Photos

Home at last on Sunday after a good rest in the Canaries. Here are some of the many photos from the trip (videos best viewed individually and select the HQ option). Click either of them to get to the album.

Some photos are from the first week where we waited around for the start. (Also filled with interesting weather).


All the best
Colin & Louise

Thursday 12th November

We arrived in Madeira last night & having never been here before we're amazed by the taxi journey up and down hills, in and out of tunnels and the views of Funchal.

The spa hotel we are in is lovely and just the opposite of the privations of a boat at sea on a long passage. It's in a very pretty place (Santa Cruz) away from the capital and closer to the airport.

Very happy to be here and relax. Louise on the mend already, but has some work to do to regain all the lost weight.

It's been incredible to have tried this and a real challenge. Colin is glad to have escaped with only two skirmishes with sickness and really enjoyed the 2200 miles of sailing. Louise is pleased she was brave enough to try (twice) something that most leisure sailors don't experience - true open sea (and latterly ocean) sailing.

Thanks for all your good wishes on the way, see you when we get back.

Wednesday 11th November

Leave Phoebe B behind to the rest of her journey and hatch some plans to get to Gran Canaria by the 14th.

Essentially we'll get a ferry to Madeira this evening and stay there until we can get flights arranged by whatever route.

Tuesday 10th November

Arrive in Porto Santo (small island NE of Madeira) about 6pm. Not much in the port, but a nice town for a meal out and early bed after a much needed shower.

We both plan to leave here, as Louise can't continue and Colin wants to look after her (as well as being exhausted himself). For CJ it's been 2200+ miles at sea now and more than we planned to do originally. We're now 20% of the way across an Atlantic trip if this was the route taken.

Sunday 8th and Moday 9th November

Not much to report apart from more of the same. Lots of sun, 5 metre swell and the odd 30+ foot wave.

Louise again unable to raise herself much from her cabin as every time her head leaves the pillow she is sick.

Friday 7th November

Poor Louise starts to be seasick again and no amount of new drugs or ginger seems to help her.

Weather forecasts tell us and the office that winds up to storm force 10 await us if we continue south to the Canaries, and the only option if we are to continue is to turn west towards Madeira.

At least we are sailing 24 hours a day now with favourable NE winds in the vicinity (if we avoid the storms).

Bizarrely in the afternoon a Moroccan fishing vessel passes in between our two sailing boats, laying nets, and almost catches Tranquilizer. It's a mystery to most of us how we didn't end up spending the rest of the day diving and cutting away the nets, but we didn't and she escaped somehow.

Friday 6th November

Lots of hanging around avoiding the daily localised winds (30+ knots) before departing at 1730 for the Canaries with our storm jib ready rigged just in case!

The night sailing through the rest of the Gibraltar Strait was pretty calm though although extremely busy with large vessels entering and leaving the Med.

We went due south to avoid the large vessel traffic separation lanes and skirted the coast of Morocco for a while.

The photo is of Tranquilizer, an identical boat in every way, now we're sailing together.