Day 11: 08.38.166'N 048.32.687'W, 143nm (24h)

December 18, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 427nm
Wind and waves: NE 15-20kn, 3m
Sails: Main and genoa, port tack

What is 1,2m long, 6,6kg and on board the Pjotter in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? The beautiful, big fish that Seb caught yesterday evening (with a little help from me wielding the gaffing hook). It was 1845 (UTC -3) (which is when post-dinner rush hour starts) when the fishing rod let out a loud zzzzzing and just kept on zzzzinging! Seb put the brake on but line continued to feed out. With a glint in his eye and a look of grim determination Seb picked up the rod and stationed himself on the roof of the cockpit to begin the fight. Two days ago, the last time we had a bite on the rod, Seb spent a great deal of sweat trying to land a large fish only to have it slip the hook and swim away after 45 minutes of effort. I juggled cleaning up dinner, trying to get the monkeys to bed, taking photos and films, gathering equipment and shouting tips and words of encouragement. Emma and Macsen were having nothing of going to bed and were both determined to see the fight come to conclusion. After only 1/2 hour the fish neared the boat, Seb handed me the rod and started pulling the line in by hand. "You have to gaff him by the base of his jaw" was the only instruction I got before wielding the hook through the gills and pulling while Seb heaved the wriggling mass over the high side of the Pjotter. It was a beautiful fish and seemed enormous lying there on our deck. It's sides were a iridescent blue and it had a distinctive fan-shaped back fin and tale resembling a tuna but the flesh is white rather than red. We think it was a Wahoo. It is now a lot of lovely little filets stacked in our refrigerator. We had fish sticks for lunch (very popular with E&M) and our plan for the coming two days include sushi-ed, stir-fried, curried and grilled Wahoo. Delicious!

Our second visitor yesterday afternoon was a storm kestrel. This friendly little brown bird with webbed feet and a long bill started to fly around the boat at around 1800. It finally worked up the courage to land on the cockpit railing and rested their quietly during the entire fish catch, enduring excited points and chats from a thrilled Emma and Macsen. It stayed with us until 2200 at which point it quietly flew away.

The winds have picked up again and we seem to be enjoying the typical trade winds of 15-20 knots at 150 degrees off our targeted course. This allows us to sail at 6-7 knots and we are making very good headway.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/

Day 10: 09.35.065'N 046.27.017'W, 131nm (24h)

December 17, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 563nm
Wind and waves: NE 11-17kn, 3m
Sails: Main, genoa and cutter, wing and wing

'The Washing Machine', 'Hotse Klots', 'The Klotsbak', 'Neptune's Sneeze' are some of the names coined by various boats to describe a very strange phenomenon that generally catches us about twice per day. You can be sailing along on a sunny day on a relatively calm sea when suddenly the boat starts to be thrown around on short choppy waves coming from all directions, crazy currents, white caps on the waves accompanied by loud whooshing noises. All this with no change to the wind or sky. Not scary as the waves are small but very distinct, uncomfortable and surprising. The most strongly supported theory is that these are eddies caused by interactions between warm and cold water rivers running through the ocean and reacting with one another. These rivers move not only along the surface but also move up and down in various depths. The water temperature can vary between 27 degrees on the surface to 4 degrees in the depths and the volume of water varies as a result, reducing with the increased pressure in the depths. The largest temperature difference is found between 50-100m deep (no more sunlight). This temperature difference causes various vertical currents of expanding and contracting water movements which manifest themselves in the crazy eddies we experience on the surface. Ancient mariners used to think that this effect was caused by sea monsters fighting just under the surface. Thanks to Jimmy Lengkeek for the scientific explanation. We do still glance apprehensively over the side of the boat from time to time in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the mighty deep sea dragon.

Other than the sea dragons we are sailing in relative comfort. The waves are large but incredibly long and rolling so the movement is rhythmic and comforting, rather like sailing on a dynamic English countryside. Much more comfortable than the short choppy waves that we experienced in some of our coastal sailing. We expected to have 0,5-1,5 knots of current with us for much of the journey from the equatorial current running east to west, but alas, we seem to have only current against us to date. Perhaps in the coming days.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/

Day 9: 10.45.743'N 044.36.550'W, 138nm (24h)

December 16, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 690nm
Wind and waves: NE 6-9kn, 2m
Sails: Halfwinder, port tack

Winds have become even lighter and we have hoisted the halfwinder for the first time since it fell under the boat. There was a slight tear (10 cm) that needed to be taped and it was a bit of a fiddle to get it back into the snubber but it's flying again and looks beautiful. It has also added a solid 1,5 knots to our incredibly slow 3,5-4 knot average of this morning. The electric autopilot (Otto) has been in use almost constantly in the last few days as we have been on an course directly downwind. Willy the Windpilot, our wind steering system, does not seem to hold us on as steady a course as Otto and this weaving course causes the sails to flap and the boat to loose speed. Rather a disappointment as Willy the Windpilot does not use any electricity and Otto the Autopilot draws quite a few amps, 24 hours a day. Generally our electricity system is self sustaining as long as there is sun for the solar panels to charge the batteries. Unfortunately, due to the additional draw of the autopilot we are forced to run the engine for a few hours every couple of days in order to top up the charge on the battery, not a big deal but it makes an awful noise and uses diesel.

The monkeys had a long bath in the cockpit this morning and had a great time playing with Seb's fishing lures (without the hooks). The weather has become sweltering and there is no breeze to refresh us. The cabin temperature at the moment is 33 degrees. The weather reports predict slight increase in the winds by lunchtime tomorrow. In the meantime, we sit and steam and stare out at the water hoping to see a whale.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/

Day 8: 11.39.674'N 042.34.478'W, 128nm (24h)

December 15, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 822nm
Wind and waves: NE 10-15kn, 2,5m
Sails: Main, genoa and cutter sail (amidships), wing and wing

Still light winds and sun so although we are slower the waves are longer and it is much more restful to travel. We saw the Victory sailing close to us early this morning, fun to see a boat that you know well at such close quarters after a week at sea. Jan-Bart and Monique have trouble with their rudder and as a result their autopilot no longer works. They have been steering day and night by hand for the past two days and expect to have to continue in this way for the duration of the voyage. This is an incredibly physically and mentally taxing thing to have to do requiring 24 hour focus. They are managing well under the circumstances and Jan-Bart even saw the upside in that he got to spend his entire watch last night outside and was able to see over 100 falling stars in the meteor showers. That is a lot of wishes. I stayed outside for about an hour of my watch and only saw about ten, still very beautiful.

After our celebration from yesterday we are now back into our daily routine. We make a plan for the day every morning and discuss the weather and sail configuration to be sure that we cover all that needs to be done and have enough activities to break the monotony for the little ones. Our days run more or less along the following lines:

0800 Emma and Macsen wake, play games and read while Rhiannon bakes whatever needs to be baked for the day
0900 Communication via SSB with Mjolner, Victory, Tangaroa
0930 Breakfast (generally yogurt and cereal)
1000 Morning activity (bath time, crafts, puzzles, games, etc.)
1100 Fruit Time (an excuse both to move into the cockpit and get some vitamins)
1200 Lunch (bread with various things on it)
1230 Emma and Macsen to bed; Seb and Rhiannon perform daily deck inspection, laundry, dishes and any general maintenance
1430 Afternoon activity (face painting, tent building, dress up, games, etc.)
1600 Afternoon Treat (another excuse to move to the cockpit this time to eat something unhealthy)
1800 Dinner
1900 Rhiannon to bed
1930 Emma and Macsen read books and to bed by 2000
2015 Evening communication via SSB with the other boats

Every now and then we toss in something new or special such as a visit from Neptune who bangs on the outside of the boat and leaves presents for Emma and Macsen. We have never seen him but he manages to time his visits perfectly to know just when they (or we) are getting bored of frustrated.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/

Day 7: 12.13.031'N 040.30.433'W, 138nm (24h)

December 14, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 940nm
Wind and waves: NE 10-15kn, 2,5m
Sails: Main, genoa and cutter sail, wing and wing

The wind has gone down a little and the movement is more restful. Our sails are out in full, including the cutter genoa, and we are heading straight downwind with the sails wing and wing. Although the wind level often dips down to 10 knots we are still travelling at 5-5,5 knots so making progress in the right direction. And...more exciting news...we have reached the halfway point!!! Yipee! It is an amazing feeling to be exactly in the middle of the ocean and nice to be moving closer to land rather than farther away.

Given that this is such a special day we have prepared a half-way celebration. Our lunch consisted of fresh-baked scones, whipped cream and jam and lemonade for Emma and Macsen. The monkeys painted fish for Neptune yesterday afternoon and left him little messages (Emma certainly in the hopes of getting some presents). Seb and I have done our best to turn the living room into an aquarium with cut-outs of fish and seaweed hanging from the ceiling. When Emma and Macsen wake up from their naps they will (hopefully) be delighted to walk into this fishy world and hunt for special presents left by the fishy henchmen of Neptune. This will be followed by our daily tasty snack time. I baked cupcakes this morning for the occasion and Seb and I are looking forward to popping a bottle of champagne (only one glass each...). Ahhhh! Yum.

The Elena crew had given us a large can of Cassoulet au Confit du Canard (duck stew) that they had purchased on a trip to France and they promised that it would amaze us. We decided that the halfway point was just the occasion for opening this treat and we cooked up a nice ratatouille as accompaniment and settled in for dinner with our champagne (our first alcoholic beverage in a week). Seb and I were both a little skeptical about eating a canned stew but it was absolutely delicious. The four of us sat in cockpit and toasted the halfway point, watched the sun set and tucked into an amazingly yummy meal. A great day!

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/

Day 6: 13.23.157'N 038.46.758'W, 143nm (24h)

December 13, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,166nm
Wind and waves: NE 16-18kn, 2-2,5m
Sails: Main and genoa, port tack

Our world is still weebly wobbly. The seas tend to lull us into a nice rythm only to send us a choppy wave from at least 30 degrees off the norm to make sure that we are awake...wump. We try to get as much sleep as possible under the circumstances. Our clocks are set to UTC -2 and will adjust 1 hour every 3 days until we are on Suriname time, UTC-4. With our new watch system I go to bed at 1900, Emma and Macsen go to bed at 2000 and Seb takes the first 4-hour watch until 2300. My first watch spans 4-hours from 2300-0300. Seb takes 0300-0600 and then I take 0600-0900. The monkeys generally wake up again at 0800. In theory, Seb and I each get 7 hours of sleep. There are also slight opportunities to catch cat naps while on watch. Our egg timer is set to count down 15 minutes. Fifeteen minutes is apparently the time it takes between the first sighting of a tanker on the horizon until it is close to you, making it wise to perform visual checks every 15 minutes. Both the AIS and radar systems have alarms and they are set to go off when a ship comes within 12 miles.

So far we have come within three miles of five ships in the last five days, significantly less than during the rest of our passages. Two tankers on AIS, two fishing trawlers not on AIS, and this afternoon we glimpsed the mast on the horizon of a fellow sailor. It took only minutes before we contacted the sailboat on VHF and we were soon chatting about plans and perceptions of the crossing. It turned out to be a catamaran named Luar, manned by a delivery crew. They also left Mindelo on December 7 and are heading for Trinidad. They were enjoying the sunny weather and the wind. We bid good-bye with vigorous wishes of good winds, safe sailing, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/

Day 5: 13.052.374'N 036.36.282'W, 157nm (24h)

December 12, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,295nm
Wind and waves: NE 18-23kn, 2-2,5m
Sails: Main and genoa, both reefed, starboard tack

The movement of the boat is quite uncomfortable due to the wave patterns and you really need to think where you can hang on and what you need to catch before moving or much less, opening a cupboard. The wind has also increased slightly and with reefs in both our main and genoa we are still traveling at 6,5 - 7 knots so making faster progress at the moment than expected. Life goes on on board and although Seb and I sometime feel tired of the wobbliness, Emma and Macsen seem to think it is rather fun and don't complain at all. We saw out first dolphins today. A pack of about six that stayed with us for the whole afternoon. Seb and I took turns sitting on the bow (with lifejacket and lifeline) watching them as they jumped through the waves. They were able to perfectly synchronize their movements and I have never seen such a show.

So far the weather outlook appears to promise a continuation of the weather that we have had to date. We download weather faxes, grib files (wind direction and strength) and wave information daily via the SSB. We are also extremely fortunate and grateful to get daily personal updates from Wierd's (Tangaroa) uncle, Jimmy Lengkeek. Jimmy and his wife Tineke cruised the world for six years on their sailing boat 'Gabber' and have written several books (which we used a great deal in our preparations) and it is wonderful to have such an expert supporting us. He sends us information on the weather systems over the Atlantic and the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) an area with very light or nonexistent winds also known as the Doldrums. And analysis from various weather sources (ie http://www.sailingweatheronline.com/) on what we can expect. He has also given us some great information on squalls, where you can expect them, what they look like and how to prepare ourselves. On a daily basis we report our 1200 UTC position and the actual weather we are experiencing back to Jimmy. Every morning at 1100UTC there is an update call via SSB with the Tangaroa, Mjolner and Victory in which we discuss our positions, weather, sail trim, fishing successes and generally review how we are doing and feeling. Emma and Sophia have also used this as a forum to sing songs to each other.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/

Day 4: 14.23.007'N 033.59.814'W, 147nm (24h)

December 11, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,449nm
Wind and waves: NE 14-18kn, 2m
Sails: Main and genoa, starboard tack

Past the 1/4 mark last night at 495 miles, no champagne until we get to the halfway point. A depression in the north Atlantic seems to be sending us some nasty waves that are hitting just aft of our beam. This makes for a very wobbly ride but we were warned to expect this. We have still been able to maintain our schedule on board and have indulged in some fabulous meals and treats. Yesterday we made French toast, baked brownies and Seb made a delicious lasagna for dinner. This morning I baked fresh bread and we smeared it liberally with butter. We may all be a few pounds heavier when we reach Suriname but the rocking motion of the boat keeps our muscles toned.

Today is shower day for the whole family. The monkeys often have a bath in the cockpit in salt water and then are rinsed off with fresh water. We shower with solar showers that consist of a large heavy plastic sack with a spigget. This sack is black and when placed in the sun the water becomes nice and warm (sometimes too hot). These are hung in the cockpit and they provide a rather good shower. The boat does have a shower in the bathroom but we prefer al fresco. Our dishes and clothes are also washed in salt water and rinsed with fresh water from the showers or directly from the tanks. In total we have 350 litres of fresh water in the tanks, 80 litres of bottled water for emergencies (eg. tank contaminations) and an additional 250 litres of fresh water in jerry cans. We have gained a very solid awareness of our water consumption in the past six months and are amazed at what we have become used to.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/

Day 3: 15.07.39'N 031.38.96'W, 143nm (24h)

December 10, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,592nm
Wind and waves: NE 12-15kn, 1.5-2m
Sails: Main and genoa, wing and wing

I almost broke my toe banging it against the wall when Seb called out for me to come outside. Bad things are reputed to happen in threes so after our leaky oil filter and broken main sheet and block we must have been due. Yesterday we were cruising at a comfortable (and very fast) 7-8 knots with the halfwinder when it suddenly collapsed and sank slowly into the water. Seb and I detached the snubber and pulled it in and then coaxed the huge sail out from underneath the boat where it was caught between the keel and rudder - no small task in bumpy waves. Luckily neither the relatively fragile sail or snubber was damaged. Further inspection led us to a chafed/ sheered through halyard. Unfortunately we cannot figure out the cause of the break and are reluctant to hoist the halfwinder again using our reserve halyard. As such, we are cruising along at 6 knots with the main and genoa out wing and wing. It is a little less comfortable and a bit slower but it keeps us on course and we are making good progress.

Other than this setback all is well on board. Emma and Macsen seem to have settled well into the routine and we try to keep their days (and ours) filled with a variety of activities to keep them busy. The days pass fairly quickly and it is a really cosy atmosphere and we are really having fun (more than I expected). We saw our first boat in three days last night when we came within three nautical miles of a well lit fishing trawler, amazing in the middle of this big ocean.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/

Day 2: 15.52.47'N 029.22.68'W, 146nm (24h)

December 9, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,731nm
Wind and waves: NE 15-18kn, 1.5-2m
Sails: full main sheeted in, halfwinder as spinnaker

The wind and waves have stayed quite steady and the movement of the boat is quite rhythmic and relatively easy to get used to. The night was relatively slow as the winds went down and we went off course a little so we didn't have to continue directly down wind in light winds (slow and the sails make loud clapping noises). This morning we hoisted the halfwinder. It is symmetrical so, although it is not cut with the same ball shape as a spinnaker, we are using it as one to allow us to go directly down wind. We are thus back on course and making very good progress with boat speeds averaging >7,5 knots. Unfortunately, we still seem to have just over a half knot of current against us so that translates into a slower speed over ground of 7ish knots. Still very speedy for us and we are happy to be able to do this in relative comfort.

Seb and I are using a 3-hour on/ 3-hour off watch system starting at 2000 when the monkeys go to bed. As such we each get 6 hours of sleep in total. To date we feel relatively well rested and can catch up with a nap when the monkeys nap. Emma and Macsen are doing well and do not seem to feel restricted by our tiny wobbly world. They have just had a bath and splash about and are down for their afternoon nap. I'm off to do the daily inspection of the deck to make sure that everything is in order and nothing is broken, about to break or chafing.

We haven't been fishing yet but four flying fish have flown up onto the deck. I was able to save one of them by tossing it back overboard but the other three were found too late for resuscitation. We were able to get a good look and fold out one of the wings which appears to be shaped like a bird wing but made up of the same materials as a fish fin - a bit like a cartoon fairy wing attached to a little fish. Strange but very pretty.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/

Day 1: 16.17.58'N 027.03.31'W, 121nm (<24h)

December 8, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,866nm
Wind and waves: NE 15-21kn, 1.5-2m
Sails: full main, genoa and cutter

After lots of hugs and kisses from the Tangaroa and the Mjolner and amidst tooting horns we cast off our lines and, with huge butterflies in our stomachs, we motored slowly out of the Mindelo harbour. Unfortunately we were not able to spend much time dwelling on what we were about to undertake as within three miles the engine alarm went off telling us there was a problem with the oil. Seb checked inside the motor case and indeed, seven litres of motor oil were now swimming around underneath it. It was almost immediately obvious that it was caused by a missing cap which allowed the oil to leak and Seb fashioned a new one, mopped up the oil spill and refilled the oil. We spent the next few hours double checking this solution and it now appears to work perfectly.

While Seb was mopping the oil (and the monkeys were sleeping), I was outside trimming sails and setting our course. We were heading out between the islands of Sao Vencente and Santo Antao and there was a strong acceleration effect causing gusts up to 35 knots. One of these gusts also brought a change in wind direction of 30 degrees and caused us to gibe. The mainsail also tried to gibe but fortunately it was blocked (as always) by a sturdy preventer. The pressure from the gibe did however break the block on the mainsail sheet and the remaining sharp edges sheared through the mainsheet. And it happened in seconds.

The block and mainsheet have now been fixed and we are cruising along with 15-20 knots of wind coming in at 150 degrees, the waves are relatively comfortable now and the sun is shining. We are following the rhumb-line course to Suriname, are making good progress and have started to enjoy ourselves. Emma and I made necklaces inside (thanks to Riet and Marcel for the materials) and Seb and Macsen sat outside making drawings. Not bad so far.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/

Out of office

And now the time has come. The boat has been cleaned and inspected, weather checked, passage planning and route reviewed and discussed, water, diesel and food has been stowed. Tomorrow morning (December 7th) we will pick up the last fresh fruits and veggies and cast off for our biggest adventure yet. Although we will be officially out of office for the coming 14-15 days we will do our best to keep the blog as up to date as possible with our position, speed, experiences and state of mind (and of course the number of fish we have landed).

Photos of Cabo Verde

Photos of Cabo Verde. Click here to view the photos.

Mindelo, Sao Vincente, Cabo Verde

Arrived in Mindelo at 2130 (after dark) and made our way through the easily navigable harbour. Jeroen (Mjolner) came out in the dingy for the last bit to guide us to an opening between the many boats where we would drop our anchor. Mindelo is a much bigger and busier harbour then we expected. It has a real ‘ vetrekkers’ feeling as you can be relatively sure that any boat in this harbour will be continuing on across the Atlantic to the Caribbean or South America. Every day we hear or join-in as boats are sent off for their long voyage amidst loud blasts of the horn and the harbour is extremely social with a buzz of excitement as each persons departure day nears.

Cape Verde was a Portuguese colony and has a mixed European-African feel, a little as though I would expect Brazil to be like. The people are not as overtly friendly as in The Gambia but they are generally very kind and friendly once the initial ice is broken. Although there is less visible extreme poverty in this part of Cape Verde than in The Gambia, the poverty here feels more aggressive. This impression is unfortunately founded on our very short and busy visit to one small and likely non-indicative part of this country. Rather than spending our short time here exploring and getting to know the place, we have been spending time performing the last little fixes and purchasing the last few necessities.

That said, our Cape Verde visit has not been completely without relaxation. Took the ferry over to a lovely island called Santo Antao where we were driven around to see the island in a Toyota pickup (15 people including the crews of the Tangaroa, Mjolner, Victory and Pjotter). The island was stunning and our tour took us from the relatively barren port up along a twisty tiled road to lush green craterous cliffs, scenery as mysterious and spectacular as the Lord of Rings. We also stopped at one of the many local rum distilleries where a massive wooden cattle-operated press crushed the juice out of sugar cane used to make rum and sugar cane syrup. Strong stuff but quite tasty.

We celebrated Sinterklaas on December 5th with the same group. The celebration started with a make-up and costume session aboard the Tangaroa that turned the five children into ‘ Zwarte Pieten.’ The Tangaroa crew also put on a fantastic puppet show which pitted Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet against the evil Jan Klaasen who tried to steal Sinterklaas’ sack of ‘ cadeautjes.’ The children whooped and hollered their support ensuring a happy ending. We then trooped off to eat ‘pannekoeken’ on the Mjloner where Jeroen had spent the afternoon cooking a huge pile of crepes. The children were working quietly on drawings for Sinterklaas when Zwarte Piet (Jan Bart put on a very good performance) banged on the side of the boat, strewed ‘ pepernoten’ and instructed them all to head over to the Pjotter where they needed to search the deck for the ‘cadeautjes’ hidden there. Great enthusiasm was show for the search and opening of the presents and five very tired but very happy children were trundled off to bed. All in all a unique and wonderful Sinterklaas. The adults reconvened for a short passage route planning and weather discussion before turning in for an early sleep.

Land in zicht!

Last night at 2130 UTC on Thursday November 26 we arrived at Cabo Verde (Mindelo) after only 85 hours of sailing. Our journey from Banjul, The Gambia was quick (we averaged 6.4 knots over 547nm!) but also a little uncomfortable. We did catch a nice Dorade and were fighting something really big for an hour before it cut the line... Currently we are anchored just outside the marina.

Photos of The Gambia

Photos of The Gambia. Click here to view the photos.

Good Bye The Gambia

After a amazing 2 ½ weeks we bid goodbye to The Gambia for a 3,5 day trip northwest to the Cape Verde Islands from where we will depart for our longest sea voyage to date – across the Atlantic Ocean to Suriname. Seb and I had spent some time swabbing out the bilges and rinsing and cleaning the last residue of our watery adventure. After this we felt comfortable with our fresh water, food and diesel levels and after running the last checks around the boat we hauled anchor up at 0730 (sunrise) of November 23, waved goodbye to Lamin Lodge, and headed with the tide current out past Banjul and into the Atlantic towards the island of Sao Vincente, Cape Verde.

Water, Water Everywhere

“I think we are sinking!” is probably the last thing you want to hear from your partner when you live on a sailboat. Seb and I had been sitting quietly reading when he placed his foot down into a giant puddle that was the floor of our living room. We pulled up the floorboards to find an overflowing bilge. We rapidly began to pump out water and Seb calmly called for backup from the other boats “Would someone mind coming to help us as we seem to have a large quantity of salt water on board…” This call elicited the rapid response of Jan Bart and both Jeroens and while Jan Bart, Jeroen (Mjolner) and I busied ourselves with bailing, Seb and Jeroen (Zilvermeeuw) searched for the ‘leak.’ We were able to reduce the level of water very quickly but were still troubled by the cause. After much discussion in which the varied experience of everyone was shared we narrowed it down to a problem with the bilge pump itself. This pump is designed to automatically pump water out of the boat when the water level rises above its sensors. This system has an air release linked to the bathroom sink. Seb and I had showered Emma and Macsen using the solar shower (a large bag of water heated by the sun) and had left the bag to dry off in the sink, unknowingly shutting off the air outlet. The bilge had been acting strangely so Seb shut it off temporarily and, given that the air release was blocked and the bilge pump is located below the water line, the bilge system started siphoning water into the boat!!! A strange combination of events that we were able to recreate by replacing the bag in the sink, adding water to the bilge and turning off the automatic bilge pump. Although quite shaken, we were extremely relieved to have discovered the cause and to find that it was something very preventable. Seb called my brother immediately after clean-up and they concluded that it was an unlikely design flaw that could be remedied by installing a vented loop in the tube under the bathroom sink. Whew! I am also pleased to report that although inwardly quite unsettled, we were able to stay calm throughout the event.

Georgetown Back to Lamin Lodge

Spent the first day on our way back down the river from Georgetown just drifting slowly down the river to Baboon Island. This is the most stunning part of the river and we hoisted our half winder in what little wind there was and drifted 2,5 knots/hour (very slowly). This allowed us to get a really good look at the trees and reeds along the river and spot monkeys, baboons in the trees and crocodiles along the bank. A dreamy day spent sitting on the deck staring at the river bank, the skies for birds, the sail or our own little monkeys splashing and giggling around in their baths in the cockpit. Spent the night at anchor just above Baboon Island hoping to wake to some good hippo activity reported recently in that spot.

On the following day, after another lovely drifter, we arrived in the late afternoon at a funny pointy mound next to Bird Island. Walked to the top of the hill to watch the sunset, and stare at the beautiful expanse of the savannah, usually shielded for us by the lush vegetation along the river. A small group of children met us and asked if we would come visit their village the next morning and we eagerly agreed. A 17-year old boy named was our chief guide. Their village of 140 people lived in extended family communes made up of circles of mud and reed huts leading out onto an open courtyard where the livestock (usually goats and chickens) ran free. Our host showed us his commune and his hut which consisted of a single room with a double bed (with mosquito net) set on a mud floor, mud walls with a reed roof. The only adornment was a poster of French football great, Zinedine Zidane tacked to the wall – in a village with no electricity and certainly no television. Once again confirming that football is really universal. Once again we walked back to our boats feeling like we had just had a glimpse of something special.

As the river widened and became salty we picked up speed to make miles towards Banjul. We planned to stay for 2 days in Lamin Lodge to bring on water, diesel, fresh vegetables and fruit and hopefully to score another butterfish.

From Mandory to Georgetown

Between Mandory Creek and Elephant Island our electronic charts started to become untrustworthy so we followed the paper charts and the MaxSea electronic track from a Dutch boat, the Duende, that visited The Gambia last year and kindly provided us with great pilot information and cruising tips. Even so we have all been struck in the mud more than once due to shifting bottom. Fortunately, the river bed is soft and we have always been able to release ourselves quite easily.

Sighted our first hippos as we rounded Deer Island. We had backtracked a little after coming to an impassable bit and as we turned we saw eight perky little ears poking above the water. You don’t see much more than a snout and strip of their back if you are lucky but we were thrilled to see them. We floated about running from side to side of the boat as they moved around us diving under and poking their heads up again and making incredibly loud sneezing noises as they surfaced. .
Stopped for fresh provisions in Ka-ur. Weird (Tangaroa) and Seb stayed on the boats and the rest of us took a rickety donkey cart into town where luckily it was market day. The dirt streets were lined with small stalls each with a squatting proprietor selling their wares. We were able to procure potatoes, onions, cherry tomatoes, a pumpkin, watermelon and two kilos of limes for limeade.

The water in the river changed to fresh water around Mandory creek and in fresh water there are many more persistent creepy crawly bugs. The least pleasant are the millions of tiny black bugs that are able to penetrate our layers of mosquito netting. Seemingly harmless but irritating. When we leave our anchor light on at night, bats fly around collecting the bugs and we find little brown poops on our deck the next morning. Yuck! We’ve been going to bed at 2030 just after the monkeys as we do not want any lights on inside to attract them.

River becomes narrower above Kantuar and the foliage is more varied than the mangroves. Baobabs, palm trees and reeds filled with ibis, pelicans, storks, flamingos, and eagles and other enormous birds of prey. We were sadly lacking a good bird book for the area and I would strongly recommend anyone visiting The Gambia to include this in their luggage as the birdlife is amazing. This wall of trees is interspersed with small sandy bits that look like perfect places for crocodiles – we keep our eyes peeled and have seen several crocs and a huge lizard.

We reached Georgetown, our turning point on the river, on November 13th. For the next 6 weeks we will be only travelling west, until Suriname! Georgetown is one of the more touristy places we encountered in The Gambia. We were met at the dock by several people that wanted to ‘help’ show us around. They were extremely persistent and sometimes difficult to discourage. In the local market we bought fresh bread and canned drinks. We were also able to obtain 80 litres of fresh water for showering and washing-up. This reserve is kept in plastic cans on the deck as we are not comfortable enough with the water quality to put it into our tanks.

Communities and Crickets

After two days at Lamin Lodge, we moved a short distance up the river to Bintang Bolong, stopping for a walk and a swim on James Island on the way. James Island is a tiny island containing the eerie rocky ruin of an old fort and trading post founded by the British for trading in ivory, gold and slaves. Throughout its grisly history, it has been destroyed at least three times and has been in the hands of the British, French, Dutch and various pirates. It was finally abandoned in 1829 after being used briefly by the British to suppress the slave trade that had been outlawed in 1807.

The following morning, we brought the dinghies into shore at Bintang and were met by a lone youth who offered to show us around his village. Off we wandered together up dirt streets lined with ramshackles houses with friendly smiling people on the porches. The offered to bake us some bread and we purchased 12 very fresh baguettes and an enormous bunch of bananas. As we continued along the road we gathered children like the Pied Piper. All were interested to introduce themselves, know our names and hear where we were from. When asked why they were not in school they replied that their school was in the afternoon, half of the older children go in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. We were taken to a community run nursery school where we were met by a group of about 30 laughing and excited children (around age 6). The school principal guided us around the four-classroom school where each age group was sitting politely, only childlike in their big grins and their subtle fidgeting. Children start school at age 2 in this village and we were struck by the level of complexity of the subject matter (eg. sums and letters for <4 olds) and the incredible discipline of the children. Children are fed breakfast and lunch and a group of mothers were preparing food behind the school when we arrived. We were kindly offered breakfast but politely declined as we felt we had intruded enough. Overall we were amazed at how welcome we were made to feel and we carefully apologized for the intrusion and interruption of the lessons and left with a real feeling of wonder at how with a little care and cooperation a community with very little material wealth can build such a rich environment. Waved goodbye to the children on the shore exchanging truly happy smiles and headed back to the boats.

Second half of the day was great for very different reasons. Hoisted the halfwinder and positively flew down the perfectly flat river with more than two knots of current with us, beautiful sunshine and huge dolphins (reputed to be the largest in the world) swimming alongside. Arrived in Mandori Creek at 1730 and dropped the anchor amongst the mangroves. Birdlife was bursting from the shores and we saw storks, pelicans, several strikingly marked sandpiper-like birds, green and yellow parrots and several more high flyers that we were not able to identify. The boat was lying completely still and we drifted off to sleep as the sounds of the birds slowly became the sounds of the crickets as night fell.

Fiftyish Fish for the Fiftier

As a present for Jan-Bart’s (s/y Victory) 50th birthday, the five other boats chipped in to take him for a guided fishing adventure on the Gambian rivers. The men thus departed at 1000 in a long wooden pirogue flanked by two dinghies with baskets of live shrimp and fishing rods and the ladies herded the seven children off for a day of land bound wildlife exploration. Our itinerary brought us to see crocodiles in the wild at the sacred crocodile pool of Mama Bambo Folonko, in the Kartong Community Forest. We were amazed that our paths were crossed by loose crocs as we wandered around the ponds (with a guide). They seem to be well fed and do not present any danger, except perhaps initial shock, and the children were even allowed to touch one (although they were discouraged from going too close to the head). I suspect that this enterprise would be uninsurable in the US. We followed this with a visit to the Abuko Nature Reserve. Although a relatively small park, 250 species of birds and 52 mammals have been sighted regularly within the reserve. This was a lovely area and we had a small tour but our visit was cut short by our tiring little monkeys who themselves had finally tired of looking at monkeys (and baboons).

The men had a very successful day, catching four large butterfish, 24 various smaller fish and a sting ray and a beautifully striped but apparently somewhat dangerous snake. The Lamin lodge agreed to cook it up for us (excluding ray and snake) for a fair price and we dined royally. Butter fish is a firm white fish and has become my new favorite fish.

Banjul and Lamin Lodge

Sailed into the bay of Banjul (named Bathurst during British colonial rule but recently renamed Banjul, the Madinka word for bamboo) early on the morning of November 6th. We arrived in a small flotilla including the Atmosphere, the Tangaroa and the Victory and were welcomed by a red dingy containing Jeroen and Babette from the Zilvermeeuw. The harbour was full of rusty wrecks in varying states of decay, small wooden fishing pirogues and one large tanker. The shore was a riddled with fading and falling down buildings. I took a dingy in with Olous (Atmosphere) , Caroline (Tangaroa), Jan Bart (Victory) and Jeroen kindly helped us with the rather complicated and often excruciatingly time consuming check in process. The authorities were very friendly and the process was a little random and haphazard. Check-in took us first to a little office in the side of a warehouse where immigration officers were located; then along a dusty road to small shop to make copies of our passports and change money; then back to immigration; then on to customs which looked like a large busy hallway where our detailed forms were filed into a wooden desk which looked like it hadn’t been opened in years. Our final stop was with the port authority to get a river permit. Here we needed to climb seven stories up in an old run down building to fill in a form then walk down again to a small broom closet to pay and upstairs again to hand in our second detailed form (hand printed in duplicate) and receipt. The form ‘stamper’ was not available so we were asked to come back again in an hour or so. In total the whole process took about 3 hours which we were told was remarkably quick.

Banjul port is not beautiful and is reputed to have many pickpockets and ‘bumsters’ as the scam agents are known. Dirt streets, garbage and dust and broken down buildings were in great contrast to the sparkling bright colours of the formal and glamourous clothing of the people. While we waited, several wooden boats came alongside the boat offering everything from fresh fish to laundry and tailoring services. When we went on land we were met by a group of people rather pushily offering to show us around. One man walked with us for the entire check in process, trying to help along the way. We came to expect this when going ashore in The Gambia and while sometimes annoying it was often useful , the people are generally very nice, interesting and knowledgeable and it was certainly never threatening. The only frustrating aspect was that it was sometimes difficult to discern if they genuinely wanted to help or were just looking for a ‘present’.

After check-in we motored 5 nautical miles up a small bolong to Lamin Lodge, a rickety wooden structure located on a very peaceful muddy inlet amongst the mangroves. We headed in as a group for a candle-lit dinner (no electricity in the lodge) and enjoyed or joined our kids dancing around while an smiling wrinkled old man played the kora (harp-lute) and crooned African folk songs.

All in all a very intense and interesting day and we were all feeling rather excited to be in such a remote and beautiful place with our own sailboat homes.

Land in zicht!

It is now 0437 UTC and we are on our final stretch into Banjul. We are treated to a flat sea with 23 knots of wind so we are bumming along at 7 knots in the moonlight. Our plan is to drop anchor south of Banjul off the wooden jetty. Our ETA at the moment is 0852 UTC.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Rough Seas and a Good Rhythm

Picture yourself sitting in a small capsule in your washing machine during a combined rinse and spin cycle and you come quite close to the feeling that we experienced for the first 48 hours of our passage to The Gambia. Winds were averaging 25 knots most of the time with gusts up to 30 knots and although the wind was from behind the waves were big and confused and thus very uncomfortable. In addition to this Seb and I were both feeling a little seasick and Macsen was unable to keep anything down for more than 30 seconds (although in between bouts he remained remarkably cheerful). The weather was warm and sunny during the day but that helped little to break the seemingly endless discomfort and monotony. Eating or drinking anything other than crackers and water was out of the question (except for Emma who retained a healthy appetite), sitting was uncomfortable, sleeping was uncomfortable and walking about was either entertaining or painful depending upon how careful we were. The only positive point was that we were speeding along at a good pace and we averaged 150 nautical miles per day.

It is now day three of our 880 nautical mile voyage and we have just crossed the border of Western Sahara (Morocco) with Mauritaniyah roughly 70 miles offshore. Things have returned to normal. The seas are calmer and we have developed a bit of a rhythm. As such, between naps and meals, we play fun little activities such as building a fort, singing lessons, ping pong Macsen (in which Macsen runs back and forth giggling between Seb and I), face painting, Pjotter crazy dance disco and going for a 'walk' and having a picnic ( ie. eating cookies on the deck, wearing life jackets and life lines of course).

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Photos of Canary Islands

Photos of the Canary Islands. Click here to view the photos.

Getting ready

In addition to the successful replacement of the propeller anode, we have been busy with preparations for our upcoming passage to The Gambia followed by Cape Verde and Suriname. We are planning very conservatively to ensure that we have enough supplies to last us until we arrive in Suriname at Christmas time even though we will probably be able to get many things along the way.

The boat has been an almost constant disaster for the past week, strewn intermittently with tools, laundry, food provisions, and visiting fellow travelers helping each other and exchanging ideas. We have come to the conclusion that you can never be completely ready, you never have all of the cool gadgets and provisions that other people have but it is great fun to discuss and taunt each other on these subjects.

Among our tasks have been the replacement of the anode on the propeller, installation of the new autopilot, installation of mosquito nets, reparation of the water tanks, installation of a back-up auto pilot, refilling the cooking gas tanks, marking the anchor chain, designing and hanging fruit nets, buying enough food and drinks for the next two months (not to mention finding places to stow it), studying the charts and pilots and planning an SSB and marifone communication plan to keep in touch with the other boats along the way. There were also a vast number of other small but time consuming tasks and all in all we have been buzzing busily.

There are five boats that are travelling on Friday and Saturday to The Gambia (travelling at varying speeds and expecting to arrive at approximately the same time), two Dutch (s/y Victory and Tangaroa), one Dutch and Danish (s/y Mjolner), one Dutch and Canadian (s/y Pjotter) and one new boat who's crew usually lives in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada (s/y Atmosphere). The harbour in San Sebastian is also chock full of other boats, many of them whom are heading via various routes across the Atlantic as well. There is a wonderful community feel and an incredibly unselfish support network of people helping each other get ready in small ways by lending of giving supplies, exchanging ideas and often even spending days together sorting out more serious problems. This is the way the world should work.
Time to cast off the lines and leave La Gomera. This is one of the loveliest spots we have visited so far and we leave with very fond memories.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

More La Gomera with Jop and Mim

With Jop and Miriam we sailed back around to the anchor spot in Valle de Drand Rey. As soon as it was dark enough, Seb and Jop donned head lamps and cast fishing lines over the side. They didn’t catch anything but we saw some amazing iridescent fish with seemingly glow in the dark skeletons hovering around the boat. Amazing looking creatures. We spent two days in the bay heading to the beach, scrubbing the bottom of the boat and zipping about in the dingy.

On our way back from Valle de Grand Rey to San Sebastiaan and we heard the welcome zzzzzing of the trawling line. After a scramble to slow down the boat, get cameras, gloves, buckets etc. Seb slowly reeled in the rapidly wriggling line and there appeared an absolutely beautiful bonito of approximately 3,3 kgs. Seb was careful to be as humane as possible with the bonito and performed the bloodier tasks at the back of the boat. Emma was fascinated by the process but she did remark “Papa, I don’t think I like fish anymore” when he was finished.

Back in the marina that evening we dined on cucumber and tuna sushi followed by grilled tuna fillets. This was honestly one of the very best fish I have ever eaten. It was a slow meal eaten in the cockpit under the stars.

We also managed to get some important things done during Jop and Miriam’s visit. Seb and Jolp spent two days puzzling through the installation of the new autopilot. During our underwater scrubbing session in Valle de Grand Rey Seb had discovered that the anode (soft metal that keeps the adjacent metals from corroding) around the engine propeller was loose. We thought we would need to take the boat back to Tenerife and haul her out of the water to fix it – very bad, time consuming and expensive news. Fortunately, Jan-Bart from the Victory has a lot of diving experience and offered to swim under and take a look. Over the course of more than four hours and a lot of puzzling he and Seb were able to unscrew the propeller and replace the anode. They concluded the tasks justly happy with their work and almost hypothermic. Finally, Miriam and I spent an afternoon designing and building a mosquito net for the cabin entryway.

On our last evening with Jop and Miriam, Jeroen and Luise were kind enough to babysit and we went out for a tapas tour of the San Sebastian cafes. As we sat dipping our bread and potatoes in mojo sauce and drinking ice cold beers at our Berlusca, our favorite café, a small group of people started singing, playing the guitar and moroccas just next to us. We spent the evening slowly eating through a variety of delicious dishes , drinking wine and swaying to the ballads of La Gomera.

Nana sans Dadcu, and La Gomera

Santa Cruz was very social harbour. We met a nice Swedish couple, met up for the first time since we are underway with the Waterman crew, another Dutch boat with children, and were delighted to see the big Pjotter on a pontoon across from ours on the second day of our stay. We had a good catch up with Kees and Marta and we look forward to seeing them again in Cape Verde or in Suriname.

After four days in Santa Cruz spent fixing things, cleaning and taking advantage of the last big stores and chandleries, we sailed an overnight passage around Tenerife to Los Cristianos. We hovered in the bay until noon at which time we headed in to pick up Nana (my mother). Under the auspices of having to fill our diesel tanks we were able to convince the harbourmaster to allow us to land. Seb filled our diesel tanks very slowly as Emma and I went to find Nana at the ferry terminal. Very sadly, Emma and Macsen’s Dadcu (my father) needed to stay in England and wasn’t able to join us in the Canaries. He was greatly missed and we are very eager to see him in Suriname.

Left Los Cristianos for a lovely sail over to La Gomera. There was no wind as we left Los Cristianos but we had amazing views of dolphins and pilot whales hovering on the surface and in view almost the entire day. The wind picked up in the ‘acceleration’ zone as we approached La Gomera as expected and we had a wonderful sail (hitting 7,1 knots with only the fore-genoa, although Nana was pushing for 7,2 knots). In the early afternoon Emma went down for her nap. She asked if the dolphins were also napping and concluded that only the little ones needed to nap and that the big ones are allowed to stay up.

San Sebastian de La Gomera, the capital of the island, is a lovely village with a friendly comfortable feel and well-equipped marina. There are an incredible variety of fish swimming in the clear water under the boats, including a trumpet fish that looks like a mix between and sea horse and an eel, and we felt like we were surrounded by a natural aquarium.

After one night in San Sebastiaan, we motored along stunning coast line around the island and marveled at the tall cliffs with bright colored stripes. Dropped anchor in slightly swelly inlet in Valle de Grand Rey in the late afternoon and enjoyed an absolutely beautiful sunset under the cliffs. Mom, Seb and I sat for ages on the gently rocking deck staring at the stars and had to drag ourselves away to bed. The next day was spent on the black sand beach tossing the ball and splashing in the waves before continuing the rest of the way around the island back to San Sebastiaan.

Our friends Jop and Miriam arrived on Friday and we rented cars to drive to a house in Las Hayas in the middle of the island. We had an amazing view from the house and there was a great deal of activity between Seb, my mother and Miriam to see who could take the most amazing shot of the sunset with their new cameras. We spent our time in Las Hayas chatting, eating and walking through the lush and green tangled canopies of the forests of the Parque Nacional de Garonjay, one of the last vestiges of the laurilsilva forests that once covered all of the Mediterranean. On our first night in the cottage we opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate the recent engagement of Jop and Miriam. Just before we took the first sip Jop made the moment extra special by asking Seb to act as his witness during the wedding ceremony. Needless to say, this is a very special honour for Seb and he accepted with a big smile on his face and a slight glisten in his eye.

Very early on Monday morning, Emma and I took Nana back on the ferry to Tenerfie and bid her a tearful good-bye after a short but wonderful visit. Comforting to know that we will see her again in Suriname in about 6 weeks, accompanied this time by Dadcu as well (Hooray!).

Photos of Morocco

Final set of photos from Morocco - includes all photos of desert tour. Click here to view the photos.

Wonderful Willy and Angry Otto

Winds were slow but steady as we left Isla Graciosa and hoisted the colourful halfwinder to take advantage of some motor-free progression. After a tip on blade angles from a fellow Canadian-Dutch cruiser, Seb was able to get the windvane working properly. The windvane or windpilot is an autopilot that steers based upon the angle to the wind rather than the more common electric version that works by compass course. The Pjotter was finally silently steered and powered by the wind – what a great feeling. Emma was very impressed by the windpilot and promptly named it Willy.

The winds became rather light and we switched back to our electric autopilot (now named Otto) to stabilize our course. We still have to tweak Willy a little . Otto must have been a little angry to have its position usurped and it conked out completely after about 2 hours. Back we went to Willy and together we completed a very restful night under full sail. Otto, the temperamental autopilot will undergo an overhaul/ replacement in Tenerife.

Again, no dolphin sightings on the way to Tenerrife. I hope that they are not angry with us.

Stukzitten

Our stay on Isla Graciosa was short and we headed off the next morning for a 150 nautical mile sail to Santa Cruz in Tenerife.

After four months (excluding preparation time), five countries, over 2000 nautical miles, huge adventures, numerous dinners , co-babysitting, lots of laughs and an incredible amount of kaas-verhalen and ouwe-hoeren it is now time to part ways with the Elena. We essentially grew our cruising legs together and took on things together that we may not have thought of or considered to do alone. Elena will leave the Canary Islands and cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean on November 23. She will then continue through the Panama canal for a 3-year round the world journey.

Our last ‘family’ night with the Adam, Leonie, Rosa, Mees and Pieter was marked with a sunset barbeque (complete with champagne) on the beach near the Caleta de Sebo harbour The next morning, they all stood on the dock as we waved a very tearful good-bye and motored away. Elena, this has been an incredibly special time and we will miss you terribly. Fare thee well dear friends, fair winds and wonderful adventures. Pjotter out.

Going to the Dogs

Our passage from Agadir to Isla Graciosa on the Canary Islands was a smooth one. There was absolutely no wind so we ended up motoring the entire 220 nautical miles. Surprisingly we saw no dolphins and caught absolutely no fish, in an area that was once one of the richest fishing areas of Europe. We did, however, see several very large and medium-sized turtles. They are interesting creatures that seem to pass the day just floating out in the middle of the ocean in waters up to 3500m deep. Closer to land were amazing flying fish that took off like birds and are able to fly for 100m.

Sighted land at 0725 in the morning, big barren cliffs looming out of the water out in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. Very impressive.

I have always assumed that the Canary Islands were named for the bird. In fact, the bird was named after the islands and the islands are named after dogs. An expedition sent by King Juba II of Mauritania (Morocco) in 60 BC encountered large dogs roaming the islands and brought two dogs back to the king, The name Insulae Canium, Island of the Dogs, persists today as Islas Canarias.

The Canary Islands are a common departure point for boats crossing the Atlantic Ocean, including some 200 participants in the Atlantic Rally Crossing and sadly also including our friends aboard the Elena.

(Ei)Land in zicht!

It is now 0725 in the morning and after a lot of motoring we can see the Montanas del Fuego de Timanfaya on Lanzarote. We will make our first landfall on Isla Graciosa. It is a beautiful sunny morning after a rather uneventful journey. No dolphins, no fish, no wind but we did see a lot of turtles just floating in the ocean. Our ETA at the moment is 1045.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

The Land of the 1000 Kasbahs

Pick-up was at 0730 on September 24, by drivers Mohammed and Hassan driving two 4X4 SUVs, one for the Elena family and one for the Pjotter family. Packed our piles of luggage in and were on our way, headed for a 10 day tour of inland Morocco. Our first overnights off of the boats in three months!

The tour started with a beautiful drive through the Atlas mountains and the anti-Atlas to Ourazazate. The sides of the road were empty except for the lone goat herders walking off into the endlessness of the rock strewn mountainside. Every now and then we saw a Bedouin tent or a circle of rocks used for corralling animals. Stopped on a particularly scenic piece of mountainside and were met by a man carrying a chameleon and an iguana. The chameleon was very cooperative and changed colour as we moved it from green background to yellow. It had wonderful two-clawed feet that tickled as it climbed your arm. Fascinating looking creature, out of another time.

Met our guide, Brahim, in Ourazazate and after a nights rest we drove on through the Draa valley to Zagora where Brahim, Mohammed and Hassan live. Stopped at a Kasbah hidden away in the valley to have lunch with a Berber family. Houses and restaurants are set up in an incredible cosy way. There is one large room in the middle surrounded by little cosy nooks for more private moments. It is so comfortable to sit and lie on the floor on carpets to eat your meals. It has a very intimate feel and is extremely handy as you are then closer to the level of the children, which they really enjoy. There was also a high terrace on the top of the Kasbah and as we sat and drank the required post-lunch mint tea we watched the clouds darken along the valley, saw great forks of lighting streaking down and heard the echo of booming thunder. As we drove the rain stared bucketing down. We’d done some off-road exploration to get to our lunch location and had to drive quickly through the recently dry river beds as they can fill to a level that makes them impassable in a hour or so. It rains in the region only a few days per year so this was really cause for celebration. Brahim also explained that rain significantly reduces the risk of sand storms. Life in the desert appears to be similar to life on a boat, surrounded by seemingly endless expanses, highly weather dependant and there is always a shortage of drinkable water.

On the morning of the 25th we were given turbans to protect ourselves from the sun and we drove out into the Sahara. Stopped briefly at a well where a man was watering a pack of approximately 30 dromedaries (we thought they were camels but Morocco only has dromedaries). Dromedaries only drink once a week but when they drink they consume 120 litres p.d. The man was pulling up what we estimated to be 25 liter jerry cans full of water which meant he had to drop the bucket almost 150 times (including water for the four donkeys that happened along).

Our camp was very basic but perfect for our needs. It consisted of three Berber tents for sleeping and one cooking/ eating tent. There was of course no running water or electricity. All the same, the cook, Mohammed was able to create amazing tajine dinners and we ate Berber bread cooked in the sand (crunchy but delicious). We closed off each day in the desert drinking sweet mint tea under the stars and having good chats after the children were asleep. We sat close to the tents but didn’t need baby phones as the nights were so still.

The little monkeys loved climbing the dunes and sliding and rolling down. It is a very fine sand that seeps into every possible crevice and we were all completely covered. They never bored of the dromedaries and donkeys and squealed with delight every time we caught a glimpse (which was very often) of them wandering past through the dunes or sitting in groups in our camp each morning. Our second morning in the desert started with an hour long dromedary ride through the dunes which delighted the adults almost as much as the children.

Left the desert and bid a sad goodbye to Mohammed and our guide Brahim. Brahim commented that our children are very flexible and easy to travel with and he estimated that this is a result of the greater voyages that we are making. This pleased all of the parents immensely.

Headed into the imperial city of Marrakech. Arrived in a rather dirty parking lot and wandered down a dingy street until we arrived at the Riad Si Said. Beautiful place, hidden behind a small door. In the short time we had we decided to focus on exploring the medina and the various souqs within it. A visit to the main square is a sensory overload, pounding drums, snake charmers, henna artists, wagons with stacks of oranges of dried fruit, fortune tellers, and some very sad and cruelly chained Barbary apes. The streets of the medina are lined with shops full of beautiful shiny things; tea pots, jewelry, cushions, scarves, tablecloths, rugs - an interior decorators dream. This is all geared at tourists who appeared to be the only customers in the souq and were generally pestered by the frequently aggressive salesmen. Overall, an interesting city to visit briefly but we strongly preferred the people and the places we met outside the city.

Last stop was a two day visit in the high Atlas mountains, at the Kasbah de Toubkal, about 3200 metres above sea level near Jebel Toubkal the highest mountain in Morocco. The enormous mountains come in the most stunning array of reds, blues, purples, greens and greys and all swooped down into a lovely lush valley full of apple and walnut trees. We spent two very short days taking long walks in the steep and winding paths (always accompanied by two donkeys to help carry the tired children) and gazing out at the stunning views. One of the loveliest places that I have ever been. Closed off our Moroccan adventure back at the starting point in Agadir with a heartfelt goodbye to Mohammed and Hassan and a feeling of both regret that the tour was ending and real pleasure to be back on our trusty boats ready to sail again.

We were all completely enchanted and fascinated by Morocco, the people, relatively untouched pockets of culture, the many beautiful and varied landscapes and the delicious food have been some of the highlights of our travels to date.