Category Archives: Pics

This must have been the slowest passage EVER ! We left St. Davids bay at 15h UTC and arrived 07h next day. That’s a 16 hours trip in which we sailed about 45 miles giving an average speed of a whopping 2.8knots !

The start was good, running before the wind along the south coast of Grenada. Rounding the SW-tip of the island we hoisted the main sail and had little wind. But that freshened up only half an hour later increasing to a stable 5 Beaufort. We made a leg out to NW and tacked back towards the coast 2 hours later. Just to find ourselves in front of the harbour of St. Georges. We’ve made three miles in nearly two hours !!

The current runs strong along the coast of Grenada and the next idea was to run under engine, just a few hundered meters off the coast. Here the current was slightly less and we made slow progress towards north. It was a little frustrating to run under engine the whole night but as the wind was coming from NNE and that was exactly our direction – we had no better option. We arrived in the dark, around 03h local time. While entering the harbour we nearly hit a large towing vessel that sat in the entrance of the bay without light. Funny – nearly all the amateur sailboats had their anchor light on but NONE of the four professionally operated vessels. Heh.

So we dropped the anchor in five meters of clear water and fell into the bunks minutes later. It’s always exciting to wake up and then have a first look at the island you just landed on. – And it looks nice ! The island is green, a few houses here and there, a sand beach, palm trees. Everything you’d expect of an island in the Caribbean.

We’ve found the internet in a cafe at the beach called ‘Lazy turtle’, have a cold pineapple juice while the kids explore the beach. Afterwards we’ll walk over to the other side of the island and then wait for our friends, the SY Kira to arrive !

We didn’t see too much yet – the laziest crew of the world likes to sleep long… and the excellent internet connection at the anchorage is not exactly helping. But around noon we managed to leave the ship.

But first the anchorage: it’s amazing !!! We lie quiet and well protected, there is a dinghy-pontoon, a free (and warm !) shower and even a washing machine ! A ship yard with everything you would need for repairs is here but the best is the beach bar under palm trees.

So we started walking up the street to catch one of the passing minivans when Gui stopped a taxi. As he had already delivered his passenger and was on the way back to Georgetown he took us in and we rapidly were taken to the small city 10 miles ahead. It’s not exactly a city as we know it because everything is still green and trees are everywhere between the houses. We made a little tour but didn’t find much besides a new skirt for Viola and a salamander made from fabric for Bruno. So we had a little beer and headed back to the St. Davids bay.

Although friends already told us, we were surprised that you could fit 22 (TWENTY-TWO) people in a minivan the size of a VW-bus. And the way the driver took us through the mountainous roads was fascinating. The turns he took with screeching tires and the hills he used to take over other cars completely ignoring the opposing traffic. But everybody including us took it with a smile and only a few minutes later we landed seemingly safe in our bay.

The sun was already setting and while walking the last mile towards the anchorage we listened the sounds of the jungle and were taken in by the silhouette of the palm trees under a crystal clear night sky. Just underneath of which we found the beach bar ! We had an evening drink with friends we met in Barbados and the Dinghy took us back to the Rancho Relaxo. Tomorrow we’ll have a guided tour through the jungle. Yay !

Out on the ocean you rarely see any other ships. Sometimes a cargo will be visible on the horizont for a few minutes but we never came closer than a few miles. We never saw any other sailing vessel other than the SY Kira. And therefore the meeting really was something special. After days of thinking you’re the only ship out there it’s fantastic to see another sailing boat come closer and closer. We had a little chat, made a ton of pictures and that was it. – Both ships continued on their old course and would finally meet again in Barbados. (Which we did.)

A few minutes ago we arrived on Grenada. It was a short and uneventful trip of about 130 miles. The island looks amazing !!! Here are a few pics before we go off to clear in:

Yesterday everybody went to the deepwater harbour to clear out. This means: take the dingy to the fishing harbour, walk 15 minutes in the hot caribbean sun, show your ship’s papers and the passports at the entrance to get a visitors pass for the harbour. Then to the yellow building, pay 50US$, fill out two forms. Go to the customs, fill out two more forms and leave two crewlists. Now to immigration, another two forms and two more crewlists. DONE !

Now duty-free shopping for Mount Gay Rum and afterwards buy some ice cold beer to get rid of the last Barbados dollars.sgetraenk.

Afterwards we were at the local market to get fruits and vegetables. Through the city and we meet with Gui and the crew of the Hitch-Hike-Heidi in a bar. We wait for the live music but it starts too late. The kids are already asleep and we listen to a few songs but then get back to our ship. That was the last day in Barbados. Tomorrow we’re off to Grenada !!

Yesterday in the night, Wolfgang had to fly back to Berlin. We’ve had beautiful days in Cabo Verde, a wonderful crossing of an Ocean and a little Cribbean flair together. We’d like to thank Wolfgang for all the work he did on board, for the wonderful bread he so often baked, for babysitting, etc. etc. It really was good to have you on board !!

Our days in Barbados are getting to an end as we’ll stock up on food and probaly leave tomorrow towards Grenada. From there we’ll sail northwards through the Grenadines and pick up our next guest in Martinique. Guenther from Austria who inroduced me to sailing is gonna visit us for two weeks. Yay !

Well. Bruno’s at the SY Kira, Gui is asleep and Viola is ‘reading’. (Not yet.) I’ll finish this post and then head for the town to get our refreshments. Hehehe.

Tim and Claus from the SY Kira sit at the saloon table and stare at a box with butter. Yes – the butter is already melting – that was the first part. What now ? Aaah – yes. No we’ve got to sail westward. But the half-hourly check of the GPS always shows the same distance: 2008 miles. Maybe the sails are set wrong ? Well they’re not even set. And the anchor ? Oh ! It’s still on the ground !

So we’re still at anchor in front of Mindelo and wait for the wind to calm down a little. Yesterday the Harmattan was blowing hard and we had a constant 5-6 Bft. at the anchorage with gusts of 7 or 8 Bft. And everything is covered with a fine layer of yellow sand. Unfortunately the Harmattan was also the reason why the SY Chiloe is still in Sal. We’ve been on the lookout for our friends the last days but the wind was not too good to set sails.

On the other side, a medical incident caused the SY Ninita to make a short detour to Mindelo. We managed to persuade Nina and Ola to alter their course to Barbados, whereto we’ll probably start together tomorrow.

And if somebody thinks we’re just wasting time – you’re absolutely right ! Because we really want to get sure to NOT reach the Carribean in time for new year. We also managed to delay the departure of the SY Hitch-Hike-Heidi for another day. But in the morning, we couldn’t hold them back anymore. They lifted their anchor at 11 and left for Barbados. The Kira is supposed to leave today (we’ll see about that…) and we will DEFINATELY start tomorrow !

Beside that we had an amazing indian dinner the other day on bord the Rancho Relaxo and Wolfgang surprised us with excellent home made bread. Thank’s to Katja for the great receipt ! Right now Wolfgang, Gui and the kids are roaming the streets of Mindelo in search for a few last things and Tim and Claus are also running for last errands. In the afternoon we’ll tidy up the ship and have a security drill for the crew. After that it’ll be a last dinner and a long nights sleep.

Maybe we’ll have a little surprise when we try to lift the anchor: Yesterday a fishing vessel was drifting into the anchorage with broken engine. They managed to drop their anchor a few meters in front of the Rancho Relaxo. And while the crew was trying to repair the engine, the ship was going adrift in a wind gust and came to a standstill only a meter in front of our bow. A few minutes later another fishing boat managed to drag the damaged ship out of the anchorage but the anchor was left aground a few meters in front of our ship. We’ll see when we lift up the anchor…

A final word about our reachability while at sea: We’ll have our satphone switched on from 12 to 13 UTC and from 16 to 17h UTC. You can send us SMS for free or give us a call. – Details on the Contact-page.

Cabo Verde, Cabo Verde…. We should have arrived a few weeks earlier. This islands are just amazing !! Pleasent climate, friendly people, beautiful women, good food, cheap, no mosquitos, great sailing…. etc etc.

Just great, here ! It’s a shame we’re already about to leave. But first we had a lot of fun with our friends. We’ve spent an evening with the crews of Kira and Hitch-Hike-Heidi in the ClubNautico and afterwards had a party on board the Kira. Today we removed the carpets from the Rancho Relaxo – the barefoot-route doesn’t need them. We’ve also checked out already so from now on we’re actually illegal – but who cares ?

Tonight we’ll move into the anchorage but before that we had a little tour through the marina. Had a nice chat here and there with friends or people we didn’t yet know. We also met the crew of the Tres Hombres who invited us to a tour of their ship. But that’s gonna be in another blog post.

We’re doing everything really slowly and don’t plan too much for our days. Also we’ve decided that we’ll spend a few more days on the neighbour island to be sure that we DON’T make it for new years eve to Barbados. We made that decision to take the possibility of stress from our trip. That way we really enjoy the time on the Atlantic without thinking of the landfall….

Today we were at the local market to get some fresh food. Tomorrow we’ll take water and Diesel and then we’re off towards Sao Antao. There we’ll be tomorrow evening and spend one or two days after which we’re off into the great blue ocean. So here and now will be the last internet for three weeks. Then we’re stuck with shortwave radio and SatPhone. It’s gonna be beautiful. The trade winds are stable and we and the ship are well prepared. Yay !!

We had a wonderful sailingtrip from Sal to Sao Vicente. Half-wind sailing was something we had nearly forgotten about. It was wonderful sailing for nearly 24 hours under blazing sunshine or a full moon through the Atlantic ocean from one beautiful island to the next one. And the landscape of Sao Vicente is truly amazing. That’s what you’d expect a landfall to look like. I’m a bit short on time, so see for yourself:

Really beautiful also the ‘stairway to heaven’. And the rust stained motorvessel in that picture is actually still in operation. Yay !!

Here in Mindelo we also met the crew of the Hitch-Hike-Heidi with whom we’re out for dinner right now. We’ll gonna have a nice evening and probably sleep like stones in a while…

Dinner’s coming in a few minutes, but I’ve got the time to upload a few pics from the last island, we visited – Sal. Enjoy: