Ups & Downs make for many Rounds

Ahoy,

so the Ol' Girl did good and delivered me to the Caribbean. Leaving Gomera was no easy feat as I was beginning to realise just how little I knew about sailing and how much I had to learn, in fact as I had started so late in life it was unlikely that I would ever be able to make much of a dent in my ignorance. Add to this the friends I had made and a love of the Canaries, leaving was not as straight forward mentally as I had imagined.
Just before my departure local and distant friends really came through and helped with getting the Ol' Girl ready, new lines were required (thanks Mark) and so much help provisioning the Ol' Girl that I actually put weight on rather than losing it as I had first thought.(so much for being on the beach with a six pack)
Everyone I had met it seemed were out in force to see me off(or make sure I left) which put me in such a good mood I managed to leave the Marina in quite a tidy fashion, unlike my arrival, that's a sea story for another time.
After around twenty miles the wind dropped so much that I pretty much stayed where I was for around nine hours, not the best start. By the early hours of the morning the wind had picked up again and I was on my way,the first and the last three days were the hardest, the first because I had to get used to my own company again and the last because I was fed up with my own company and very, very tired.
The passage was more amazing than I could ever have thought, it was not without it's troubles and I am sure the Ol' Girl cursed me more than once, we had a strange encounter with a Turtle, which I am happy to say seemed all well and good afterwards, the foresail halyard snapped meaning we had the use of only one sail which meant we lost a lot of miles every twenty four hours(around forty at best) which frustrated me for a couple of days as the Ol' Girl and I started talking to the World service, all this aside, it was very exciting.
In the end the crossing took twenty seven days and I did not see signs of any other vessel's for twenty three days, which is the longest I have ever gone without seeing human life.
Thankfully SatCom had supplied me with a sat phone so I could have very short conversations with friends and family, which really helped with not feeling too isolated, despite being totally isolated.
As I approached land I tried the radio and picked up some FM stations, Reggae Christmas tunes, I felt so happy.
By the time I rounded Pigeon Island and dropped the anchor I was so relieved I do not remember any other thoughts I had.
In fact I fell into such a deep sleep its a miracle I didn't wet the bed.
I awoke feeling so happy and full of life that part of me wondered immediately where to go in the future and if it would ever compare and if truth be told I am considering longer passages despite having fallen in love with St. Lucia.
This beautiful little Island will always be special of course, like a first love, I arrived here with the eyes of love after being alone for so long.
Talking of the being alone bit, the only real negative that I can think of was not during the trip but afterwards, which has only just stopped, the heavy drinking, thankfully I am not doing it now but for many weeks sheer disbelief, excitement, relief and being surrounded by people having a party caused me to become a pro am barfly, something that I hope I have got out of my system now.
All in all not too bad a side effect for a novice sailor I think.
So to sum it up, the stars, the solitude and the incredible feeling of freedom will always be with me and maybe always be for the best in everything that I intend to do in the future.
Now that I am back in the real world I have so much to do, Emails, boat maintenance and many thank you notes to so many people.

Next comes pictures and future plans.

All So Soon

Ahoy,

it's all a bit stressful at the moment. The intention is to leave in 72 hours and there is still so much to do.
Life always seems to find a way to redefine one's plans, at the moment my bank seems to have an issue, the Ol' Girl needs feeding and watering and right now the cupboards are bare. I am confident that everything will be ok for the off, my plan was to be busy up to the point of leaving, this it seems will not be a problem.
The Ol' Girl it has to be said is feeling less worried about the crossing than myself, my belief in the Ol' Girl and our partnership is not too much of an issue, my ability to cope with my own company for thirty days is. I will have plenty to do everyday and very occasionally I will be able to phone some family and friends, a few minutes a week is possible, anymore and I will be in danger of not having myself any air time in case of emergency, I may be able to send receive email, all this aside I will probably grow tired of my own company and probably learn too much about myself.
Another thing that is lowering my spirits at the moment is having to say goodbye to yet more excellent people and another beautiful island with only the unknown spreading out before me.

Castillo

Ahoy,

as promised some pictures of my dear friends in Castillo, together with some very wise words.

Dreams are dreams only if you sleep

Now a new sun is coming

A sun that you have never seen

Open your eyes,

stand up and look around.

Now you know.

Be calm, think and learn,

and most important,

enjoy.

Always remember:

you can do it.

Good luck my friend.

Capt. Andres

Stay Positive

Ahoy,



a break from the Blog seems over. It is true the Ol' Girl and I have not known what to say for some time now. Some of the time no WiFi caused this, however,most of the time I had no idea what to say.

We are meeting and having to say farewell to so many like minded and kind people that this is something I would have tried to mentally prepare for before leaving the UK. I have realised that it is a part of sailing life, and it is more difficult than we ever imagined it could or, would be.

Add to this some concerns about the single handed crossing and a personnel financial crisis just before leaving, not to mention not doing as well as I had hoped in the fund raising department, all this combined left me feeling I did not have much to say.

As I have said before in the absence of light only darkness remains, if I had not had the help from the people I have met along the way as well as some family and friends from my past this adventure would have been left in the dark long ago, despite what I have accomplished on my own, without the better people of the world I think I would have failed already.

These two weeks before the crossing will be a most challenging time, I have to fill the Ol' Girl with, food, water and more water, sort out some spares and stay positive, not to mention try and raise more awareness as far as the fund raising is concerned.

High Pitched after Castillation

Ahoy,

firstly I am very sorry for having not updated this for a little while and for not supplying the pictures as promised.

To say I miss everyone at Castillo is an understatement, they treated me like I was one of the family, they made sure I went for nothing. Alas I am no longer in their most excellent company, possibly feeling that the best of the best are to my rudder. I wish to return one day, should I make it in one piece on the next part of the adventure.

At the moment I am in Gran Canaria and we have had mixed receptions. How long we stay is quite debatable, we should continue West.(of course I am a little soft after the comfort of Castillo)

Unfortunately this must be brief as battery low, I will update with some beautiful pictures of my friends in Castillo the first chance I get.

Good News for Space Monkeys

Ahoy,

as I have said before "how good would you have it be?" it seems that the Ol'Girl and myself have really landed on our feet. Not only have we found a Marina that is "on side" we are meeting some very fine people and enjoying the company immensely.

Between a Rock and a Nice Place

Ahoy,

so the Ol' Girl and me headed off to find an anchorage for the night before trying to find a place at another Marina. Just off the point of Papagayo in Lanzarote we found a sheltered bay with a few other boats and dropped anchor. During the day for a break I have enjoyed being at anchor, this was the first true test of the anchor alarm at night and I decided just to take brief naps, rather than risk slipping anchor and waking up on the rocks.

Morning arrived slowly and all was well until I had to weigh the anchor, the chain had become rather attracted to a rock, so, swimming gear on and a quick dip was the order of the day.

That issue dealt with I headed off to Fuerteventura( thanks for the chart John) the Ol' Girl and myself had a small amount of hope regarding Puerto Castillo( despite me making a balls up of trying to speak Spanish to the Senior Hugo, the Director) the delightful Nicky was being extremely helpful on the phone and it sounded like we may be welcome for a little while. I would also like to thank Julie, Cori and Carlos .

Wow, what a difference, the Ol' Girl and myself had been delivered from hell to heaven in the few ours it took us to motor sail here.

Everyone I met it seemed was out to show that the Canaries was not famed for the treatment we had received in Lanzarote.

The Ol' Girl is as happy as I am to be here, for the contact with real people again and for me to give her a little TLC.

Since arriving I have been invited to a eye opening submarine tour, cheers Captain Andres, an entertaining (& educational) sea life afternoon at Oceanarium Explorer, had fresh fish delivered to the Ol' Girl by fishermen Gilberto and Miguel, which was cooked by the Camarote Restaurant for me, thank you Nestor, Mercedes and Maria, it tasted soo good.( your Mojo Rojo is the best I have ever had and as for the Honey Rum, big smiles) and thanks also to Elliot for the news on Arsenal.

I even had a kiss from a beautiful girl!(see picture)

Yet to come is a hair cropping from Captain Andres's wife Amelia, pictures will be taken!(I'm thinking of a cut suitable for a monkey that's to be shot into space)

Essentially my faith in human kind is restored and maybe, just maybe everything will be OK between now and when we need to leave for the Atlantic crossing in late November. As I say this I realise I have still not managed to speak to the Director here in person, as we have arrived during a Fiesta and a public Holiday, everybody cross your fingers or have a beer for me, whichever feels most appropriate.