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SOS Kids
The kids from the SOS charity came to the marina on 18th November as a sort of reciprocal visit following ours to them earlier in the month. The purpose of this visit was threefold: for us to show them our boats, to feed them, and to give them the opportunity share...
Back in Mindelo
Following an overnight stop anchored 300 metres off the beach to avoid the swells at Ponta da Cruz on Santa Lucia , we motor-sailed to Mindelo marina. The tidal stream between the islands runs hard. In this case three knots against us, which slowed our progress to...
Sao Nicolau
Ponta do Papagaio We left Sao Pedro early (it's all relative) to ensure arrival at Sao Nicolau island in daylight. And at around 4 pm on 10th November, we dropped our anchor 100 metres from the beach at Ponta do Papagaio on the south west of the island. This anchoring...
Stabbed in the chest at Sao Pedro
The first I knew of the attack was a silver flash of steel on the periphery of my left vision. Then I felt the heavy thud of the blade at it thumped into my chest. I looked down to see the tip of the blade broken from the (rather expensive) Japanese knife that...
No shoes, no money, no glasses, no problem
After getting a tip from a charter boat skipper in Mindelo, the crew of three of the Islands Odyssey boats: Lady Jane, Mojito and JaJaPaMi sailed to Ilha de Santo Antao to go to a restaurant in Monte Trigo that offers to catch and cook fish to order. And after a...
Cape Verde Crew Cut and Crew Trip
He looks pensive, doesn't he? The haircut, delivered by yours truly but fully consented to by Chris, was a necessary evil to relief Chris of his bouffant-ness. If it wasn't for this light trim, he would...
What do you do with a drunken sailor?
What do you do with a drunken sailor? What do you do with a drunken sailor? What do you do with a drunken sailor late in the evening? You go to find him in the local supermarket where he is buying groceries and toothbrushes for the local kids who sleep out in the...
We made it to Cape Verde
After 850 nautical miles and six days at sea, we are now tied up at Mindelo Marina. This was a great introduction to ocean sailing. The wind wasn't too strong, the sea state no more than moderate, and the wave height stayed at less than two metres all the way. The...
Something fishy on the bow
For the first two days, we trolled a rubbery squid on a line behind the boat in an attempt to catch a pelagic monster but landed nothing. And after deploying the water generator on day three, the short line we are left with has probably killed off any chance of tuna....
Seasickness. Cured.
The 30th October 2017 is a date to celebrate, for the crew of Lady Jane. It’s the day Maria stopped being seasick. The cure isn’t anything to do with drugs, hypnosis, sickness bands, or anything that you plonk on your head to simulate a horizon. It is simply the...
Free Power!
The photograph below shows Maria performing the three-times-a-day solar panel tilting ritual to extract the maximum amount of power from the sun at any given time of day. On their own, the panels produce an average of 15 amps of power per hour. This is augmented by...
Maria on living the dream
When I told family and friends that we were going to live on our boat and sail across the Atlantic, they said things like “wow, you’re going to have an amazing time” , “you’ll be living the dream”, I thought, yes but living on a 42ft yacht boat and sailing isn’t all G...
Entertainment all round
Images can be deceptive. The impression you might get from the photograph is that Chris can play the flute. He can’t. So bad is he that it’s an affront to the instrument Maria paid one Euro for in some tat shop in Spain. But it was entertainment. And the discordant...
Rock and roll in the Atlantic
After last nights performance which saw me taking down the spinnaker pole on a rolling and pitching deck sans trousers as a result of another wind shift, today has brought a welcome change for the better. The sea is calmer, the wind a pleasant force 5 from the right...
I’ve worn out the crew
After just over four hours of sailing, the crew are clapped out down below. To be fair they are off watch and I did suggest it would be wise to get some sleep before the next watch tonight - although Chris doesn’t look that comfortable. An almost six foot bloke does...
Leaving today for Cape Verde
We're Off After six weeks of hair-pulling frustration and, admittedly, some relaxation time, we are leaving today for Cape Verde with Cornell Sailing. It's a journey of 830 miles from Santa Cruz - approximately six days under sail. Although looking at the weather...
Big news in a small package
Introducing Ollie Orme, our second grandchild. Jake (grandson number one) is very pleased and intends to teach him wrestling. Maria and I flew to Rochdale to meet Ollie and to spend some time with Jade, Col and Jake. It was all too brief.
Lanzarote to Tenerife
13th September 2017 - It's Only A Day It's only a day so it'll be fine. So we thought. In theory, with the wind coming from the side of the boat, the sailing conditions are optimum, so the sail to Tenerife should have been fine. Unfortunately, however, the swell also...
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