Misneach!
Position: 44° 49.141′ N 23° 6.366′ W “Misneach! Stay afloat. Don’t drown. Don’t quit. Stay with the boat.” – Declan O Donnell, The Plover by Brian Doyle Halfway to the Azores we heard through the net that a Grand Soleil …
Category: Underway
Shorts: Planning is Useless
It’s no secret. I’ve spent many years in strategic planning and I subscribe to Dwight Eisenhower’s view of it. D-Day’s architect once said, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” Empirically …
Photos: Faial
Position: 38°35’01″N 28°42’04″W We’ve spent the past week on Faial anchored in Horta harbor. There are three good reasons transatlantic sailors stop here on their way to Europe. First, it’s a better harbor than the island of Flores, some 150 …
A Tale of Two Passages
POSITION: 38°31’58″N 28°37’23″W It is safe to say that no two boats have the same passages across the Atlantic. Porta-botes are rare among the cruising community. Ken and Vicky from s/v Huskabean are, like us, card-carrying members of the Porta-bote …
Three Women in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog)
We are heading across the pond tomorrow. After lots of practice, planning, and repairs, we are taking the best boat built in the last 40 years (that’s Aleta) across to the Azores. From there we’ll be exploring Europe (including the …
Bequia
Position: 13°00’30.4″N 61°14’27.6″W Heading north out of Grenada we paused at Carriacou and cleared into St. Vincent & The Grenadines on Union Island. Mustique is a private island smack in the middle of the Grenadines. Long an exclusive destination for …
Local Customs
Position: 12°02’40″N 61°44’57″W “Knock and Then Enter”, the photocopied sign said. I rap my knuckles on a cheap, hollow door that doesn’t fit its warped frame. The door takes a little extra foot shove at the bottom to release. It …
A Ray of Sunshine on an Otherwise Cloudless Day
Position: 12°01’28″N 61°40’45″W As I mentioned in our last blog, we’ve been on the hard in Grenada. We’re still on the hard. April is quickly turning into May. The weather is changing. Two weeks ago we could rely on a …
Hard Times
Position: 12°01’27″N 61°40’42″W Aleta is on the hard here in Grenada getting a few repairs. Boats need hauling now and again. Nestled in the lift’s slings Aleta sailed gracefully skywards. Then she made her precarious way across the yard to …