17/04/2009, North Atlantic

Bill paying for veges at the Market in Scarborough.

Charlotteville
Pirates Bay
Tobago
17th April 2009

Charlotteville is a small fishing village with a very relaxed ambience EXCEPT when its 7-9pm. Then everyone for miles around is subjected to a shouting raving sermon by a zealous evangelist Christian. This spoils the anchorage for me as it is the time to unwind and reflect calmly at the water whilst sitting in the cockpit. Putting a CD on and staying inside is one option. The other night I tried to go to sleep around 8pm and couldn't as it sounded like the man was shouting in my ear it was that loud. There is a large Rastafarian community here as well as a number of Indians and other people who I am sure do not share the views of this mob. Even when we were in Scarborough yesterday a car was driving around with loud speakers with a recorded sermon on fornication. This seems to be the favourite topic at the moment and is mainly geared towards women. We don't really want to hear about 'The soul never dies and that there's no water in hell.....' I guess we are guests here. I have noticed several yachts leave. The trouble is sound travels on water.

Apart from that we are having a nice time eating freshly caught local fish, snorkeling and chatting to the locals. We enjoy eating rotis from a stand run by a Rastafarian man called Jaba. He is very friendly and has offered us his tap for getting water. Catching a bus to Scarborough yesterday took all morning. After waiting for the internet/laundry shed to open. (It opened finally at 10.15) we bought our tickets for the 11am bus. During the morning we were 'liming' (Caribbean for sitting around watching the world). We watched the small town slowly come to life as more people ambled by. There are some very relaxed locals who enjoy a cold Carib beer at 9am after their shower at the communal tap! By 11am quite a group had gathered at the bus stop - the French couple as well as some locals. The bus finally went past at 12.00. It usually goes around the block to pick everyone up. At 12.30 the bus was still parked up the hill whilst the driver had his lunch. A couple of guys who had been waiting were getting a bit agitated (as we were!) saying he was 'arsing around' and were not impressed. This big bus is run by the government and the driver is on a public servant payroll. There are private little minibuses which are slightly more expensive but run all day. We decided to forego our bus tickets and hop on one of these. This was an experience in itself whilst the driver careened around steep bends on the hills of Tobago with one hand whilst talking or texting on his mobile phone constantly. We got to Scarborough in one piece about an hour or so later. The views on the eastern side of the island down toward the little bays were spectacular. Scarborough is a busy town with many street hawkers and small shops. A cruise ship was docked in the harbour. We found a bank machine that gave us TT dollars and then walked until we found a small café run by a Rastafarian man. The food was delicious. Many of the stalls sell clothes, music etc devoted to Bob Marley and Rastafarian styles. I notice many older men with so much hair piled up in dreadlocks on their heads balanced by skinny necks and bodies they look almost like puppets. Bill said perhaps they are not that old but the same age as him. We did catch a whiff of 'wacky backy' now and then.

On our return to Charlotteville (it was 6pm) the lady whom I had been badgering for fresh bread called out to me from her little shack. (It's painted blue) The bread smelt fresh, warm and divine. The fresh bread isn't available in the evenings probably because no-one gets up early here (even the bakers). There are chickens everywhere here. They seem to be on the roads, beaches, wandering around the shops etc. There isn't much traffic and what there is, is slow. The older the chicks are accompanied by their mother hens the less there are of them. Survival of the fittest!

We must go and collect our laundry now. The lady was not impressed by the smell when she loaded into the 2 machines. There was washing there from a month ago!! We may head down to Englishman's Bay for a couple of nights. It may be more peaceful there in the evenings! After a few days we will be heading for Grenada - probably Prickly Bay first to get out wind vane welded then to Hog Island.

Comments [1] | | More

14/04/2009, Tobago

Charlottesville
Anchored near Pirates Bay
Tobago (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago)
14th April 2009

A little while ago the French yachtie (Maxime) came past and offered us a fish he'd caught with his spear gun. We offered in exchange a glass of South African wine at sunset this evening. The same thing happened yesterday - Dutchman Henk came by offering us half a tuna as he couldn't eat it all so he came on board for a glass of wine. Do we look hungry or do we look like a floating bar? Perhaps the rumour has gone around that we've come from South Africa and everyone who sails there stocks up on good wine. At this rate it will be all gone soon!

Our first anchorage was a bit rolly as well as deep (20 m) so we moved over towards the other yachts just off Pirates Bay. The water is 12 m deep and possibly not quite as rolly. We are further from Charlottesville but close to Pirates Bay. Pirates Bay is a beautiful little beach with a fresh water stream. There are a couple of shacks amongst the bushes and a few piles of rubbish but the water is clean. Taking our most precious and loved pieces of clothing over by dinghy as well as our pink tie dyed sheets we washed them in the stream. They are now creating colourful flags over the boat. It was a little tricky landing and launching the dinghy at Pirates Bay as there is a surge but we managed without tipping everything back in the water. As we were washing, a group of local young men came down the path from the bushes singing in Bob Marley fashion carrying freshly caught fish, a silver tray and banana leaves. They were a cheerful lot and after a short conversation on the preparation of fish we returned to Valiam.

We cleared in yesterday, the immigration and customs officials being very friendly and helpful. The ATM wasn't working so we couldn't pay them their overtime fees but we will try again today. As it has been the Easter holidays the fruit and vege stalls haven't been open. Plenty of fish around though! We enjoyed lunch at Sharon's restaurant which gave us a nice view of Valiam bobbing about in the harbour and Bill's first taste of Carib beer. Sharon wasn't particularly friendly but the food was fine. When we went to the little internet place across the road the women weren't friendly either. For some reason the men are and seem more cheerful. Henk the Dutch yachtie said the same thing. It is a very religious town and we were blasted again last night by evangelist chanting and singing. Perhaps the yachties are looked upon as heathens by the womenfolk.

The sunset last night was superb. The temperature is perfect (not as hot as Brazil and French Guiana) and there is usually a nice breeze. We've certainly come to a nice place. Life couldn't be much better at the moment. (More photos in new album 'the Caribbean')

Comments [0] | | More

13/04/2009, Charlotteville Tobago

Valiam at anchor after sailing 6000 miles in 7 weeks. Time to rest.
More pics in Gallery album French Guiana to Caribbean click on the little camera

Comments [0] | | More

13/04/2009, Tobago (and Trinidad)

A small town hugging a small beach with steep lush vegetation backdrop with fishermen cutting up their catch for the locals (and us if we choose too) is what Charlotteville is all about. No tourist shops. Just casual friendly people.

Comments [0] | | More

13/04/2009, 11 19.52'N:60 33.14'W, Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean

Charlotteville Man-O-War Bay Tobago 12th April 2009 (Easter Sunday) Position: 11 19.52N 60 33.14W

After a 3 day sail (600 miles) from Kourou French Guiana we arrived in Charlotteville, Tobago at 12.30 today. Tobago is part of Trinidad and Tobago as one country but sees itself as separate. We anchored in the beautiful bay surrounded by lush vegetation, a small town with high set houses and small beaches tucked into corners waiting to be explored. There are several small fishing boats about and 6 other yachts at anchor.

Celebrating our arrival with a cold glass of south African wine we were accompanied by a Christian sermon by loudspeaker :".. 'Praise the Lord...the love of God .. Hallelujah.etc" Well it is Easter Sunday! After lunch Bill went to find the Police station and immigration. After rowing ashore he found the police station and 5 minutes later a scruffy beat up car with stickers with an equally scruffy fellow unshaven with a ponytail stepped out of the vehicle. He is the immigration officer. He asked Bill a few questions but said to come back 'with the missus' at 10.00 in the morning. He then changed his mind and said 'You better make it 10.30. I'm going to get drunk today." So this is our casual introduction to the Caribbean!

We are very happy to be here. The town looks small and laid back - just what we like.

Comments [0] | | More

11/04/2009, 9 17.61'N:57 31.53'W, North Atlantic

Saturday 11 April 2009 North Atlantic Ocean To Tobago, Caribbean Position: 9 17.61N 57 31.53W Miles to go: 213 Time: 8.30am

Wow! 227 miles in 24 hours! This was what we have covered on the GPS. The 2 prior readings at 6 hour intervals were 222 and 213 miles. Valiam has well and truly broken her record! The mainsail still has 2 reefs too. We have favourable current and wind with us as our friend Jean Pierre on Balthazar found also on this passage. He also did 220 mile days and reached Union island in 3 days from French Guiana. We should arrive in Tobago tomorrow if conditions stay the same. We are aiming for Charlotteville as our information tells us we can clear in there and it looks nicer than Scarborough.

The Galley slave felt terrible yesterday - very tired and seasick despite medication due to the movement - like sailing to windward. The captain had to cook dinner - spaghetti with home made bacon and tomato sauce. It was delicious! Today is a much better day. We are much better rested and the seas are smoother. The wind is coming more from the east making things more comfortable. One other problem however will need to be fixed as soon as possible: our Fleming windvane broke yesterday. It ('Fred') has done about 10,000 miles and the weld holding the paddle on has cracked so it is twisted and cant steer the boat. We will have to find a welder in Tobago. Lucky Mona Lisa is still going strong. (electric autopilot) but she does chew up a bit of power necessitating us to run the engine every day for a few hours to charge the batteries.

Whilst in the internet café in Kourou, French Guiana we found a free hurricane email information service. This will be great info for us if any hurricanes decide to come early to the Caribbean we can avoid them hopefully. For any yachties reading our ships log: National Hurricane Center Web: www.hurricanes.gov Mobile web: www.hurricanes.gov/mobile Email: nhcwebmaster@noaa.gov

One more night then hopefully we'll be swimming and snorkeling in clear blue water and enjoying a relaxed anchorage - our first in the Caribbean.

Comments [0] | | More

10/04/2009, 7 2.59'N:54 35.41'W, North Atlantic

Good Friday 10 April 2009 French Guiana to Tobago Position: 7 2.59N 54 35.41W Miles to go: 434 Time: 8am

Happy Easter everyone! We must have got some of Arianespace energy as we are flying along! After leaving Kourou and passing Ile du Salut, then negotiating through lots of shallow water we were sailing at 10 knots! Even after Bill reefed the main and half furled the jib we were still going at 9 knots. I even saw it reach 11.4 knots! The wind has been blowing consistently at 20 knots from the northeast making conditions on board rather uncomfortable. It may be a fast ride but it is bumpy and also wet outside as waves sometimes splash across the decks. We have 2 knots of current with us hence the fast trip.

It's difficult to move around the cabin as well as sleep but luckily this is a short trip and we should reach Tobago on Sunday. We have decided to aim for Charlotteville (Man-o-war Bay) as it looks nicer than Scarborough, the other place where we can clear in. The Trinidad/Tobago officials like to extract overtime fees if you arrive outside Mon-Fri 8-12, 2-4pm or public holidays. As it would be difficult to arrive exactly between those times we are resigned to paying the fees anyway. French Guiana was very relaxed and we never did officially clear in. The gendarmes waved to us as they sped by on their motor boat and I was next to one in the chemist buying sea sick pills speaking bad French. They aren't interested in the yachts and obviously don't want to do the paperwork. Suits us! The fishermen at the wharf all seemed to be of different nationalities and one who befriended us spoke excellent English said he was from the Falkland Islands. He also said he had a Scottish wife a nd that his passport had been stolen. He was keen to talk to Bill about Australian cricket players saying his favourites were Shane Warne and David Boon. This fisherman had Indian features and was extremely talkative and friendly. One wonders whether many of the fishermen are illegal immigrants and perhaps the gendarmes aren't worried. With generous French government handouts to the French Guianians, someone has to work and catch the fish!

I am typing this with the computer balanced on my lap sitting in the portside of the saloon - this seems to be the way we are heeling lately. I was feeling sea sick earlier in the trip and had to resort to Stematyl again. We are both tired as it is too bumpy to sleep properly. I managed to make chocolate muffins using a packet saying 'just add water'. These had to do instead of hot cross buns. There was nothing 'Eastery' in the shops in Kourou - no chocolate eggs, no hot cross buns. In fact we forgot it was Easter until we received emails from family and friends talking about camping holidays etc.

This may be our fastest trip ever. We already covered 60 miles in the first 6 hours! (m ore than 200 in 24 hours!!)

Comments [0] | | More

08/04/2009

We head off for Togago tomorrow the first island in the Caribbean chain. Trinidad and Tobago are below the hurricane belt but we hope to sail further north beofre June 1st. We are looking forward to clear water and white sand beaches! This map will help you work out where we are as we travel through the Caribbean.

Comments [0] | | More

08/04/2009, Kourou French Guiana

Kourou
French Guiana
8 April 2009

Our taxi driver was no-where to be seen at 7.30am which was the time we had arranged.... Fortunately a French woman was nearby checking in tourists for the boat trips and she kindly phone Franki the taxi driver. He said 'toute suite' and turned up shortly then drove like a rally car driver to the Ariane Space centre. We arrived at a very modern looking building which housed the Musee amongst other offices to do with educating visitors. There was only one other English speaking tourist (American) who also spoke Portuguese. The guide's own language was Portuguese but the whole tour was explained in French. We hardly understood a word but enjoyed the bus tour and wandering around the launch pad sites and looked at the control rooms etc. It was very exciting to be there to see where the rockets launch satellites into space. We realized it was a unique experience as there are only 2 other Space centres - USA and Russia. The American said that Arianespace gave a far superior tour to the Kennedy space centre. At the conclusion of the tour we watched a film of the rockets taking off and part of this was in English. (We were given special translated headphones) The whole place was huge and impressive. There were observation/conference rooms set behind glass of the control rooms. It must have been an amazing career for our yachtie friend (Balthazar) Jean Pierre as the boss of the whole space centre. We just received a message from them and they are now in Martinique. I don't think we'll catch up unless it is in France!!!

Comments [0] | | More

07/04/2009, French Guiana

Le Kourou River
Kourou
French Guiana
7 April 2009

Kourou is a small town that feels like a bit of an out post. There are old board and tin buildings amongst new and 70s - 80s modern architecture in the form of apartments. The town has a relaxed feel to it but with the obvious presence of the French government in the form of the gendarmes, fire officers, legionnaires in fancy cars and boats. The people (mostly of African descent) are well looked after with evidence of all sorts of municipal buildings and organizations promoting cultural understandings. There is a sprinkling of small simple restaurants in basic concrete and tin buildings. We had lunch in one recommended by a local. We had a delicious meal including beef and vegetables. Bill had one beer and I had water and the bill came to the equivalent of A$60. We can't afford to go out very often at Euro prices!

I was keen to see the Amerindian village (Native South Americans) so we followed the map kindly given to us by the Marie (Town Hall). After walking in the heat for an hour or so we found a small number of simple dwellings on the beachfront with swept dirt paths and the occasional decoration painted or hanging from the verandah. The handicraft centres looked dilapidated and very closed. The people we did see were very friendly with very attractive features.

Walking back into town we were wondering how we were to find transport to the Ariane Space centre in the morning. We eventually found a travel agent type office and after waiting half an hour to be served we decided time was getting away and we would work it out somehow. After not seeing any taxis about we suddenly spotted one. It turned into a nearby Petrol station so we ran after it. We managed to communicate in halting English/French to 'Frankie' that we needed to be picked up from 'le port' at 7.30am. We asked if he would take us back to the boat then as we thought it would be a good idea for him to know where to get us in the morning in case our fumbling French was giving him the wrong message.

On the pontoon where we left our dinghy the fishermen were busy unloading, sorting and cutting up fish. It was a spectacular sight with huge fish piled up all over the place. We decided to buy a piece at the fish market next door for dinner. It was only 3 Euros - perfect with salad and a cold glass of South African wine.

The current is very strong here in the river and combined with the wind Valiam starts turning in all sorts of directions. Our anchor chain sometimes pulls across the front of the boat but she is well dug in. Captain Bill tied off the tiller so she stays in a more stable direction. It seems to rain every afternoon with a huge downpour. As we couldn't find the laundry we thought next time the dinghy fills up with water we will do our washing in it!!

The Space Centre should be interesting tomorrow.

Comments [0] | | More

06/04/2009, French Guiana

Le Kourou River
Kourou
French Guiana
6 April 2009
Position: 5 8.85N 52 38.71 W

After a very pleasant 2 days relaxing at the hotel on Ile Royale, we motored for 2 hours through shallow muddy water thorough the marked channel to Kourou. We are now anchored not far from the fishing pontoon within walking distance to town.

Our 2 days at Ile Royale (part of the group of 3 islands Iles du Salut) was made particularly special due to the special treatment we received at l'Auberge des Iles the hotel managed by Madeleine. (See http://www.ilesdusalut.com) We are extremely grateful to Jean Pierre (ex boss of Ariane Space Centre) and Michele for their wonderful introduction to Madeleine. We enjoyed our high ceilings in the room with private bathroom and views across to Devils Island. The meals were superb and we would like to thank Madeleine, Carlo, Angele, Dominique (for her translations!) and all the staff. We were fascinated by the ruins and old buildings on the island that used to be the jail and accompanying structures such as the church etc. One of the ex sleeping quarters for inmates is now available for budget 'hammock' accommodation to truly experience what the prisoners felt. We were happy with our big room with a big bed and view in the main building! The old pond is home to several types of iguanas as well as a crocodile. Beautiful large tropical birds are at home here and came to finish our left -overs after lunch! Our French still has not improved despite being immersed in it once again!

We are about to wander into town after ensuring our anchor is holding in this tidal river. We will report our findings in the next ships log!
(See all the photos I have just placed in a new album : French Guiana to Caribbean) click on the little camera!

Comments [0] | | More

06/04/2009

For those who are wondering where we are!

Comments [0] | | More

06/04/2009, 5 17.11'N:52 35.34'W, French Guiana

Ile Royale Iles du Salut French Guiana 5 April 2009 Position : 5 17.114N 52 35.334W

Valiam is now happy at anchor rolling slightly in the small protected harbour of Ile Royale. It is good to be here and rest. We are being well looked after by Madeleine, Dominique, Carlo and other staff members at the hotel here. The surrounds are beautiful with tropical flowers, lush vegetation and great views across to Devils island and out to seas from whence we came! After a delicious 'menu du jour' (meal of the day - fish soup, fish, desert and wine) we were given a beautiful room overlooking the other island and the sea. It was strange being somewhere with such high ceilings after the boat, spacious timber floors and a bed we could climb in and out of from either side! After a couple of lovely warm showers and a good rest we enjoyed caf� au lait with toasted French bread and jam for petite dejeuner. There appeared to be a large group of young African people her on some kind of tour. The passenger liner Pacific Princess from Bermuda has gone. It is a bit difficult for u s to communicate as our French is still terrible. Not many people speak English. We will endeavour to improve our French!

Ile Royale is very tranquil and we will have a good rest here. There are funny little large guinea pig type animals running around with longer back legs and a rich tan fur. We haven't seen any monkeys yet. We look forward to exploring the old jail and ruins on the island. As we are still using the sat phone to update the website lots of pictures are not possible. You could try the hotel website : http://www.ilesdusalut.com

Comments [0] | | More

05/04/2009, Ile Royale - Iles du Salut

Thank you Madelein, Carlo, Angele and staff for your warm hospitality and wonderful meals! Also thanks to Domanique for translating for us!

Comments [0] | | More

05/04/2009, 5 17.11'N:52 35.34'W, French Guiana

We're here! Position 5 17.11N 52 35.33W (arrived 5pm) It looks very tropical and peaceful from the boat with a few buildings scattered about. A cruise ship form Bermuda is here 'Pacific Princess' and fortunately all 6 boatloads of passengers are now back on the ship. We've had a glass of champagne and will endeavour to make ourselves look respectable before going ashore and introducing ourselves to the hotel staff. Can here parrots squawking and waves lapping the beach around the corner. There's lots of coconut trees - yes trees - haven't seen them for a while.

Comments [0] | | More

05/04/2009, 5 25.6'N:51 36.6'W, Atlantic Ocean

Saturday 4th April 2009 Time: 9.05am Position: 5 25.6N 51 36.04W Miles to go (to Ile Royale, French Guiana): 59

Last night, just before sunset we were treated to a spectacular display of at least 20 dolphins jumping and playing in the waves created by Valiam. As the swell was small we went up to the front hanging on to the bow rail watching them. They were quite small with a grey/greenish tinge to their skin. Dolphins playing out at sea always makes one feel very happy to see them being so joyful. We had an all night hitchhiker in the form of a small brown bird the size of a pigeon sitting on our upturned dinghy on the foredeck. He did a good job of painting the bottom. The captain is pleased he didn't choose the solar panels.

The wind and current have been mostly favourable but it will be touch and go if we make Ile Royal by dark. It's been raining on and off which means we have to keep the hatches closed making it stuffy inside the cabin. When busy in the galley (as I was this morning baking scones) I direct the little fan on to myself to stop sweat dripping everywhere.

We look forward to seeing the Rocket range (European Space Agency launch site) and have dug out our Space Watching book I had bought years ago when visiting the Australian Observatory in Parkes, NSW. When sailing the oceans one seems even more aware of our place - a tiny dot crawling along - and the relationship between Earth and the Universe.

The next Ship's log will be written after we have arrived in French Guiana! Au revoir!

Comments [0] | | More

03/04/2009, 4 14.57'N:48 47.3'W, Atlantic Ocean

Friday 3rd April 2009 Time: 7.20am Position: 4 14.57N 48 47.3 W Miles to go (to Ile Royale French Guiana): 236

A white bird with a very long thin tail flew around in circles behind and above Valiam looking at us perhaps wondering if it could land. We are still at least 100 miles offshore and the bird didn't look like a sea bird. We have observed similar birds before in Africa and Palau. It takes a week to get into cruising mode and slow down ones thoughts to a more reflective meditative mode. Before the bird visited us I watched the sun rise over a silky pearly sea as I sipped my espresso coffee. Valiam is sailing more sedately now but still close to 7 knots. We should be anchored at Isle Royale by Saturday evening. Life is good and I feel very lucky to share this dream and adventure with my man.

A close encounter with a ship yesterday forced me to call them up on the radio for the first time. Usually we can work out which way the ship is going and alter course slightly if necessary. At 5.15pm at position 3 25.9N 47 17.3W cargo ship Dimitrios S 225m long and 32 m wide with a draft of 11.5 m (registered Liberia headed for Liverpool UK ETA 16 Apr 1800) traveling at 12 knots was on a near collision course with Sailing Vessel Valiam 13.7m long, 4.2m wide and draft 2.1m! So Communications Officer Linda called them up on Channel 16 on the radio. Instantly we heard a response "This Dimitrios. How can I help you?" I asked "Can you see us?" Dimitrios' Communications Officer replied in broken English "Yes I alter course for you going starboard. Is that alright for you Ma'am?" "Roger. Thank you!" says Linda. We watched the huge ship go behind us with 3 miles to spare. Now I will feel more confident calling up ships! Next time there may be time for chit chat as I am sure some of these ship's crew are bored out here.

As we have said many times satellites are our best friends allowing us instant communication by phone anywhere in the world and to email at sea. We will have the opportunity to see the Ariane Space range at Kourou next week where the French launch satellites by rocket. We received an email from Frederic Jean Pierre d'Allest skipper of 58 ft aluminium Garcia yacht Balthazar whom we met in Jacare, Brazil sharing caipairinhas with him and his crew on board. Balthazar is just ahead of us by about a week and has just left Kourou. Jean Pierre used to be the boss of the French Space Agency .He said "..Go first to anchor at "Ile Royale". The anchorage is good and well protected, though it may be a bit uncomfortable due to some swell. The lady, Madeleine, managing the hotel on this island is a very good friend. To visit the range (it is well worth) ask them to give you the days and hours of the organised visits. You might have problems to anchor in the Kourou river where the currents are strong and reverse with the tides. The pontoons are limited and fully occupied. The best way for you would be to leave your boat at île Royale (it is safe but close it) and take the Madeleine large catamaran Shuttle." Thank you Jean Pierre!!! Our visit to French Guiana will indeed be very special. As well as the Space range we look forward to seeing the real Amazonian type jungle with iguanas, vultures, parrots, monkeys etc

We continue to have so many encounters with people (and other creatures) on this journey we would never have met otherwise. We are lucky to have such rich and varied experiences.

Comments [0] | | More

02/04/2009, 2 49.72'N:46 24.64'W, Atlantic Ocean

Thursday 2nd April 2009 Time: 8.30 am (Brazil time) Position: 2 49.72 N 46 24.64 W Miles to go: 398 (averaging 170 miles per day)

It was a bit rough last night with the wind blowing consistently at 20 knots from the northeast. We are sailing fairly close to the wind to maintain our course. Sleeping was very difficult and moving around the boat seemed to need Hercules strength (for me) to hang on. The odd wave hit us sideways slapping Valiam's hull and washing over the fore cabin. It's calmed down a bit now. We will try and fit in some naps today as we are very tired.

The fish curry was delicious last night and the fish steaks for lunch were so tender and tasty. I used the spices and recipes from the 'Fish in a dish' kit by Herbie's (www.herbies.com.au) given by Ruth. Here are the recipes:

SEARED OCEAN WAHOO WITH AUSTRALIAN SPICES: (Aussie fish seasoning consists of ground coriander seed, sea salt, lemon powder, lemon myrtle leaf, wattle seed, freeze dried native pepper berry.)

Coat each side of the fish with the spice mix and allow to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. (I left for more than 1 hour) Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook fish. Use high heat then reduce heat to turn fish steaks over. Cooking time will depend on thickness of fillets. Ours were thick so I put the lid on for a few minutes to make sure the inside was cooked. Serve with Paw Paw and Cucumber Salad PAW PAW AND CUCUMBER SALAD: (Original recipe had pears, fennel bulb and celery which we didn't have. My adaptation was delicious!) Half a red paw paw cut in bite size pieces. Half a cucumber sliced. I small onion sliced. 2 table spoons olive oil. 2 freshly squeezed limes. Handful of fennel seeds.

AROMATIC FISH CURRY: I medium onion, finely diced. 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (I used dried). 1.5 tablespoons Herbie's Vegetable curry spices (ground coriander, paprika, tumeric,cumin,mustard,fennel,cassia,ginger,ajowan,cardomon,asafetida (compounded wheat flour). 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. 200ml coconut cream. 2 cloves of garlic crushed. 2 tomatoes finely chopped. 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice. 4 fish fillets. Fry onions until soft. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds - do not brown. Add tomatoes, parsley and curry mix. Cook gently until the tomatoes have given out their juices then add lemon juice. Stir in coconut cream then place fish fillets in sauce and cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes. (We cooked for longer as we had thick fillets cut into chunks!) Serve with fragrant rice.

Enjoy!!

We still have lots of fish curry left (I doubled the recipe) and more fillets to eat! There are still chicken fillets in the fridge hopefully still frozen. We'll have to eat those after the fish! Anyone want to come and join us? We have too much food.

We will most likely arrive at Isle du Salut on Saturday and quite possibly evening which we would rather avoid! Hopefully C map will be accurate and our depth sounder will help us anchor safely.

Comments [0] | | More

01/04/2009, 1 24.81'N:43 37.39'W, Atlantic Ocean

Wednesday 1st April 2009 Time: 6.50am Position: 1 24.81 N 43 37.39 W Miles to go: 585

"A dolphin!" shouted Linda excitedly towards the dozing Captain after glancing out to see a fin rushing along behind the boat. Looking again she says "It's a fish! It's not a dolphin. We've caught a fish!" The captain goes to have a look and starts slowly pulling it in. 'It's a big one.' Not looking forward to all the blood and guts all over the boat he pulled it on to the back deck. The 10kg Wahoo was not happy. It slithered and gasped in the cockpit leaving a trail of slime. Yes fishing is a messy business and a big one like this means lots of cutting and dismembering. Well we now have a few days worth of fish! After making room in the little fridge a huge plastic container of fresh fish just fitted in. Last night we had 2 huge steak of it each for dinner. It was delicious! Now the galley slave will research suitable recipes from the fish cookbooks and spices kindly given by friends Robyn and Ruth before we left. Unfortunately the cockpit has a 'fishy odour' that didn't go with the buckets of sea water doused over it yesterday. We hope it rains.

Last night was a more comfortable night but we are still heeling portside considerably. It's a yoga workout moving around the boat. It will be nice to be level again. The Captain says we should be anchored off Isles du Salut by Saturday. We've had a consistent NE trade wind blowing around 15 knots going up to 20+ knots during rain squalls. 590 miles to go!

Comments [0] | | More

01/04/2009, 0 39.37'N:41 19.29'W, Atlantic Ocean

Tuesday 31st March 2009 Time: 9.20am Position: 0 39.37 N 41 19.29W (back in the northern Hemisphere!) Miles since Oz: 16,550 Miles to go: 730

What a bumpy rolly lopsided ride last night! After being almost being tipped out of the bed and hanging on to the mattress with clenched fingers I realized that sleeping like this would be impossible. The captain who was on watch at the time kindly allowed me an hour of shut-eye in the saloon on a stable bed on the port side. (The heeling down side). One good thing about our trip last night is we have covered some miles. The NE trade winds are now with us. In fact according to the log we did do 200 miles in 24 hours! The GPS said 174. Is there a current against us or is the log not reading correctly? Anyway we did well - Thanks King Neptune and Valiam! We crossed the equator late last night so celebrations were postponed until breakfast this morning. The galley slave wasn't in the mood for chopping or heating anything so we had a cold tin of rice pudding with a glass of champagne. Perfect!

It's hot and sticky in the cabin (33 degrees) as we have to have the hatches closed due to the odd wave that splashes over. I was allowed to put the little fan on whilst I type this important ships log. I can't disappoint our readers!

We had a look at some photos of Isle du Salut, Kourou and Tobago on the computer that had been saved from various websites before we left Brazil. The islands look lovely and so does Tobago. Nice to have something to look forward to! White sand beaches, coconut palms waving in the breeze and a full night's sleep!

More fruit salad is planned for lunch with another glass of cold South African champagne. We'll have to put another bottle in the fridge for when we arrive in French Guiana. (hopefully on the weekend)

Comments [0] | | More

30/03/2009, 0 49.5'S:38 34.8'W, Atlantic Ocean

Monday 30th March 2009 Time : 7.30am (Brazil time) Position: 0 49.5S 38 34.8 W Miles to go: 916

Everything is going ripe at once! (Three huge avocados, 6 mangoes. 4 large passion fruit, one pawpaw and last banana) I guess we will be fruitarians today. Fred the windvane is steering us now as we are being pushed along by a 10-15 knot NE wind. We have been heeling over on our portside for some time now and are in danger of having one leg longer than the other! Moving around and sleeping is a bit uncomfortable but tolerable as the seas are slight. We will also cross the equator sometime today and have a celebration. It will be the 3rd crossing this journey!

To create some interest in today's ship's log I thought I would include an email sent to us from our 6 year old granddaughter Caylan recently. She had several questions which we replied to straight away. She was excited to get our response so quickly. Oh the beauty of email being able to write to loved ones from anywhere in the world!

17th March 2009

"Dear Nanny and Pa Have you seen any dolphins? And turtles? What do you eat all day in the boat? How do you have a shower? How do you wash your clothes? Is the toilet working properly now? Do you catch fish? Nanny and Pa, I fell over at school yesterday and got a big sore on my knee. I'm okay but it is a big sore. I got extra maths from school for homework. Mummy helped me. It was hard at first but then it was easy-peasy-Japanesy. On Saturday we had a girl's night and watched Narnia Part one and two. It was the greatest movie I ever watched. And then on Sunday we watched Narnia Prince Caspian which is the second book of the Narnia series. I've finished reading "The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe" and I'm up to chapter four in "Prince Caspian". It's the greatest book I've ever read. Love from Caylan XXXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOOOO"

"Dear Caylan Thank you for your email! It is nice to hear from our favourite granddaughter. Yes we've seen dolphins a few times but not many on this trip. Once or twice we've seen a turtle but usually close to land. We have seen lots of whales though - mainly the water coming out of their spout from a long way away.

We eat lots of good food on the boat just like in a house but maybe a bit more tinned food and packet food mixed with fresh food. Nanny has been baking bread. Its smells so nice when it comes out of the oven and is really yummy. This is what we had today (day 12 at sea St Helena to Brazil): Breakfast: Home made bread toasted under griller with vegemite and butter. Milky coffee Lunch: Left over chilli con carne made with fresh mince topped with cheese on toast Snacks: Potato chips, sliced apple, orange, cheese gherkins Dinner: Curry from long life packet made in India with rice - delicious! Drinks: Pa has beer and I have white wine. Showers: There are 5 ways to have a shower on the boat but we can't use much water as we have to carry it all with us and I don't like sea water showers. (1.) Solar shower camping shower that gets warm in the sun then we hang it in the cockpit. (2.) Cup shower - use a metal cup in a bucket and pour it over ourselves in the cockpit (3.) Face washer shower - we can do this inside as it doesn't drip water everywhere. Just use a face washer and a bucket (4.) We also have another contraption I haven't tried yet but Pa has. It's really a pump garden sprayer but we use it with just water in it. It gives a very fine spray. Use this in the cockpit (5) French shower - if busy or boat rolly or not enough water use deodorant. Nanny also has nice smelling wipes.

Washing clothes: When we are at sea we don't wash clothes unless it's been raining or we need something urgently to wear like undies. When we get to a town we take a big load of washing to a laundry. Usually the laundry people do it and we pick it up the next day all clean dry and folded nicely. Occasionally we hand wash clothes ourselves if there is a tap near the boat.

Yes the toilet is good. Pa is a good plumber

Sometimes we catch fish. If you look on our website you will see in the photos ones we caught a couple of weeks ago. We caught a tuna and 2 mahi mahi. It's nice to cook them in interesting ways. With the tuna we also eat it raw like the Japanese people do - sliced thinly with soy sauce, wasabi and ginger.

I am sorry you hurt yourself falling over at school. Nanny used to fall over all the time when I was little and I still have scars on my knees.

It's so good that you are clever at maths and reading. I also loved Tales of Narnia when I was young actually I was 10 or something when I read them. Your mummy used to read them over and over again. You r girl's night sounds nice. Wish I was there!!

Did you know we are more than half way around the world now? We are on the other side of the earth. When it's dark your side its light here and when its light your side its dark here. (Like now)

Maybe in your next email you could tell me the funny things Joe says and does!

Love you heaps precious princess

Nanny and Pa xxxx

PS. There is a 6th type of shower on our boat. It's where we stand in the rain and wash ourselves. No-one can see when we are out at sea."

Today is definitely shower day: It will be shower type (2) and (3) combined.

Comments [0] | | More

29/03/2009, 2 13.5'S:36 29.4'W, Atlantic Ocean

Sunday 29th March 2009 Time : 8am (Brazil) Position: 2 13.5 S 36 29.4 W

'There's cold coffee on the stove' greeted the captain as I emerged from our lopsided sleeping chamber. Feeling like my body has been pummeled and stretched but at the same time aching all over I headed straight for my morning fix. Heating up the milk made it quite drinkable. It's overcast and all night we were sailing windward in a northerly direction to use the wind which was blowing from the wrong direction. (According to our weather grib files) We've just turned west again so the last 80 miles or so look like we haven't gone any where and is a bit discouraging. We still have 1067 miles to go!! We have sailed through a couple of rain squalls with maximum winds of 15 knots so far. (Even though the huge dark clouds look more menacing) No lightning which is good.

Ships keep popping up with regularity and have all missed us by miles. Nevertheless the AIS receiver gives us peace of mind. Especially letting us know which direction the ship is bound as this is nearly impossible with the naked eye.

I baked a huge loaf of bread yesterday and used a small portion of the dough to make pizza for lunch. The pizza tasted delicious out here in the middle of the ocean. It had true Italian toppings too - salami, anchovies, olives, capers, tomato, chillie, cheese. Mmmmm..!! Last night we had Brazilian sausages (which tasted kind of continental) with some of the fresh bread. As things tend to go mouldy quickly out here we'll have to eat the bread quickly. Toast and vegemite for brekky should be good. (Except the big jar of vegemite we bought in Cocos has started going mouldy around the top inside of the jar too..How can mould live in vegemite??)

We will cross the equator sometime soon which will make it the 3rd time on this trip! We will have to have some form of 'traditional' ceremony of course with Neptune and Aphrodite as guests. Valiam has clocked up more than 16,000 miles now since leaving Oz - so another reason to celebrate!

It's a bit boring out here. I have watched the movie 'Rachel's Getting Married' and started reading a trashy novel. I can't seem to get into anything too deep at the moment! (haha) Anyway family and friends we would love to hear from you and any news from home!

All well on board.

Comments [0] | | More

28/03/2009, 4 7.27'S:36 19.88'W, Atlantic Ocean

Brazil to French Guiana: Day 2 Saturday 28 March 2009 Time: 5.45am Position: 4 7.27S 36 19.88W

It's pouring with rain as I write this and there isn't much wind. It's nice and dry in here! It's just climbing out into the cockpit every 20 minutes that it's a bit damp to do the check. There have been a regular number of ships but all have been a good distance away. We've 'rounded the bulge' of south America and we're heading west towards the Amazon basin. We will pass this offshore until we get to Isle de Salut (Salvation Islands) a few miles from Kourou, French Guiana. We still have more than 1000 miles to go so we'll be out here for a while.

We're doing ok - it's just very hot during the main part of the day. Thank you fridge for cold drinks! I made Nasi Goreng last night for dinner. (Indonesian fried rice). I made too much but we ate it all! Oh dear the wind is only 4 knots now and we're drifting at 3 knots. When this rain squall is gone the wind should come up again and hopefully we'll get moving at a more reasonable speed...

Our last 24hour run was 151 miles. The boat isn't heeling anymore so living is more comfortable.

Freshly baked bread - yum!

Comments [0] | | More

27/03/2009, 5 16.90'S:34 44.36'W, Atlantic Ocean

Brazil to French Guiana: Day 1 Fricay 27 March 2009 Time: (Brazil 13 hours behind Oz) 7am Position: 5 16.90S 34 44.36W

Back at sea again! We didn't leave Jacare until 3.30pm as we had lots of jobs to do. The day before we were exposed to Brazilian administration non communication. Our friendly Marina manager Philippe phoned the Ship immigration man (also Federal Police) and said he would be at the port office in Cabedelo at 2pm to clear us out of the country. In the midday heat we walked to the train station in Jacare, got off the train and walked to a nearby park in Cabedelo to cool off as we were half an hour early. At the appointed time we walked to the port security office. The security man said that the immigration man would not be there then. We explained (in broken English a little Portuguese) that our marina manager had contacted him and we kept repeating 2 pm deux holding up 2 fingers etc. The woman at the desk also shook her head vehemently and said 'no he wouldn't be there now'. She phoned his office - no answer then phoned the main office in Jao Pessoa. She said we should go there . By this time we were feeling rather annoyed and time was getting away. We thought we were a victim of bad administration on all counts. After walking through the heat again and eventually getting back to Jacare by train we saw Philippe at the marina pontoon. He was surprised at what had happened. He phoned the immigration man and he was there waiting for us! Apparently he was just ½ hour late. Bill had 15 minutes to run sweating back to the train. We were not impressed with the woman and security officer at the security office. Bill eventually got back to the boat just before dark as he had to wait an hour for train (in the heat). So a whole afternoon wasted going up and down to do paperwork!

We got up early and walked to the supermarket at 7.30 with fellow yachtie Marijka. It was already hot. That morning we were woken at 4.30am by mosquitoes and midges from the river so by the time the shopping was done, the fuel topped up we were exhausted! Linda wasn't keen on leaving on a Friday(unlucky day to leave according to sailors folklore) so we decided to sail off into the sunset instead.. As we left 2 more French boats turned up. Jacare yacht village is really a little French village!

The wind has been blowing consistently at 15 knots and we have been sailing at 7-8 knots with Fred the windvane steering us. We are about 25 miles offshore and about to round the bulge of South America! There were many ships last night which our AIS receiver picked up which was great. There are also fishing boats which are dimly lit. We stayed up late keeping an eye out. Valiam is heeling to port so it's a little more difficult to move around the boat, prepare meals etc. We opted for South African instant mashed potato with French tinned Cassoulet (white beans and tasty sausages) which was very nice. Although we are parallel to the coast I cant see it now during daylight. At night we can see the glow of cities and the stars are magnificent. The Southern Cross is there every night.

We should get back into our routine again of being back at sea today and try and rest as much as possible. I watched one of my pirated movies last night from Brazil "The Changeling". It was quite disturbing and apparently based on truth. The movie thankfully was in its original English but the cover was totally in Portuguese. I managed to get rid of the subtitles this time!

Time for coffee!

All well on board

Comments [0] | | More

25/03/2009, Jacare

Jacare Yacht Village
Brazil
26 March 2009

We are ready to farewell this part of the world and hope to be on our way to French Guiana tomorrow. We will go into Cabedelo by train this afternoon to clear out of the country at customs and immigration (as well as the Port authority). We will then do a top up supermarket shop of fresh food before we head off. It will be about 1000 miles so we predict a 9 day passage in light winds.

Sailing will be a rest from the constant social whirl here. We have gone out every night! We even got into a bit of local dancing with a local band. The Brazilians are relaxed and uninhibited in their dancing, clothing etc. It's been a refreshing change after some of the conservative countries we've visited. It's been great fun partying with the yachties (mostly French) and we've met some amazing people. Christaine from Montreal is crewing on a French boat Fairy Tale and has had a lot of experience as a single hander on her own boat. She is happy to crew now and sold her boat a few years ago. A couple of Aussies were here for one night on 'Tainui'. We haven't met many Aussies so it was good to hear the old accent!! The 2 guys on Tainui are adventurous types and sailed from Wellington New Zealand across the southern ocean to Chile. They spent 2 summers in Patagonia and loved it. Bill spent some time chatting to them. They have also visited the northern Antarctic islands. Most of the French boats here have sailed down here via the Canaries and Cape Verde. A few are heading back via the Azores. We also met up with a Dutch couple Frank and Marijka on their yacht Sepia whom we'd met in South Africa. They are on their way back to Holland via the Caribbean and the Azores.

This brings us to our plans. Although not set in concrete at this stage we will aim for the Caribbean after French Guiana with Tobago as our first stop. If we decide to continue north we will hop up a few of the islands to St Martin and probably make our way to the Azores (2000 mile passage). We were considering the USA but the weather is unpredictable in the northeast part with depressions coming across with regularity and a high likelihood of a gale. The only time you can cross the northern Atlantic from New York is July which doesn't give a lot of time. So it is likely that we will aim for Gibraltar, Portugal and/or France after the Azores.

In the meantime we are looking forward to the Caribbean with clear water for swimming and slightly less hot and muggy weather than here. Kourou and the Isles du Salut should be interesting too - our next stop. We will miss the luxury of 'in-house' internet but will be able to email as usual with our iridium phone until we happen to find and internet café. We hope to meet up with some of yachtie friends in Kourou that we have met here.

We have a 5 year visa for Brazil and do hope to return!

Au revoir Jacare!

(click camera - photo album St Helena to Brazil - bikini girls on cover!)

Comments [0] | | More

22/03/2009, Rio Pairaba, Brazil

These monohull sailing fishing boats drift past our boat in the evenings. Can you hear Bolero playing on the saxaphone?

Comments [0] | | More

22/03/2009, Jacare, Brazil

Camilla serving caiparinhas at Sax Cafe

Jacare Yacht Village
Brazil
22 March 2009

Caiparinha - traditional Brazilian rum drink:
Thank you to Riu manager of the Sax Café, Jacare for sharing your recipe:

For 2 drinks:

2 limes
Cold shaker
5 teaspoons sugar
5 measures Pitu rum (white rum)
10 ice cubes
A little cold water

Cut limes into slices. Discard ends
Crush in shaker with sugar (wooden stick)
Add ice cubes, rum and cold water
Shake it
Pour into 2 tall glasses with straw
Serve with pretty girl, stagger home...

(Bill wrote the recipe, Linda took the photos)

Each night we enjoy one of these with our French friends pretending we understand what they are talking about. Occasionally we receive English translations if we look puzzled. Everyone is very friendly in this small marina. We have enjoyed socializing with Chantelle and Andre(Gypsy) and Catherine and Marc, French doctors on 'Jason'

Yesterday Bill put together our bicycles, which was great. We went for a ride in the heat creating a little breeze for ourselves making a bee line for the beach. After cycling alongside the beach on the footpaths and road for a couple of kilometers, we stopped at a very inviting beach café shaded by coconut palms. Once ensconced in chairs on the beach in the shade with the sea breeze blowing over us we enjoyed the passing scenery. Bodies of all shapes and sizes paraded in front of us in brief swimming costumes. After being in somewhat conservative countries since leaving Oz this was a refreshing change. The sea was a clear azure colour and the atmosphere happy and relaxed. We were offered all sorts of wares from pirated DVDs to chocolates, prawns, lotions, nuts and coconut juice from individual sellers. The restaurant people didn't mind. In fact the one English speaking waiter translated for the lotion selling lady for us to try and help her make a sale. We know how to order drinks in Portuguese but food is another matter. With the menu and my dictionary out I was painstakingly translating each word. A pretty girl in a brief bikini who happened to be next to us offered to translate. When she asked "Can I help you?", Bill's eyes said 'Yes'! Ana and her friend Maria were up for the weekend from Sao Paulo and were on tour with a dune buggy driver. We got chatting to the girls and they were amazed we'd sailed form Australia. Photos and email addresses were exchanged with the possibility of a visit by them to our boat to see the sunset. Ana speaks 4 languages and is a secretary for a TV company. Alas the girls didn't turn up for sunset drinks....

The fruit is delicious and cheap here. Every morning we make fruit salad with mango, bananas, passion fruit, red pawpaw and lime. With a dollop of yoghurt it's a perfect breakfast for this hot tropical climate.

We of course we hear 'Bolero' on the saxophone every day at sunset. The saxophonist is or has broken the Guinness Book of records for playing the same tune every day 3,000 times! The Brazilian tourists all line up to get his autograph and have photos taken with him! It is a relaxed place here and we are enjoying it very much. Traditional sailing canoes skim quietly by in the evenings making a picturesque subject in front of the sunset.

A friend made the observation that many of our photos are of eating and drinking! There are several reasons for this:
- On the boat at sea there is nothing much else to do!
- In the countries we have been in recently security is an issue. It's not safe to flash an expensive camera around in the street (it could get stolen as well as money etc if we look too much like tourists) - We miss many photo opportunities! So as well as food and beverages being part of the cultural experience a restaurant is a safe place to take photos!

In a few days we will be heading off for French Guiana.

To Liam : Glad you are with us in spirit! You can use whatever white rum is available but Cachassa is the best I think.

Comments [1] | | More

22/03/2009, Jacare beach

We met Ana and Maria at a beach cafe. Ana helped us translate the menu! They are up for the weekend from Sao Paulo.

Comments [1] | | More

19/03/2009, Jacare village, Brazil

19 March 2009

Ola! It seems quite strange to be somewhere hot and tropical after a few weeks at sea from the southern tip of Africa. The world is not such a big place really! We have our little fans going in the boat during the day and enjoy our cool showers at the amenities block. Things are rather quiet during the day and liven up at around 4.30pm when the music starts playing from the restaurants along the river. We know when it is sunset because we hear 'Bolero' on the saxophone. Our neighbour Daniel has been living here for 3 years and has heard Bolero every day! He still whistles to it!

We were ready this morning at about 9am with suitable clothing to visit Immigration - conservative dress for Linda, long pants, shoes and socks and button up shirt for Bill. By the time we got to the end of the pontoon we were sweating even more profusely! We popped into Manager Philippe's air-conditioned (nice!) office to see where we were meant to go. Unfortunately the police/immigration weren't in Cabedelo today so we'll try again tomorrow. Off with the hot clothes!

Last night we were invited to drinks on our other neighbours boat Balthazar. Balthazar is skippered and crewed by a team of 5 French people who used to all be rocket scientists/engineers. Balthazar is a beautiful 58' aluminium 'Garcia' type sailing boat. Jean Pierre the skipper was aiming to go through Patagonia, Chile then Antarctica but has had problems with the keel. They are now sailing back to France for repairs and will come back down to Brazil in September to try again. It was interesting chatting to these lovely people. Jean Pierre used to be in charge of the Ariane Space station in French Guiana. They have urged us to take a tour when we go there in a week's time. They will make a special introduction for us! This will be great! We love satellites as we rely on them whilst sailing. It will be interesting to see how they are projected into space! Maurice, Jean Pierre's engineer, used to work for him at the space station. Now he is in charge of maintenance of Balthazar and even has his own little work shed on board. It's a beautiful boat. We admired the 3 cabins with individual bathrooms, air-conditioning, full size fridge, freezer etc etc. Jean Pierre made us 'his creation' of a caparhinia using rum from Martinique. We were feeling all rather jolly after that! As well as invitations to the space centre in Guiana we have addresses throughout France (there are 5 of them - Jean Pierre, JP, Maurice, Michelle and Andre) to visit them! We gave them some information on Patagonia and Argentina from our friends Charmain and Mike who cruised Patagonia in 2006 on their yacht Vire Nord. Balthazar left this morning. We do hope to meet them again.

After our little party on board Balthazar we met another French couple Chantelle and her husband at a little café for dinner. Again we were urged to have the 'best caparhinia' in Jacare. The specialty of this café were little pizza type rounds covered in different toppings of vegetables, spices and meat. Delicious! After dinner Linda spied a night market so spent a fun half hour looking and buying little hand made trinkets using charades and giggles to communicate with the lovely Brazilian girl Suellen (see photos). Next we were urged to go into the restaurant to watch a live show of traditional dancing. The costumes were a little like what I imagined was Spanish but the music (which was live) was more folksy. Four couples twirled stamped and clapped in their frilly hot pink and black attire. It was fun to watch and be part of what obviously appeared to be a crowd of Brazilian tourists. We got back to the boat in one piece without falling in the river climbing on! (Bill has put an extra stepping rope for Linda to get up on to Valiam's bow.) Enjoy the photos! Adieus!

PS While I have free internet here I have fine tuned the photo gallery. Valiam construction historical photos are now at the beginning. I have added a sketch map of the whole journey so far in the main album. I have added more photos to the ships logs on the last passage. Well I am the Communications Officer aren't I?

Comments [0] | | More

18/03/2009, Brazil

Jacare Yacht Village
Jacare Brazil
18 March 2009

So far our impressions of this part of Brazil remind us of the Philippines. There are many poor people living in shacks along the water or in small concrete terrace type houses. Unfortunately no-one speaks English and our Portuguese lessons on the boat have been no help. We are the ignorant foreigners here but everyone is very friendly. Our charades are getting really good! By the time we get back to Oz we will be waving our arms madly about using sign language!

Most of the yachties at this little marina are French who also speak English thank goodness. We wandered along the local streets today in the heat thinking the bikes would be a good idea. It's all flat so Linda will be happy! We found the beach which was next to some apartment buildings and not much else. The water looked beautiful but there was rubbish scattered on the grass and sand around the place. There were only 2 people on the beach but there seemed to be more high rise like the Gold Coast in Oz further down. (Bill was chatting to a yachtie earlier who was held at gunpoint at this beach for money. He said it was raining and there were no people about.) The beach apart from the water isn't that nice so we won't go there again anyway! We found a nice big air-conditioned supermarket so we stocked up on fruit, veges, bread, yoghurt and beer. Planning to take a taxi back to the marina we spotted a couple of French yachties to share. As it turned out the taxi was virtually free due to our combined expenditure at the supermarket. (over 70 Reaies - about A$46). The captain is impressed with the price of beer. For a dozen 475ml cans it costs 15 R = $10! The wine is Argentinean. We haven't tried it yet. Anyway we organized to share the taxi back with the 3 French people and Bill was going to walk but instead the taxi driver said it was ok so one of the French ladies got to sit on the men's laps!

Last night we went out to one of the touristy restaurants along the river. Just before sunset they all play 'Bolero' then within each restaurant there is live music. The problem is they all play different songs. So it is rather cacophonic and not possible to have a conversation. Just as well so we had an excuse to use charades with the waiter. At one stage an apparently famous saxophonist walked majestically from restaurant to restaurant playing his sax. There is a special elevated platform for him to perform at each restaurant with the river as the backdrop. Most of the customers seemed to be locals who were elbowing each other to photograph him and after each song gave a respectful applause. We are not sure of the significance of this fellow but there is video footage of him as well as huge posters everywhere. He is short, plump with long hair wearing all white and an orange scarf. I will get his name next time and look him up on the internet. Bill thinks he may be a soap opera star. A bottle of Cervasa (beer) is served in esky type surrounds the size of a 'tallie' -600ml to non Aussies. Again Captain Bill was impressed. Linda tried a 'capanhia' a local rum cocktail with lemon. (Very nice)

A large aluminium French yacht (58') 'Garcia' turned up last night next to us and have invited us for drinks later. It looks very swish so it will be interesting to see the interior.
So far we are enjoying Brazil very much and promise not to go wandering along deserted beaches.

Comments [0] | | More

17/03/2009, Rio Paraiba

Our trip up the Rio Paraiba to Jacare was vry scenic. Lush vegetation, crocodiles?, and small wooden fishing boats some with simple sails.

Comments [2] | | More

17/03/2009, Rio Paraiba behind Cabedelo

We're here! After a scenic tour for 5 miles up the river we found a small cluster of yachts which is Jacare Yacht Village. It is unbelievably hot! A very nice local fellow called Daniel who could fortunately speak English assisted us to our berth. Its a simple pontoon where we are tied one end and tied to a buoy at the other. Getting on and off is interesting as Valiam is so high at her bow which is currently facing the pontoon. After one precarious swing on the rope Linda said 'no more' The captain has tied the dinghy in such a fashion that she can be walked along with ropes. Alas due to misjudgement of distance hauling a 20 litre drum of water captain Bill slipped scrapng the skin off his shoulder and back. Ouch! Coconut soap was offered by Daniel as a natural antiseptic under the showers. Another cold beer was a good anaesthetic.
Above is the obligatory photo of our champagne toasting of our arrival in a new country. Well done Valiam (and crew!) More stories and photos to follow.

Comments [1] | | More

16/03/2009, 7 25.79'S:32 15.56'W, Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean - St Helena to Brazil Day 12 Position: 7 25.79 S 32 15.56 W Time: 8.45am Miles to go : 154

We've had another good day of sailing still with the twin jibs and the mainsail averaging 6.5 to 7 knots. We should make landfall tomorrow!

We are really tired now even though its been a relatively easy trip. We've tried to take in Portuguese from our CD but not a lot has sunk into our brains! The fellow who owns the marina is French and can speak English so we will be ok for the first day!

A ship called Cape America bound for Singapore passed us going south on our port side at midnight last night. The AIS 'blaaarped' us out of our sleepy dispositions!

I baked some nice bread yesterday so we can have toast this morning. The coffee is brewing so hopefully the captain will smell it wake up and let the crew have a rest!

Comments [0] | | More

15/03/2009, 8 18.15'S:29 54.36'W, Atlantic Ocean

Sunday 15th March 2009 Position: 8 18.15 S 29 54.36 W Time : 10 am Miles to go: 303

We're going beautifully again now back to a nice smooth 6.5-7 knots. The twin jib rig (one poled out) plus the mainsail helps us move along quite well considering the wind is only blowing 10 knots. The boys on Khulula just behind us emailed saying: "I am not sure if flying three sails all at once is allowed on sailboats. I am sure the "Rules" say you are only allowed two sails up at any one time. Please remove one of your sails, as it is making you go too fast in no wind. Slow day on Khulula, we ripped our spinnaker yesterday so are forced to just roll around wing on wing... ." Bryson, SV Khulala Still they are catching more fish than us. You can't have everything!

Brazil will be our 15th country visited in 16 months on Valiam (if you count Cocos even though its part of Oz and Borneo separate from Johor). Rodrigues is really part of Mauritius but they regard themselves as separate!

Valiam's journey so far: PNG (Nov - Dec 2007), Palau ( Jan - Feb 2008), Philippines(March 2008), Borneo(April 2008), Johor Malaysia( May 2008), Singapore(May - June 2008), Indonesian waters(June 2008), Cocos Keeling Islands (July 2008), Rodrigues(July- August 2008), Mauritius(August - September 2008), Reunion (Sept - Oct 2008), South Africa(Oct 2008 - February 2009), St Helena (March 2009), Brazil (March 2009)

If this wind keeps up we hope to make landfall on Tuesday. The sunsets out here have been sensational as we have observed the 'green flash' phenomenon a couple of times. We have been discussing our plans after Brazil and at this stage we think we will make brief stops in French Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago. Once in Trinidad we will decide how far north we will go and apply for the necessary visas if . If we want to go to USA and/or Europe we will have to move quickly out of the Caribbean to avoid the hurricane season. This would mean getting to Bermuda by June. We'll see how well we go and if we can cope with LOTS of sailing!

Two more broken sleeps (hopefully!) By the way there's been nothing much out here except a couple of birds and flying fish. No fish on the line. No ships. The captain has just reported 2 birds were squabbling over the best sitting positions on Valiam last night. One was doing acrobatics on the spinnaker pole. (The other one had claimed the more stable solar panels.)

Comments [0] | | More

15/03/2009, 8 19.98'S:28 1.77'W, Atlantic Ocean

I took this photo a couple of mornings ago as the sun rose and the moon was still up. The sails look a beautiful pink dont you think?

Comments [0] | | More

14/03/2009, 8 22.27'S:27 23.77'W, Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean - St Helena to Brazil Day 10 Saturday 14th March 2009 Position : 8 22.27S 27 23.77W Time: 8.45am Miles to go: 449

We actually crossed the half way around the world mark at 2.30 am this morning. (26 52' W 8 28' S) So instead of popping the champagne cork then we will enjoy it sometime this morning accompanied by a self saucing chocolate pudding made from a packet yesterday. (See photo above) There has been very little wind for the past day or so and we only covered 107 miles in the last 24 hours again. Last night we motored all night and as there is a bit more wind this morning we'll put the sails up soon. It is very warm - 30 degrees day and night now with the water at 27 degrees.

By the way our 2nd batch of bread turned out beautifully. I added more yeast and water to the recipe give to us by yacht Khulula. I made big bread rolls and a loaf with 1kg flour. We enjoyed real mince hamburgers on fresh rolls with fresh tomato, gurken, onion, chillie and Mrs Balls chutney(from South Africa). Delicious especially out at sea after 9 days! The captain said 'Where are the chips?'. I could have made some from sliced tinned potato I guess... next time when I make tuna burgers! (hopefully we'll catch something soon)

Also Happy Birthday to Michele who turns 40 today! We will toast to your health and happiness when we open the champagne!

All well on board

Comments [0] | | More

13/03/2009, 8 40.82'S:25 30.11'W, Atlantic Ocean

Friday 13th March 2009 Position: 8 40.82 S 25 30.11 W Time: 7.30am Miles to go: 563 miles Total distance sailed since leaving Mooloolaba 5 Nov 2007: 15,151 n miles

It's been fabulous hearing from everyone on this momentous occasion! The winds have been very light so we are going quite slowly and only clocked up 109 miles in the last 24 hours - not Valiam's style at all. Landfall in Brazil will be later than we thought now. The bubbly is ready to pop the cork for our party today. The galley slave will whip up a chocolate cake which should please the captain. Pity we have no cream. Perhaps one of our guests could bring some?

Here are some more RSVPs:

dear Bill & Linda, Sorry we won't be able to make the party as our water wings have sprung a leak. Just the same we will (as always) be thinking of you. In case we don't get to you before you cross your half way DO HAVE A HAPPY HALF WAY DAY ! Love from all here Dad/Mum/Gwen XXXXXXXX

Congratulations on reaching another important milestone. We will share a red with you this evening if we can transport ourselves down the internet to you. Happy Sailing Love Lyn and Dave (Caloundra, QLD Australia)

Hello Bill and Linda. Great to always be able to log on to your website and find out how you are going. You have set yourself an enviable challenge and it all is going so well for you both. An illustration of taking big risks and having to compromise with family life which is dear to you, but, with good planning and preparation, getting the big rewards in return. According to your last log, you should be halfway around the world today. Congratulations to you both. Keep up that great writing style Linda. You provide enjoyment to many. May you continue to have many memorable experiences, meeting new friends and magical places. Regards Fred and Kathy. (Brisbane Australia)

Love to come, can you arrange a taxi home, as we might like to indulge in some of those SA wines. take care Rick (Melbourne Australia)

We would really love to join you on this momentous occasion, but without a mast on Freo Doctor the yacht is still not sailing; I did consider taking the kayak and paddling half way around the world, and even though it's a long way I can paddle real fast, but I'd have to tow Ally on a surf board which would slow me down (not because of Ally but because of all the junk she carries out to sea) so I guess we'll have to pass this time; Maybe after the next half. Congratulations on the first half of the trip, Regards, Steve and Ally (SV Freo Doctor Fremantle, WA, Australia)

Thanks everyone for your words and thoughts. It certainly makes it a lot less lonely out here!

On a sadder note we just heard about a big oil spill form a tanker off the Sunshine Coast (our home). Cyclone Hamish washed away our beaches and caused a ship to drop containers of fertilizer and spill oil. The turtle eggs are hatching prematurely causing them to die and the beach behind our house is a mess.

The winds are supposed to pick up a bit so hopefully we'll go a bit faster than we have been the last day or so. We have 3 sails up at the moment - our old jib attached to the furler on the opposite side of the main jib as ell as full mainsail up. Valiam is doing 5 knots in 7 knots of wind! She looks and sounds beautiful gliding through the calm water.

All well on board!

Comments [0] | | More

12/03/2009, 9 9.97'S:23 38.13'W, Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean - St Helena to Brazil Day 8 Thursday 12th March 2009 Position: 9 9.97S 23 38.13 W Time: 6.45am Miles to go: 677 Total miles since leaving Mooloolaba 5 Nov 2007 : 15,040

I saw the sun rise while the full moon was still up this morning - double vision! The wind is very light so we have slowed down to 4.5-5knots. Captain Bill was tired of the mainsail banging and flapping so took it down and hoisted our old jib next to our usual jib on the furler. Valiam looks like a butterly drifting along the water. I just love these replies to our "Half Way Around the World" party invitation:

Lucky me, I'll be there! ;-) Nancy (New York, USA)

Congrats on getting halfway round, champagne is definately on order. Will think of you... Mike has been playing sea shanties and rum drinking songs.(on his recorder) Hugh has been playing his giant bongo drum he bought in Africa and I have been hiding from them. cheers, Bryson, Hugh and Mike (yacht) Khulula at 1800Z March 10, 10 deg 53 S 018 deg 20 W. Atlantic Ocean

Cool. Can I swim? Jerry (Lismore, NSW Australia)

G'Day Guys, You're not starting to lose it out there are you ? I know what too much time at sea can do to a sailor. Anyway, I will steal one of the lifeboats here and head your way for the party. (a tempting thought now I mention it)Anything you need ? We had a nice chicken cordon bleu for dinner, plus they have fresh salad at the moment. How far to go to the land of Samba and caipirinhas ? Take care. Mike Might not be there by Friday. You are currently 1989.51 NM from me (assuming the Earth is a perfect sphere, of radius 3443.9 nautical miles). As these lifeboats only do 5 knots, I will be there sometime on March 27th. Would you mind heaving to for 16 days please ? See you soon. Mike (Yes I have nothing to do at work today) (Oil rig off Angola coast,Africa, Atlantic Ocean) (also skipper of yacht Vire Nord when not at 'w' word)

Would love to come. I will check my diary. What should I wear? Will write more soon Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Yolanda (Brisbane Australia)

Coming by imagination to celebrate and enjoy filleted flying fish grand marnier and sparkling apple juice love Helen and Shirley (Perth Australia)

hi not much to report, other than that because of the cyclone, a container ship has got into trouble and lost 31 full containers off mudjimba, and the entire kawana beach is black with oil. fun times! Liam x (Buddina Beach near Mooloolaba, QLD Australia) I take it you wont make it then? Mum X

Where? Am at bbay atm Roy (Batemans Bay, NSW Australia)

Thanks everyone for your RSVPs - I better get working in the galley!

All well on board The crew on SV Valiam

Comments [0] | | More

11/03/2009, 9 29.24'S:21 46.82'W, Atlantic Ocean

Wednesday 11th March 2009 Position: 9 29.24S 21 46.82 W Time: 9.25am Miles to go: 789

The full moon shining on the sea at night is almost surreal - like daylight. Valiam looks and feels magical as she glides along. Warm balmy breezes and little a brown bird sitting on the solar panels complete the picture. I saw a little bird circling around us before I went back to bed at 5am wondering how far he must be from home. Bill said he was having a rest on his shift.

The day before yesterday captain Bill was woken from his catnap during the night by 'Blaaarp!' from the AIS monitor. After almost of a week of no ships it was good to know our newly acquired piece of 2nd hand technology was still working. It was a tanker called Polaris Star registered in Liberia heading for Japan with an ETA of 4th April.

Evidence of another live creature out here (apart from us) was in the form of a large fish. We didn't see it - it just chomped off our lure. It was a lucky pink squid too.

For those of you who are sitting on the edge of your desk chairs wondering if the bread turned out - well it didn't really. The mixture was a bit dry and we aren't sure about our yeast (it was bought in Oz 18 months ago) as it didn't really rise. We used a small part of the dough to create a pizza for dinner - it was delicious even with its 'thin and crispy' crust. I made 'baguettes' and 'rolls' with the rest. They are quite heavy and of a very solid consistency. One piece toasted with vegemite is very filling. We will adjust the recipe and let you know the results.

Captain Bill is repairing by pulling apart a 'rope clutch' at the dining table as I write. It is a bit more fancy than required and self destructed under load a while back possibly when we jibed. It's a 'Spinlock' and he wants to put it back as we need it to change the side of the jib. (The wind is now more from the south) The diagnosis is a bent pin inside which he has now banged with a hammer. 'Bob's yer uncle!' he says.

On Friday 13th you are all invited to: our 'Half Way round the World' Party. We will give you the exact co-ordinates as you come closer by hot air balloon, submarine, windsurfer, seaplane or yacht. No need to bring anything just yourselves. We have plenty of different wines and champagne on board. Vegetarians will be catered for. RSVP by Friday morning.

We won't be offended if you can't make it as we realize it is short notice. We will let you know in plenty of time when we have almost completed our circumnavigation for the big party in Mooloolaba. (Actually Valiam and her crew will have circumnavigated when we reach Isle des Pins, New Caledonia) We will have sailed 15,000 nautical miles by the end of today since we left Mooloolaba on 5th November 2007.

Hope you are all having fun at the 'w' word.

All well on board (We're not quite insane yet)

Comments [0] | | More

10/03/2009, 10 6.82'S:19 20.10'W, Atlantic Ocean

Tuesday 10th March 2009 Position: 10 6.82S 19 20.10W Time: 10 am (10 hours behind Oz we think) Miles to go: 938

Hope you like the sunset photo - even though it's tiny it is quite a big download for the sat phone. Each time we watch the sunset out here we look for the 'green flash' but not sure if we see it or not. The moon has been full shining on the water at night making it seem like day out there. The boat is nice and steady so we slept quite well in between shifts.

Our friends on Khululah are about 100 miles behind us. They caught a 7kg mahi mahi so we are hoping we will do the same. It's great to communicate with Bryson, Hugh and Mike out here and know we are not alone in this big ocean. They use sailmail via their SSB radio whilst we use our sat phone and laptop using GMNs Xgate program. Bryson gave us their fabulous bread recipe which we will try today. This is it:

Recipe is dead easy: one sachet of yeast, mixed with half a cup of blood temp fresh water on one side. One cup of salt water, 1/2 cup of fresh water, 1/2 cup of sugar mixed together and stirred till sugar dissolved in another container. Wait till yeast if bubbling and mix two containers together. Finally, add it all to approx 1.25 kg of flour (white, brown, etc), mix thoroughly and kneed on a floured surface for 15 mins. Light rub with oil, and put in a bowl (covered with a big plastic bag) in a warm place until the bread rises significantly (could take a couple hours). Punch the bread down, put it into bread tins, allow to rise again and bake at 350'C for about 40 mins or till the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Fresh bread, perfect...

We'll let you know if it turns out.

Comments [0] | | More

09/03/2009, 10 41.72'S:16 49.43'W, Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean - St Helena to Brazil Day 5 Monday 9th March 2009 Position: 10 41.72 S 16 49.43W Time: (South African) 9.15am

Have we only been at sea for 5 days? It seems so much longer! Every 6 hours we record :

Date: 9/3/09 Time : 06.00, Position: 10 deg 46.01'S 16 deg 25.6'W , Course: 298, Wind Speed/direction: 16SE, Barometer:1009, Log (since Mooloolaba):14,868 nm, 24hr distance log: 176nm, Water temp : 26.5deg, Distance to Brazil: 1112nm, 24 hour distance GPS: 168nm

Now that I have dazzled you with figures I will interpret : Its Monday morning, we are a long way away from anywhere, steering West/NWest, pleasant breeze, we've come a bloody long way, we're going reasonably fast, the water is warm, Still a long way to go to Brazil, we've done 8 more miles than needed because Valiam cant go in an exact straight line cos of the waves.

What else may be interesting to you? What we eat? Yesterday : BREAKFAST : Freshly baked lemon and poppy seed muffins, caf� latte LUNCH : Crostini - thinly sliced rounds of baguette grilled with garlic oil with various toppings : (1.)smoked salmon, French camembert and capers (2.) Pesto, anchovies & tomato (3.) Pesto, pepperoni salami, tomato and olive. Glass of cold Blanc de Noir (South African white wine made from red grapes) DINNER : St Helena made pork sausage with lemon and thyme, mashed pumpkin with ginger and butter. Cold glass of South African 'Bouquet'

As you can see I am more than qualified to be employed as a highly paid chef on a fancy yacht in the future. Hopefully it will have a wall oven so I don't have to grovel on the floor of a moving boat to produce these gastronomic delicacies for a billionaire boat owner.

ENTERTAINMENT: BOOKS : Linda: 'Backpack' by Emily Barr (Bill now reading), Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson, Cruising the Coast of Brasil by Marcal Ceccon, Bill: Yachting magazine Both: Collins Portuguese phrasebook DVD: Beyond Borders (Angelina Jolie,) EMAILS: thanks everyone - each one is read about 3 times! If you think you have nothing to write about you could always tell us jokes or stories..

We also engage in the usual drudgery of washing dishes, keeping the boat sort of tidy and occasionally have a solar shower in the cockpit. Today we're going to wash our hair - hooray! The captain says we have enough water. We are still using Mona Lisa as Fred just wont work in these conditions with a light wind straight from behind. This means running the engine for a few hours each day to charge the battery.

If we keep up the current speed we may even reach Brazil by Monday 16th - one week to go!

I f you would like to fly over to meet us at Jacare Yacht Village there is an airport not far away at Joao Pessoa.

All well on board

Comments [0] | | More

09/03/2009, 11 8.99'S:14 39.19'W, Breakfast time!

As you can see we are really starving on this trip!! Galley slave's fresh muffins - lemon and poppy seed

Comments [0] | | More

08/03/2009, 11 21.90'S:13 48.86'W, Atlantic Ocean

Sunday 8th March 2009 Position: 11 21.90 S 13 48.86 W Time: 7.30 am

Just over 1200 miles to go...Valiam crawls along the watery surface of the earth. It's hard to believe sometimes that gravity is holding us all on this big ball called the world and we are hanging sideways if the North Pole were the top. It's a bit grey outside but it could get sunny again as it did yesterday. The wind is blowing 10-15 knots and Valiam is causing the water to make whooshing sounds against her hull. She is rocking a little but gentle enough for us to be able to lie relatively flat when resting. I still feel like my body gets a constant pummeling and have to use muscles we don't normally use on land to grip and hold on - a bit like yoga.

The rubber shock cord broke yesterday on the fishing line and we could see a fish flapping on the end of the line. Unfortunately it got away. Sometimes the fish hook themselves not in the mouth but through an eye ball or gill so there are probably quite a few maimed fish swimming around! So not having fresh fish for dinner I cooked a tasty pasta dish instead with anchovies, olives capers and chillie in sun dried tomato sauce. 'Deliciosa!' as you would say in Portuguese. We struggled through the Cd yesterday and even though some words sound familiar others aren't and quite difficult to pronounce. Here's a few we have learned: Por favor ...Please Thank you .Obrigado ('a' if male) Um copo vinho branco..one glass of white wine Uma cerveja....a lager Um galao....a milky coffee I think these will be useful: Nao compreendo...I don't understand Fala ingles?..............Do you speak English? Some letters are swallowed as in French and some words have masculine/feminine gender. 'm' is pronounced 'n'. 'g' is pronounced 'zhuh' etc. We think our brains are too old to absorb all this. Maybe when we are there it might sink in. We have been told not many people in Brazil speak English.

We received an email back from Frenchman Philippe Fessard letting us know the costs etc of Jacare yacht marina: "Tnak you for your Email, Yes we have a place for ours boats, with this size our price on a week basis is 79 Euros (11,26 p/day) and 304 for one month (10,12 per day) on prepayed packages. For 6 monthes stage we offer more 10% discount... This prices included the pontoon, water, electricity, Internet Wifi coinection, sanitary installations, gym room and pool. Best regards, and good winds Philippe"

Sounds good to me! 8 days to go. If you are wondering where Jacare is , it is up a river past Cabedelo in the north of Brazil . (www.marina-jacare-village.com) 'Jacare' means crocodile but we have been told there are no crocodiles there any more. Perhaps they have been turned into handbags and shoes. You can also take a look at www.noonsite.com for any places we are going to. I usually save all the noonsite stuff for each country/harbour before we go for useful information such as immigration and navigation. I then print it out and put in a folder - I am such a good secretary for the captain aren't I?

All well on board.

Comments [0] | | More

07/03/2009, 11 53.79'S:11 20.40'W, Atlantic Ocean

Saturday 7th March 2009 Position: 11 53.79S 11 20.40W Time: 10 am

With another 1400 miles to go it's a long way to Brazil. We are still sailing along quite well 'wing on wing' with the wind mainly from behind. The wind picked up a little so we are going a little faster - 7 to 8 knots. Looking at the weather grib files it looks like 15 knots SE for a day or 2 then it will lessen again. Captain Bill is changing the sails around including the pole on the jib to make things more comfortable as we were swaying around a bit. We have been using Mona Lisa (electric autopilot) the whole time due to the wind being straight behind and not strong enough for Fred the wind vane. We may be able to use Fred today if the conditions are right as Mona Lisa does chew up a bit of power.

We are eating well so will have to exercise when we get to land! It is nice to sit around in shorts or sarong after months of coolish weather in South Africa. We heard teenager Zac on Intrepid finally made it to St Helena. We heard St Helena radio calling him every hour the day after we left. He finally arrived a day later after hand steering in light winds after his 6th tiller pilot burnt out. It may be difficult for him to get this replaced at St Helena as there are no planes - everything is shipped. Our friends on Khulula left St Helena on the same day as us and they are not far behind us. We are in touch by email and it's nice to know we have friends out here on this huge ocean. (apart from the flying fish suiciding on the deck)

Our last run for 24 hours was 161 miles . The Atlantic is so much nicer than the Indian Ocean and I have heard this from many yachties that this is the case. The Pacific should be similar. We are nearly half way around the world! We'll have to work out the exact longitude so we can celebrate when we cross it! Another event to look forward to!

All well on board.

Comments [0] | | More

06/03/2009, 13 40.86'S:9 5.53'W, Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean - St Helena to Brazil Day 2 Friday 6th March 2009 Position: 13 40.86S 9 5.53W Time: 8.30 am

Valiam is skimming along now at 6.5 to 7 knots. The sea is fairly smooth so everything is steady inside making it easier to sleep, prepare meals etc. We have been enjoying the stars and the moonlight at night but not the 20 minute lookouts! The Southern Cross was nice and clear which makes me feel closer to home although we're not! We still have more than 1500 miles to go.. I think I will have watched every movie we have 2-3 times by then! We are getting through the books too. I will start putting the Portuguese language CD on every day now so we may have a slight chance of communicating when we get to Brazil. The weather is warm - already 29 degrees and the water temperature is 25.2 degrees. In Simons Town, South Africa the water temperature was 16 degrees. It's definitely not suitable for penguins here!

Bill has trimmed his beard and I am contemplating painting my toe nails. As long as the wind remains steady we don't have to touch the sails. We are wing to wing again i.e. jib poled out and mainsail on the opposite side. Many cruisers we have talked to say they spend 90% of their passages sailing like this.

All well on board. Do send us the latest news. We're in a different world out here.

Comments [0] | | More

05/03/2009, 15 14.57'S:6 56.24'W, Atlantic Ocean

Thursday 5th March 2009 Position: 15 14.57S 6 56.24W Time: 6am

The sun is rising as I write this - burnt orange sky against dark grey clouds. Mona Lisa (autopilot) grunts occasionally as she doesn't have to work hard to steer the boat. There has been very little wind since we left St Helena yesterday at 10.30am. Valiam has been drifting and coasting along at 3 to 4 knots. Occasionally she gets up to 5-6 knots if the winds strengthen a little. It's been very peaceful with no swell. Cups, glasses etc stay where they are put and the bed is level.

Yacht Khulula left just before us but we have lost sight of them now. We also saw another boat light last night which we think was the power cat that was anchored at St Helena. The radio has been calling yacht Intrepid every hour since we left. Intrepid is the yacht sailed by 17 year old Zac Sunderland and he is overdue at St Helena. His last position was given to his mum via satellite phone a week ago but the sat phone is no longer working. Hopefully he is delayed due to light winds.

This will be a long trip - 1785 miles from St Helena to the northern part of Brazil where we are aiming for. (We've done 80 miles.)The wind predictions look light for the next week so we most likely won't be doing the miles and speed of the last passage. It is nice and warm so the winter clothes are put away. The gas has just run out so now we have one gas bottle full of gas. We'll have to conserve everything - water, gas, fuel as we may be out here for a couple of weeks.

St Helena was a relaxing break and we were overwhelmed with hospitality during our stay. We had lunch every day at Anne's Place - the traditional yachtie hangout. I met the lovely Anne briefly on our last day. She was busy working out the back even though she is supposed to be retired. Her son and daughter in law manage the place now. We received an invitation on the website on the afternoon we were leaving from Guy to have a cuppa at Cleopatra House. Sorry Guy we ran out of time - maybe be next time?

I am rewatching movies on the little DVD player and we have plenty of books to read. We will also try and learn Portuguese from a CD and Book. Receiving emails of course will be the highlight of our day! (We won't see any website comments until we arrive in Brazil). Hope you enjoyed the photos of St Helena. (album South Africa to St Helena).

All well and relaxed on board.

Comments [0] | | More

03/03/2009, Atlantic Ocean

Can you spot Valiam ? at the back furthest right

Jamestown Harbour
St Helena Island
Atlantic Ocean
3rd March 2009

St Helena is an amazing little island and we have really enjoyed exploring it. In some ways it reminds us of Rodrigues - size, the people, isolation etc. It took us most of the morning to organize our laundry, banking and clearing in officially to the island. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming and seem to know who we are - there's only 6 yachts in the harbour. Everything is in the main street and easy to find. At the tourist office we organized a tour for the afternoon. For 4 hours Larry drove us around for 30 pounds. Larry is a mine of information as his family has lived here for generations. Hi father was on a whaling ship and met his mum a 'Saint' (St Helena resident) on St Helena. Basically the island is governed and financially supported by the British government. The Saints get priority over anyone else for jobs here.

Larry drove us all over the place so we could admire the wonderful views including one overlooking the town from Jacobs Ladder where we could see Valiam happy at anchor. We also visited the house where Napoleon was exiled. It was closed but the 2 gardeners who were working in the overgrown garden said we could walk around the grounds. Napoleon had it very comfortable with a large house, garden, servant's quarters and a beautiful view. The French government still maintain his house, tomb etc. We were lucky to see all of the attractions without any other tourists. It all has a relaxed country feel of bygone days. We visited ST Paul's Church with it's historical graveyard. No-one was there but the door to the church was wide open. We enjoyed the beautiful workmanship of the church and read some of the names on the gravestones. I recognized the same name as the ferry driver. We wonder how many people are related to each other here? I was keen to see Jonathon the 175 year old giant tortoise who lives with 3 other tortoises in the Governors garden. Again when we walked around the Governors residence garden there was no-one there. We found Jonathon and his friends hidden in the long grass towards the side. It's hard to believe such gentle slow moving creatures so trusting were eaten by sailors in the 17th century. After giving Jonathon lots of strokes under his neck - (it feels like thin crinkly leather) we headed back along the winding one way roads back to town. We found a supermarket that had just unpacked fresh fruit from the ship so we bought a good supply for our next passage.

Tomorrow we leave again for another long trip to Brazil. We expect it to take longer than the last passage due to the proximity to the equator and lighter winds.

Thank you to all the 'Saints' on St Helena island - we have really enjoyed your relaxed hospitality and it has been a lovely break during our voyage.

(See photos in album South Africa to St Helena - click on camera icon to the right)

Comments [0] | | More

28/02/2009, 15 55.04'S:5 43.06'W, South Atlantic Ocean

Saturday 28 February 1300pm

Arrived safely just under 11 days after leaving Simons Town. all good. ferry coming now to take us ashore. Details to follow soon.
Position 15 55.046S 5 43.069 W

Jamestown Harbour
St Helena Island
Atlantic Ocean
1st March 2009
Nautical miles sailed since leaving Oz = 13,824nm

It's always thrilling to sight land after being at sea for a while. St Helena looked mystical with its jagged peaks not unlike La Reunion. A small island measuring 10km by 17km it's a small dot in the Atlantic Ocean. The only way one can get here is by boat so it feels very remote. Shortly after anchoring at midday - 10 days 22 hours after leaving Simons Town, South Africa we were given permission over the radio by Port Control to go ashore. A young man with Creole features took us ashore in his wooden boat ('ferry'). The exciting part was disembarking as the boat rose in the swell as we had to grab hold of the hanging ropes to jump ashore on to wet concrete steps. This was not easy when we hadn't got our 'land legs' yet! After wandering past shipping containers, 2 cranes and people with honey coloured skin wearing hardhats we found the Customs office. We were lucky it was open on a Saturday as the ship RMS St Helena had also just arrived. There was a flurry of activity with lots of people working in the area unloading luggage and sniffer dogs busy hoping for a reward! The lady that gave us our port clearance was so friendly and helpful giving us maps and brochures of St Helena. I was surprised to see so many Polynesian/Creole looking people here in this English colony. Looking briefly at the 500 year old history of St Helena the current islanders are descended from Portuguese, Dutch, Negro slaves, French Huguenot refugees, some victims of the Fire of London and others. I was intrigued by the way the "Saints" (name for locals) speak. It is a type of English dialect with a sing song twist. Sometimes it is difficult for us to understand.

Wandering around the main street of Jamestown we could see so many relics and old buildings. St Helena has a 500 year history. We found 'Anne's Place' the yachtie hangout. After explaining to the barman we had no local money until Monday he said 'We'll make up a tab'. It was nice to not have to cook as we tucked into a high cholesterol lunch at 3 times the price of South Africa. We'll have to just get used to more normal prices! One of the yachts who has just been here said we could get hot showers at the Consulate Hotel for a donation. The Consulate Hotel is a beautiful old white painted building with corridors, lots of wood and chandeliers. It's small and after looking for Hazel in the upstairs office we found Ethel a gorgeous lady who gave us the use of two of the hotel's communal bathrooms and even offered us towels. We are struck with the trust and friendliness of all whom we meet as after all we are strangers just arrived on a small yacht. We were basically given food, drinks, hot showers, money until we can pay everyone back on Monday. There are about 6 visiting yachts here as well as passengers from RMS St Helena which isn't very big. The RMS Helena goes to and from Cape Town every few weeks with 2 trips to United Kingdom a year. This is the only way you can get here unless you have a private vessel.

There are no tourist shops and it is very quiet. 4000 people live here with 800 in Jamestown itself. The locals drive cars around with 4 digit number plates. They often park in the middle of the road talking to each other through the windows. We look forward to having a look at the rest of the island. It has some beautiful green gorges and vegetation. Robert the local tour guide has already offered us a tour on Wednesday. As we may go before then we are hoping we can get some transport to look around before then.

It's a rolly anchorage as warned and we woke a few times throughout the night. However it was good not to have to be on watch. It was an excellent passage faster than most due to the ideal conditions for Valiam to sail at her best. We are pleased to have made it here in just under 11 days from Simons Town considering the first day or so it was slow with calms. There is a race to here from Cape Town where the winning boat took 12 days. Simons Town is further too. Go Valiam!

The internet facility here is at Anne's Place and it's quite expensive - 1 pound per 10 minutes. I am downloading some photos for you so please look at them!!! (click camera icon. Go to 'South Africa to St Helena album') I have also added photos to the ships logs days 1 to 11 . Enjoy!

Comments [2] | | More

28/02/2009, 16 21.2'S:5 11.54'W, South Atlantic Ocean

South Atlantic Ocean - South Africa to St Helena: Day 11 Saturday 28th February 2009 7.45am Position : 16 21.2 S 5 11.54W

Just after I was woken by my loving husband at 4.45am he tells me there is a ship. As I try and waken from yet another weird dream (short sleeps seem to do this) he says like a true sailor "I could smell it before I could see it - a diesel smell and then I saw a faint glow in the dark. It hadn't come on the ship plotter yet." At the chart table in the dark the captain looking at the computer screen says "RMS St Helena." This must mean we are on the right track! The captain surmised that RMS may mean Royal Mail Service(??)

Just now I heard St Helena Radio talking to 'sailing Vessel Kahlua' then a moment later to RMS St Helena. An Englishman answered saying that RMS would arrive at 8.45. I wonder if the ship arriving at St Helena Island provokes the same excitement as the ship did at Rodrigues Island. St Helena has no air strip so everything comes and goes by ship. (including us!) I wonder if the shops will be stocked up on Monday? We read that a letter takes 6 weeks as there is no airmail. The grandchildren will receive their St Helena postcards after the ones I send from Brazil!

It's exciting coming to a new place. We are only 40 miles away now. We need to add another hour to our clock which means we will arrive around 1pm. I hope Anne's pub is open! We'll have to clear with the authorities first of course. Hopefully the local policeman (I wonder if they wear police hats like London bobbies?) will clear us on a Saturday. We received an email from friends on yacht Rainbow Chaser giving us the latest information. They are leaving St Helena today so we will probably miss seeing them. They said there are 5 yachts there now. (then there will be Kahlua and us 7)

The next log entry will hopefully have a photo of St Helena.

All well on board!

Comments [1] | | More

27/02/2009, 18 11.7'S:3 19.9'W, South Atlantic Ocean

Friday 27th February 2009 Time: 8.20 am (S Africa + 1 hour) Position: 18 11.7 S 3 19.9 W

This has been such a good trip and we are making excellent time. The captain says we should get to St Helena on Saturday easily. It is always wonderful to see land emerge after seeing nothing but sea for days and days. We can't complain as we have had a much shorter trip than most yachts. Thanks Valiam! She just loves to race through the water!

One little disaster this morning - the shelf holding all my art books broke so all my lovely books are lying in a heap on the floor in the quarter berth with the pumpkins and a cask of wine. We will have to find a box in the 'back shed' when we stop to store them until the shelf is fixed.

We had a rest from fishing yesterday. It's actually very messy once the fish is on board flapping leaking blood etc. One of the mahi mahi we caught I poured a bit of our Philippino gin into its gills which is supposed to be the most humane way to kill them. It stopped flapping very quickly. If you are wondering what fishing tackle we are using it's a bright pink rubber squid with a hook attached to a nylon trace which is attached to green string. The string is attached to a 2 metre length of spear gun rubber as a shock absorber. This lure cost 28 Rand (A$4.50) in Simons Town. This cheap lure seems to be working much better than the 'professional' lures made up by a fisherman in Palau at a considerably higher price.

Excerpt of email from Bill to his Dad re question about our 'jibes' etc: 'Re jibes, we are actually sailing on a shallow reach as you suggest, keeping the wind about 20deg off astern with the jib poled out to windward. We haven't really been jibing because the boom is held down with a preventer, just occasionally the wind has changed enough or waves have slewed us around so that the wind gets to the wrong side of the sail, then we quickly manually steer back on course or if not quick enough ease the boom across using the preventer on a winch then jibe back doing the same. We had a few occurrences yesterday because the wind was a bit more fickle with direction changes caused by 'rain squalls' which are a typical trade wind phenomenon. A ship just passed us, heading north looks like an empty log carrier, according to our gadget it's the 'Great Mary' registered in the Marshall Islands bound for Camden eta 14 March traveling at 14.2 kts. We haven't had anything come up on the AIS for a week and were wondering if it was still working, I suppose there's just not much out here.'

Oh yes yesterday afternoon it was finally warm enough to put on my bikini to paint my toenails! They are now all different colours as I couldn't decide which colour to use. (Actually the captain's idea). Now that you can see how exciting our life is out here at the moment I will say 'bye' from the Atlantic Ocean. The next log will be announcing our arrival at St Helena. I will download a tiny photo by sat phone if the internet there is difficult.

Comments [0] | | More

26/02/2009, 20 26.13'S:0 54.52'W, South Atlantic Ocean

South Atlantic Ocean - South Africa to St Helena: Day 9 Thursday 26th February 2009 Time: 6am Position: 20 26.13 S 0 54.52 W

There's been no ships for several days now. Just us, the ocean and fish! The Fish God is suddenly smiling at us because yesterday we caught TWO fish! They were both small Mahi mahi (dorado). (We haven't caught a fish since 2007 apart from one inedible one near Mauritius) The first one Bill cut into fillets which we fried for lunch accompanied by left over fried rice. The last one we cooked whole (minus head, tail, guts and scales). The galley slave prepared this one baked in white wine and butter. Mashed pumpkin and a white mushroom sauce went well with it. Cleaning fish is a messy bloody slimey business which the captain seems to know how to do. I have no experience in these 'manly' matters..hmmmm. We're actually getting a bit tired for fish as the tuna lasted 3 meals before the mahi mahi.

You will have noticed the change in position West instead of East. Last night we crossed the Greenwich Meridian line and celebrated with a glass of champagne when our position changed to 00 00.0 W. We are not quite half way around the world but soon will be somewhere between St Helena and Brazil. Then if you were to dig a hole through the earth in a straight line from Mooloolaba, Oz we would be there sailing along proving the world really is round!

Valiam is racing at the moment through another rain squall. I just saw the instrument read 10.4 knots! We are going well - 24 hour averages 168 to 191 nm. Captain Bill just reefed the main. We are now doing 8 to 9 knots. Because Mona Lisa is moaning a lot and working hard (electric autopilot) we have to run the engine 3 hours a day to charge the batteries. It's still mostly overcast during the day so the solar panels aren't charging much.

The photo above shows what we look like at the moment - scruffy! Bill says he will tame and trim his beard before he has to talk to any officials. Yachties have a bad enough name in the grooming department already. We have been informed that visiting officials in Brazil as the ship's captain he has to wear long trousers and socks. It didn't stipulate what type of footwear ( sandals?!!)

All well on board

Comments [0] | | More

25/02/2009, 22 14.46'S:1 12.14'E, South Atlantic Ocean

Wednesday 25th February 2009 Time: (S Africa plus 1 hour) 7am Position: 22 14 .46 S 1 12.14 E

It's early morning and it's grey and cloudy outside again. Yesterday afternoon it was perfect - blue skies, gentle seas with Valiam sliding along smoothly. Now we are going a bit faster again and I can see the wind gauge saying we are doing 8.6 knots as I type this.. The last 24 hours we covered 175 miles with 551 to go to St Helena. I f we keep up this speed we could make landfall late Saturday.

Sleep seems to come easier either because we are tired and /or we are getting used to the motion and short sleeps whenever we can get it. The bed is a bit slopey so I use pillows around my body in strategic positions so I am not constantly rolling around. Sometimes the only way to sleep is spread-eagled on one's back. Lucky there is only one of us in the bed at a time!

I have just pulled out a packet of buttermilk pancake mix ('Just add water!') to surprise the captain for breakfast. OOOOOps! Flap flap flap bang! We've jibed again. The captain emerges and wrestles with the tiller (I get to push the button on 'standby' on the autopilot) He says the wind direction has changed more east which may mean having to change the whole rig over.

All well on board

Comments [0] | | More

24/02/2009, 23 43.44'S:3 39.08'E, South Atlantic Ocean

Tuesday 24th February 2009 Time : 8.45 am (SA time) Position: 23 43.44S 3 39.08E (just over 700 miles to go)

The most exciting thing that happened in the last 24 hours is that we caught a FISH! Yes and it was a tuna. After the captain dealt with the beheading, gutting and bleeding (it went all over the deck.) he cut it up into fillets and steaks. Our Happy Hour turned into dinner as we enjoyed sashimi with wasabi and soy sauce accompanied by cold white wine. Today we will have tuna steaks. We are not lacking protein on this trip as we still have 3 steaks left purchased in vacuum packs in the fridge. Sadly the fresh fruit and vegetables are getting low. We have one pear, a couple of apples, 3 onions, 5 potatoes, 3 pumpkins and half a cucumber left in fresh produce. The galley slave will stretch it accompanied by a wide variety of tinned/packet food and the occasional fresh fish.

It's still grey and overcast outside but the temperature is much warmer. Goodbye winter clothes! Hooray! It would be nice to see the sun though. It's not quite bikini toenail painting weather yet.

It feels strange to be out here in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean between Africa and South Africa. It's only when I look outside and see ocean all around and look at the chart plotter that reality sinks in. Because we live on the boat all the time down below seems quite normal with every day tasks - cooking, computer, dishes etc. We just cant get off to go to the shops! We have now sailed more than 13000 nautical miles since leaving Mooloolaba, Queensland Australia. It's a long way in 15 months. We've already had so many adventures and experiences and there's more to come. I know we are lucky to be able to do this - cut our ties and sail the world or perhaps foolhardy some would say to quit secure jobs for an uncertain future. But that's what makes life exciting - not knowing what is ahead. I am reading a book at them moment by a South African man who quit his corporate job at age 30 to spend one year traveling from Cape Town to Cairo. ('Dark Continent My Black Arse' by Sihle Khumalo) He echoes my feelings when he says he was leaving the corporate world and normal life because he was sick and tired of : Routine Being stuck in the comfort zone Being stuck in a rut Being stuck in traffic every morning and every afternoon Driving on the same road to the same office every week day to do pretty much the same thing Dealing with the same things daily, weekly, monthly, yearly Sweating the small stuff Trying to solve imaginary problems Being a manager Dealing with systems, guidelines, policies and procedures Attending meetings, workshops and conferences Sending reports to head office Worrying about how to make more money Looking at life from a strictly financial perspective Worrying about tomorrow and the day after and the day after Being a statistic Being in limbo Wasting golden opportunities Wasting God's precious time and my own Voting in all the general elections but somehow still feeling oppressed Drinking beer and watching soccer on TV every weekend Being bored with life and doing nothing about it Not living the life I suspected I was meant ot live Feeling life was passing me by Feeling like I was missing out on something In short: enduring the pain of a dying soul crying out to be free

Instead he wanted to:

Take the bull by the horns Give life my all Give life my best shot Live in the present Find myself Find peace of mind Be who I wanted to be Do the things I genuinely wanted to do Do challenging and out -of -this- world things Create my own beautiful, yet simple, life Live my own life, in my own way, on my terms Leave a difficult act to follow when I die In short : be me - just me, nobody else but me

Sihle Khumalo (2007)

Food for thought......

All well on board SV Valiam

Comments [1] | | More

23/02/2009, 25 10.88'S:5 59.59'E, South Atlantic Ocean

Monday 23rd February 2009 Time : 9.30am (SA) Position: 25 10.88S 5 59.59E Distance to St Helena : 860 nm - HALF WAY!!!

We are half way today! We have also broken a record for our fastest 24 hour period. Wait for it - 191 nautical miles!!!! Yay!! Go Valiam! Captain Bill wants to crack the 200. We were practically surfing down the waves last night even with 2 reefs in the main. Every time I looked at our speed it was 8.5 - 10 knots. We jibed a couple of times when a bigger wave caught the back of the boat. The captain had to jump out of bed and get her back on track. We are still using the Mona Lisa (electric autopilot) and its cloudy again today so we'll have to run the engine again to power the batteries.

Another exciting event occurred yesterday. We caught a FISH! BUT it GOT AWAY ?. Out in the greyness of the sea I saw a flash of colour - blue and yellow behind the boat. It was a small tuna fish jumping around in the waves. "Fish!" I yelled trying to pull it in. By the time the captain appeared it was gone... Now we keep hoping. The wasabi and soy sauce is ready for sashimi..

All well on board.

Comments [0] | | More

22/02/2009, 26 43.47'S:8 53.72'E, South Atlantic Ocean

Sunday 22nd February 2009 Time: 10 am (South Africa) Position: 26 43.47S 8 53.72E

Bill ticked the calendar this morning so now we know it is Sunday. Sleeping in? Bacon and eggs? Unfortunately no. The wind picked up again last night so Bill put 2 reefs in the main but Valiam is till swaying around a bit in the waves. Making espresso coffee is a challenge so the galley slave has said no bacon and eggs this morning. Mueslie with warm uht milk it will be. We haven't been able to buy decent mueslie since leaving Oz and the stuff we've got is odd as it has cornflakes and other non mueslie items in it. The cereal section in most of the supermarkets we've been to in the past year have contained mostly packets with sweet stuff in them and a lot of chocolate - even porridge! (must be the French influence)

The last 24 hour run was 170 miles with Valiam's average speed at 7 to 8 knots. It's overcast with no blue sky again which is a problem for the solar panels. We have to run the engine for a few hours a day to keep the batteries up. Captain Bill has tried several times to get Fred the wind vane to work but to no avail. The wind is too much behind and not quite strong enough for the speed we are going. Mona Lisa the autopilot chews up a lot of power. We also have one computer running 24 hours for the ship plotter. The electric pump on the toilet also chews up a bit of power. The fridge and the little DVD player don't use much but it all adds up especially when the sun isn't shining.

The radio(vhf) rarely comes up with anything sensible out here as we are a bit far from anything. Occasionally we hear snippets of foreign conversation that sound like fishermen. But yesterday we were entertained by a yachtsman we had heard of about but hadn't met. We heard him calling up a ship (also to remain nameless) several times over a half hour period. Then we heard him speaking to someone on the ship in a very irate voice. "I called you on the radio 6 times and you did not respond. I had to alter course 30 degrees to avoid you running me over when I have right of way. If I didn't alter course you would have run me over..I will be contacting your company to lodge a report.." He repeated this a couple of times. We can understand why he was upset. Clearly whoever was on watch on that ship obviously was not doing his duty. We have heard this before that ships don't always keep a good lookout and don't always listen to channel 16. With AIS ships have MMSI identification numbers where they can contact each other direct so they probably don't always listen to channel 16. The new vhf radios have DSC which would make it easier to contact ships. If we bought one of those we may also have to have a MMSI number. However in the above case the ship's crew was neglectful in not responding to the yacht calling it by name. (This yacht must have AIS) We have also heard of other ships responding to yachts on channel 16 even without the yacht knowing their name and just calling their own position. We have heard from other yachties that the ship's radio crew were happy to engage in conversation out at sea and also alter course if necessary. Perhaps it depends on the ship's crew's ability to communicate in English. An English speaking yachtsperson may not pronounce the ship's name the same way so this may be another reason the ship's crew did not respond. Our general tactic when we see ships is to keep out of their way. With our new AIS ship plotter we know which direction the ship is going from 10 miles away and can alter our course accordingly.

That's enough for today. We are going well. We're a bit tired and sometimes a bit bored. Time to put the Portuguese language lesson on the CD player!!

Keep those emails coming in. All well on board.

Comments [0] | | More

21/02/2009, 28 43.82'S:11 9.44'E, South Atlantic Ocean

South Atlantic Ocean - South Africa to St Helena : Day 4 Saturday 21st February 2009 Time:10.45am Position: 28 43.82 S 11 9.44 E

Valiam rolled around a lot less last night so sleeping has been easier. Our daily runs have been quite good. The last 24 hours we sailed 167 nautical miles. At 7am we had 1232 nm to go to St Helena - another week or so. The southeasterly varies from 8 to 25 knots.

What do we do all day? Night watches and meals regulate the day as follows (with some variations to times). We look around outside every 20 minutes as we seem to spend most of our time inside reading, napping, watching movies etc. When on watch we check the AIS Ship plotter - usually it sounds a computer foghorn if ship within 20 miles. We watch a ship closely but the anxiety is alleviated by the AIS as it tells us how far away it is , in what direction it is traveling, its speed and when/where it will be at it's closest point to us. Usually the ships pass us a few miles away. If it looks like it's getting close (less than 1 mile) we alter course. We also record our position every 6 hours.

11pm - 2am - 1st Night watch 2 - 4.30am - 2nd Night Watch 4.30 - 7am - Early morning shift 7am - 9am - Coffee time followed by breakfast. 9am - write daily log, emails, grib files on computer 10.30 - Another cuppa. Early bird person naps 11.30 - Prepare lunch 12.00 - Lunch 1.00- 4pm - Read, nap, watch movies, boat jobs. Afternoon tea.. Occasionally wash, comb hair etc. 4.00pm - start planning/preparing Dinner 4.30 - 5.30Pm - Happy Hour usually in the cockpit. Play music, reflect etc 6 - 7 pm - Dinner 8 - 11pm - Captain usually sleeps first.

This all sounds idyllic but lots of things have been left out. ie. Captain adjusting/changing sails, checking batteries and running motor. Lately the poor Captain has been a PLUMBER! He says it's his next career. Without going into too much detail the toilet hasn't been working properly and sometimes refuses to pump out. He has unblocked pipes, pulled things apart, tipped things out etc... "Bucket and chuck it" he says is much more reliable. However the female on this boat does appreciate the comforts of a proper toilet. She doesn't cope so well when it doesn't work. We bought a new replacement pump in Singapore and now this has been installed.

Apart from the plumbing all else is going well. We are doing good average daily runs and according to the weather grib files the SE wind should stay with us the whole way. We've got the fishing line out so you never know. Fresh tuna would be nice...

Comments [0] | | More

20/02/2009, 30 17.55'S:13 59.85'E, South Atlantic Ocean

South Atlantic Ocean - South Africa to St Helena : Day 3 Friday 20th February 2009 Time : 8.20 am (SA) Position:30 17.55 S 13 59.85E

The wind picked up to 25 knots from the southeast yesterday so Valiam started swaying and galloping at 8.5 - 9 knots! I asked the captain nicely to slow her down so after 3 reefs in the main and the jib half furled she steadied down to 6.5 - 7 knots. Because the wind is behind we are rolling and swaying a bit. There's a bit of a swell coming towards our port side.

Not a lot to report - we are eating well, watched 2 movies and each have cat naps and short sleeps day and night. We are back in our sea passage routine. A long way to go!

All well on board.

Comments [0] | | More

19/02/2009, 32 4.21'S:16 22.49'E, South Atlantic Ocean

Thursday 19th February 2009 Time: (South Africa): 9am Position : 32 4.26S 16 22.59E

It's grey and overcast outside and we've had very little wind the last 12 hours. We ran the engine for a couple of hours but want to conserve our fuel. It's a long way to St Helena! Lucky we have plenty of books to read. All our fruit is becoming ripe at once so it looks like lots of fresh fruit now and none for most of the trip. The pumpkins, onions, potatoes and a couple of apples will keep for quite a while. We have oodles of tins of everything! In the fridge we have lots of cheese, salami, bacon, cucumber, yoghurt, 5 more vacuum packed pieces of beef as well as condiments and cold beverages.

It was very cold the first night - 12 to 14 degrees. Last night it was a bit warmer and our current temperature is 20 degrees. I look forward to those warm tropical days - about a week away! It will be good to throw off long sleeved sweat shirts and jackets. I look forward to carefree sailing where I can wear my bikini and paint my toenails!! If we get really bored we have Portuguese language lessons on CD as well as the guitar and beginners CD.

The water temperature was 15.8 degrees when we left and now it has crept up to 17.6 degrees. The wind has picked up a little and we are now sailing again at 5. knots. It's very comfortable. I haven't felt sea sick at all and have been able to read. I am currently reading 'Brick Lane' by Monica Ali. It's about an Indian woman living in London enmeshed in Bengali culture. She lives a subservient existence tending after her husband's needs including trimming his nostril hairs and cutting the skin around his corns! Yuck - I'm glad the captain doesn't expect me to perform those duties!

Anyway not much else to report - we continue to do our 3 hour shifts getting up every 20 minutes to check outside. The AIS ship plotter is great. An electric sounding foghorn toots on the computer when there is a ship. Most of the time they are 5- 17 nautical miles away and pass us several miles away. The closest one that passed us yesterday was 2 miles away. The ship plotter certainly takes away the anxiety of which direction the ship is headed ( not directly towards us!). It's interesting reading the details of the ship - currently there is one 17 miles away from Liberia. Yesterday there was one from Denmark bound for Durban. It was called Lars something. It makes it a little less lonely out here reading about the ships near us.

That's it for now. All well on board Valiam.

Comments [0] | | More

18/02/2009, 33 25.84'S:17 13.30'E, South Atlantic Ocean

South Atlantic Ocean - South Africa to St Helena : Day 1

Wednesday 18th February 2009 Time : (South Africa)11.30am Position: 33 25.84S 17 13.30E

It hasn't even been 24 hours yet since we left Simons Town but it feels like longer! There hasn't been much wind so we have motored most of the time until now. Keeping the fuel consumption at a minimum we only averaged 4.5 knots. The wind is blowing from the NW at 8 knots so we are moving quite slowly at around 4 knots. This is not the usual speed of Valiam! The winds should swing around tomorrow to the SE and be stronger so we hope to move along at a faster speed. I don't mind the slowness and gentle seas at the moment as it gets us used to being on passage and acquiring our 'sea legs'. There are many different kinds of birds sitting on the water having group meetings. Last night the sunset was magnificent with burnt fluorescent orange clouds dominating the sky. As we sailed out of False Bay a seal dipped and danced in the waves behind us not unlike a dolphin. A nice 'bon voyage' gesture.

The four months we spent in South Africa were busy with many rich and varied experiences. Not only is the South African landscape magnificent, the animals left to roam free were truly wonderful to observe. I could have watched them every day. The cheetah stole my heart particularly the female as she has to guard and protect her cubs as a single mother. Being the bottom of the wild cat chain the cubs have many predators. The cheetah is an elegant creature, constantly watching around her to see if anything will harm her cubs. The elephants have always been my favourite. We were lucky to have had many opportunities to observe (and interact with) them. Such amazing large animals still roaming this earth. Seeing a large herd of them at Pinda reserve was a great experience.

The people of South Africa are warm, generous and kind on the whole. Everywhere we went we were greeted with warm hospitality , many people going out of their way to assist us and show us their country as well as their homes, families and friends. The infrastructure is excellent. The roads are good, banks and offices all operate fairly efficiently and we were pleased on the whole of how we were treated by immigration and customs officials. Whilst in South Africa I read 2 books which helped me understand the history of this country and admire how far it has come. Nelson Mandela's 'Long Road to Freedom' has made a huge impact on me. This man lived for his beliefs most of his life and was finally able to achieve democracy in this country after more than 50 years of struggle in 1994. Even with international pressure for 30 years prior to that it took a long time for the black South Africans (and coloured South Africans) to gain freedom. Many young people are looking to the future to continue to improve and make South Africa a fine place for everyone to live. The scars of Apartheid still remain however. The other book I read was Charles Cilliers 'For Whites Only'. He also gave me an insight on the relationships between the different races in this country. Sometimes it was strange to be in yacht clubs where it was definitely a 'white enclave'. I guess yachting tends to be a (rich) white man's sport. There are many beautiful houses, buildings and streets in the towns and cities with great historical charm. Johannesburg and Durban seemed to have more security around the middle/upper (?) class houses than Cape Town and other cities. Security consisted of high solid walls, electric fencing and sometimes armed guards. Crime is a problem here but from discussions with several people who have visited in years previously they say the situation is improving. Sadly I didn't have many opportunities to socialize with black South Africans apart from security guar ds, shop assistants, restaurant staff and occasionally on trains. I was dismayed to see the poverty throughout South Africa but could see many new housing developments to replace the shacks. Seeing women and children sleeping on the streets in Durban was very upsetting. Giving money just didn't seem enough..Unemployment is high and of course there is no social security as such as we have in Australia. Although it was traumatic for me to be robbed of personal cherished items from around my neck in Cape Town, I could still empathize with the poor teenage boy who did it. I was very lucky to have most of my gold jewelry retrieved. At a tourist shop in Simons Town I had several discussions with a young man with dreadlocks and a big smile. He sees Obama as a younger version of Mandela. We shared our admiration for both men.

Whilst in South Africa global events and some tragic events occurred. The economic recession, the election of Barack Obama, the floods and terrible fires in Australia. Sailing around the world at this time still seems the right thing for us to do at this stage in our lives. The internet and satellite communication certainly makes things easier for us to remain in contact with loved ones and know what is going on in the world.

Sailing to South Africa and down the east coast was quite challenging at times. We have been told this passage is usually a good trip with nice breezes and warmer weather. It is very quiet out here at the moment especially after the high winds in Simons Town. This will be quite a long trip especially if the winds are light. (The captain won't be happy so I will have to keep up his morale and cook tempting dishes!) There were many ships last night. We purchased a second hand AIS receiver from a fellow yachtie in Simons Town. It is connected to our lap top computer as well the GPS. It shows all ships within a 20 mile radius. A foghorn (electronic) sounds as they come closer. The AIS receiver gives all the details of the ship - size, name, direction, speed, course,when it will be close to us, its hailing port and destination, type etc, etc. It certainly helps us determine which way to steer Valiam if we need to avoid them. We can also call them up on the radio if we need to. A fantastic aid for cruising yachts.

Our boat is already full of mementoes and keepsakes of our trip so far. I have 1000s of photos and movies already (as well as millions of my words!!!) which I have saved on an external hard drive. GMN (Global Marine networks) have asked us to feature a photo of Valiam on their website. We said of course! (www.globalmarinenet,com)

I apologise for the long ramble - but as you can imagine there is more time to reflect and think out here at sea. The next entries will be shorter plotting our positions daily. (click on the map)

All well on board Valiam (we are now sailing at 6 knots. The wind is blowing from NNW 10 -15 knots)

Comments [0] | | More

17/02/2009

17th February 2009

We are just about to head off. Conditions are good. We have plenty of food, fuel and water. We also now have a 2nd hand Ship Plotter so we can know where ships are, which direction they are heading and what their name is so we can cll them up on the radio. Thanks to Randy from Westwind!

Love to everyone - It should be a good trip. (but a llong one!) We estimate 12 days to St Helena. I will update the website from out at sea which will also plot our positions. It is a day late by the time it bounces to the satellite and to GMN USA then to the website. I will put up some random photos ahead of time so the text will be broken up a bit!

We had a lovely farewell dinner with Franck and Meng on Constante. Thanks guys - we really appreciate your friendship!

Keep those emails coming in everyone - it's going to be a long trip.

Comments [0] | | More

15/02/2009, Simons Town South Africa

The above image is a grib file from passage weather which shows good weather for our departure on Tuesday 17th. The colours are in knots of wind and the lines are wind direction.We have a few more jobs to do such as filling up with fuel and water etc. A fellow yachtie has sold us an AIS (Automatic Identification System) receiver which Bill is busy installing. It means we will be able to identify ships and know how far and in which direction they are heading. This will assist in alleviating some uncertainity when ships are near us. We look forward to a good run to St Helena in favourable south easterly winds. We will send position updates along the way to the website. Two sleeps to go!

On Friday 13th February we went into Cape Town by train to go and have a skin cancer check and clear out of immigration and customs etc. An unlucky/lucky day!

Our Appointment with the dermatologist was for 10.15 in Claremont a suburb of Cape Town. We rushed to catch the 9am train and didn't have time for breakfast. I was going to take off my gold chain with charms but in the rush didn't have time. It's a half an hour hike to he train station and we missed the train by 2 minutes! The next one left in half an hour. Despite being annoyed at having to wait we enjoyed the train trip as it is quite spectacular the track literally follows the beach and rocky headlands by 1-2 metres. We were told by the Doctors receptionist to get off at Claremont and catch a cab from there. We got to Claremont at just after 10.15. When we got out of the station where the mini buses (called taxis here) and cabs are normally parked it was empty and deserted. A helpful lady at a fruit stall said the all the taxis and most cab drivers were on strike. 'This is Africa'! We were stranded in this not so pretty part of Cape Town with only $5 credit on my phone. I phoned the doctors and said we cant get transport and wouldn't make the appointment. She gave me a number to ring and said as long as we turned up by 12.00 it would be ok. 'This is Africa'! As we were lost - looking white tourists many people wanted to help. The fruit seller told me to hide my phone
as it was dangerous here. ('This is Africa!") The station manager tried to help but couldn't get a cab for us. I phoned the number I was given and yes a private cab could come for us but it would cost 140 Rand. (A lot for South Africa - about $23 for us) The cab company told us not to wait near the train station because of the strike. He said he didn't want his driver to have bricks thrown at him!('This is Africa!' ) We were told to wait up at the main road. A nice Muslim lady walked with us. It was after 11am by this time and as we were starving while we were waiting for the cab we bought 2 packets of chips! The little shop had a big sign on the footpath outside saying it sold Vodacom airtime. The fellow was talking on his cell phone, glanced at me so I asked for airtime. He shook his head and continued his conversation.( 'This is Africa'!)

Not long after a shiny black 7 seater turned up with a fancy logo on the side. He managed to drive us to the Dermatologist's with the help of Bill reading the map as it was in a small leafy suburban culdesac. After finding it we asked him for his number to come back and get us!! At the dermatologists we had to walk thorough a carport then down the side of a house to a small office and waiting room full of people. ('This is Africa!') We wailted for about an hour when Dr Dagmar Whitaker quietly ushered us in. She knew what
she was looking for and was very thorough. I was pronounced clear but warned to wear sunscreen on my face (which I always do) as well as my throat etc. She found several several solar keratosis on Bill which she then proceeded to treat with liquid nitrogen. Poor thing - on his face including nose, hands and arms. He said it hurt and today he has blisters which will then turn into scabs... Long sleeved shirts and big hats form now on!

We finally got into town about 12.30 and met Natalie and Rob(yacht Wilhelm) for lunch. After lunch Natalie and I went to the pharmacy to get the special sunscreen for Bill the dermatologist recommended. It was closed for another 20 minutes as the staff were at the Mosque praying.( 'This is Africa!") Around 2pm we all caught another private cab to immigration and did the necessary paperwork and our passports stamped to clear out of the country. It's a dull dreary old building with poor lighting and no signs anywhere to tell you where to go.('This is Africa!') (The yacht club prints instructions for yachties!!) We noticed a chart place down the road so went there to get some charts to back up our electronic ones. Most were out of stock! Rob asked about a pilot book he had ordered but was told they cancelled the order because it was too hard to get..('This is Africa!')

The next place we had to get to was Customs. Following the directions on our yacht club handout we told the cab driver where to drop us off. He said here it is "SARS building - South African Revenue... It looked right. We went in at 3.45pm worried it closed at 4pm. It was the wrong building.( 'This is Africa!') Running 2 blocks further we found the right one. A bored looking fellow in a cuble looked at our paperwork as if we had handed him rubbish. It took a while to explain we were on a yacht ('ship') and he really didnt
seem interested in doing the work. (It was Friday afternoon) He was even more unhappy when I handed him the VAT receipts for a refund. He tried to tell us to go to the waterfront but we had been informed by the yacht club that we are to be treated as a ship with ships stores not a regular tourist. He was most unhappy but stapled it altogether. It will be a miracle if we get our refund..( 'This is Africa')...

My next job was to buy $US cash. Natalie came with me whilst we tramped all over the city but all the banks were closed or demolished or didn't sell $US.( 'This is Africa'). It was now just after 4pm. I found an exchange bureau - a small fully glassed office on a street corner. Yes they could help me. The joking young man (it seemed party time in that little office as the 3 employees laughed and joked amongst themselves loudly in their language)- ('This is Africa') He told me how much the $US dollars would cost and I thought the exchange rate was ok but not brilliant. The transaction took some time as it was still party time in there. I was uncomfotable with the figures being shouted out on top of the joking for all and sundry to hear. He made a great show of flashing the $US around and slid it under thecounter. I signed after Natalie and I counted it. She stood behind me with her big hat so the people in the street couldn't see! When I checked
the docket I noticed a hefty commission . I asked about this and he said because it was after 3pm I was charged 3% instead of the usual 2%. I asked him why I wasn't told about this. All he said was 'I'm sorry'. Feeling 'done' I hid the money in my bag and left. ('This is Africa'.)

After having a 'goodbye coffee' with Natalie and Rob, Bill and I walked towards the train station. It was around 5pm and it was still broad daylight with people everywhere in the street. I was walking slightly behind Bill as he had the $US in the bottom of his knapsack and I wanted to keep an eye on it. Two teenage boys approached us with their hands outstretched begging. I turned to talk to one of them saying I didnt have any spare coins. Next thing his face came closer and he lunged forward and yanked at my gold chain with gold charms around my neck. I screamed and he ran off at full speed. People in the street were yelling 'Catch him Catch him!' We saw a
couple of guys running after them. Bill thought he'd grabbed my handbag with my passport in it. Then he looked at my neck. He said the elephant is still there (he gave me that). Lucky the chain didn't break but the other 3 gold charms had gone. I was in shock and was visibly upset. We walked quickly in the direction of where the thieves and people running went. Around the block we saw the boy being
held by the scruff of his neck by a man. I couldn't believe he caught him! The boy kept saying 'Im sorry..I'm sorry' The man had 2 of my gold charms in his hand. He said "is this all?" I said there was one more but it was small. We couldn't find it anywhere.... The two men who caught the boy were wearing shirts with a security logo and happened to be around. I thanked them profusely and asked them not to punish the boy too much. I took off my gold chain and gold earrings and put them in my purse. We walked to the train station to catch the last train to Simons Town. Several people in the street recognised us and asked if we were ok and
warned us to be careful. I knew I shouldn't have been wearing gold jewellry in town and I usually didn't. I either hid it under clothes or
wore cheap beads. We were also more complacent in Cape Town than we were in Durban. I was lucky to get most of it back. 'This is Africa!' (We felt fortunate we still had our passports and money)

What a Friday13th!Lucky and unlucky!! Bill said a lot of locals say TIA
instead of 'This is Africa'. I see it as an acceptance of whatever happens as one cant expect all countries to do things the same way.

Last night we were invited to a party at the yacht club for Valentines Day. A local couple were married that morning and wanted everyone in the yacht club to come and celebrate with them. It was a great night with live music and delicious food. Congratulations Ingrid and Alistair! We shared a table with two 25 year old Norwegian men Lars and Martin who have their last leg to go to complete their circumnavigation in their red 30ft yacht. It's good to see young people cruising the world also.

We leave South Africa with many fond and colourful memories of the people we met who have been so generous and kind. We loved seeing the animals in the wild and the stunning landscapes. Thank you South Africa!

Comments [1] | | More

12/02/2009

Godfrey assisting us load our groceries on to Valiam in 40 knot winds!

False Bay Yacht Club
Simons Town
12 February 2009

The biggest grocery shop ever took up all of yesterday! After loading up Rikki's minivan at the shopping mall, Godfrey was waiting at the Yacht club with the runabout to load it up on to the boat via the water - impossible to carry it all walking on all the ramps to our pontoon. It took us in to the night to pack it all away!

In preparation for our trip Linda cleaned out the galley and all the food storage lockers finding all sorts of 'interesting' jars, bottles and packets with unidentifiable growths and live matter in them. We found a few items were past their use by date so there were several trips to the rubbish bin! We are all loaded up now with food that should last a few months!

The weather looks good for a Tuesday departure so we are clearing customs and immigration in Cape Town tomorrow. It will be sad to say good bye to the friends we've made here but some yachts I am sure we will see again on our travels.

Comments [1] | | More

12/02/2009

Valiam sailing into the sunset

Comments [0] | | More

11/02/2009, Simons Town South Africa

Having a grey beard must be a prerequisite for a yacht captain!
Here's some of the yacht crews from USA (Wilhelm, West Wind), France(Julie) and Australia (Valiam)

Comments [0] | | More

09/02/2009, Valiam is still in Simons Town South Africa

9th February 2009
Simons Town

The news of devastating fires in Victoria and Australia reached us yesterday. Bill phoned his mother as several members of his family live in country Victoria. All is well with them but one fire did come very close to his brother's house. The temperatures have been a record at days of over 40 degrees up to 47. Gale force winds made fires even more devastating with over 100 people dead, many more injured and homeless. Several small towns have been wiped out. The news reached the South African newspapers this morning. To all those Australians reading our website who have families affected by these fires our thoughts are with you.

More devastation has occurred in north Queensland where huge floods have cut off towns including Townsville where our daughter lives. Our thoughts are with those in QLD also affected by the floods. It was reported recently that 60% of the state was flooded. We hope that things will return to normal as soon as possible.

So here we are in Simons Town at the bottom of Africa hearing all this sad news from home. Many South Africans live in Australia now so some families here are also affected.

Our plans for departure continue with the sail maker arriving today with repaired mainsail and jib as well as a new mainsail cover. A few more little jobs to do and then the big provisioning excursion and we will be ready to go.

South African friends Hazel and Richard kindly invited us for lunch to meet friends John and Di who have sailed the Brazilian coast and the Caribbean extensively recently. It was fantastic to gather up to date information and share sailing experiences. It was extremely generous and kind of Hazel and Richard to invite their friends to talk to us. A big thank you to you and also John and Di. The information you gave us will be extremely valuable when we cross the Atlantic. We will remember the beautiful delicious lunch in your gorgeous garden for a long time.

At yesterday's lunch we also met Paul and his friend who have just moved to Mauritius to start a business. It was great to talk about our fond memories of Mauritius and in particular my art experience with sculptor Lewis Dick. So Lewis- if you are reading this you may have a couple of visitors!

Another little activity that has been keeping me busy is tie-dyeing! Our white bed sheets were no longer white so now they are lovely colours including bright pink with hippy sunbursts on them!! A big improvement I think.

See photos in photo gallery Knysna to Simons Town

This time next week we will be out at sea!

Comments [0] | | More

07/02/2009, Simons Town

Bill busy researching in our cockpit. (Linda will be at the computer inside!)

We said 'Au revoir' to friends James and Pam (Rainbow Chaser) the night before they left for the Atlantic. Crew from Valiam, Constante, Westwind and Julie said bon voyage in yacht club style! (see photos)

PS I thought I would put a bit of history on the website ie. Valiam being constructed but the photos have ended up on the main page.....You can see how we have all changed! (Valiam and crew!!)

Comments [0] | | More

07/02/2009, South Africa

Ginger, Natalie, Linda, Bill, Pete and Rob -yachts Wilhelm, Marcy and Valiam out for lunch

7 February 2009

False Bay Yacht Club
Simons Town

This past week has involved 2 trips to Cape Town by train to mainly apply for and pick up our Brazilian visas. The train takes about an hour past several beach towns and mountains. It's quite interesting watching the local people board and disembark the train also. Lucky we get on the first stop and get off on the last so there is no mistakes! We caught up with 2 other yachtie couples at an Indian restaurant. I must admit after 3 weeks living in the tiny town of Simons Town we feel like country bumpkins visiting the big smoke!

We have also been busy researching and collecting information on Brazil and the Caribbean. The sail repairs should be ready by Friday 13th so we will leave soon after that for the Atlantic! A big provisioning shopping trip is planned as we have been warned everything will be expensive once we leave South Africa.

Comments [0] | | More

01/02/2009, South Africa

Hazel and Richard on board Valiam

(more photos under Knysna to simons Town) photo gallery

1st February 2009
FBYC
Simons Town
South Africa

The African penguins are lovely to look at and amusing to watch when they walk down to the water for a dip. We visited the colony again yesterday surprised no babies had hatched yet. They seem to sit on the eggs for a long time! Whilst watching the scenery on the way back we spotted a seal frolicking in the water near the penguins. Next thing he jumped up threw something that looked suspiciously like a penguin in the air and ate it! Oh dear... Not nice to watch but I guess we aren't vegetarian either. We hadn't seen 'Nigel' our loner penguin near the boat for a couple of days either. When I saw Gorgeous the big fat resident seal sleeping near our pontoon I wondered.... But no Nigel reappeared today! He is still sitting amongst the squabbling sea birds again today.

This morning we were treated to breakfast by Richard and Hazel whom we met in a restaurant in Rodrigues! Richard and Hazel have lived in Cape Town for many years and run a painting/decorating business. They are quite adventurous and have traveled in their Land Rover camping along the way in many African countries. We had a very enjoyable morning sharing our adventures both at a restaurant nearby and on board Valiam. They also have friends who have recently sailed the Caribbean. There may be an opportunity to meet with them to share information before we go there. Thanks Hazel and Richard - look forward to seeing you again and do stay in touch!!

Tomorrow we go to Cape Town by train to begin our list of errands including applying for a Brazilian visa. We shall catch up with Natalie and Rob (Wilhelm) who are berthed in town. The count down is now on until our departure..... Our sails are being repaired and a new sail cover made and should be ready before we leave...

Comments [0] | | More

01/02/2009, Simons Town South Africa

Hard to believe he could be a seal's dinner!

Comments [0] | | More

29/01/2009, South Africa

This is apparently 'Gorgeous'. He is a big seal that hangs around the marina. He is much bigger than he looks in the photo. I dont think he's that gorgeous as he has bitten at least 4 people lately! There's a photo in the gallery (Knysna to Simons Town) that has Bill standing some distance away from him.

Comments [0] | | More

27/01/2009, South Africa

Herman, Willy, Linda and Bill - lunch at Hout Bay

more photos in album 'Knysna to Simons Town' photo gallery

27th January 2009
False Bay Yacht Club
Simons Town

It's always nice to welcome visitors to our boat and today my father's friend Herman and his wife Willy came to visit. Herman used to sail extensively but is now retired so he has been following our journey. As a treat Herman took us to lunch at a delightful fish restaurant in Hout Bay. With the stunning backdrop of the mountains and boats we enjoyed a delicious lunch of fresh fish accompanied by good South African wine. It is always good to chat to locals to get their impressions and thoughts about life in South Africa. Herman immigrated to what was formerly known as Rhodesia from the Netherlands after the war. He was born and brought up in Indonesia so wasn't keen on the Dutch cold climate! Herman worked for a bank and was transferred around the place including Namibia and South Africa. Their children, grandchildren and great children are all here in South Africa and Cape Town has been Herman and Willy's home since the 70s. Although conscious of the political and social changes Herman feels confident that South Africa has a positive future.

From what I have observed I also feel South Africa is a wonderfully diverse country culturally and landscape-wise. The infrastructure seems sound particularly in regards to roads, services etc. Crime is a problem and with the huge number of poor people in this country as in many other countries around the world it will continue to be a problem unless there are some drastic changes which seem to be extremely difficult to implement. We have been impressed with the attitude of many young people we have met who are enthusiastic about this beautiful country's future.

We celebrated Australia Day by hanging Australian flags all over the boat. We received lots of nice messages by email and sms from other yachties around the country. We are the only Aussie yachties in Simons Town and we were pleased that our French friend Franck came to dinner. He even ate a vegemite sandwich for the first time declaring it delicious!

Every day we have observed one lonely penguin in amongst all the sea birds. He sits there dejectedly a little distance away from the other squabbling birds. We have nicknamed him 'Nigel' as that is a name in Oz for someone with no friends!

Comments [0] | | More

26/01/2009, Simons Town

Herman and Willy on board Valiam

Comments [0] | | More

25/01/2009, South Africa

Well at least Valiam looked the part!

Comments [0] | | More

24/01/2009, 64 km from Montagu, Western Cape South Africa

One of Linda's sketches - complete with emus and gum trees!!Is it really Africa?!!

Comments [0] | | More

24/01/2009, Montagu , Small Kloof Western Cape South Africa

Bill rock climbing near Montagu

24th January 2009
False Bay Yacht Club
Simons Town
South Africa

On Tuesday the wind was blowing a gale gusting over 50 knots! The noise blowing in the rigging of over 200 yachts was almost ear splitting! Captain Bill secured Valiam ensuring the ropes wouldn't chafe whilst we were gone on our planned 'country jaunt'. It was blowing so hard the sea seemed to be whipped up in a frenzy! As soon as we drove inland we left the wind and noise behind.

South Africa is such a vast magnificent country. The landscape is reminiscent of Australia but everything seems larger and brighter. We spent the last 4 days touring through some of the Western Cape region to meet our friends Charmain and Mike in Montagu. The idea of our "long weekend" was to enjoy rock climbing, walking, taste wine in the local wineries, sketching and browse through local galleries and craft shops.

The climbers were satisfied with their climbing in various climbing locations and we were all more than satisfied with the various wines we tasted! The first 2 nights we stayed in a unit in Montagu itself. Everything in the unit (and the town) was very quaint, historic and countrified with lavender, flowers and fruit everywhere. Charmain said there were even frangipanis floating in the toilet bowl! The 3rd night was unplanned but we were having such a nice relaxed time we didn't want it to end. This time we booked into a cottage on a farm 60km out of town. The views of the mountains and countryside didn't disappoint. The Karoo is quite dry and almost desert like. It was quite amusing to see eucalypts everywhere flourishing into huge trees. In fact the farm was called 'Een Boom' meaning 'One Tree'. The one or two trees on the property next to the main house were gum trees. Checking in we noticed some birds which the others said were baby ostriches. "They look like emus!" I said. I was laughed at but later I had the last laugh as the owner said they were indeed emus! He was planning to farm emus for emu oil. (For therapeutic use etc) It was quite funny for us Aussies to stay on an African farm with gum trees and emus. There were native African animals and birds too - ostriches, bucks, tiny tortoises etc.

We enjoyed our stay in the cottage very much. It was beautiful and quiet soaking up the sounds of nature. It was also very cold in the evening and early morning requiring long sleeves and socks. (Even in January!)

I have taken lots of photos and have done a few sketches so do look in the photo gallery (under 'Montagu - rock climbing)

Bill and Mike managed quite a few difficult climbs and were pleased with their efforts. Hiking around to the various rock climbing venues we were treated to so much beautiful scenery. It was a treat to be there.

Montagu and the surrounding towns have cafes which are so relaxing to be in, usually with a garden and interesting craft and produce for sale. The wine farms in South Africa are many and cover a huge area. Some have been producing wine for over 300 years! The architecture of these older wine farms are in the Dutch Cape style with curved fascias. We sampled the wine in two wine farms and purchased enough boxes of wine (about 8!) to get us through the next few months of cruising. Carrying all these precious boxes to our boat was an effort however. Valiam is of course on the last pontoon. Each pontoon is connected by a narrow ramp. Unfortunately the yacht club trolley wheels didn't fit on the ramps without the outer wheels balanced precariously on the edge. Not wanting to lose our precious cargo we had to carry the boxes 1 or 2 at a time about 100m across all the ramps to our pontoon. They are still stacked up waiting to be packed away.

After such a wonderful "weekend" (Tues-Fri) we had to say 'au revoir' to our friends. Mike and Charmain will be sailing Vire Nord down from Richards Bay. We hope they have good winds so we can see them again before we leave South Africa.

This morning we drove our hire car to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope before we had to give it back at 1pm. The weather has calmed right down and we could see right across False Bay. We could see French yachties Neurone heading off for St Helena. Soon it will be us.....

PS When we got back the wind instrument read the strongest gust whilst we were away from Simons Town was 69 knots! Bill must have tied good knots on the ropes holding Valiam!

Comments [0] | | More

23/01/2009, wearing Cheetah t-shirts

I bought these shirts and a dvd for Caylan and Joe at Tanikwa Wildlife Centre where we saw the cheetahs. Our own little wildlife warriors! (Caylan loves Bindi Irwin)

Comments [0] | | More

23/01/2009, Western Cape South Africa

Mike Charmain Linda and Bill with wine farm assistant at Bon Courage wine farm

Comments [0] | | More

19/01/2009, South Africa

20th January 2009

The train station in Simons Town is right next to the beach with sand blowing on to the train tracks! The trip to Cape Town by train was very scenic as it went along the beach for several stations within metres of the sea! We arrived in the busy city of Cape Town just before 12 noon and made our way to Immigration by foot. Immigration is in an old grey building that has seen better times. There are no signs outside to tell you where it is but we found it on the 5th floor after written directions from the yacht club and the verbal directions of a passerby. The process of filling in about 6 forms (including the recording of stowaways and deceased passengers) didn't take very long. It was difficult to see in the dark corridor as none of the lights worked! We were impressed that we got the paperwork done even though at least 6 people left the office obviously on their lunch break. No fees either. (Not like the Philippines!!)

As the area towards the waterfront didn't look that nice for walking we took a cab. Again we were confronted with a mass of touristy shops and restaurants all obviously very new and upmarket as part of Cape Town waterfront development. We enjoyed a nice lunch overlooking the busy harbour and noise. We are glad we are staying in Simons Town! After lunch we took another cab to pick up a hire car. Bill drove the hire car (VW Golf) to a suburb called Claremont where it was recommended to buy climbing boots for Bill. We surprisingly found the place without a proper map and made a dent in the credit card buying climbing boots, harness and a waterproof knapsack.

Today we join our friends Charmain and Mike for a mountaineering/wine and brai couple of days in Montagu. We are renting a cottage for 2 nights which should be fun. In the meantime we've had gale force winds in Simons Town (gusts of 45+ knots). The howling in the rigging reminds me of our trip across the Indian Ocean!

Comments [1] | | More

17/01/2009, Boulder beach Simons Town

We loved watching these cute birds! (more pics of penguins in photo gallery)
We visited the colony again the next day with friends Natalie and Rob. Another beautiful day!

Comments [1] | | More

16/01/2009, South Africa

17th January 2009
False Bay Yacht Club
Position: 34 11.3S 18 26.0E

The view from our boat as I write this is very picturesque. The harbour is surrounded by rocky mountains. The birds are everywhere - even a lone penguin sitting amongst the others make this place feel like nature's haven. There is supposed to be a seal that is sometimes nasty biting people when he hops up on the pontoon. We haven't seen him yet. We saw many seals on our passage from Knysna that didn't look nasty at all. In fact they appeared to grin and wave their flipper at us as we sailed past. (Valiam was too fast to get photos of them)

We arrived in Simons Town last night at 6pm after a 35 hour passage from Knysna. (240 miles) We had a good trip with the wind not getting too strong until just into False Bay. Then as we were warned it blew 30 knots. Our friend Franck whom we met in Port Elizabeth was there to catch the lines and had arranged a berth for us. A big thank you to Franck! Franck is on Constante and sailed from Singapore with his wife Meng and two little daughters. Meng and the children are currently in Singapore visiting family whilst Franck goes on the hard next week to antifoul. We met several other yachties we'd met previously including a French couple in Reunion, a Dutch couple (yacht Sepia) in Knysna, and several others. It will be quite social here I think!

We will stay here a few weeks preparing for the Atlantic. There is a train to Cape Town which we will use to fulfill paperwork and other errands. We also have friends who want to show us around. We are meeting up with Charmain and Mike next week so the boys can go rock climbing. I will bring my sketchbook to try and capture some of the beauty of this area of South Africa.

One thing we are keen to do soon is visit the penguin colony not far from here.

Comments [0] | | More

15/01/2009

16 January 2009
At 6am this morning we were directly off Cape Agulhas the southern most point of Africa. (Not Cape of Good Hope as some believe) Our position was 34 55.09 South 19 58.82East. It was cool and overcast. We took a few photos and celebrated with a bar of chocolate deciding it was a bit early for champagne. (Keep that for Simonstown)

It feels strange to be down here and wonderful at the same time. We are now officially in the South Atlantic Ocean! Seeing some splashes close to land in the distance I was hoping they were penguins but no they were whales! We could see the water spurts making a misty cloud for a few moments. There are lots of sea birds either bomb diving into the water to catch fish or just sitting in groups having a meeting. The wind is light (less than 10 knots) so we are motor sailing to maintain our speed of 6.5 to 7 knots to get to Simonstown tonight.

We left Knysna 6am on the 15th January and got through the heads without any dramas. Thoses rocks are still too close for my liking!

Our South African phone works here so I sent and received lots of sms messages to/from friends and family in Australia:
My message: Just rounding cape Agulhas now! Nearly 35 degrees south - southern most point of Africa. Goodbye Indian Ocean! Bit too early 4 champers. Grey overcast & cold. L & B
Replies:
Yolanda: Woohoo! Yes a bit early 4 bubbles. Well done crew xxx y
Liam: Are you near Jeffrey's Bay? Can u see the waves? I'm having lunch at the bowls club with work
Paul: Woo hoo - go Valiam :-)
Su and Steve: Fantastic VERY EXCITING! Take care we will have a drink 4 u tonight. Su Steve
Ruth: Gday Aussi wanderers safe passage happy 2009 will be in touch. Mac sorting out computer u may hear from me yet. luv Ruth Phil

Its so nice to stay in touch with family and friends getting immediate
replies to share the experience!

Thank you all for your never ending support

love from Linda and Bill
SY Valiam

PS Decided to have one glass of champagne at lunchtime to celebrate!
(see photo gallery)

Comments [0] | | More

14/01/2009, South Africa

Charmain and Bill - view from game park restaurant including giraffes in distance
Mossel Bay by car (see photos in photo gallery)
14th January 2009

Our friend Charmain (whom we met with hubbie Mike on Virenord) invited us to stay at her place in Dana Bay just outside Mossel Bay. It was nice to be off the boat for a couple of days exploring the region with a 'local'. Dana Bay is a beautiful beachside area with well kept homes and most have a view of the ocean. Charmain and Mike are currently living in a flat underneath Charmain's parents' house. South African hospitality was shown to us once again in abundance by Charmain, Gaart and Anneke. We enjoyed staying in a beautiful home with ocean views, delicious meals including a traditional 'brai',wonderful hot showers and the use of a washing machine! Charmain was our tour guide for 2 days showing us the local area. Most people in this region speak Afrikaans and even the road signs and shop names are in Afrikaans. Even though I understand and can speak a little Dutch I find it hard to understand. Comparing pronunciations of Dutch/Afrikaans words with Anneke and Gaart was fun. Most shopkeepers think we are Afrikaans and apologise when we reply in English!

We drove inland where it was very dry to a local game park. As the game drive was too expensive we enjoyed a leisurely lunch in their 5 star restaurant instead. Two giraffes entertained us the whole time in the distance of this magnificent view. It is a beautiful place but unfortunately we experienced a few culinary upsets! (We should have known as the restaurant was empty but we were so taken by the view) Towards the end of Charmain's meal she discovered a wriggling black grub or worm on her plate under some lettuce. Her face changed colour and she informed the manager. She kept thinking she may have eaten more without realizing it! After leaving the game lodge we drove to the Museum in town. (Unfortunately a short time afterwards Linda became ill! It was definitely a case of food poisoning! ) Bill enjoyed the Museum as there was a replica of Bartolemeu Dias' boat (Caravel) that he was able to climb on board. This replica actually repeated Dias' voyage from Portugal in 1988. The original voyage was in 1487. They completed the voyage in much less time. The copies of maps and illustrations were very interesting. The old charts had strange shapes for some of the countries and Australia didn't 'exist'.

Whilst in Mossel Bay we noticed our French friends Archibald, Maloya and Malamock tied up to a fishing boat in the harbour. We were so pleased to have come in to Knysna. These calm waters are such a treat for us in South Africa. We hope to see our French friends in Simonstown. Most of the cruisers seem to be going there.

We plan to meet up with Charmain and Mike next week (he'll be back from the mine) for a day or two at a mountaineering place so Bill and Mike can go rockclimbing.

Driving back to Knysna we took the scenic route to Oudtshoorn through the mountains. The change in temperature and geography in such a short time was amazing. The mountains were quite barren covered in mostly rock. Oudtshoorn was so hot! On the road in we saw ostriches with their beaks open and wings drooping. It was 39degrees! Linda had to buy some ostrich feathers (some dyed). I think Captain Bill is going to limit the souveniers on board Valiam soon!

The wind had picked up from the south west when we drove the dinghy back to Valiam so it was wet and choppy. Unfortunately Linda still didn't feel well and was soon in bed. Today things are looking brighter and we are starting to plan the next stage of our voyage. We copied 2 of Charmain's cruising books on Brazil mostly looking at the northern part where we will most likely land after St Helena. We will be busy in Cape Town provisioning and getting visas. We will leave Knysna in the next day or so when the weather is suitable and when the tide is almost high going out through the heads.

Comments [0] | | More

13/01/2009, Dana Bay

Thankyou to Charmain Gaart and Anneke for a wonderful stay! (Sorry if I spelt your names incorrectly!)

Comments [0] | | More

10/01/2009, Garden route, South Africa

Linda patting a cheetah cub Tenikwa Wildlife Centre

Exploring around Knysna
10th January 2009

Its fun being tourists especially when surrounded by stunning scenery and gorgeous animals! Yesterday we drove to Storms River Mouth via Tsitsikamma National Park. It was interesting to see the same mountains from the land as we saw from the sea. When we got to Storms River Mouth there was an arduous walk via 1000s of steps created around the rocks and on the forest edge to a suspension bridge across the gorge. This was the reward - what fun to bounce across it! There were buildings such as a café, change rooms and showers built right on top of the rocks which wouldn't happen in Australia in such a natural environment. We really enjoyed the scenery (see photo gallery)

Today we played with the animals! After seeing African animals in the wild I felt a bit guilty being able to get so close to them in captivity . However the animals we saw today are endangered and are being either being rehabilitated or part of breeding programs. These animals are kept in 5 star accommodation and appeared very happy and most have known no other life other than being raised by humans. The cheetah is still endangered. Although the breeding programs have been quite successful, some weak characteristics have emerged due to inbreeding. The largest number of cheetah at the moment in the wild, are in Namibia. Attempts have been made to introduce some of these to other game parks in Africa. Today we had the opportunity to pat cheetah cubs. Their fur although it looks soft is actually a bit wiry. They purr really loudly too! ! One playfully bit Bill on the knee! (see photo gallery) We observed other wild cats at this Wildlife Awareness Centre - Tenikwa. (www.tenikwa.co.za)

Down the road there was an Elephant Sanctuary so Linda just had to go. It seemed strange once again to see a mere 6 elephants cared for in 5 star accommodation when we have seen so many in herds and groups in the wild. We got the opportunity to touch them, walk with them holding their trunk and feed them. "My" elephant Tamela originally came form Kruger Park because she was naughty pushing down fences to eat the farmers' crops. One of the guides here said there are 17,000 elephants at Kruger and although it is a huge park it is still too many elephants for the area. We were also given little mini lectures at both these animal sanctuaries. Did you know an elephant gives birth in 30 seconds?

Comments [1] | | More

07/01/2009, South Africa

Knysna Lagoon
Knysna
South Africa
34 02.67S:23 02.36E
7th January 2009

We arrived in Knysna (pronounced 'nice-na') at 11.40 am on 7th Jan. It was an interesting entrance into the small harbour avoiding rocks etc as a catarmaran came out at the same time. A tight squeeze!! Even after several phone calls to Knysna Quays over the past week assuring us of a space we had to anchor. So we had to get the dinghy out! It seems it is crowded in every harbour in South Africa at this time of the year!! We may get a berth or tie up to the wall later. Oh yes there was a very helpful local showing us where to anchor in between sandbanks and of course reverse decided not to work at the crucial moment!!! Anyway it's working again and we are safely anchored and enjoyed a well earned cool drink - bubbles for me and beer for Bill.

We made our way to the yacht club to avail ourselves of their facilities - showers, restaurant etc. We were warmly welcomed by Roger with the first drink 'on the house'.
The waterfront is so like the Wharf at Mooloolaba or Noosaville it doesn't feel like Africa. Everything is expensive touristy and mostly white people on holidays. We were quite tired after a couple of hours so brought back a takeaway pizza for dinner. It's strange to be anchored again after so long. (The last time was in Rodrigues)
Its great that 3G works here to do internet from our anchorage.

For the yachties: c map is accurate. Just keep close to the western side rocks at the entrance. We came in 2 hours before high tide with no problem. Just phone NSRI 044 3840211 before you leave Port Elizabeth and just outside the entrance to assess conditions. When we came in it was blowing 20 knots from the east and no swell. There was 2 knots of current at the most when we came in.

Also we saw 2 seals a few miles from Knysna. Their cheeky little heads popped out of the water with their whiskers twitching and their bodies glistening as they then rolled over and swam into the waves. It was very cold this morning - beanies, jackets etc.

In South African lingo it looks a bit 'larny' from here. (like Noosa Heads). The Lonely planet says there is a 'gay friendly vibe' and 'a large Rastafarian community'! We'll let you know if it's true!!! At present we can only see well fed sunburnt shirtless whitefellas racing around in expensive runabouts!( as well as 2 kids being towed at high speed in an inflatable lounge suite) Apart from that the anchorage is peaceful however.

We look forward to exploring the area beyond the waterfront.

Comments [0] | | More

06/01/2009, South Africa

We had a lovely passage to Knysna as this picture shows

Comments [0] | | More

02/01/2009, South Africa

photo: Valiam's turquoise hull stands out!
Algoa Bay Yacht Club
Port Elizabeth
3rd January 2009

A wet windy southwesterly came in this morning. We are now tied up to a marina berth (see photo gallery) but one of our new mooring lines chafed on the cleat. So at 5am in the rain we readjusted the lines. The captain says we are not leaving the boat today to keep an eye on things. It's certainly windy down this end of South Africa. We'll sit tight until there is a nice weather window to move on.

Yesterday we explored the local area by foot and taxi. The Spa supermarket nearby has everything we need including big thick cuts of steak which the captain was eyeing off. There is a large tourist development called 'The Boardwalk'. Its open air shopping mall around a man made lagoon and casino. The shops are very up market catering for local as well as foreign tourists. The beach was very windy but the locals were enjoying it nonetheless. We felt quite safe here - everyone is in a happy holiday mood. The kite surfers were having a good time! There are a few restaurants and bars along the beachfront so we enjoyed a glass of wine upstairs whilst 'people watching'. A nice way to spend the afternoon even if we were a bit wind blown.

There aren't many foreign cruisers here. Near us are Franck and Meng on Constante from Singapore. They have 2 gorgeous little girls Carmen and Julie. We spent a nice couple of hours on their boat chatting. Meng is a musician - a double bass player but cant have her instrument on the boat! She is very busy looking after the 2 active little girls. Franck is French and has done some considerable sailing and is currently following his parents' path when they sailed around the world. Franck is also waiting for a break in the weather to head closer to Cape Town.

Comments [0] | | More

01/01/2009, South Africa

Algoa Bay Yacht Club
Port Elizabeth
South Africa
1st January 2009
Position : 33 57.999S 25 38.020E

Happy New Year!
Leaving Buffalo River Yacht Club, East London was like leaving good friends behind. Yevette and Keith waved us off (see pic in gallery) We had to wait an hour until a cargo ship had finished manoevering in the river before we could leave. It was brisk and choppy with a 15 knot South westerly when we left. We knew it would change soon but in the meantime Linda was seasick again (despite medication....) After the south easterly came in Valiam was more comfortable and she sped along in the current at 10 knots! We were deciding whether to keep going to Knysna or pull into Port Elizabeth in the early hours. We decided P E as we weren't sure of our timing getting into Knysna as we have to enter the harbour an hour before high tide. We slowed Valiam down by Bill taking the mainsail down and by midnight Linda was feeling well enough for a small glass of celebratory Amarula (African equivalent of Baileys). Instead of fireworks we watched dolphins swim in phosphorescence trails next to Valiam's hull. Just beautiful...

A mile from the entrance we called Port control. At 4.30 am there were no other vessels entering or leaving the harbour on New Years Day! The port control officer was extremely helpful and said someone would be waiting for us at the yacht club. A young man was there to catch our lines outside the hardstand dock against the wall. We could here raucous party noises coming from the yachtclub! We also noticed our young Polish friend's yacht Ania on the hardstand in a cradle. The young fellow who took our lines said "Their anchor came adrift and they ended up on the beach. They took in 1000s of litres of water" Heidrun and Dieter told us "They left with a faulty motor. There was no wind and their anchor came off. They ended up on the beach half way between East London and here. It was in the newspaper." Marta and Magda are both extremely competent sailors with yachtmasters certificates etc. Marta has already sailed 20,000 miles by herself from Venezuela . Thankfully they are safe and hopefully Ania will be repaired soon so Marta can continue her circumnavigation. We also just heard that an Australian yacht has been abandoned south of here due to heavy weather. The weather in South Africa is to be monitored carefully at all times. Short hops for us when we feel confident. Already there is an uncomfortable surge here next to the wall. We hope to move to a berth soon.

We had a couple of hours sleep and were greeted by two friendly local Germans Heidrun and Dieter. They say there is a berth for us at the marina. We will have to stay on the wall with all the squeaks and surges until we can get a key for the 'walk-ons' tomorrow. Bill cooked bacon and eggs!! ( a change from packet chips and cup-a -soup the last 24 hours!!) We'll sit tight in Port Elizabeth until the next best weather window.

All well on board Valiam

Comments [2] | | More

31/12/2008

Here's part of a newspaper story in Afrikaans of our Polish friend Marta. See Valiam in the background!

Comments [0] | | More

30/12/2008, East London SOUTH AFRICA

Buffalo River Yacht Club
East London
30 December 2008

It is very relaxing here and we are looked after so well by Yvette and Keith we feel thoroughly spoilt. Yvette cooked up a storm last night with garlic prawns, savoury rive, potatoes and salad. The Polish girls Marta and Magda as well as a couple of members were there for dinner. When we woke this morning Marta had already left for Port Elizabeth. It's been a magical day with blue skies and sun. Keith drove us around town to see the beautiful white sand beaches ( a bit like home!) and the Museum. We had a pleasant lunch at Guidos on the beach front. Linda had to buy some more African beads and second hand books from the stalls along the esplanade. The Museum was really interesting with many stuffed creatures, replicas, photos etc. The most famous exhibit is the stuffed original of a coelacanth a strange looking fish that until 1938 had been extinct for 50 million years. The history of South Africa is very interesting particularly the settling of people. Before white men came the original people were the San - Khoi khoi people who were here for tens of thousands of years. They were likened to 'Bushmen', were small in stature and were hunters and gatherers. Descendants of these people still live here today.

One of the best parts of traveling is meeting and chatting with the locals. It gives us an insight into how they feel about the struggles and changes in South Africa. It sometimes surprises me when I hear racist comments from white people but there are many white people who are working hard to build harmonious relationships with the black South Africans. South Africa has a 'colourful' history for want of a better term and has much potential. We are reading an interesting book at the moment called 'For Whites Only' by Charles Cilliers a white South African of many generations. Some of the things he talks about in his book about the past, apartheid policies etc are depressing. However he talks about how a positive future can be created by all South Africans by acknowledging the past but moving on to work collaboratively together.

We aim to leave East London tomorrow - New Years Eve - so we will have a quiet celebration at sea. Maybe we will see some fireworks!! Knysna seems a nice place so we are aiming for there but may have to stop in Port Elizabeth first. Knysna has a tricky entrance which is best to enter at high tide. We'll see how we go!

(more pics in the gallery)

Comments [1] | | More

28/12/2008

Buffalo River Yacht Club
East London
South Africa
Position: 33 01.437S 27 53.736E
28 December 2008

After clearing with Port Control to enter the harbour, Port Control radioed back shortly afterwards to say that Buffalo River Yacht club had a mooring for us as Latimers Landing is too crowded. As we entered the river we could see lots of yachts on what we Aussies call moorings - big drums floating in the water with ropes tied between them. After fishing out the boat hook and trying to work out how to pick up one of these things, a fellow motored over in a dinghy to tell us to tie up to a 'walk on' in front of the club. It was raining by this time so we were grateful for the 'walk on' as well as Keith and Mark's help tying up. (not our best skill after a passage!) It was still light at 6pm.

We had quite a good trip although uncomfortable at times. We didn't really get a ride on the Aghulas current until yesterday when we were going 11.5 knots!! The current was about 20 miles offshore and the water temperature went up to 24 degrees. When we first left Durban we were about 12 miles offshore (as reommended in Tony Herrick's guide) but all we experienced was a 1 knot counter current!! Marta on Ania came into East London just after us and said she went 35 miles off shore from Durban and at times was going at 14 knots! She left 6.5 hours before us but arrived an hour or so after. We would have liked to have kept going to Port Elizabeth but there was a 35 knot gale warning and we were tired.

For all the yachties we would like to put a good word out for the Buffalo River Yacht Club. We have been welcomed with open arms and Yvette the manager (and Keith) cant do enough for us. BRYC is like being in someone's home. Yvette and Keith cooked up nibbles, soup and steak, chips and eggs. After a few glasses of red wine we were snoring in our bunks. Yvette has made the club very homely and the amenities are spotless even with paintings and flowers decorating it. She has offered to do our laundry and run us into town. The pontoon we are tied up to is new but there is really only room for about 3 yachts unless rafting up. We think it is better than Latimers Landing. see their website :
http://www.bryc.co.za.
It's quite picturesque on the river and reminds me a little of Hobart, Tasmania. East London is Spouth Africa's only true river port.

We will wait for the next weather window before we leave either for Port Elizabeth or Mossel Bay.

It's a refreshing change here after Durban

Comments [1] | | More

22/12/2008, Durban South Africa

CHRISTMAS WISHES FROM LINDA AND BILL

22 December 2008
Durban Marina, South Africa

Hi everyone

Is it really Christmas? We've just returned from hauling out Valiam at Marina Yacht Lift on the other side of the harbour. Valiam has now a sparkling smooth black bottom and new waterline to reflect our increased cruising load. From 8 tons we are now about 10 tens. We are now tied up a little away from the International jetty but we can wave to them and also the people across a few metres of water in the Fish Café. We are now waiting for a good weather window to sail south towards Mossel Bay.

We nearly added to Valiam's crew by adopting a small stray kitten. After being fed, bathed and given a warm basket to sleep in little puss was in heaven. 5 star treatment after the rubbish and dirt in the boat yard! He was quite pathetic and on death's door when Bill found him in the dirt under Valiam. At four weeks he'd obviously been abandoned by his feral mother. Anyway after lots of discussion it was decided that in everyone's best interests that he stay at the boat yard. The yachties next to us in the boatyard are feeding him now who will then pass him on to the next ones and so on until he is strong enough to fend for himself. ( more photos in the gallery)

Last Christmas we were at sea between Papua New Guinea and Palau. As I reflect on our first year of cruising I feel a sense of amazement that we really sailed our boat all the way to Africa from Mooloolaba! (11,400 nautical miles) Valiam is comfortable, safe and reasonably fast. We are really happy with her performance and we feel confident that she will continue to get us safely wherever we want to go. As a cruising team of 2 we have managed pretty well. There are definitely 'blue' jobs and 'pink' jobs on this boat but that's the way it goes. We have to make the most of what skills each of us have. I have tried to learn more about rigging and managing the sailing and navigating and think that I understand everything a lot better. Bill has been honing in on skills he already has and with experience knows which equipment works best for us and the boat. Anything to do with computers (i.e. autopilot, sat communications etc) sometimes get the better of us!

The best part of our journey so far has been meeting amazing people when we are ashore and learning about their lives. As we travel through different countries we learn so much and gain understandings we didn't have before. The yachties we meet are 'in the same boat' (ha-ha) as ourselves and we usually have an instant connection. Conversations tend to be about the weather, fixing the boat, tips on places to go and of course the usual tall yarns after a couple of drinks. When we meet 'landlubbers' its nice not to always talk about boat things and experience life as they do a little. This has been especially significant and rewarding for us when friends/family from home has given us contacts. Examples of this are meeting all our 'in laws' in Malaysia and Singapore, forestry colleague Nestor in the Philippines, our artist friend Lewis in Mauritius and recently Angie in Durban. We now have wonderful memories of these rich experiences. Chance meetings especially when we have anchored Valiam near someone's town or village have also been enjoyable. I have lost count of the number of times I have dragged out my little photo album of the family and where we live in Oz to show people. Photos of the grandchildren always break the ice when there are language difficulties! Even the most dour faced official will smile and talk about his kids. We have given clothing, school items, fishing line, batteries and occasionally money to communities that we have visited who have so little in material possessions but often seem 'richer' in some ways by the way they live. A good example of this is the little community living on Egum atoll in Papua New Guinea. They have no electricity, cars, roads, shops, computers, TVS, telephone etc but have almost everything they need. They fish and grow vegetables. They build everything themselves - their own sailing canoes (main form of transport), huts, toys etc. We still can't believe that we traded a few t shirts and batteries for 10 fresh lobsters! This little community also gave us a couple of ancient carvings from an original canoe that we have proudly displayed inside Valiam's saloon.

Another significant pleasure as we travel is enjoying the local foods and wines! Unfortunately this has been reflected in our waistlines so we will try and indulge a little less in 2009! This is difficult in South Africa as the food (steaks, curries) is excellent quality as well as the wine at very reasonable prices for us Aussies. If we go to the USA and Europe it may be diet time!

It's been a fantastic year for us 'living our dream'. We will continue enjoying and learning as we go along. Thank you everyone for your support through emails, sat messages and comments on our website. It's been hard being away from our friends and family but satellites and mobile phones make the distances seem less! We hope that we have inspired some of you to also 'live your dream' as life is too short to waste it. We believe if you have a seaworthy boat and a bit of common sense anyone can do what we have.

Merry Christmas wherever you are and have a safe and happy 2009.

Love from
Linda and Bill
SV Valiam

Comments [0] | | More

21/12/2008, South Africa

This shot was taken the other night from Valiam looking towards the Fish Cafe. The southwesterly that blew that night got up to 50 knots on our wind instrument in port. We continue to wait for wa weather window!

Comments [1] | | More

21/12/2008, South Africa

21st December
The boat's painting is finished so we went for a drive into the country to Drackensberg. It's about 2.5 hours drive there and the scenery did not disappoint. Due to Linda's love of champagne we decided to go to Champagne Valley! We lunched at the Country club there amidst relaxed South Africans on holiday, and peacocks strolling around the garden. The male peacock looked magnificent when he spread his feather for the female but she took no notice of him particularly as she was busy caring for a clutch of baby peacocks! We had to have champange of course! (We chose a re sparkling) The mountains are indeed very beautiful and it was good to get out of the city and the dusty boat yard. The crazy drivers on the N3 driving back were not relaxing however!

Comments [0] | | More

18/12/2008, Marina Yacht Lift, Durban

Marina Yacht Lift boatyard, Bayhead
Durban
18th December 2008

After receiving a call from Terry the manager yesterday afternoon informing us the winch was being repaired and he wasn't sure he could lift us out we felt rather deflated. However after another call late in day he said 'I think it will be all right'.... As you can see from the photo we are in fact out of the water! We were pleasantly surprised by the lack of barnacles on Valiams bottom as we hadn't antifouled since February 2007 in Australia. The guys here did an amazing job carefully pulling her out and for a small fee pressure hosed and scraped the worst off for us. A big thank you to Terry and the guys for a great job at Marina Yacht Lift, Bayhead Durban.

Now I am typing this from up in Valiam's saloon still filthy dirty from scraping and sanding. The view from up here is quite different as we are up quite high. We can see the river down one side and piles of containers on the other. It hasn't been as hot as we expected with a breeze blowing whilst we worked. Another plus is there is a 24 hour takeaway shop run by and Indian lady. Lots of yummy Indian food is on offer, burgers as well as beer and other drinks. We enjoyed another 'bunny' for lunch. (5 inch slice of white bread hollowed out with curry inside) We still have the hire car which means we can have a break from the boat yard. It will be interesting sleeping here tonight!

We should be back in the water by Monday or Tuesday. Christmas in Durban!

For those of you who are interested in what Valiam looks like out of the water check out the photo gallery.

Comments [3] | | More

16/12/2008, Valley of 1000 Hills

Another great shot! (More in photo gallery)

Comments [0] | | More

16/12/2008, Valley of a 1000 hills

17th December
Durban Marina
South Africa

How spectacular Zulu dancing is! What a treat!We hired a car yesterday to drive up through some wonderful scenery through the Vally of the 1000 hills. Many villages were dotted throughout the landscape with groups of 'rondavels'. In Zulu culture a man can have many wives. Each must be paid for with at least 11 cows and each wife has their own house within the compound. I guess that's one way to share the domestic chores! (as well as have big families) The zulu performance we saw yesterday was in a touristy place but wonderful nonetheless. The spectacular view was an amazing backdrop! The performance included some story telling and drama including fortune tellers and witch doctors. When we were at the markets the other day we saw many old smelly bones lining the footpath. As we looked closer we could see a stall with bottles and jars, dried things and liquids etc which was obviously witch doctor stuff. I was surprised to see this in downrtown Durban. Enjoy the zulu photos!
(We haul out Valiam tomorrow at the boat yard - hard work ahead!)

Comments [0] | | More

14/12/2008, love from Nanny and Pa in Durban

Dear Joe
We wished we could have seen you eat your number one cake with blue icing and smarties! We will try and talk to you today from the other side of the Indian ocean!

Comments [1] | | More

14/12/2008, South Africa

<i>Linda, Celia and Angie on board Valiam</i>
Durban Marina
14th December 2008

We had a night on the town last night! Bill was in the company of 3
women! Angie and her firend Celia popped by the marina on their way to a party at a nearby waterfront restaurant and insisted we join them. It was a birthday party of a table full of people much younger than us! They were a nice bunch and asked us lots of questions about our trip. The girl next to me is a teacher working for a government school in an underprivileged area so it was interesting talking to her. Her boyfriend is an architect and feels quite positive about the future of South Africa. For those who are committed to staying in the country he says there is a lot of work to be done. After this party Celia drove us to all the 'hot spots' around Durban - mostly the 'larny' (means upper class) places. We had drinks in a couple
of bars which were 'pumping' and icecream on the esplanade which was full of people (like Mooloolaba) and then finally in an Italian coffee shop place. My hot chocolate was so rich you could stand a spoon in it! It was a fun night and a great eyeopener for us as during the day we only saw the poorer side of town when we walked around.

We had visited the Victorian market in the Indian part of town and ate a 'bunny' in an Indian cafe. A bunny is a thick slice of white bread about 5 inches thick with the middle hollowed out and vegetarian curry inside. The locals mop up the curry with
the bread in their hands. (They gave us a spoon!) We went to this place on the recommendation of an Indian man at the market where we bought pepper spray. (our amunition if baddies come on our boat) He said we cant experience Durban without having a 'bunny'.

So yesterday was a day of contrasts and that's what we love about
traveling. There is a definite division between the rich and poor here. Last night I was distressed to see several small groups of women and children sleeping on the street close to the expensive restaurants. We gave them some money and felt useless to do anything to help. Bill says they probably feel safe there as their previous homelife is obviously not a place to be... A huge percentage of Africans die of AIDS. There is no social security and there are many African refugees here from other countries who obviously dont
have any family to support them. We have also seen on a number of
occasions a couple of white beggars. There is an old dishevelled white man who begs from the cars at the traffic lights accross the road from here. The other morning Bill got up really early (before 6am) and saw a man sleeping on the steps near the boat. He also saw woman get up out of her corner in front of a small building in front of us, lift her skirts to pee in the street then change her clothes under a towel. He said it was such a contrast to the super rich Indians backing a huge expensive motor boat into the water down the ramp with a huge expensive 4 wheel drive to go fishing. This is
the sad side of Africa and it is much much worse in other countries
especially Zimbabwe. Durban has 3.5 million people. (same pop as New Zealand) South Africa has 40 million people (approx 4 million are white)Thats enough current affairs.
Us 'rich' yachties just enjoyed brekky at the yacht club because it was too hot on the boat..... We watched lots of yacht club members (all white) get ready to participate in Sunday yacht racing. There are only 10 international cruising boats here at the moment and a few of them are away. We are particularly interested in a young man Zac Sunderland who left the California USA in June at the age of 16 on his yacht Intrepid. He is hoping to break the world record as the youngest person to circumnavigate the world. He arrived yesterday at 3.30am and tied up just behind us. Since resting yesterday he has been interviewed and photographed by the media. Point Yacht Club are really looking after him. He is now 17 is planning to continue his journey after a few repairs. I just spoke to him earlier and he said when he gets back he wants to do it again with friends and produce a TV documentary. He says he still loves sailing and has done it all his life. To find out more about Zac and his trip go to :

http://www.zacsunderland.com/

Comments [0] | | More

12/12/2008, South Africa

Durban Marina
29 51.76S 31 01.28E
12 December 2008

Well we're in the thick of things here! We are tied up right next to Victoria embankment a main thoroughfare through Durban. Valiam is tied up at the International jetty between the 2 yacht clubs - Point Yacht Club and Royal Natal Yacht Club. No privacy! (except inside) We have been warmly welcomed by employees/members of each yacht club delivering show bags of brochures and magazines. The Royal Natal Yacht Club included a bottle of champagne! We have 2 weeks of free membership at both clubs which is great as it gives us somewhere to relax whilst here. Both have showers, bar, restaurant etc. The Royal Natal has a pool. The location is excellent as far as yachting supplies go as there are chandleries across the road and Tony Herricks Cruising Connections.

Our trip here from Richards Bay was a bit unpleasant and stressful to begin with. Although Bill cleaned the prop as best he could the motor struggled a bit coming out of Richards Bay against the wind and wave chop. It was a bit windy and nasty outside and despite taking medication Linda was seasick. The worry of thunderstorms and lightning coming towards us didn't help. The autopilot decided not to steer in the right direction so Bill put the wind vane on. At one stage we headed back north again towards Richards Bay to avoid the storms. By midnight the storms had gone, the full moon was visible and we were sailing along nicely with just the jib. Linda's seasickness abated with the help of stematyl and we both managed a couple of hours rest before got to Durban. There were a number of ships to watch out for and quite a few were anchored outside Durban Harbour. Port Control gave us the go ahead and we proceeded into the harbour to the marina.

After aquainting ourselves with both clubs we walked into town to do a bit of shopping. After being warned about muggings and pickpockets we only took the bare minimum cash and one credit card with us in a daggy purse. It certainly helps to be 'streetwise' and aware around here. Durban is a city of 3.5 million people many of whom are poor. As we walked along Smith street and into Shoprite we were virtually the only white people. We bought food for a brai at the yacht club but collapsed in a heap by 6pm and slept until this morning. Nevermind the sausages were delicious for breakfast!

A young American sailor on his yacht Intrepid is on his way here. He is trying to break the record as the youngest sailor to sail around the world. Apparently he has had some breakages since Mauritius and has run out of fuel. He is about 25 miles out and is due in soon. The yachtclubs have placed his logs on their noticeboards and look forward to welcoming him when he arrives.

The predicted southwesterly arrived yesterday at 11am. We arrived just in time.

Our booking with Marina yacht lift for hauling out is next Thursday 18th. Think of us working hard in the hot sun in the boat yard! Hopefully we will be back at sea by Christmas!

Comments [0] | | More

10/12/2008, South Africa

Bill is doing the paperwork to leave. In South Africa we have to notify the authorities whenever we leave and arrive in each port. Its been great here at Zululand Yacht Club. Thanks Fiona and the all the wonderful staff including the bar and kitchen staff. We have felt really at home here. Im sure it will be different at 'the big smoke' as we say in Oz ie Durban. I believe the marina has 350 berths!

Just in case you were worrying about us in an open landrover on our last game drive - the driver had a rifle mounted on the dashboard in case any lions or elephants got upset with us humans in the noisy big metal thing that kept following them!

Next entry will be from Durban. We expect it to be an overnight sail. Cheers!

Comments [0] | | More

08/12/2008, South Africa

Mother Cheetah and her cubs (above)

Tuesday 9th December 2008
Zululand Yacht Club
Richards Bay

We are probably heading to Durban today to haul out Valiam for antifouling. The weather looks good so it is a good time to go. It will be sad leaving Richards Bay. Everyone at Zululand Yacht club has been so friendly and welcoming and we have made many friends. We hope to meet some of them again one day and with cruisers you never know when this might happen!

The animals and varied landscapes in Africa are the main reasons Africa is so majestic vast and unique. Returning from Phinda Game reserve yesterday we are still feeling incredibly lucky to see such beautiful animals in their natural habitat. Phinda has only been a game reserve since 1990 where the animals have been reintroduced to the 23000 hectares of land previously used for farming since the war. The local community has leased the land to Phinda reserve (&Beyond). We were spoilt and thoroughly enjoyed 5 star luxury for one night. We were able to get a special deal on the internet which made it affordable for us. We enjoyed 2 game drives in open land cruisers with an experienced guide and tracker. All meals were included and we loved the accommodation. We had our own villa with private plunge pool decks and bush surroundings. Little touches such as chocolates and dried fruit always available, ice and cocktail ingredients etc made us feel like royalty. We went with another yachtie couple Natalie and Rob (Wilhelm) who had said on the booking form that it was a special occasion for Linda. (My birthday). When we returned from dinner in the evening the freestanding bath tub was filled with hot water and bubbles surrounded by candlelight and 2 shot glasses of Amarula (like Baileys) were placed beside the bath!

It was hard to answer the wakeup call at 5am for our morning game drive! We were so fortunate during both drives to see animals and their behaviour we had never seen before e.g. Cheetah and her 3 cubs on watch when a rhino ambled past, lions snoring and then later out hunting with Baboons making huge noises from the tops of the trees, an elephant ripping out a huge tree and so much more. Driving around with Richard and Cibo through grass and rocky hillsides with the wind in our hair soaking up the landscape are memories we will always have. As a friend once said 'Memories are better than 'things'. Enjoy the photos - I had difficulty choosing one for the main web page! (See photo gallery - 'Back in South Africa')

Comments [0] | | More

01/12/2008, near Richards Bay SOUTH AFRICA

1st December 2008
Zululand Yacht Club

The dreaded southwesterly blew yesterday so we were very glad to be tied up in a marina. Even so the wind howled and yanked on Valiam's ropes. The wind was also a lot stronger than predicted. We will be picking our weather before we go down to Durban . It's only an overnight sail so we should be fine. This week will be spent doing domestic/boat chores as well as celebrating Linda's birthday on Wednesday!!! This coincides with happy hour at the yacht club -yay!(Woops -Bill just said my birthday is Thursday - will have to stay up till midnight Wednesday haha)

Yesterday we spent the last day of car hire by driving to a small game park close to Richards Bay called Enselini. Even though it is small (300 hectares) it was nice to walk around instead of driving. The walk took us down towards the river to vantage points to observe the hippos and crocs. Alas none could be seen. Instead we interrupted the lunch of a giant sea egret. He had caught a large fish and was half way through it on the river bank when we came along. The 5km walk took us away from the noisy highway into the bush beside the river which was shady and cool. We observed several bushbucks running into the bushes when they saw us. Just as we were on our way back we were surprised to see a group of zebra feeding in a small grassy plain. Looking more closely we could see that they were 3 babies and their mothers. The smallest baby zebra looked soft and its stripes were dark brown and not black. It was lovely to walk close to them and be amongst them. We also saw a couple of large majestic stags who just stood still staring at us with their long curved horns. There were no giraffes. (wiped off the info signs - must be too small an area for them) A lovely day finished with a huge meat meal at Dros, Tuzi Gazi waterfront.

Comments [2] | | More

30/11/2008

I took this photo myself! I was closer to the zebras than it appears in this shot. Glad there are no predators in this park!!

Comments [0] | | More

29/11/2008, Richards Bay

Valiam resting before her trip down south

Comments [0] | | More

29/11/2008, by hire car

View from Romas revolving restaurant, 32nd floor

It's become really hot here during the day but we've enjoyed the comforts of an air-conditioned hire car and the local shopping centre! We've spent a couple of days in the Durban area enjoying the hospitality of a friend Angie in Ballito. Angie is the sister in law of one of Linda's sister's good friends; Ballito is north of Durban and feels a bit like the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia. Angie lives in a complex as do many white South Africans with boom gates, electric fences and 24 hour security. Her home enjoys lovely sea breezes which she shares with her children Megan and Michael as well as a lively grey kitten named Storm. It was an enjoyable time discussing world affairs over several wines and later going out meeting several of Angie's friends. It was a late evening and us old grandparents couldn't quite keep up the pace and called it a night at 1am. It was an interesting evening talking to and observing South Africans letting down their hair in a local night spot. A couple of Aussies were also there relaxing after work. (see photo gallery)

We heard many stories of people's lives which gives us a better understanding of how it is for white South Africans here. One lady lost her farm in Zimbabwe and after coming to South Africa separated from her husband and it is difficult for her to make ends meet. There is no social security. Angie was all excited after an Indian work colleague said it was a good time to buy Vodacom shares. When she fronted up to buy some she was told she couldn't because she was white. It is interesting for us to hear stories such as this as it is not unlike how the Chinese are treated in Malaysia. In both cases these families have lived in their country for many generations. We also heard accounts of whites being assassinated during robberies. These murders are not always recorded in the news. Many white South Africans are emigrating to Australia. Angie's brother is already in Oz and her remaining sister is also going.

When we park our car anywhere there are always fellows who hang around 'protecting' cars from robberies and it is required to pay them a few rand. We feel quite secure here at Zululand yacht club. Its quiet and we don't lock up at night or when we go ashore to the club. We are careful driving around however and always have our doors locked and handbags etc out of sight.

Durban is a big sprawling city with a big harbour and beaches. Durban Marina has 350 berths and is right next to the city with views of the shipping across the harbour. After driving around getting lost on the other side of the harbour amongst commercial shipping, containers and wharves we finally found the Yacht haul out facilities. The travel lift is big and will handle our boat at a reasonable cost. We can go around 9th December to antifoul. It will be sad to leave Richards Bay as it so relaxing here. They can't accommodate us for haul out here until 26th December and we would like to start heading for Cape Town.

Whilst in Durban we found the excellent shop Cruising Connections run by Tony Herrick. Tony has been an icon for yachties needing info on sailing around South Africa for many years. He gave us wonderful service and we came away with much needed cruising guides, charts etc. As a treat we went to the revolving restaurant Roma's on the 32nd floor of a building on the Harbourfront. The views were fantastic and we could see all of Durban and of particular interest was the harbour and the marina. Romas has been operating for more than 30 years and has an authentic Italian menu and the décor consists of copied paintings by Michelangelo on the walls. We highly recommend it if you are in Durban!

Back at Richards bay with 2 more days of car hire we did some much needed grocery shopping and plan to go to a nature park close by that has non predator animals. We'll be able to walk amongst the animals without being eaten! Bill plans to pat a giraffe......

Comments [0] | | More

26/11/2008, Hwahlue Imfalozi Game park Zululand

Yesterday we had a wonderful day driving around Imfalozi Game Park in a hire car with Natalie and Rob (Wilhelm). It was good to revisit as we saw more of other animals we didnt see last time. The park is only 1 hours drive from Zululand Yacht Club and only 80rand entrance fee. It is so wonderful to be able to see these gorgeous animals in their beautiful natural habitat so easily. Linda was particularly pleased to see several elephants quite close. Bill was lucky enought to see a lion slink by behind us in the rear vision mirror! Unfortunately he/she disappeared into the bush befroe we could get a look. It was a wonderful way to spend our 31st wedding anniversary. (see photo gallery)
We are driving to Ballito and Durban today to see a friend(sister inlaw Angie to my sisters friend Sanchia) as well as check out the haul out facilities down there for Valiam. Enjoy the photos!

Comments [0] | | More

25/11/2008, Richards Bay

photo : blue testicled monkey
Zululand Yacht Club
Richards Bay
South Africa
24th November 2008

After a busy time traveling from Brisbane to Melbourne to Canberra, Sydney back to Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and Townsville, Australia spending time with our family and good friends we are ready for a rest! It feels strange yet welcoming to be back. Our 'byes' to our family and friends were even more emotional as it may be more than a year (maybe 2) before we see them again. (unless they visit us in some far flung place in the world!)

We had 24 hours in Johannesburg before our flight back to Richards Bay. After staying the night in a hotel we engaged a friendly taxi driver Evans recommended by the hotel to drive us around. Evans took us to the tower in the city to see the view. There is evidence that Joburg is rejuvenating itself by revamping and building new shops and apartments. Squatters however still live in unused buildings. It appears much safer now to stroll around the CBD during the day anyway. As it was Sunday things were rather quiet. A good coffee was searched for and eventually found in Kensington at a groovy little place where the owner roasts his own coffee beans. The machine is impressive. The aromas were wonderful and the taste even better. We took a bag back with us and could smell it through the back pack all the way on the plane!

After hearing so much about Soweto we were keen to go there. Evans drove us past one area that was full of little tin shacks. Each little dwelling looked meticulously swept clean and the people as always were superbly dressed particularly as it was Sunday - church day. The famous part of Soweto where Nelson Mandela lived is beautifully kept. Winnie's house was difficult to see behind a fence and Nelson's original house was being redone to create a family museum.

Evans took us to the Hector Pieterson Museum which was a real eye-opener for us. Hector was a 13 year old boy killed during the demonstration in June, 1976. High School children were protesting against the language of instruction at school - Afrikaans. As they were taught and spoke Bantu in Primary school it was difficult (and inappropriate) for them to learn in Afrikaans. Something like only 38% passed matriculation. The demonstration turned violent when the police fired weapons killing and injuring many children. This was a turning point for Apartheid in South Africa. It was interesting to note that media coverage for the world was highly censored. In 1976 I had just finished high school myself and don't remember hearing the details of this horrific time. The Museum had many photos and film as well as documented interviews by children and witnesses. Now of course high school children are taught in English and much has improved since then. The effects of Apartheid can still be felt in subtle ways but as Evans said 'People now realize everyone has to get on together and no longer see the whites as enemies'. We have certainly been welcomed everywhere by all the South Africans we have met regardless of their ancestry.

Its always informative to talk to locals and Evans gave us lots of background information about Joburg and his thoughts on the present and future. He is proud of his Zulu ancestry. He said 'Linda is a popular name in Zulu. It means "wait"'(putting his hand up in a stopping motion.) I laughed and said Bill always has to wait for me as I walk slower than he does!

At the end of our 'tour' we drove through some affluent areas. All these big houses and estates of town houses had high walls and electric fences, boom gates etc. Evans said many of these houses have dogs and armed guards. To us it would feel like being in prison! Evans said violent robbery is still a big issue in Joburg and is attributed to drugs and unemployment. Illegal immigrants from other African countries are also blamed. Joburg is a city which is very spread out with enclaves of different housing depending on the demographics. It was certainly an interesting day.

After 9 aeroplane flights since we left we finally arrived 'home' to Valiam.
Valiam has been safely looked after by Zululand yachtclub and we look forward to the Monday night 'brais' where we can exchange stories and information with other yachties and club members. We have bought a big 'boerworst' and 2 big steaks to cook tonight. Our friends Rob and Natalie on Wilhelm whom we met in Cocos are now here. It will be good to catch up.

Tot siens!

25 November
Today we drove around Richards Bay in a hire car to have a look at the local beaches. It was good to see where we came in through the harbour. The cliffs and beaches look a bit like north of where we live on the Queensland coast in Australia. On one track we saw a monkey in a tree right beside the road. He had luminous blue testicles!

Tomorrow we will see some more wild life at Imfalosi game park. Natalie and Rob are coming with us in the hire car. It will be good to go back out there. I hope to see some elephants this time!

Comments [1] | | More

24/11/2008, Soweto Joburg

Famous photo taken of Hector Pieterson 13 year old boy killed during Soweto demonstration June 1976

Comments [0] | | More

17/11/2008, Kelso, Townsville

photo: Valiam's crew with Caylan, Clayton and Chloe
Hello Prep CAD at Kelso! We enjoyed meeting you and telling you about our trip so far.
Today Caylan asked us to be her show and tell for her prep class.
Caylan: 'There were lots of hands after my show and tell. Clayton asked "Why do you want to do it?" so Linda and Bill could have time to themselves saling. Captain Bill said 'So we can see all the interesting things like animals and places that were in the photos.' We presented a short slideshow together with artefacts and short video clip of the big seas in the Indian ocean.

Comments [0] | | More

15/11/2008, Australia

Our kids and grandkids......

Comments [0] | | More

10/11/2008, Brisbane, Queensland

Bill with a friend near Roys Beach house, Durras, NSW

Brisbane 11th November 2008

After a week or so driving from Melbourne in the hire car we arrived in Brisbane. On the way we visited family and friends in Canberra, Durras, Sydney, Umina, and Lismore. It was a leisurely trip enjoying the Australian landscapes interspersed with quality time with loved ones.

We also revisited a couple of places we visited in our first yacht Alouette in the early 80s - Laurieton and Coffs Harbour on the NSW coast. We only had a small 24ft plywood boat in those days with an extra crew member in the form of our dog Jane. We remember a fast trip from Laurieton to Coffs in 12 hours (96 n miles) - not bad for a small boat hand steering all the way! It was a strong southeasterly we remember and we only had the storm jib up. I still remember the captain's eyes gleaming with delight as our little boat surfed down the waves!
We are now spending time with all our special friends and family in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. Next week is our last week in Oz and most of this will be spent in Townsville with our daughter, son in law and grandchildren. (see photos)

For those who are following our journey on our yacht Valiam, we will be returning to her in Richards Bay, South Africa soon after 23rd November.

Until then
Tot siens
Linda and Bill

Comments [1] | | More

01/11/2008

Linda and Bill with Lesley. We met here in this house in 1976 at her brother John's 21st! Bill said hi to John on the phone in China! Its been great to catch up with everyone, their kids and parents most of whom we hadnt seen for 8 years! Linda's brother Roy took us on a drive around Canberra to see how much had changed. Lots of memories of fun times during our youth!

Comments [0] | | More

31/10/2008, Canberra

Our nephew Doug working in Woolies
To all our website followers : Thanks for all your messages of support and friendship! Valiam is safely tied up at Zululand yachtclub, Richards Bay South Africa waiting for our return on 23rd November. We are currently on a road trip in a hire car from Melbourne to Brisbane visiting family and friends. We will then spend 10 days in Brisbane and our home town on the Sunshine Coast spending time with our son, other family members and close friends. Before we head back to South Africa we will fly to Townsville for a few days to spend time with our daughter and our precious grandchildren. As it will be at least another year before we see everyone again we will make the most of every moment. Everywhere we've visited we have recounted our adventures giving slideshows etc. We are overwhelmed with everyones interest. This is great as it feels as if many people are sailing with us! Love to all from Valiam's crew

Comments [1] | | More

23/10/2008, we are in Oz!

photo: 4 Generations in Victoria
Castlemaine
Victoria, Australia
24 October 2008

After spending a busy few days catching up with family in Brisbane we flew to Melbourne with our daughter Vashti and grandchildren Caylan and Joe. Watching the news that evening with Bill's parents the weather report predicted minus 1 degrees that night! It was very cold indeed and Grandpa has lit the fire every day. Caylan was very excited to see frost for the first time in her life and asked if it was like snow. She has been very busy with great Grandpa making things in the shed, creating fairy houses in the garden and listening to his songs and stories. 10 month old Joe has coped very well with all the traveling as well as being bundled up in lots of clothes and is wearing shoes for the first time. Our grandchildren are enjoying the company of all their little cousins. Above is a photo of Isadora and Caylan.

You will be wondering about our subject title of this log. Last night we received a disconcerting phone call from our bank informing us of some suspicious transactions on our credit card in South Africa. Someone has copied our card and had a spending spree of thousands of dollars including $1000 in a restaurant. Our bank has cancelled our cards immediately which is a bit of an inconvenience but we'll survive for a week until our new cards arrive. For anyone using credit cards don't let them out of your sight! We have narrowed down the possibility of the culprit to a shop at OR Johannesburg International airport. Linda purchased a shirt for Liam with her credit card. The woman said she didn't have the facilities to process the card and said we had to go the bigger shop. Linda followed her to the other shop whilst she had the card. She gave the card to two other people in a dark corner of the shop near a cash register. Linda was looking around the shop about 3 metres away waiting but did not take a lot of notice of what they were doing. It did seem to take an extraordinary long time. She glanced over a couple of times and saw the two shop assistants look at her. A third shop assistant answered Linda's questions about other shirts in the second shop. All we can say is never let your credit card out of your sight and take notice of all the warnings the banks give in using credit cards. The bank is pursuing this matter and we are very pleased so far with their vigilance. It seems that copies of ones credit card can be made by an extra mechanism in the swiping part of the machine. Just watch carefully what they do and read what comes up on their screen. We will be using cash when we go back to South Africa!

Captain Bill is presently investigating a cheap van for us to drive back to Brisbane next week via Canberra and Sydney visiting family and friends. There are a few photos of the family including our son Liam wearing 'the shirt' purchased at Joburg airport.

Comments [2] | | More

16/10/2008, South Africa

Thursday 16th October 2008
Zululand Yachtclub
Richards Bay

Being tourists is fun but quite tiring! We drove to a Shakaland the other day which enabled us to see some of the countryside around Richards Bay. Many locals still live in small round houses with thatched roofs. Some people also have to carry water in 20litre drums in wheelbarrows. (Just like us yachties!) Some of the traditional houses have been replaced with small square houses made of concrete blocks and tin roofs. At Shakaland (where the movie Shaka Zulu was filmed) we enjoyed a great view over the hills and reservoir whilst eating a huge buffet lunch. We missed the Zulu dancing but got to see that later when the kitchen staff at Hilltop lodge Imfalozi entertained us at dinner.

Keen to see the African animals in the wild we drove ourselves to Hwulue Imfalozi Game reserve. (About an hour from Richards Bay) The first animal we saw was a white rhinocerous! This was very exciting as on our previous safari in Serengeti, Tanzania in 2002 the white rhinos were very rare. Later we saw lots of white rhinos in small groups very close to us. Seeing all the animals is such a thrill. The landscape is not unlike Australia but the diversity in wildlife is just amazing. Around almost every corner we saw something different - zebras, giraffes, warthogs, wildebeest, bucks, impala, kudu, baboons, monkeys, as well as many beautiful birds. We saw only one bull elephant in the distance and late on our last day we saw a hyena way in the distance eating a carcass. Large birds which didn't look like vultures were hanging about. We saw evidence of many elephants in the form of fresh poo and broken sticks/branches. We missed out on seeing lions but our friends saw a couple not far from our accommodation.

After being greeted by surly unfriendly reception staff at Hilltop camp we drove ourselves to our chalet. It was quite beautiful with views through the trees to the hills beyond. On our verandah just before sunset a female bushbuck and her baby came very close. The bush sounds were lovely and it was a very enjoyable place to stay.

We met up with friends Charmain and Mike (Virenord) who were also staying at Hilltop. We enjoyed a huge buffet dinner together and afterwards took our own group photo under a lion skin draped above the bar. (See photos)

We were very brave and walked though the wild bush imagining lions stalking us to a premade hide. The hide was overlooking a river valley but was very dry with very little water. As we munched on smelly French cheese from Reunion a family of warthogs wandered down to the waterhole. They kept sniffing the air no doubt wondering what the strange smell was! It was very peaceful there in the bamboo hide watching the animals. At a camp spot we did notice some tourists dressed in safari gear marching off into the wilderness accompanied by a guide with a big rifle. It really is African safari country! (They weren't wearing pith helmets however)

We are really enjoying South Africa and look forward to returning after out trip to Australia. We have made many friends at the yacht club and everyone is so helpful. We have visited the dentist due to our fillings falling out (must be all that rough sea) and were pleasantly surprised by how cheap it is here. (1/6 the price of Oz) A lovely South
African Indian dentist did a very professional job.

To all our friends and family in Australia - we hope to spend quality time with each of you! See you soon! To all our other followers out there - sorry but there wont be any Valiam adventures for 5 weeks! We are thinking of doing a road trip in Oz so if anything exciting happens we'll put it on the website. We promise not to put too many photos of our precious grandchildren!!!

Until next time
The captain and crew
S V Valiam

Comments [0] | | More

12/10/2008

Zululand Yacht Club
Richards Bay
12th October 2008

It's another beautiful day with clear blue skies and we are ready to explore our surrounds a little further today. We have hired a car for a week and after yesterday's excursion we really feel we are in Africa. By the time we got moving it was nearly 11am and we managed to get a car - VW golf from the airport just before they closed. We were told to keep the doors locked, hide our valuables in the boot and not stop beside the road. After a while we relaxed into enjoying the country side which reminded Linda of her time in Tanzania. The countryside was quite dry in places and we saw little round huts as well as small square dwellings in some of the settlements. Brightly coloured clothes were draped over fences to dry. We also passed many plantations of skinny little eucalypts. Forester Bill says they will be turned into pulp and paper eventually.

After an hour or so we arrived at St Lucia Estuary. It's a busy little tourist town with restaurants and tourist shops. We saw a huge baboon scampering about next to the road. Yes we are in Africa! Whilst having fish and chips for lunch we asked the waiter about boat trips to see the hippos. He booked tickets for us there and then from his mobile. What service! We were able to enjoy our lunch, pick up our tickets and get to the boat jetty in time for the 2pm cruise. We boarded the cruise boat and began motoring up a wide muddy river. Many of the tourists on boar were dressed in 'safari' gear - khaki lightweight pants, jackets, new boots with no mud carrying huge binoculars and cameras. Linda was pleased to be wearing a bright African skirt and vowed never to dress in khaki whilst in Africa!!! As we cruised the river the commentary was then translated in French. We realized that the majority of tourists on this vessel were part of a French tour group! For a moment we thought we were back in Reunion! Not only did we have French filling our ears once more we had to watch them eat a gourmet buffet lunch. Lucky we weren't hungry!

The river reminded us of the Kinabantangen River in Borneo. The first animal we saw was a hippopotamus peeping out between the reeds. Only his eyes, ears and nostrils were visible. Hippos have sensitive outer skin and stay in the water most of the day when it is hot. Further along we saw several very large crocodiles basking in the sun on the muddy bank. Again the crocodiles looked similar to the ones we saw in Borneo having lighter skin than Aussie crocs. We saw several pods of hippos grouped closely together occasionally snorting and wallowing in the water. Hippos are the most dangerous animal in Africa. It has been reported that they have been seen wandering the quieter streets of St Lucia. They are huge animals and its best not to be in there way!

After the cruise Linda just had to buy some jewelry and small carvings and spent all her money! On the way home we received an sms from Charmain inviting us for dinner. Charmain and Mike have cruised Patagonia, Chile which is one of the places Bill really wants to go. After an enjoyable evening discovering many mutual interests such as belly dancing and bushwalking etc it was decided to meet up at Imfalozi Game Park on Tuesday night. Imfalozi will be wonderful as we hope to see elephants, lions etc.
We are not sure where we will go today. We have left it a bit late again so it will be somewhere close by. There are many beautiful places and reserves in Zululand. We are happy here at the yacht club. Everyone is very friendly and helpful and it is quieter and more private than Tuzi Gazi.

There are supposed to be hippos and crocs here in the river where Valiam is berthed but we haven't seen any here yet!

Comments [1] | | More

09/10/2008, 400 miles from South Africa

This photo was taken by Charmain on Vire Nord. What a fun rendez vous after so long at sea!

Comments [0] | | More

08/10/2008, Richards Bay

8 October 2008
Zululand Yacht Club

This will be our home away from home for a while. Zululand Yacht Club is in a pleasant location especially the bar which overlooks the water and the boats. In the above picture the waiter is describing the size of the steak!

The meals are good and cheap. We just ha ve to organise some form of transport to get to the shops and maybe visit Umfalozi Game Park which is only an hour away. Linda desperately wants to se the African animals!(There are monkeys playing on the lawns)

We are also very excited about seeing family and friends in Oz over the next month or so when we fly home. Valiam will be well looked after here at the yacht club.

We have resident pet native ducks who live on the pontoon. Their names are Potroast and Potluck! One tried to attack me earlier!

tot siens!

Comments [2] | | More

08/10/2008, South Africa

Tuzi Gazi
Small Craft harbour (moving to Zululand Yacht Club)
Richards Bay
South Africa
8th October 2008
Position : 28 47.69S 32 04.7E

We are in Africa!! It's hard to believe we sailed here from Mooloolaba, Australia after a total of 11,223 nautical miles. The last day was cool and blustery coming in. With choppy waves and strong northeasterly wind it mad for a quick trip. The Aghulas current was only about 2 knots but with the strong wind Valiam galloped in at 9.5 to 10 knots at times! (With only a jib) We saw whales in the distance splashing and breaching. What a welcome to South Africa! The shore line looked similar to the Queensland Coast on the way to Noosa with its coloured sand dunes.

It took a while for Richards Bay Port control to answer our radio call. As we got closer to Richards bay we could see why. There were at least 6 ships outside the harbour waiting and one coming out. The Port control people were busy organizing a pilot to go out to one of the ships by helicopter. Then there was little old us. We were given permission to enter the harbour 'But to keep clear of the incoming vessel'. With a big ship not far behind us we stayed to the far right of the channel as we could. It didn't take long to tie up at Tuzi Gazi Small craft harbour. It took us 9 days to complete 1400 mile passage from Reunion. All in all it was a good passage with no dramas. A helpful fellow from the Port Authority came over to assist us to hurry customs and immigration along. They have a reputation of making yachts wait days so with his help the formalities were completed in 3- 4 hours.

It wasn't long before we were welcomed by a couple of yachties. One German Swiss fellow and an Australian couple Geoff and Chris on Shambala 1. Geoff and Chris are from Caloundra just a few kilometers from our home! We have met very few Australians and Geoff and Chris have given us lots of advice as they have been in Africa for year.
Last night we went to Dros restaurant (walking distance from the boat in the photo above) and had a huge meal using visa. We haven't been able to get any rand as the ATM is out of order. Whilst dining in Dros it was apparent that South Africans like everything big including themselves. Coming from tall Dutch stock they are big on eating and drinking. The meat on our plates was of a ridiculous size yet we managed to eat it all! The wine came in a mug sized glass which was filled to the top. (For $3 not bad value) South Africans won't like the small sip they would get when dining in Oz!!!

Mike and Charmain arrived this morning on Virenord. It was good to see them and we plan to meet up at Zululand Yacht Club tomorrow. We are moving there today and look forward to the yacht club facilities.

Comments [0] | | More

06/10/2008, 27 56.3'S:35 11.0'E, Mozambique Channel

Monday 6th October Position: 27 35 11.0E

Long passages are quite wearing on ones body and state of mind. 24 hours a day we must be constantly aware of what the boat is doing. Our bodies must adjust to every movement flexing and balancing even when asleep. A certain amount of stress level exists as we never forget where we are and our safety is paramount in our minds. Looking for ships every 20 minutes is trying but must be done. They most likely cant see us and cant turn their vessel as easily as we can to avoid a collision. We've seen many ships on this passage and they have been a comfortable distance away thankfully.

The weather is the most talked about and thought about topic amongst sailors. Its serious weather talk not like on land! We have used a personalized weather service for this trip - Commanders Weather and they have been excellent. Their predictions have been accurate and if any revision is necessary towards the end of a 5 day forecast we receive that too. They are aware of our daily position and let us know if anything challenging is ahead. We download grib files daily through the sat phone email system. We have a program that automatically presents the grib file as a weather map showing wind speeds and direction. All we do is send the latitude and longitude we want. We have shared weather information with other yachts nearby either by vhf radio, sat phone sms or email. Virenord has also phoned us on the satellite phone.

During the last 24 hours the south easterly increased to close to 30 knots. We also have an uncomfortable Southwest swell. Last night we were resting back in the saloon and quarter berth. Last night the sea reminded me of the previous passage with the wind howling and the sea spuming and spitting. As I type this the southeasterly is moderating but still up in the 20 knot range. We were sailing at 8 knots all night. Now we are moving at about 7knots. We need to keep moving quickly as we can to reach Richards Bay before the northerly is too strong when we cross the Aghulas current tomorrow. Hopefully we will arrive in the first half of the day.

As we sit chatting occasionally funny thoughts cross our minds. It's so important not to lose your sense of humour! Thinking about being flung around the cabin during heavy seas we came upon the idea of a Velcro sailing suit. Now don't steal our idea as we have already patented it! The suit would have Velcro all over it with removable pieces for going to the toilet. (Velcro on the toilet seat could be useful too!) The whole cabin would be lined in Velcro so you could lie or sit wherever you wanted to. Flat down lights could be installed in regular intervals for reading etc. If the suit was too hot in the summer a special air conditioning unit could be attached powered by solar panels strapped to one's head. All eating/drinking utensils and crockery would have Velcro as well. We think it's a wonderful idea and can't wait to get it on the production line. This would ensure we would never have to work again and can then live comfortably for the rest of our lives.

Speaking of sailing clothes Linda has been wearing an interesting wardrobe from her selection of comfort wear... Captain Bill was very impressed with today's outfit which featured light blue tracksuit pants with the following 3 upper layers - leopard print nightie, black sweatshirt and short tracksuit jacket with '75 Sport' written in pink letters on the front. The tangled knotty hair completes the look. He said that movie stars wear layered weird outfits like this and he took a photo to show you. This is the first time he has ever commented on Linda's clothes so it must be a good look. Perhaps we should start a fashion label as well for landlubbers.

We are looking forward to getting into harbour and tying up. (The cold champagne is waiting.) The next entry will be from the land. Its so exciting getting closer to Africa!

Comments [1] | | More

05/10/2008, 27 47.2'S:38 43.5'E, Mozambique Channel

Day 8 Sunday 5th October 9.45am Reunion time Position:27 47.2S 38 43.5E

It's been another good 24 hours and the captain just remarked that we've had 'a few good sails on this trip'. Usually there is not enough wind or cant make up its mind or too much wind etc. We have been averaging 7- 8 knots which makes for a very happy captain. Not knowing much about the design of boats and rig Linda had no idea that Valiam is designed for maximum speed. Valiam appears to be faster than most cruising boats. Friends of ours who circumnavigated the world said 'A fast boat is a safe boat'. We agree. Sometimes the big rig is a handful but Bill has adjusted a few things to make reefing etc easier. With good weather forecasting we are usually prepared for any changes in wind strength. Today we are expecting the southeasterly to increase to 30+ knots with gusts perhaps up to 40 knots. We are quite relaxed about this now that we have experienced much stronger winds on the previous long passage across the Indian Ocean. Strong winds are not wonderful close to the coast of Africa due to the currents but the wind is supposed to die down and swing to the North east by the time we arrive. Our estimated time of arrival in Richards Bay, South Africa is Tuesday .

Yesterday was a special day because we were able to catch up with Mike and Charmain on Virenord. Just as the sun was getting low in the sky and the dolphins were frolicking in our bow waves, Captain Bill could see a white sail up ahead. As the wind had eased quite a bit and we were motoring anyway we decided to motor over to them. Mike said 'Come over for a beer!'.This was quite fun and exciting to meet up with sailors in the middle of the ocean. We had only chatted to Mike and Charmain by email, sat phone and vhf radio. So we got to see what each other looked like! We were able to have a shouted conversation across the water and took photos of each other on our yachts rolling in the swell. Virenord is a pretty green 30ft steel boat that Mike and Charmain have sailed from Canada. Charmain is South African and is excited to be going home to live in a house after being 'homeless' for 13 years. As the sun set we gradually sailed ahead of Virenord waving 'See you at Zululand!' It was good to see other humans after 7 days at sea. It was a great opportunity and doesn't happen very often.

Valiam was a lot steadier last night and we both got some much needed sleep. Although Captain Bill was woken twice due to a ship that was getting close and the wind picking up making Valiam sail at 9.5 knots. We don't need to be racing like that in the middle of the night! There is a southwesterly predicted on Wednesday so hopefully our timing of arrival on Tuesday will mean we'll be safely tied up in harbour.

Comments [0] | | More

04/10/2008, 27 41.5'S:41 38.9'E, Indian ocean

Day 7 Saturday 4th October Position: 11am 27 41.5S 41 38.9E

What a fantastic run we had last night! 55 miles in 6 hours! The wind was about 20knots SE and we had 1.5knots of current with us. Speed over ground was often 10 knots! The downside is we are very sleep deprived as Valiam bounced and heeled over too much to make sleeping possible (even with 2 reefs in the main). There were a lot of ships traveling parallel to us so we had to keep watching out for them. It's the shortest route around Madagascar for them and perhaps there's more going this way due to increased piracy in the Red Sea

This weather will change tomorrow bringing with it strong winds so we better nap now whilst conditions have eased. The exciting news is that my sister has booked flights for us and we will be in Brisbane in 2 weeks time! A few calls on the satellite phone sorted it all out! Sometimes it is easier to phone thane email due to our disconnection rate at the moment. Speaking of electronic gadgetry our one remaining 12volt socket (cigarette lighter socket) is very precarious and we can only charge the satellite phone using the inverter as the sat phone 12 volt charger wont work any more. We tried to get replacement 12 volt sockets in Singapore and the last 3 islands but we had no luck. Hopefully we can get them in South Africa. We can definitely get them in Oz. We'll have a list of things probably!

We've had almost tropical sunsets out here with the sun showing as a huge pinky orange ball as it goes down. The crescent shaped moon and stars have been lovely when we see them peeking through the clouds. The ocean looked like chrome and gun metal this morning.

With just over 500 miles to go - South Africa here we come! We hope to arrive Tuesday or Wednesday. A cold bottle of Aussie champagne is waiting in the fridge. (hopefully no southwester before then - PLEASE HUGHIE!!!!)

All well on board

Comments [0] | | More

03/10/2008, 26 54.4'S:44 39.8'E, Indian ocean

Cordon Bleu dining (above)
Day 6 Friday 3rd October 2008
After lunch
Position at midday: 26 54.4S 44 39.8E

Everything is a bit damp feeling and I couldn't get the salt grinder to work. My hair feels oily and I am pretty sure our skin has a layer after 6 days without a shower. (We have to save water) The important bits get washed so we aren't entirely dirty and unhygienic!

We just saw a whale (or 2) in the distance splashing and jumping. We have seen whales in the distance a few times but forget to record it in the log. There has been a number of ships pass on this passage at least 2 ships a day. We also overhear a number of conversations on Channel 16 on the radio from ships as well as another yacht. One of the ship conversations referred to the number of ships taking a particular route due to piracy. We are not sure where the ship person was referring to but it could possibly be the Red Sea as it is a problem at the moment. It could also account for the fact that there appears to be quite a few yachts going to South Africa at present. There is also some unrest there too we believe! Makes life exciting I suppose..

We have passed the half way point and the wind has already changed to the south east currently blowing at 15 knots. We are expecting this to increase over the next few days to 30 knots +. No Southwesterly gales have been forecast to our relief. Hopefully we will get to Richards Bay unscathed. We have a berth booked at Zululand Yacht Club.

Another item to report in this log is our constant problem solving with electronic gadgetry. We experience many disconnections with the satellite phone when logging on to email. Sending and receiving is often disconnected several times for many minutes at a time costing $2 a minute so it is becoming quite expensive. We have installed all the recommended equipment to improve connection - high quality cable to our external antenna, docking station for the phone etc. We are not sure where the problem lies but think we have narrowed it down to between the computer serial port and the iridium Motorola phone. Everything is brand new so we are a bit disappointed. But we would like to say at this point how happy we are with the prompt personal service provided by GMN our email provider.

The second problem is the autopilot. Since installing it (Mona Lisa) in Singapore it has not been quite reliable. It often won't correct when going slightly off course and sometimes we are even going back the other way! Another funny thing that happened the other day was the little computer screen went bezerk showing lots of numbers that were nothing to do with the course we were on. Bill disengaged her and connected Fred the wind vane. Bill has contacted the Australian manufacturer a couple of times and they have been very helpful. I guess anything to do with computers can be temperamental on a yacht at sea. Captain Bill says ropes and pulleys are easier to fix!

We look forward to visiting our family in Oz next month. It will be good to see the new babies and of course we will say 'My how you have grown' to all the children in our absence. We have tried to send postcards to the older ones from every country we have visited. Its pleasing to know that 'Valiam goes Cruising' has been discussed in several classrooms. Their parents say the childrens interest in geography and sailing has been enhanced by our voyage. Perhaps Captain Bill may be asked to be a guest speaker!! Linda better buy him a captain's cap.

We are going well All well on board

Comments [0] | | More

02/10/2008, 26 23.5'S:47 15.2'E, Indian ocean

Making South African flag with glue and sewing
2 October 2008
Position: 26 23.5S 47 15.2E (midday)

The wind kept increasing to 25 knots with gusts to 32knots making it an uncomfortable night with very little sleep. Valiam sometimes slews sideways surfing down a wave with the wind vane eventually correcting her course. Fred the wind vane is making Valiam travel in a wavy line! It's still blowing 25-30 knots and we are almost at 'the corner' - ie 80 miles from the waypoint at the bottom of Madagascar. The sea is grey and lumpy and sometimes smacks Valiam's hull . The wind is howling through the rigging and even though our instruments say we are doing 8.5-9 knots we are losing 2 knots in a current which is against us. I am propped up with my feet up on the opposite bunk balancing the computer on my lap. Bill is reading 'Shantaram'. I read it prior to him and it's a fantastic book - a real insight into the people of India. Its an autobiography by an Australian who escaped from jail and lived in Bombay for many years.

There's not a lot we can do except conserve our strength, rest as much as we can, keep sea sickness at bay, eat, adjust things and send/receive emails and weather grib files. Hopefully we wont encounter a south westerly gale within the next week before we get to South Africa.

We are so close to Madagascar! Pity we cant stop. The swells are increasing due to the strong northerlies and we have no choice but to go over a 1000m seamount. The captain says it should be fine unless there was a southwesterly gale (which there isn't). However it's a bit bumpy down here.

All well on board

Comments [0] | | More

01/10/2008, 25 00.3'S:49 58.8'E, Indian ocean

Indian Ocean 1 October 2008 Position (midday local time): 25 00.3S 49 58.8E

How wonderful to have the wind back! With 1.5 knots of current against us yesterday we were only making 2knots headway in such light winds. Its blowing 15 + knots NE now and Valiam is going at her usual speed of 7 knots. After calculating the distance traveled from Mooloolaba last November we have done 10,200 nautical miles. Hooray for Valiam! Hooray for Captain Bill! Hooray for galley slave Linda!

We are aiming for a waypoint south of Madagascar 27.00S 45.00E where we 'turn the corner' towards South Africa. We should get to this point tomorrow. The seas are reputably bumpy and confused there due to the sea mounts and currents. We will be watching the weather carefully for those southwesterlies which can make conditions unpleasant in the Mozambique Channel. We have heard from Zululand Yacht club Richards Bay and their rates are very reasonable. We hope to arrive there around the 8th October. Lets hope Hughie looks after us.

Comments [0] | | More

30/09/2008, 24 52.3'S:52 23.4'E, Indian ocean

Reunion to South Africa Day 3 30 September 2008 Position midday : 24 52.3S 52 23.4E

The winds are very light and we have 1 knot of current against us so we are only going 4 knots. I washed the lunch dishes in salt water as we may be in for a long trip. I have made the South African flag cutting out the fabric and gluing it together. It needs stitching but the boat is too rolly for such fine work at the moment. A journalist asked me what do we do all day out at sea when I was in Mauritius. I thought at the time what a silly question thinking of our previous passage where everything took a huge effort and took 3 times as long. I mentioned cooking, navigating, sleeping, reading, watching movies, repairing things gazing out to sea and meditating etc. At the moment the highlight of our days are meal times, the sunset and receiving emails. We are still only 200 nm southeast of Madagascar. What a very long way to go yet.. The wind will pick up soon hopefully. Oh it just has...we're doing 5 knots now.

Comments [0] | | More

29/09/2008, 23 34.9'S:53 11.1'E, Indian ocean

29 September Position:5pm local time 23 34.9S 53 11.1E

The seas are gentle and my cup of tea stays on the table whilst I type this. We just enjoyed afternoon tea which consisted of freshly baked chocolate muffins and chai tea. The muffin mix had a few weevils in it but the cooked result was edible and the captain ate 2 but said they did taste a bit strange.

We have only been traveling at 5 to 5.5 knots with the main and jib. Mike of Virenord phoned earlier on the sat phone (Hooray another yachtie with an iridium phone!) and said they had the spinnaker up. They left Reunion a day before us but are about half a day ahead of us. The captain thinks we may overtake them. Mike and Charmain have booked Virenord into Zulu Land yacht club, Richards Bay for 2 months. We have emailed Tuzi Gazi and the Durban marinas but their emails bounced back. It seems their email addresses have changed. Our email to Zulu Land Yacht club has been received and we await their response. The problem with South Africa at that time of the year is that the Arc round the world yacht rally has booked out most of the marinas from 9 November onwards from Richards Bay to Cape Town. Due to weather conditions it is impossible to anchor in South Africa and all yachts stay in marinas safely tied up waiting for 'weather windows' to go to the next port. Looking at the website before we left it seems the Arc rally are staying at Tuzi Gazi so Zulu Land may be a better option. It seems they have haul out facilities there and we do need to pull Valiam out to anti foul and do a few jobs. Its supposed to be a friendly place with regular yachtie barbeques (brais) and happy hours. Something to look forward to.

All well on board

Comments [0] | | More

29/09/2008, 22 27.7'S:54 18.9'E, Indian ocean

Reunion to South Africa Indian Ocean Day1 29 September 2008 Position at midnight: 22 27.7S 54 18.9E

As soon as we left the small harbour of St Pierre at 9.45am we were greeted by a forceful Indian ocean. The winds were immediately 30 knots+ and the waves hit Valiam's hull with a vengeance making her roll and occasionally skew sideways. This kept up for several hours with waves coming over the front of the boat into the cockpit. Unfortunately Linda became violently seasick. It was probably a combination of things which I will detail with the eventual cure only for the interest of sailors who also suffer from 'mal de mer'.

Sturgeron worked successfully on the Indian Ocean passage from Cocos because we had a more gentle start and Linda took the medication a lot earlier. In this case the Sturgeron didn't have time to be absorbed and the violent rolling motion almost immediately made Linda very sick. Poor captain Bill had to be nurse as well as keep Valiam under control. The bucket was Linda's best friend. Further medications taken orally did not work. (another Sturgeron then Stematyl) Emergency action was necessary as Linda was very miserable and feeling like she wanted to die! Stematyl an anti nausea drug via a suppository eventually did the trick. So the advice is getting that medication in the system in plenty of time before a voyage. By dinner time Linda was able to eat dinner - tinned potatoes with cheese and cold smoked chicken. After sleeping and resting until midnight it is now possible to type on the computer.

The seas have also abated to a gentle 15 knots. The rough weather south of Reunion seems to be a result of the wind funneling down the valleys and mountains. Its surprising how far out to sea it lasts. Anyway things are looking much better now with a gentle sea and Mona Lisa (electric autopilot) moaning away. Bill tried the wind vane earlier but it doesn't work well with the wind behind. There is no moon but the stars are bright. We saw a ship earlier perhaps bound for Mauritius.

The Masacrene islands will always have fond memories for us and we do hope to visit again. Perhaps the next trip will be direct to the Indian Ocean from Oz so we can spend more time in these places. We don't have time to explore Madagascar this time unfortunately. The French yachties in Reunion describe it as 'superb'.

Hopefully if all goes well we may make South Africa in around 9 days.

Comments [0] | | More

25/09/2008

St Pierre
Reunion
25 September 2008

It's our last day of car hire today so we plan to do the shopping for our next passage and get fuel etc There's only one problem - there are boom gates to get into the marina and we were informed yesterday that we couldn't get a 'pass' until 'apres midday' today. We don't feel like lugging bags of heavy shopping and full 20 litre fuel cans 1km when we can park next to the finger Valiam is on. Lets hope 'apres midday' doesn't mean next week.

Yesterday Bill drove around and up and down and around a million hairpin bends on the wrong side of the road to get to Cilaos high up in the mountains. It may have been an expensive road the French have built but it still added to Linda's grey hairs! In several places there were one lane blind bends where motorists hoot their horns as the only indication for oncoming traffic. We also passed through one lane pitch black tunnels through the mountain where the only indication of oncoming traffic is headlights. If 2 cars end up facing each other one has to reverse out! Big tourist buses somehow manage to get up to this place and one forced us into a rock crevice just missing the car by 1 cm. (Just when Linda was thinking of the 1000 euro excess for insurance). Cilaos is a quaint village with walking tracks to waterfalls and mountain peaks. We chose to have a leisurely lunch instead. It was local fare which included lentils, beans, smoked pork and home made sausages. (Delicious!) Linda had to have crème brulee as well. Oh dear all those extra kilajoules! Lucky the new Indian outfits are roomy ....

After going all the way back down again it was still early so se decided to go up to Le Port where Jim (Alii Kai Too) is. We have also been in contact with Virenord and were hoping to catch up with Charmain and Mike as well. When we got to Le Port we felt very glad that we are in St Pierre. Le Port is industrial and not nice. We found Jim but Mike and Charmain were out. We enjoyed a few drinks with Jim and discussed the passage to South Africa. He is leaving today as he received a good weather forecast from Commanders Weather. He said Virenord was heading off on Saturday. This got us thinking that it would be a good idea to leave this weekend also and try and stay in contact with the others on route.

The passage from here to Richards Bay (or Durban) is around 1400 miles and we estimate it should take us about 10 days. It wont be a straight forward passage as the currents and weather patterns near Madagascar and South Africa can make sailing there challenging. All yachties who sail near South Africa fear the south westerly gales that spring up very quickly. These can get up to 50 knots or more and if one happens to be close to the south of Madagascar where there can be currents and confused seas or in the Aghulas current which can flow up to 7 knots huge breaking waves can occur. The Aghulas current runs parallel down the coast of Africa and is around 40 miles off the coast. If a south westerly gale occurs we have to keep well away from the south of Madagascar as well as away from the Aghulas current. Weather information in this region is very good and we should get some warning if a southwesterly gale is on its way and prepare for it. The passage down to Cape Town is a series of hops between these fronts waiting in each harbour for the next good weather window. Linda would prefer to call this part of the world 'Cape of Good Hope' rather than 'Cape of Storms'. Around 300 yachts a year make it safely around so with good planning, seamanship and a sound boat we should be fine. We know Valiam and her crew can cope with adverse conditions as we have already experienced in the Indian ocean. However it will be good when this next passage to South Africa is over.

Soon after we arrive in South Africa we plan to leave the boat in the marina and fly home to Australia for a few weeks to visit the family. We should be back in time to make it around the Cape during the best time which is December - January.

Comments [0] | | More

24/09/2008

St Pierre
Reunion
23 September 2008

Many people have said how Reunion has the most spectacular scenery out of the 3 Mascarene islands (Rodrigues, Mauritius and Reunion.) After exploring some of the country side it does seem like the 'princess' of the 3, with stunning 'chocolate box' scenes to absorb. St Pierre is very picturesque with narrow streets, some old buildings with wooden shutters with the Catholic church and Mosque both claiming the centre of attention in town. The church rings its bells regularly and the Islamic prayer can be heard at dawn and sunset over the Mosque's loudspeaker! The marina and boatyard is virtually in the centre of town between the beach and the main street.

We enjoyed exploring the town yesterday by bicycle. We haven't had to wear bike helmets since we left Australia much to Bill's joy. We found a few places we were looking for such as car hire (location voiture) and a bicycle shop but all businesses close for lunch between 11.30 - 2pm. So we had no choice but also enjoy a long leisurely lunch the French way in a small Creole café alongside the town's employees until the doors were open for business again. The shops and businesses are also closed on Sundays and Monday mornings. As lunch with a beer or wine seems to be usual practice we surmise that there would not be as much productivity after 2pm! Mondays must be a good work day!

After riding our bicycles to a few car hire places we found one that wasn't too expensive (about the same as Oz) and booked one for 3 days. Today we woke to a brilliant blue sky and for the first time we could see all the mountains making a dramatic backdrop for St Pierre. We felt very lucky to have such a beautiful day as Bill drove up through the hills towards the volcano via a town called Le Tampon! The car is a Renault Twingo and Bill had to get used to the left hand drive and driving on the wrong side. This was especially scary for me on the narrow hairpin bends with a drop down beside my side of the road! On the way to the volcano La Fournaise we passed through beautiful forests and as we climbed higher the vegetation became very alpine. The beautiful valley we saw from the boat the day we arrived was even more spectacular from the top. Through the clouds we drove and up until we were above the clouds. Linda went crazy with the camera and took around 90 photos today! When we got to the viewing area of the volcano it looked like a dark brown moonscape. Unfortunately due to recent eruptions we weren't allowed to walk right up and around the crater. It didn't really matter as the views were fantastic.

Lunch in the forest was cool and peaceful as well as delicious - fresh baguette, French camembert and French wine. Bebous Foret was next on the agenda and it didn't disappoint. The steep mountains were covered in thick lush vegetation including many tree ferns a bit like north island New Zealand. The drive back along the coast road to St Pierre took us past the bottom of the volcano. When we were sailing towards Reunion we saw a large area down one side of a mountain that looked all black and burnt. Looking at the lava flows from the road it had several colours - dark grey, brown and in places yellow. In one area the steam and smoke looked amazing spiraling out of the cracks. Lots of photos here. (see photo gallery)

It's nice returning to our haven - Valiam here at the marina. It's quiet and friendly here. The French yachties have been extremely helpful even if sometimes there is a language barrier! Laurent and Valerie and their 2 sons on Sea Foam have been cruising for a number of years and speak English well. Laurent has leant us maps of Reunion, given heaps of advice as well as given us assistance in refilling our gas bottle. Julios helped tie us up when we arrived and always has a smile and wave. He and his wife have a baby girl Nikita. We think their cat visited us the other night! A ginger cat came inside the boat whilst we were relaxing in the saloon with something that looked like a large rat in its mouth! Bill jumped up said 'Pussycat!' and it ran off.

Oh yes we are legally in Reunion we think! Captain Bill fronted up to the port office and filled in a form. No stamp in the passport, no request for clearance papers from Mauritius, no fees, no time limit to our stay.... No wonder the French find Australian entry rules difficult and often wont visit! One of the yachties here said he spent 6 months in the USA without any paperwork whatsoever. No-one asked him and he didn't go out of his way to find the authorities! 'It's for them' he says 'Not for me. If they come and see me on my boat of course I will provide them with what they want....' He said if we want our clearance paper before we go to South Africa they will probably give us a signed stamped form for us to fill in ourselves with whatever we want! Must be all those leisurely lunches - a very relaxed attitude which we find quite refreshing after some of the officials we've had to deal with.

The other thing the French are very relaxed about is nudity. After the countries we have visited it feels like we are in St Tropez in Europe! Bill enjoys his morning stroll along the boardwalk next to the beach! The ladies are usually only wearing something around the bottom half. The other night a young lithe dark skinned fellow stripped everything off and nonchalantly went for a stroll along the beach and a swim. This produced fits of giggles from a group of girls walking by. This fellow was under the influence of drugs however as he was acting oddly talking to himself and earlier he was smoking something that definitely wasnt tobacco. Nevertheless he cast a striking figure against the setting sun. Linda wished she had her sketchbook!

Comments [0] | | More

21/09/2008

St Pierre
Reunion
21 September 2008

Reunion is pronounced 'Raynyon' which is tricky for us Aussies. St Pierre is a bit like a French coastal town with a bit of Mooloolaba and Creole thrown in! The marina seems to have mostly French yachts and is very relaxed. There are signs of no real rules here ie - major boat repairs, motor bikes and broken dinghies parked on the pontoons. We have hoisted the yellow quarantine flag and French flag and tried to contact the authorities but no-one is interested on a weekend. So we are illegal immigrants wandering around at the moment. The French yachties we have met are very casually dressed, long hair, beards etc and are very kind speaking to us in English. Pets and small children seem to be part of their crews.

The wind is blowing quite strongly at present and reminds us of yesterday when we rounded the southern end of Reunion. We felt the full force of the Indian ocean once again and Bill had to hand steer at 40 knots! The breakwater behind our pontoon is a good viewing spot to watch the surfers - a bit like Point Cartwright at home. However the vast Indian ocean swell makes for nice big surfing waves. We will be watching the weather carefully before we decide to go to South Africa.

We plan to hire a car for a few days to have a look around the island. One volcano Piton de la Fournaise only erupted last year and is still smoldering. We look forward to seeing that! The backdrop of Reunion was certainly spectacular as we sailed close to the coast before we turned into St Pierre. (See the photos of the valley.) From the coral beach next to the marina we can see the sunset over the sea. The marina is supposed to be free for the first week but there are no amenities ie no showers, laundry etc. There is a tap next to the boat so we have unlimited water for bucket baths and washing by hand but so far we haven't managed to make the power work.

There are many restaurants and shops within walking distance but paying in euros we are conscious of the higher prices compared to Mauritius. There are lots of young people wandering around dressed in tight jeans, black clothes, piercings and chains looking a lot less innocent than the young people in Mauritius. We watched a couple of weddings with the bridal parties and guests in cars decorated in ribbons hooting their horns loudly up and down the main street. We tried to purchase a tourist guide in English but no such luck. Every single book, magazine and newspaper here is in French!

Comments [0] | | More

20/09/2008, 21 20.7'S:55 28.6'E, St Pierre

Hello all We arrived safely in St Pierre at 1.30pm today. The entrance was narrow but clearly marked and no breakers going accross it. We'd heard from other yachties that it can be difficult to get in here. The view of Reunion coming in was spectacular - green hills, huge valleys and a live volcano hiding behind cloud! The wind played tricks on us gusting up to 45 knots as we approached the bottom of the island! (Valiam surfed at 10.5 knots at one stage)

When we made inot the small marina a couple of helpful young men helped us tie up and even spoke English! As it is Saturday there has been no response from port control on the radio or telephone. We have the yellow quarantine flag up as well as the French flag. Bill has gone to look for someone in the office. The young men who helped us said it was no problem for us to leave the boat to go into town. It's euros here so Linda wont be able to much shopping if any at all!!!!

The buildings look more like Europe here - very provincial looking. We are excited about exploring a new place!

Comments [1] | | More

20/09/2008, 21 13.2'S:56 05.7'E,

Mauritius to Reunion 20 September 2008 5.45am local time Position : 21 13.2S 56 05.7E

Getting ready to leave Mauritius yesterday our feelings were mixed. It was sad because we were leaving some very good friends behind but also exciting knowing we were heading for sea again. We had to wait until 2 boats left the customs wharf before we could untie our ropes from Caudan marina. We said au revoir to Catherine and Jacque on Seranade our neighbours who are also heading for Reunion and South Africa. As we motored quickly to the customs wharf we hit bottom! How embarrassing! It was low tide and we thought we were on the correct side of the red buoy. After Captain Bill reversed and spun Valiam around we were off. By the time the formalities were completed and the coast guard checked for stowaways (2 prisoners have escaped from jail we were told) we did n't leave Port Louis until 12.30.

As we sailed and mostly motored past the coast of Mauritius due to lack of wind we could see the distinctive shaped mountains including the hill Bill climbed behind Bambous. I immediately texted Lewis on his mobile to let him know we were sailing past. I'm not sure if he climbed part of the hill to see us but he texted back 'Can see Valiam looks white'! Bye Lewis family and lovely students...

At sunset the mountain of Le Morne (where the slave jumped off and is now a World Heritage site) looked like a womans head lying down. The wind was still only blowing 4 knots so we motored for several hours.At about 7.30pm the wind suddenly came in from behind us at 20 knots. We have had full sail up ever since with Mona Lisa steering us.

On our last trip to Le Morne I took photos of Matthew Flinders Memorial and sent them to Bill's father. We notice an animal with a long tail near his shoulder sculpted into the plaque. We thought it was a monkey. It was in actual fact his cat. This is what he wrote back to us: , Thanks for the pics of the Flinders memorial. I was pleased to see that his cat 'Trim" was also remembered. The cat sailed with him on the Investigator all the way out from England, all around Australia, survived the wreck of the Porpoise on the barrier reef got back to Sydney on the boat that they saved from the wreck, and then got to Mauritius and was interned with him. The poor little thing was finally taken by some of the local slave labourers and was cooked and eaten by them. I have a copy of the story book Flinders wrote about him for children to read. While Trim belonged to Flinders he was adopted by the crew of the Investigator I suppose as a sort of mascot.

We aren't far from Reunion now and hope to get into St Pierre. It's a bit of a tricky entrance with breakers to avoid. If its too hard we'll go on to St Galens (La Port)

Au revoir

Comments [0] | | More

18/09/2008

This article appeared as a full page spread on the back page of Le Matinal which was a bit of a shock! Here's the English translation with thanks to Razeeyah :
She has come to Mauritius and has rendered our kids happy. The visit of Linda Frylink Anderson in the island has inspired the kids to take an interest in art.

This Australian artist is presently sailing round the world in her yatch with her husband Bill. They have begun this adventure in Nov. 2007 in Australia.

During a stopover in Mauritius, Linda has taught the kids to draw in a different way. She has worked closely with the pupils of "Ecole de Sculpture" of Lewis Dick since her arrival. She has presented an exhibition on Thursday, Friday and Saturday last.

During her stay she has drawn the works sculptured by the pupils of Lewis Dick's has conducted 2 workshops with the pupils at Le Morne on 2 consecutive Saturdays. Impressed by the sculpture of Gena, this Australian lady will go back with the work of art and thousands of photographs which she has taken during her stay.

After this fruitful with the budding artists, Linda and Bill will set sail heading for Reunion Island. However the bad weather compelled them to stay in the island for a few more days. Afterwards the couple will be sailing to S. Africa. At the end of her trip, Linda will write a book about her adventure including her best photographs. Her husband Bill also plans to create a calendar with the entire all the photographs taken in different countries.

In Mauritius they have discovered a rich and diverse culture. "It's amazing to see all communities existing harmoniously together, without any problem. Everyone accepts the other as he is. This is a good example set by Mauritius to the whole world," remarks the artist. Having worked with children and adults during more than 20 years, she is delighted to discover new talents across the world.

"The art of children is exceptional. Adults impose their way of drawing to children. They must realize that these kids draw what they see and feel", specifies Linda.

PS (from Linda) The nudes are drawings I did in Oz and were part of the exhibition. Also thankyou to Fateema for a nice if 'grande' story!

Comments [0] | | More

17/09/2008

Well, we were ready to go today but it hasn't stopped raining heavily since last night and the wind appears to be blowing horizontally! We would rather sail to Reunion in more pleasant weather and with better visibility. So we are doing a few more jobs - sewing machine repairs whilst we still have power and Bill thinks he may be able to get the gas bottle filled. Filling the gas bottle is a bit of drama everywhere we go. Each country has different fittings and many refuse to fill ours. We do not want to exchange our extra tough galvanised gas bottle for their crummy recycled ones!

Another article appeared in the paper yesterday on Linda with a preview photo on the front page!! It mainly talked about the work done with the children. Lewis says lots of little towns around Mauritius want to have art classes for their children now!

If its still raining tomorrow we might go and see another Bollywood movie. The last one we saw was hilarious especially as it was filmed in Surfers Paradise Australia! The costumes and storyline were over the top - great entertainment!

Hopefully you have plowed through the 100s of photos taken whilst we're here. Lewis friend Michele the stone carver visited us the other day with his wife Lore, sister Janet and gorgeous son Nigel. Lore and Janet are from Rodrigues and knew all the people in the photos we took whilst we were there! Their photo is in the Mauritius album too.

The photo above was taken of Lewis proudly wearing the 'Australia' t shirt and Josiane on Valiam the last time we saw them. Good friends we will miss dearly..................

Comments [0] | | More

16/09/2008

photo : Razeeyah and Linda
Tuesday 16th September
Today we have been busy doing 'boat jobs' mainly packing away the art gear, bicycles etc. It's amazing how the gear needed for an art exhibition, art classes etc fits into the side of the quarter berth leaving the mattress mostly vacant. A contortionist act was necessary! Bill took a deep breath (literally) and went under water in the not so clean water of Port Louis to clean the sides and propeller of Valiam's hull. We are almost ready to head for La Reunion but the weather is looking not so good with a front coming in. We may have to wait a day or so. The main port at Reunion 'La Port' is crowded according to Jim and we will have to raft up. This prospect doesn't really appeal as we only have minimal fenders and are not really used to people walking over each other's boats. It's common practice in Europe so I guess we may have to get used to it.

We took Lewis and Josiane out for dinner last night. Lewis looked splendid in the turquoise t shirt we gave him with 'AUSTRALIA' across the front! We phoned a taxi driver we liked to take us all out to Bambous . He had to wait while we took down the exhibition but seemed to enjoy looking at the art and photos. Originally he quoted 600rupees for the drive there and back from Port Louis but when we got back (after helping with all the gear) he said '400' is ok. That's an amazing thing for someone to do in this part of the world. Bill gave him 600 anyway. He is a lovely Hindu man called Jayraz if anyone wants a nice taxi driver in Port Louis.

Another article appeared in Le Matinel paper yesterday which I haven't seen yet. Our Indian friend Razeeyah is dropping it off for me this afternoon. Razeeyah is Muslim and is fasting at the moment for the month of Ramadan. Between sunrise and sunset she is not allowed to eat or drink - even water. Bill likes to ask the Muslim people we meet what will happen if they do eat during the day but the standard reply is always 'We cant' or 'We don't'. Fasting is like a kind of meditation and connects them closer to god. It also is a purification process. Although Fateemah one of the journalists I met said she ate a lot at night including icecream so didn't lose any weight during Ramadan. Even children are encouraged or 'trained' to fast. I tried to keep silent on my views on that one!

The article scanned for the previous log was written by Norbert of the Weekend Express. He is an art critic and has promised me an English translation! Lewis says the comments are very positive so its nice that the Mauritian people like my work.

Off to the supermarket for a few supplies before we head off. The next email will be sent from out at sea.

Comments [0] | | More

14/09/2008, Ecole de Sculpture, Bambous, Mauritius

14th September 2008

Linda's Art Exhibition:
This past week has been focused on preparing and enjoying this exhibition with the people of Mauritius. Linda feels honoured and humbled by the attention and in particular the support and encouragement of her friend and mentor sculptor Lewis Dick. After working with Lewis holding Children's art workshops in Le Morne he was keen to exhibit Linda's work. Not only did he provide gallery space he and his beautiful wife Josiane and their band of helpers students Hari, Blake and Mike worked hard to make the exhibition a wonderful success. Lewis invited many Mauritian artists, musicians, teachers and the media. Linda was interviewed and photographed by many journalists as well as the local TV. The opening night on Thursday night was exciting and fun with much laughter and emotion as the Mauritian people embraced the 2 Aussies Linda and Bill into their hearts. As the champagne flowed the speeches in English and Creole were received with much clapping especially when Linda presented Lewis with a framed drawing of Gena's sculpture. Gena's story is now a pivotal point of the exhibition. (see previous entry re Gena's story)

Linda exhibited not only her drawings but some of her photos taken in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Philippines, Malaysia, Cocos Keeling Islands, Rodrigues and Mauritius. 'Images from Around the World' were displayed under each country. Some of Linda's nudes were also displayed either in the original pastel or in print form. Australian friends and family may recognize themselves in some the drawings/photos displayed! (see photo gallery - click on little camera then 'Linda's Exhibition')

Music and dance is an integral part of Ecole de Sculpture. Lewis' senior students Hari, Mike and Blake as well as being wonderful musicians are up and coming sculptors with a study tour in Switzerland planned for next year. On Thursday evening these boys played and sang on guitar and hand drum. A guest artist and musician Billy played the saxophone and flute. Linda was dobbed in by Lewis to begin the dancing with a solo bellydance!

It was a wonderful night one we will never forget. The exhibition was supposed to close yesterday but due to interest and media coverage this weekend it will be staying open until Monday night.

A special message for Lewis and Josiane :
"It's a great pleasure to work with Mr. Lewis Dick, Sculptor of Mauritius. We share a passion for the Arts and use this as a vehicle for self expression to inspire confidence in children. When children are free to experiment with tactile materials they are able to release emotions and once confident can continue to learn eventually leading worthwhile lives. We believe in working alongside the children sharing the joy in learning together. It has been especially enjoyable for me to dance and have fun the Mauritian way. I would like to thank Lewis and Josiane for their generous spirit and allowing Bill and I to become a part of their lives which also includes the community of Mauritius. My heartfelt thanks."

Linda,"Ene grand plaisir travail ek Lewis Dick, ene sculpter Mauricien,"
Nou partage ene passion pou L'Art ek nou servi sa couma ene moyen pou aide ban zenfan pou gagne confiance dan zot meme.
Kan nou donne ban zenfan libert?- pou exprime zot talent avek ban materiels simple, nou capave trouv?- ki qualit?- emotion zot mett?- dan seki zot p?- fer ek sa pou servi zot tout long zot lavi.
Sa travail ki noune fer ensam , ine fer mwa appranne inpe culture Mauricien.
Mo remercie Lewis pou so générosité.
Line permet mwa partaze so lavi ki inclure aussi la communaut?- du Morne ek L'Ile Maurice entier.
De tout c?"ur Merci

Comments [0] | | More

13/09/2008

Photo : Linda presenting Lewis with 'Gena's sculpture'

We are now preparing to leave Mauritius for Reunion in the next few days. Reunion is an overnight sail from here so we should be there by the end of the week. We wont stay long in Reunion - just long enough to fill our gas bottles and take a look at the erupting volcano! (not at the same place!) Hopefully the weather will be kind to us for our passage to South Africa.

Comments [0] | | More

08/09/2008, Mauritius

An Invitation :
To view the work of Australian Artist
Linda Frylink Anderson

"Images from Around the World"Featuring drawings from Ecole de Sculpture
Bambous
Official Opening : 5.30pm Thursday 11th September
Venue : Ecole de Sculpture Avenue de Bricoleur Bambous
Exhibition Times : Thursday 11th, Friday 12th, Saturday 13th September
9am - 6pm

Linda is currently on a voyage around the world with her husband Bill on their yacht Valiam which they built themselves. Linda is an Artist and teacher from Queensland, Australia. She has exhibited mostly in Australia and taught children and adults for more than 20 years in schools and universities.

Linda has studied Art, Photography and Education in Canberra and Brisbane, Australia. As well as degrees in Education , she holds a Diploma in Pianoforte and has practised Middle Eastern Dance for 10 years. Her personal interest in Drawing, Music, Drama, Photography and Writing has enabled her to work with children and adults on her travels in a relaxed and enjoyable way. Linda's style of drawing has been described as being uninhibited and free. She is currently working on a book to be published at the end of her voyage around the world.

Linda would like to thank Lewis Dick (Sculptor of Mauritius), his wife Josiane and his students from d'Ecole de Sculpture for their support and friendship.

For more details on Linda's work in Mauritius see website :
www.valiam.com.au (see photo Gallery : Lewis Dick and Le Morne Workshops)

mob ph Linda : +230 7390391

Comments [1] | | More

11/09/2008 | Grant Doubell

Hi there
I know that you're having a good time. Just to let you know that I am really missing your daily/ regular updates.
I am living your adventure vicariously until my day comes.
Regards

Childrens Art Workshop and Exhibition Le Morne

07/09/2008, Mauritius

On Friday Bill and Linda set up the Children's exhibition at Le Morne Cultural Centre in a beautiful and World Historic area of Mauritius. Many children in this area are underpriviged in many ways and lack funds and motivation to do something with their lives. Drawings done by the children at Linda's previous workshop were displayed along with photos and DVD of the children engaged in drawing and music. The workshop on Saturday included Drawing, Sculpture and Music. I was well attended and amny groups of children participated. Bill was Linda's teacher aide as she took 2 groups of young children for a drawing class. It is a simple concept to 'Draw from Life' but many children are never given the opportunity to do so. The children were encouraged to observe closely the shape and form of several big sculptures in front of them to draw. After drawing Lewis senior students who are excellent musicians played and sang traditional Mauritian music for all to dance to - even the parents when they arrived!

Comments [0] | | More

Gena's Story

07/09/2008, Bambous, Mauritius

A students' work - L'ecole de Sculpture:
Sculpture by Gena

Always aware of his own humble beginnings Lewis is passionate about helping the poor and underprivileged children of Mauritius. His garden and small gallery is full of sculptures made by his students. One sculpture drew my attention each time I went into the garden. It is of a mother with a child on her back. The mothers face is a picture of anger and grief. The 14 year old girl - Gena who carved this sculpture is an illegitimate child. Her mother was shunned by the local Mauritian community as having a child out of wedlock is a big stigma. Her mother pretended the child was someone else's carrying her on her back and went about saying she was the babysitter. Lewis said that this girl got rid of her negative emotions by creating this sculpture. She is now a successful nurse in a local hospital. On our last visit Lewis insisted on giving me this sculpture. The sculpture is now part of Linda's exhibition "Images from around the world" We will eventually place her in the garden at home in Australia.

Comments [0] | | More

Tsunami hits Mauritius

06/09/2008

Yes it's true! We were woken the other night with loud knocking on our hull. we could hear the security men talking on their radios. After Bill hurriedly pulled on some clothes and emerged the message we received was that a 'big wave' was coming at 1am and that we should tie the boat securely. The skippers and crew of all the visiting yachts all emerged and began tying extra rope and tightening the ones we had. We only have 2 suitable fenders as well as 2 we use for seats so we didn't feel adequately protected. We all stayed up until 2am. Linda tidied the boat and checked our insurance documents. As it was nothing happened in the marina. We found out that a 12 ft wave did in fact wash ashore on the coast in palces but no damage was done.
We suffered from lack of sleep but at least all was well.

Comments [1] | | More

12/09/2008 | Helen

Phew! What fabulous images you have on your website, congratulations, and it is wonderful to see your interaction with the local communities as you travel.

More Art - Mauritius

03/09/2008

Wednesday 3rd September
Port Louis

This past week or so has been quite busy. Even now Linda has a deadline of getting some photos printed for an exhibition before Friday. As it is a holiday tomorrow (Ganesh Hindu festival) today will be busy getting things ready. Bill is off buying some board to cut up for the students to draw on their laps on Saturday. Bill has been and continues to be a porter, supporter and a huge help to Linda!

Yesterday was spent at Lewis' house, garden and studio in Bambous. As some of his students worked on their wooden scultptures (2 of them are going to Switzerland soon to exhibit) Linda drew several of the sculptures that are in the garden. (see photos under Linda's sketches) Louis' large piece for his client in London has come a long way in the past week. Linda drew Louis working on that too. It's been a wonderful exchange of art and music and continues to be such a pleasure. The exhibition and workshop planned for this weekend at La Morne is mainly for the underprivileged children aged 7-17years. We are becoming adept at catching buses and carting art gear around the district.

Comments [0] | | More

Visitors on Valiam - Port Louis

03/09/2008, Mauritius

Photo above : Linda with Ramana, Jayashree and Suganthy who nearly drowned in a boating accident in Mauritius

As Bill was riding his bicycle around town the other day he met a German man named Heinz on a folding bicycle. It seems we do meet some amazing people on this voyage. Heinz has been cycling his way around the world for 46 years! He left Germany as a young man and manages to cycle through every country (almost) on a shoestring budget. He occasionally gives talks, sells photos etc to fund his journey which has become his career. Sometimes he camps and sometimes he stays in cheap hotels. For example when he got off the plane here in Mauritius he rode his bicycle into some cane fields to sleep. He said it was private and comfortable! He is now staying in a 600rupee(A$24) a night hotel in town and eats cheap local food. He also does well being invited to people's homes (and yachts) enjoying their hospitality. When he visited us on Valiam he had some amazing tales to tell of his adventures in obscure parts of the world.

Here at Caudan, Valiam has been photographed constantly usually with smiling people standing in front of her. A bridal party came past one day so Bill had to jump up and down poking faces in the background! The photographer turned his subject the other way! On a balmy evening we were relaxing in our cockpit when a group of Indian people took photos of each other in front of Valiam. We ended up in a friendly conversation with them and had further photos taken with them. They were from near Chennai in India and were here on a conference. Business cards were exchanged with invitations to visit them in India. Unfortunately the wind is blowing the wrong way to go there!

A few days later we bumped into the same group again at a café. They asked if we had heard the news about a boating accident here in Mauritius. Of course we hadn't as we don't hear any news - it's all in French anyway. Apparently one of the ladies Saganthy almost died. The 3 of them went out on a little tourist boat which filled up with water. None of them could swim and the boat had no life jackets. There were 11 people on the boat and the maximum is supposed to be 7. The Indian visitors were in the water hanging on to the upside down boat screaming and waving. Suganthy was trapped underneath. Luckily an Australian man Carl was on a fishing boat with his son and saw that there seemed to be a problem. He persuaded his boat man to go to the people in the water. When told about the woman Suganthy under the boat he dragged her out and resuscitated her. She spent several days in hospital in intensive care. This amazing story was told to us as we shared lunch. The man in the group Ramana insisted on paying for lunch so we invited them to visit us the following day.

Ramana, Jayashree and Suganthy visited us for sunset drinks and nibbles after they had visited the Minister of Tourism and had a media conference. Suganthy's rescuer Carl and family were also there. They were given a sumptious lunch and apologies on behalf of the Mauritian people for such an unfortunate incident. Over drinks we talked about their experiences and life in India. With lots of laughter, photos and exchange of aussie flag, koalas and a beautiful silver bangle for Linda this lovely group of people left with an open invitation for us to visit. It was the first time they had seen inside a yacht and like most people here are amazed that we sailed her here from Australia.

Here is their story published in the Readers digest:


Saturday, September 06, 2008
How they surfaced from the jaws of death
This was a drama in real life... remember Reader's Digest? V.S. Ramana, a friend, who heads the PR and corporate communication function at L&T-ECC, has sent me an email describing how he and the PR team from Chennai (or was it India) recently escaped with their lives during a visit to Mauritius. I am reproducing here what he has written and except for editing for size, I have let it remain as it is. This came as a shocker when I read it. Here goes:

Nearly 50 PR professionals from India, from various leading public and private sector organisations of India, top media as well as from the advertising sector, arrived by Air Mauritius MK 745 on the 24th August. The event was to mark the celebrations of '50 Years of Public Relations Society of India (PRSI)' - the apex PR body that decided to extend its Golden Jubilee celebrations in the 'Out of the World' Island called Mauritius.
The event had a true auspicious beginning with a kick off by Hon'ble President of Mauritius, and event participation by Minister for Industry, Director Board of Investments, High Commissioner of Mauritius in India, Director, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority,the acting Director, Govt Info Service, the CEO Air Mauritius - to name few of the stars; and many noted international PR experts. The three-day sessions of the 2nd International PR Festival ended with active participation of the delegates and speakers. It was time then time for members to enjoy the island's unique experience for the rest of the days before their scheduled departure on at day break on 31 August.
Fatema F Kaderbhay of Heldive Ltd [not Hell Dive!] came to offer an exciting 'underwater walk' - "it is so safe even for 7-year-old kids and those who do not even know swimming!" she said. It was also an unbeatable offer, said to be very special for us. A confident lot of 16 agreed to participate. At the defined moment, only 11 people set out for the venture - that could have turned into a 'disastrous adventure'.
A cab took the team, and Raj, the driver, spoke Hindi and actively engaged all the people on the finer aspects of the island. We soon reached Pereybere at the Grand Bay. The lagoon was quiet, serene and emerald blue.... truly inviting!! As we got to capture few shots on our video and still cameras, a ferry came ashore to take us to a 'platform' in the sea where we were supposed to get into the suits and begin the adventure.
Eleven of us boarded the ferry, and with the fat boat-man, Ricardo Jean Mitchel, we were a complete dozen! We did not know the prescribed maximum, but later gathered that it ought to have been just 8 - including the skipper. The surprise was that Fatema did not come along but said that she'd be available for anything if need be.
The boatman had initial trouble, with the motor not starting off in the first go. "Not a good omen?" sounded off one of the members.... and as if to ward off that 'negative effect', I shouted a prayer for all to say - "Jai Bajrang Bali!". And we certainly needed the blessings of the Lord in the next 15 minutes... "We are now about 3 to 4 metres deep," said the boatman, not very communicative or even excited, just like many other men we had come across the boats in La Plantation where we all stayed.
Soon as we went about two-third the distance, the danger ahead was visible to all of us. "There is water coming in," alerted Meena. Water started entering from the rear end of the boat, just above the place of the motor. The motor perhaps did not have the adequate power to push us all and it seemed to gasp with the 'over weight?' Meena held that she had pointed out to Ricardo of water coming in some ten minutes before, to which he is said to have retorted, "No problem!" Right now it was indeed A BIG PROBLEM! The boat man shut the engine off - asked us to stay calm and not panic, and whistled and waved to draw attention of near-by boats.
"Guys, do not panic, please stay calm," I yelled and Bharat too was trying to make others stay as calm as possible. Any panic and undue movements would surely topple the boat, even before the water filled up. We did hold ourselves together but not for too long. Water gushed in from the rear of the boat, faster than we had anticipated. The boat turtled to its left and threw us all into the lagoon. We all hit the water. Jayashree, Srinivas, Dr Anil and his wife Anita were swimmers of some sort and the rest who did not know swimming were truly in great dismay and distress.
As I held my breath to prevent seawater entering my mouth and nose, I kicked my hands and limbs to stay afloat above water. The capsized boat was right above me and I held on to it. The boat's belly was very slippery and my hand was giving away but finally I managed to hold on to the rim of the boat, he right hand holding from the outer side, and the left hand from the inner. I started stretching my legs and kept flapping to stay afloat and took stock of the situation.
Jayashree emerged from the boat's front-end, having been right under the boat and weaved her way soon out. Bharat and Dr Anil emerged on my left. I saw Srinivas who pulled Bhargavi up even as she was being towed away by the waves. Subha and Rajagopalan too were visible but were on the other side of the boat. Meena took help from Srinivas and stayed afloat. The boatman too emerged and showed signs of utter dismay. Apart from his aiding Srinivas to help Bhargavi climb up and lie on to the top of the boat he did nothing to rescue or lend a helping hand.
We all missed Suganthy! "Suganthy...where is she?" I yelled and we all started drawing the attention of the missing member - we had to act fast! 'Something is holding my leg underneath" Dr Anil said. Karl, an Australian came to our rescue - he was God sent. Off to fishing with his nine-year son, he threw a life jacket. Bhargavi and Rajagopal were quickly taken into the Coast Guard boat that came very close to our sunken ferry and threatened to tilt it further, making us lose grip. Suganthy was still not visible!
Karl rescued Subha. "Take on the man in his dark glasses - he does not know swimming!" yelled Jayashree, referring to me. Karl swam towards me, and guided me till the ladder. As I got on, I insisted: "Please find Suganthi!" In seconds, Karl went under the boat and fetched Suganthy, who was floating flat on her belly. The others too held her and soon got her aboard Karl's boat. "She is breathing" assured Karl. Suganthy was laid flat on the surface while her head hung below the body-level. She frothed from her mouth and nose. A good sign, I sort reassured myself first [I could have been right or wrong]. "Call for the emergency and ambulance".... yelled someone.
Karl's boat soon headed to the shore... which by then had many anxious onlookers. A bedspread was soon laid... as Karl helped by others put Suganthy on to the floor. She was still breathing loud from her mouth. Karl gave her some quick first aid - one of the first aid emergency acts that he had learnt from a course completed just 10 days before.
She was rolled on to her left, with her left leg stretched and the right folded up. Suganthy threw up vomiting some of the undigested food. She was constantly assured by us that she was fine and that the rest of us too were. We held her hand firmly, giving her all the sensation, the heat, and sought to get her senses alive and ticking. "Open your eyes Suganthy", and she would respond, "open wide", she'd do that... "now roll your eyes"... and she quickly reacted to it.
In minutes she was under good care of the emergency ambulance and the medical team that came in. Dr Foundun and the team rushed her to the SSRN Hospital - North - in Pamplemouss. There was water in her lungs and the required medical interventions were given even while on the move. "She will have to be in the ICU tonight and she should be fine,"...assured the doctor. With timely help and best of medical intervention, Suganthy was out of the hospital the third day. But she was advised to undertake travel only after three days for ample precaution. Jayashree stayed back and with approval from my office, I stayed back as well for support.
While Karl and his family were invited to a thanksgiving meet by all the PR men, there is one 'take home' message at the end of the event. Life alone is the only valuable thing we all hold when it comes to a challenging situation. Be it in any place on this planet earth! Would be so true even in Mauritius, the 'Out of this World' country! There is no value really to the belongings or money we lose - video and digital cameras or any such thing that we often state as 'valuables'.
The following day, the Minister Tourism met with us and Karl's family and assured action would be taken on people who messed with lives and flouted safety norms. It was a good gesture on his part.

Comments [0] | | More

The Famous Wood Sculptor - Lewis Dick

31/08/2008, Mauritius

Sunday 31st August 2008
Port Louis

The day Lewis came into our lives was special in that we can see the soul and spirit of Mauritian people through his eyes. Our friendship with Lewis and his wife Josiane began with the introduction by Bill's brother Peter and partner Jennifer Bartholemew, a Melbourne artist. Lewis was invited to Australia 3 years ago to work on a piece with Jennifer for the Commonwealth Games. Lewis' English has improved in leaps and bounds since his visit to Australia and it has been a pleasure to be able to communicate with a Mauritian on a deeper level. Lewis has also traveled to Europe also to work with a renowned Swiss sculptor and his son is presently a sculptor in London. We have visited Lewis' home twice now and enjoyed Creole cooking as well as singing and dancing in his courtyard.

Lewis and Josiane live in Bambous, a quiet village 40 minutes by bus from Port Louis. On our first visit several of his students welcomed us with a song at his front gate. Lewis works with underprivileged children as their mentor giving them confidence and an opportunity to work through their emotions using wood carving as therapy. The students we have met are a credit to Lewis - quietly confident now each showing a talent not only for sculpture but music. Lewis freely mixes music with art as both are interrelated and assists in creating a happy atmosphere with everyone having fun.

The 'legend' of Lewis' success is attributed to a wooden doll he made for his daughter when she was small. Twenty five years ago Lewis was so poor that he couldn't buy his little girl a doll for Christmas. He sat under a tree very depressed and looking up into the branches he could se a branch shaped a bit like a baby. He decided to cut the branch down and make his daughter a doll for Christmas. She loved that doll and wouldn't share it with other children. One day there was a squabble between his daughter and some other children. A man happened to be walking by and when he saw the doll he asked the children where they got it. When told that her Daddy made it he insisted on being taken to him. He offered Lewis 3000 rupees for the doll. This was like winning the lottery in those days as Lewis was only earning 18 rupees a day as a labourer (about 75c) With this money he was able to buy a block of land and begin building his house where he still lives today. His daughters were upset about losing the doll so he made another one. This one they didn't like so much as it was carved like a sitting doll and they couldn't cuddle it as with the first one. The 2nd doll sat on a table in their living room. As fate would have it another man saw this doll and offered Lewis 4000 rupees for it. Now Lewis could finish his house and began his career as a wood sculptor. Now he creates large pieces for large organizations as well as private customers both here in Mauritius and overseas.

The students'work - L'ecole de Sculpture
Always aware of his own humble beginnings he is passionate about helping the poor and underprivileged children of Mauritius. His garden and small gallery is full of sculptures made by his students. One sculpture drew my attention each time I went into the garden. It is of a mother with a child on her back. The mothers face is a picture of anger and grief. The 14 year old girl who carved this sculpture is an illegitimate child. Her mother was shunned by the local Mauritian community as having a child out of wedlock is a big stigma. Her mother pretended the child was someone elses carrying her on her back and went about saying she was the babysitter. Lewis said that this girl got rid of her negative emotions by creating this sculpture. She is now a successful nurse in a local hospital. On our last visit Lewis insisted on giving me this sculpture. We had a hire car that day so we were able to transport it back to the boat! The sculpture now sits under the chart table and we will eventually place her in the garden at home! I plan to do some drawings of her.

Comments [1] | | More

02/09/2008 | Di and Bruce

Wonderful stories, Reggio Amelio...with a Linda /Creole flavour. You guys are inspirational !

La Morne Art Workshop

31/08/2008, Mauritius

Art Workshop - La Morne
Sunday 31st August 2008
Linda was honoured to be asked by Lewis to take his class yesterday to do some drawing. 25 children aged 7 to 15 were busy chipping away at wood carvings left in the local church courtyard. As I set up easels, paper etc Lewis introduced me and translated as I communicated to the class. We used a PNG carving, Bill and myself as models. Most of them had never worked with charcoal before bit seemed to enjoy the texture of it. Bill and I also showed photos of our trip on Valiam and photos of her construction. These children were so well behaved and respectful - the easiest class I have ever had! Yet these children are so poor and don't have the things Australian children have. During the class Lewis' older students who were the musicians we met previously played music on a guitar and hand drum to create a relaxed atmosphere. After we finished drawing we danced to the music. Some of these children have a natural grace and rhythm especially 2 older girls. I had my bellydance belts with jingle and sequins with me so I tied them on. We had lots of fun at this 'workshop'.

After the class Lewis took us to the local community centre for a meeting. After talking to 2 of the paid employees there it was decided to have a workshop and exhibition there next weekend of the children's drawing. There will be wood carving and music and dance as well. Linda will be busy mounting the childrens work and creating a dvd of the original workshop!

It seems our stay in Mauritius will be a little longer than we originally planned due to our involvement with Lewis' projects. Lewis has also asked Linda to hold an exhibition of her work in Port Louis. This will be a combination of drawings and photos completed on this trip. Its all a bit scary but fun and exciting at the same time.

Comments [0] | | More

Exploring Port Louis

31/08/2008, Mauritius

La Marina here in Caudan isn't like any other marina we've experienced. We feel like we are camping in a public park or we are on display to the locals and tourists who walk past in a constant stream. Now we know how animals feel being gawked at in a zoo! Most are friendly but some talk about us as if we're not there! It's funny hearing Mooloolaba pronounced in many different ways!! Most don't realize we yachties are living on our boats here. It is very convenient being able to step off and walk anywhere in town. We buy takeaway or eat at some of the cheaper restaurants around here. Sometimes we have soup and toast on board.

Linda bought herself 3 new Indian outfits at an Indian ladies dress shop. They are comfortable and feel slightly glamourous - the matching scarf/veil however doesn't seem to flow elegantly over the shoulder as it does with the Indian ladies!

The Market is a terrible place for tourists to buy souveniers. The male stallholders are very persistent and follow you around. This has completely put me off shopping there. The smaller Chinese and Indian shops in the back streets are cheaper and more fun.

Until next time!
Au revoir

Comments [1] | | More

31/08/2008 | jerry

Completely put you off shopping? Doesn't sound like Linda! ;)

Hindus in Mauritius

25/08/2008

'Hindus in Mauritius'

Monday 25th August
Caudan Waterfront
Port Louis
Mauritius
Position: 20 09.62S 57 29.82E

The waterfront where we are tied up is in the middle of a tourist area so consequently a constant stream of tourists mostly local and from Reunion come strolling past. Groups of Indian people sit laughing and eating takeaway on the brick wall metres from us! We can people watch unobserved from inside the boat or from the cockpit we exchange many 'bonjours'. The restaurants and food court are very conveniently located but more expensive than Rodrigues. We intend to explore Port Louis further by foot to see the market and Chinatown. In the meantime we have hired a little car for few days - a Hyundi - smaller than any we've seen in Australia! Bill drove us all around the island which is left hand drive like Oz - a remnant of British rule.

Our impression of the natural landscape is that it is similar to New Caledonia. The countryside is dotted with dark volcanic rocks and many sugar cane fields. However it is a lot more populated (1.3million) of which 52% are Indian Hindus. As it was Sunday yesterday we saw many families out enjoying themselves dressed in beautiful coloured saris. We saw many groups in small mini buses equipped with chairs, tables etc for picnics along the southern beaches. The first day we toured the north of the island stopping for a while at the famous Cap Malhereux (Cape of Misfortune) where we could view the same islands we sailed passed from the shore. As we were sitting in the beachfront churchyard having a picnic a beautiful young girl came past selling little hand made dodo birds. (Dodo birds are now extinct and were wiped out by early settlers not because they tasted good but because they were easy to catch hence the name Dodo -Duodo meaning 'stupid' in Portuguese.) We bought some of these little dodos for the children at home. Chatting to this lovely girl we were astonished to hear her say that Indian boys prefer girls with light skin and that she thought she was unattractive because she has dark skin. We both said we thought she was beautiful and that her name 'Priti' matched her looks. She was not convinced and said Linda's skin was much prettier. We have noticed on our travels that skin whitening products are advertised everywhere and movie stars/advertisements are a full of light skinned people. Linda thinks the ladies here look exquisite whether young or old in their bright saris and dark skin.

One of the most interesting places we visited was the Graand Bassin which is a crater lake which the Hindus call 'Ganga Talao' The deity Shiva and others are worshipped here and the festival in February is the largest outside India. In 1972 water from the Ganges river was poured ceremonially into the lake. When we were there it was cool and misty with many Hindus colourfully and beautifully dressed bearing flowers, fruit and incense to offer their deities. The bright pink, orange, yellow and all colours of the rainbow were reflected in the saris and looked exquisite in the back drop of the lake. The people were collecting water, pouring it ceremoniously and dipping their feet and praying at the feet of the colourful statues of their gods. As tourists with white skin, pale hair and uninteresting clothes we stood out but were tolerated with smiles as we observed and took photos from the outer edge.

Comments [1] | | More

05/09/2008 | ruth

hi linda bill fabulous reading makes me homesick for your stimulating company our friday art champers soirees byron bay girls getaway i am sure all the fascinating travellers will echo my sentiments bubbles is in fine fettle she says hi can`t say the same about pippa she looks good but heart hips cancer say otherwise we enjoy luv her off to noosa jazz sunday fathers day picasso exhib wed looking forward to that . Happy holiday in M , Keep up the good work with the kids, bye, love ruth and phil.

[ Newer ]  |  [ Older ]