on the Atlantic
2007-11-18 12:22 by jens
Our first 150 nm from Lagos passed in less then 24 hours but after that we haven't moved much. The wind died at sunset and we are still waiting for it to return. Instead of sailing we are focusing on breakfast and whale sighting. Boilded egg with Kalles Kaviar and freshly baked bread. We can't really complain. Warm weather and for a Swede, warm water.
Bad weather off the coast of Morocco
2007-11-20 18:56 by jens
The wind came back after more than 24 hours of calm. Unfortunately from the wrong direction and way to much. We have been sailing with three reefs and storm jib since yesterday afternoon. Not much progress with the rough seas here and the wind head on. Around lunch the wind picked up even more and we decided to douse the main and jib. We are currently drifting north and waiting for the wind to calm down. To keep the spirits up we're eating nachos and reading books. The book tip of the day is Snabba Cash by Swedish author Jens Lapidus. I don't know if it's translated to English but it's a great book.
Finally nice weather!
2007-11-22 17:16 by jens
The wind calmed down a little 12 hours after our last report. We still had storm jib and triple reefs but at least it was sailable. Tiresome in the rough seas but it felt good to be moving again.
The night was pitch black and without knowing we entered what was first felt like a wall of water. Seconds later the wind increased to the point where the boat was nearly manageable, despite storm jib and three reefs. Visibility decreased to a few meters and the heavy rain made it painful opening your eyes. The huge rain drops flattened the sea and the boat flew over the water. It all felt very eerie, almost like on a different planet. Just as sudden as it began it stopped and we came out on the other side of the cloud. We guess this was a squall (a kind of thunderstorm), anyone care to confirm?
Next morning the wind dropped to zero again...
The wind came back at sunset and for the last 20 hours we've covered 150 nm. For the moment we have put the brakes on and are getting some rest saling with minimum main sail and self steering. Still doing about six knots though.
More bad weather
2007-11-25 22:35 by jens
In the evening the 23 of November with only 130 nm left to the Canary Islands we cheered ourselves and thought that we where almost there. What a mistake. The wind increased rapidly at 18.00 hours and we switched to storm jib and used the remaining two reefs in the main. A few hours later the weather deteriorated even more and the boat got difficult to handle with both main and storm jib. We quickly doused the main and the situation was under control again. All clothes and gear that barely had dried since the last patch of bad weather was of course wet again and the night got really cold. Fortunately the bad weather didn't last very long this time and at 12 in the night we got the main back up again with three reefs.
The rough wind had brought up some nice waves rolling in from astern and with storm jib and main the J80 was constantly planing with top speed above 15 knots. The full moon gave full control over the big waves and I could freely choose which waves to surf down. I thought that this nights sailing alone was worthwhile all the effort and hard work preparing for this trip when I suddenly see something dark by the side of the boat. It takes a few seconds before I realize that the boat is surrounded by dolphins! Sometimes three to four dolphins jump just in front of the bow, sometimes side by side with the boat. I am actually playing in the waves with the J80 together with the dolphins. Amazing! I woke Andreas down below (who hadn't been able to sleep anyway in the racketing noise) he looked up and realized where the whistling an clicking noises he had heard actually came from.
Picture of me for my girlfriend Karin. As you who know me can se I look pretty much the same as usual. Unfortunately not even a proper tan yet.
The waves increased the last stretch to the Canary Islands and we had some nice hours of sailing in what felt like a giant down hill. If you look carefully at the picture you'll see the Canary Islands under the boom. We entered Las Palmas marina at 15.30 local time. The trip from Lagos, Portugal took 10 days and 2 hours. Probably some kind of sad record but still a quit nice sailing experience.
The ARC left without us today and we will stay here for a few more days provisioning before leaving for the Carribean.
Gran Canaria
2007-12-01 19:29 by jens
It supposed to be a package and a letter waiting for us at the main postal office of Las Palmas. We went to the postal office with high hopes when we arrived at Las Palmas. The lady helping us took our passports and disappears in the back of the office. After a minute or two she came back, but without any package nor letter. We'll come back tomorrow we thought and walked back to the boat. The next day there was still no package but this time we didn't give up as easy. Three people got involved in the chase for our packages but without any luck. Instead a Swedish speaking man (we are after all on the Canary Islands, for many years the first choice of swedes looking for sun) explained that the package for sure was at another post office. 20 minutes later we located the office but there was no package there either. What to do? The Swedish speaking man at the first office felt like at good choice so we walked back. We managed to persuade him to take on last look for our package and after a minute he came back with the package but no letter!
While waiting for the letter we've been working on the boat and buying food for the crossing. After a few days we got bored and rented a car to check out the island. First we took the car to the top of Gran Canaria to check out the view from its highest peak. Unfortunately it was not possible to climb the last 20 meters without climbing gear so we had to stop just below the top.
After the climbing exercise we had lunch in one of the tiny villages in the mountains of Gran Canaria. The inner parts of the island is not as affected by tourism as we had thought. With some effort it's possible to find nice small restaurants that has not yet been ruined by the flood of tourists. Canary stew was on the menu. Vegetables, potatoes and some kind of meat. Very simple and tasty.
Later we took the car down small serpentine roads to the west coast and continued on to the south coast. The contrast between the small villages in the mountains of the island and the big hotels by the south coast was huge. Not wanting to check out big hotels we hurried back to the boat in Las Palmas.
A small boat
2007-12-02 21:16 by jens
There are actually people sailing around the world with much smaller boats than the J80. We ran into a Swede here in Las Palmas with a Havsfidra. An amazing 6 meter long boat that has an interior way superior to the one in the J80. A double berth in the front, on the port side is the kitchen and the other has a tiny navigation table and a third berth. Havsfidror has crossed the Atlantic several times and are rugged little boats. The owner of the boat, Peter, bought it a few years back in really bad shape. He ripped out the entire interior and rebuilt it and has been sailing since 2004. Among other places he has been visiting the rivers of Gambia.
Lost whale
2007-12-04 13:46 by andreas
When we returned to the harbour a few days ago we where met by one of the guys working at the marina. With great enthusiasm he tried to explain that something "bastante" had entered the harbour. Apperantely some kind of large fish was now swimming around in the harbour. We got curious but didn't se anyting. After an hour or two a small rib towing something passed by our boat. Four five people where holding something in place and we saw a tail-fin sticking out of the water. The large fish had been captured and was no fish really but a whale. A truck with a crane lifted the whale and drowe off to some unknown location. The whale had been lured into the harbour by a school of tasty fish and failed to find its way out. While swimming around in the harbour the whale had hurt itself pretty bad on propellers, chains and other sharp objects. The next day we sadly read in the paper that the whale had died.
Leaving Las Palmas
2007-12-05 18:13 by jens
We left Las Palmas yesterday after a lazy week in the harbor. Our next port will probably be Trinidad-Tobago. It feels good to finally be under way but we will miss our new friend Abbe Norlin and our dock neighbors Monica and Janne. The beer, coffe, food and brownies of Sailors bar will also be missed.
The first 24 hours at sea has been grey and cloudy. A wind that for once in a while is just about right has taken us 160 nm south. Only 2700 to go!
From misery to sunshine
2007-12-08 18:02 by jens
The three first nights after leaving Las Palmas where miserable. The wind was to strong for the self-steering and we had to steer the boat by hand. Waves where constantly washing over the boat and the speed seldom dropped below 9 knots. After a few minutes at the helm you felt like a wet cat. Our foul weather clothes amazingly managed to keep most of the water out but with just a thin under layer it got very cold in the wind. In the morning the third night when everything was damp and cold we where surprised by a big breaking wave. The wave hit us during a few minutes when the companion way hatch was open. It was chaos inside the boat. Water flooded our main food storage under the starboard bunk. Andreas' sleeping bag and clothes got wet. Out of the big kitchen box in the front of the mast 24 eggs, a bag-in-box wine and a bunch of vegetables went for a hike. Only one egg survived. The wine mixed nicely with the broken eggs. Fortunately most of the vegetables where OK. It took four hours to clean up the mess. Wet clothes are still hanging all over the boat.
On the bright side is the sudden increase in temperature. We've gone from wearing and under layer, foul weather clothes, boots and hats to shorts and t-shirt. The wind has decreased and the boat is now steering itself since 24 hours. Finally some descent weather! We've also spotted sea turtles and flying fish.
At this moment we are sailing south towards Cap Verde but will turn right to the Caribbean in a few hours. 2439 nm to go.
Lazy days
2007-12-11 17:21 by jens
The contrast between now and the first four days is strikingly. Instead of freezing like a dog at night and constantly wearing more or less wet clothes the life on board has changed dramatically. We are since a few days wearing shorts and t-shirt. The boat steers it self and the only thing we do is trim sails and the self-steering.
This morning has been devoted to egg hunting, trying to locate the last eggs spread around the boat in our knock-down a few days ago. Some had manage to find their way into a closed locker where we store breakfast. Amazingly two eggs had survived. Another egg had ben crushed on the hatch in the ceiling just in front of the mast. Apparently the boat had been heeled down more than 90 degrees. We are probably lucky nothing worse than a few broken eggs happened.
The two newly found eggs where boiled for breakfast and sliced on freshly baked raisin bread. With some Swedish Kalles kaviar on top the breakfast was great. There was enough bread for a cheese and marmalade sandwhich to. We finished our breakfast with coffe with milk and some of the almond cake we bought on the Canary Islands. Who said you had to eat freeze dried food on a J80? :-)
Lost genacker
2007-12-15 18:12 by jens
When we bought our trailer the tail lights where broken. To compensate for the lights the previous owner threw in a used genacker in the deal. The old sail has been perfect when we didn't want to use our nice genackers. Unfortunately the old sail is now resting at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. We got a serious trawl when dowsing the sail and had to cut it loose.
Besides the mishap with the lost sail everything is going well. A 15 knots easterly wind is giving us plenty of speed. At nights the temperature drops to 24 degrees Celsius (about 75 degrees Fahrenheit), at daytime it's slightly warmer. Only 1439 nm left to go!
Flying fish stew
2007-12-17 18:04 by jens
Before leaving Las Palmas we bought some fishing gear. We've been trying regularly but still no luck catching any fish. We do get lots of flying fish landing on the boat every night though. So far small little buggers that would suit better in an aquarium than a frying pan. This morning however we got a big catch, two rather large flying fish and the lunch menu was an easy choice: Flying fish stew!
This will feed two hungry guys on a J80:
Ingredients: 2 flying fish 1 can of peeled tomatoes 3 cloves of garlic 0.5 yellow onion 1 lime 3 inches of the green long onion (purjolök in Swedish) 1 table spoon Heinz chili sauce butter salt and pepper rice for two people
And this is how you do it: 1. Prepare the fish by cutting of fins and removing the stuff in its bely. You might want to get rid of its head as well. Cut the fish in 1 inch slices. 2. Cut garlic in thin slices. 3. Boil rice in pressure cooker and let it sit. 4. Fry fish in butter, some of the garlic and lime. Add salt and pepper. 5. Cut the yellow onion in not to small peaces and fry in a pot with butter and the rest of the garlic. 6. Add tomatoes and chili sauce to pot and let it stir for a few minutes. 7. Poor the tomato sauce in the pan with the fish and add the sliced green onion. Add salt and pepper and you are done!
One last tip is not to try this when you are surfing down wind with three reefs in rough seas...
1000 nm left to go!
2007-12-18 21:18 by jens
Today was a great day. We have less than 1000 nm left to go. It feels incredible, although we probably will celebrate christmas at sea. Right now it's a little cloudy but still 27 degres Celsius (80 F). The last 24 hours has been a bit windy so right now we are sailing with triple reefs.
Night at the Atlantic
2007-12-19 20:08 by andreas
Todays first watch is Jens's. The clock is almost seven and dinner has just been finished. The sun is setting and I'm preparing to crawl into my bunk. In four hours it will be my turn to sit watch but now I will sleep. I'll get two to three hours sleep at best. It's difficult to fall a sleep in a J80 that's running down wind making 5-8 knots with surfs up to 12 knots. The thin hull and lack of interior makes a great resonating box much like a guitar. One moment it's entirely silent and the next the sound is deafening. When going down wind in big waves the boat also rolls sideways making it very difficult to lay still in ones bunk without a pillow as a wedge.
At every watch shift information about boat speed, course, trim and any adjacent boats are handed over. During the trip from Las Palmas we've only seen two boats so far. Other interesting things that has happened are also discussed. For example how many flying fish you've found during your watch.
When the winds are not to strong and the self steering system works the watches are rather nice. We read lots of books and every teen minutes we check the horizon for other boats. When I get bored of reading I sketch on a new interior for the other half of Snickeriet (my house in the ski resort Åre), Jens usually draws on a more comfortable boat where both he, Karin and a few more will fit.
There are nights that you rather forget though. When the self steering doesn't work because of hard winds and you have to sit alone in the dark for four hours steering the boat through big waves. The weather has improved greatly over the last days and it's now more than a week since the last dog watch.
Before Jens get his last hours of rest we eat breakfast together. If the weather is good we sometimes bake bread and eat with cheese and marmalade. Unfortunately the eggs didn't last as long as expected.
Teared jib
2007-12-21 00:36 by jens
Today a seam in the jib split. Our first thought was to repair it but after some experimentation we got the boat balanced and self steering using the storm jib instead. We will wait until we reach Port of Spain with repairing the Jib, hopefully there will be a sail maker there.
The wind has calmed down to around 12 knots and today was the first time we sat outside of the cabin without getting sprayed with water.
Only 718 nm left to go!
Not really like racing around the buoys at home
2007-12-21 22:32 by jens
My friend Kim wondered what it was like sailing a J80 in the middle of the Atlantic. There are not many similarities with racing around the buoys in Baggensfjärden (the place for J80-racing in Stockholm), not even with the off shore race Around Gotland.
Were we are now there is always lots of wind. Seldom below 20 knots and, at least during our crossing, often close to 40 knots. The wind is easterly so at least it's blowing from the right direction. The waves are also a lot bigger than at home. Lots of nice long surfs. The drawback is that it tends to be a bit messy when they break over the boat.
Another difference is that we rarely steer the boat by hand. Instead there's a rubber band and a rope that through two pulleys are connected to the jib sheet that steers the boat. It works fine for most of the time and it's actually the rubber band that holds the current top speed record of 19.8 knots.
We are often forced to sit inside the cabin to get away from the constant spray from waves. In the beginning it was a very eerie feeling when the boat surfed down a wave in 12-13 knots without anyone steering. In rough weather this happens once every minute or so so after a while you hardly think about it. The boat is unbelievably stable especially at high speed with the rubber-band steering system and it has never broached nor jibed at speeds over 10 knots.
The few times we are forced to steer the boat by hand is during extreme conditions. At that time all three reefs in the main has been used and the jib is replaced by the storm jib. Despite the tiny sail area the boat is heavily over powered and is constantly planing. Waves are washing down over the boat all the time and it has happened more than once that I've wished that I had brought my ski goggles for protection against the spraying water.
The last two days the weather has been a lot nicer though. Around 12 knot winds and the deck of the boat is actually dry for the first time in many many days. It's great to sit in the sun for once. :-)
Only 599 nm to go!
Extreme blogging
2007-12-23 20:25 by jens
Lots of people have had questions about how we blog from the boat. A J80 in the middle of the Atlantic is a rather poor platform to work with the Internet from. No space for large satellite antennas and not much electricity. The Internet connection is solved with an Iridium satellite phone connected to an Apple MacBook. Both phone and computer are compact and relatively energy efficient. The connection is very slow compared to what we are used to (about 1/100 the speed of ADSL) but considering it works all over the world it's amazing.
The slow connection leads to a few problems for the blogging software. We use Roxen CMS and its blog-module. Together with Roxen we have developed an add-on to enable text creation using the Iridium phone. The texts are written in both English and Swedish and edited locally on the MacBook. Images are added and the text categorized. First when all is done we connect to the Internet using the Iridium phone. One push of a button and text and picture are sent to adventure.roxen.com where it's published. Images are scaled by Roxen CMS to fit the page and our position is updated as well. On average we need 6 minutes of Internet connection to publish a blog text. The system is very easy to use and works just as fine on Windows as on MacOSX.
Staffan Ekholm at Roxen is happy to answer any questions you may have about Roxen CMS and their blog-module. staffan@roxen.com, +46709-153948
You buy your Iridium phone from Kristian Ryberg at Telemar. kristian.ryberg@telemar.se, +4631-89 28 00
Only 341 nm left to go!
Merry Christmas from the Atlantic!
2007-12-24 15:30 by jens
Thanks to our amazing girlfriends (Karin and Annika) we have managed to get some christmas spirit on board. Today we opened the packages they gave us when we left Sweden. Andreas got one kilo of salt lakrits (a Swedish speciality) and I got a pair of clean underwear, a book and some Polly (Swedish chocolate). Exactly what we needed!
Earlier during the night we got a different christmas gift. The GPS that's counting down the number of nautical miles left to Trinidad went below 300. Now it's only two to three more nights on the boat before we get to feel solid earth under our feet again!
The christmas weather on the Atlantic is a little cloudy today but it's still 84 degrees Fahrenheit. The nice 12 knot wind that has been following us the past few days is still here and the waves are as usual bigger than on the Baltic sea.
Tobago!
2007-12-25 19:11 by jens
The wind blew us to Tobago instead of Trinidad. In a few ours we will drop anchor at Charlotteville on the north side of Tobago. It will be great to once again stand on solid ground!
Charlotteville
2007-12-27 23:53 by jens
We could not have chosen a better place to land than Charlotteville after three weeks at sea. The town consists of a few streets and crocked old houses. Chickens and wild dogs roam the streets and everybody greets each other, even us. The first few steps where a little difficult but we managed to get to Eastmans Restaurant where we ordered beer and some grilled chicken.
The food tasted fantastic after eating canned and freeze dried food for more than 20 days.
Next day we managed to get a lift to Scarborough for 20 TT-dollars (about 2 euros, we think). We went to Scarborough to get money and visit the Immigration Office to get stamps in our passports. The money was no problem but the Christmas holiday got in the way of the stamping passport business.
Christmas also made finding a restaurant difficult. We entered a bar quit desperate and asked if they knew of any open restaurants. No open restaurants but a guy at the bar offered us to fix some food. We didn't really understand what he meant but it sounded good so we jumped in to a taxi together. After a few minutes we managed to understand the some times difficult dialect and realized we where headed to his house. When we got there his girlfriend started cooking a delicious lunch for us. Stewed macaroni and vegetables, some kind of potato salad and chicken. After the food we got a huge slice of a fantastic home baked chocolate cake.
Andrew as his name was where initially from Trinidad and had worked as an engineer and later chef on off shore tugs and oil platforms. Now he and his girlfriend are working on different restaurants in Scarborough.
Next door reef
2008-01-02 17:14 by jens
There's a small reef only 100 meters from the boat where we snorkel in the days. So far we've seen one gigantic manatee and lots of smaller fish. It's really nice with 80 degrees Farenheit in the water instead of the (at best) 68 degrees we get in Sweden during summer.
We will leave Charlotteville in a few hours and sail to Isla Margarita to meet up with our girlfriends. Thanks for all comments and a good new year to all of you!
Dolphins and Danish watch rotation
2008-01-06 22:43 by jens
We got company with a flock of dolphins only a few hours from Tobago. Amazing to finally see them in daylight. The dolphins came back again late last night and the fluorescent animals in the water made long glowing lines where the dolphins where swimming. Very beautiful!
We steered the boat by hand from Tobago since we didn't want to sail more at night then necessary. The jib-top also helped speed things up. To manage we rotated watches every hour. We got the idea from a Danish dual handed boat where they had hand steered the last 16 days of their Atlantic crossing. It's not something we recommend but it was fast. Our average speed from Tobago to Isla Margarita was 7.8 knots and it and we made the trip with only one night at sea. Now it's time to relax with our girlfriends here at Isla Margarita for three weeks before we continue our trip.
Tortuga
2008-01-13 00:47 by jens
After some trouble clearing customs in Venezuela me and Karin left and sailed to Tortuga some 80 nm west of Isla Margarita while Andreas and Annika (mostly Andreas I think) enjoys beds that doesn't move, fresh water showers and hotel breakfasts.
The sail to Tortuga went without mishaps. We left Porlamar just before sunset and arrived in time for breakfast. Tortuga is a flat island with miles of white beaches and a desert like landscape. When we arrived the only boat at the anchorage was an old fishing boat. Karin immediately concluded they where drug smugglers and we were both relieved when a bigger sailing boat entered the anchorage. On the sailing boat lived John and Geri from America. Later that night we got invited over to their boat. The boat was exactly twice as long as the J80 and besides beautiful lines had all the luxury we've been missing. Toilet, water maker, diesel generator, fridge and freezer, a kitchen the same size as at home and most amazingly, an ice machine! We stayed at their boat and enjoyed the company, cold drinks and all the luxury onboard until late that night.
Long beaches and coral reefs
2008-01-14 15:39 by jens
Besides amazing beaches there's also a coral reef, an airport, a hotel and a restaurant here at Tortuga. The airport is two somewhat straight 300 feet long dirt roads (the only roads on the island), the hotel has only four beds and the restaurant seems to only open at weekends when rich Venezuelan people fly here with their small planes. The Venezuelan coast guard has also stationed four guys on the island that mostly play games on the beach and relax. According to one of the coast guards there's 13 people currently living on the island.
Much of the coral reefs here are dead like in large areas of the Caribbean. It's only 10 years since all the reefs around the island where alive and lots of years before that there where turtles nesting here. We found a small part of the reef still living and we've been snorkeling there but you have to wonder what this place was like before the corals started dying.
While drinking cold drinks with John and Geri Karin mentioned she missed fresh food like chicken and meat. Next day Geri brought over some chicken, meat, bread and other stuff. We where overjoyed and made thai soup for lunch and burgers for dinner. We couldn't have found better boat neighbors!
We will leave Tortuga and sail back to Isla Margarita this night. There we will switch the J80 to a hotel room and Andreas and Annika will take the boat. It'll be great with a little luxury life!
Kitesurfing - Playa el Yaque
2008-01-28 17:11 by andreas
We (Annika and Andreas) got to the hotel in Playa el Yaque after a dear reunion. El Yaque is a very small place with a lot of wind loving people. This is paradise for both wind surfers and kite surfers. Our first 5 days coincided with the stay of our kite surfing friends Joel and Anette. After a lot of cheering and inspiration from them we started getting kite lessons. Caught by the new sport, we decided to to focus on the kiting instead of sailing. A decision we don't regret. There are loads of kiting schools on the beach. One of them is Planet Kite School which is run by Wim - a belgian guy who gave up his "suit career" for doing what he loves the most, teaching people to kite.
You don't always have a great appetite with shaky vacation stomachs. Our catch in the rye is a venezuelan woman who is cooking fantastic soups in a small wooden hut. She is doing this to be able to practice wind surfing and compete on international level. The hut is very primitive, no running water, a small stove and a table with four chairs. The food needs to be ordered a couple of hours in advance.
Pirates
2008-02-12 02:02 by jens
There where no wind on Isla Margarita so we sailed to El Coche about an hour south. On El Coche there where at least some wind so we got an hour of kiting before the wind died. The next four days there where absolutely no wind. We spent on half of the four days exploring the island together with a taxi driver with a huge American car. Another half day we wakeboard with our kite boards after a local fishing boat. The rest of the days we simply waited for wind lounging in two sacko-bags reading kite magazines.
Two days before leaving we got a visit from the local pirates. The only thing they left of our dinghy was a small part of the rope we fastened it to the J80 with. While we where sleeping they sneaked up to the boat and cut the rope to the dinghy. During the night two other boats also got their dinghies stolen. Outside in the cockpit we also stored four kites, two boards and our harnesses so we where somewhat happy they only took the dinghy. A few minutes later we got even happier when the local community police came dragging with our dinghy. The engine was gone but at least we got the boat back. The thieves apparently dump the dinghies and keep the engines.
Cayo Herradura
2008-03-07 01:23 by jens
The wind picked up quit a bit on route to Los Roques. A little ironic since we had been laying on the beach waiting for kite wind for a week. The choice between a night at se in 30 knots wind and dropping the anchor in Cayo Herradura was not a difficult one. The island is located on the west side of Torguta and is a tiny island with a few bushes, a light house and some fishing huts. Thanks to the combination of a small boat and Andreas Spanish skills we got to know some of the local fishermen. We've been helping them fish languster and sharing our stock of candy and rom. In return they give us lunch and dinner. Instead of staying just for the night we've been here for one week now.
Cayo Herradura is also an excellent kite spot. A long beach with nothing that obstructs the wind and flat water. Unfortunately the wind usually doesn't pick up until around three in the afternoon.
Kite surfing at Los Roques
2008-03-26 00:27 by jens
We've been hanging out in Los Roques for the last few weeks kite surfing. Pretty much everything has revolved around kiting. We meet a norwegian boat the last week and they where also learning to kite. Their boat was a lot more luxurious than ours and we lounged as much as possible there instead of the cramped J80.
Andreas makes a grab at Cayo Carenero.
Jens caught in the middle of a back roll at Cayo Bequeve in western Los Roques.
Tarifa
2008-04-15 18:55 by jens
Two weeks ago the boat was loaded on to a container ship and we flew back to Europe. The Landcruiser where still at the dodgy used car dealership in Lagos where we left it almost five months earlier. With car and trailer we drove to Tarifa, Spain where we inflated our kites. In Venezuela the water was flat most of the time and the breaking waves in Tarifa was somewhat of a shock and took a few hours getting used to. In two days we will leave Tarifa and head up to Biarritz, France and se if we can find some good kiting there.
The trip in chronological order
2010-08-11 16:14 by jens
Some people have been asking for a list in chronological order of the trip. I have to admit it's a strange thing we didn't implemented it from the beginning. Anyway, here are all blog posts from the very beginning to the end. You can also read all the blog posts on one very long page.
2007-11-06 14:35 - English
2007-11-07 12:22 - A new radiator
2007-11-07 13:25 - Good bye Paris!
2007-11-11 17:53 - From Paris to Lagos
2007-11-12 22:46 - Pimenta shipyard...
2007-11-13 20:40 - Luis saves us!
2007-11-15 23:28 - Finally the boat is in the Atlantic!
2007-11-16 11:39 - Lagos, probably the best seafood in the world
2007-11-18 12:22 - No wind on the Atlantic
2007-11-20 18:56 - Bad weather off the coast of Morocco
2007-11-22 17:16 - Finally nice weather!
2007-11-25 22:35 - More bad weather
2007-12-01 19:29 - Gran Canaria
2007-12-02 21:16 - A small boat
2007-12-04 13:46 - Lost whale
2007-12-05 18:13 - Leaving Las Palmas
2007-12-08 18:02 - From misery to sunshine
2007-12-11 17:21 - Lazy days
2007-12-15 18:12 - Lost genacker
2007-12-17 18:04 - Flying fish stew
2007-12-18 21:18 - 1000 nm left to go!
2007-12-19 20:08 - Night at the Atlantic
2007-12-21 00:36 - Teared jib
2007-12-21 22:32 - Not really like racing around the buoys at home
2007-12-23 20:25 - Extreme blogging
2007-12-24 15:30 - Merry Christmas from the Atlantic!
2007-12-25 19:11 - Tobago!
2007-12-27 23:53 - Charlotteville
2008-01-02 17:14 - Next door reef
2008-01-06 22:43 - Dolphins and Danish watch rotation
2008-01-13 00:47 - Tortuga
2008-01-14 15:39 - Long beaches and coral reefs
2008-01-28 17:11 - Kitesurfing - Playa el Yaque
2008-02-12 02:02 - Pirates
2008-03-07 01:23 - Cayo Herradura
2008-03-26 00:27 - Kite surfing at Los Roques
2008-04-15 18:55 - Tarifa
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Hej! Mycket intressant, får man lov och fråga vad allt gick på? Det är rätt dyra de telefonerna om jag inte minns fel? Vad kostar uppkopplingen per minut/kilobyte? Mvh Einar
yeah, realy good pictures !realy good !its great - crossing the big lake with such a small but fast ship. id like to do it the same. keep on rockin johanneshi dudes,
greeeeatings from swedcountry
You - new heroes - true ones to
wish you well, fair winds - following seas
bop