Sailing At Last

This is the tale of our journey to fulfill a passion of learning to sail and a dream to circumnavigate. Welcome Aboard At Last!

Profile of At Last and the Gorrell's

Who: Mark & Janet Gorrell
Port: Wickford, RI USA

Our Current Position

19 December 2013 | Westerly, RI
17 July 2013 | Mystic Shipyard, Mystic, CT
14 June 2013 | Summit North Marina, Bear, Delaware
04 June 2013 | Point Lookout Marina, Ridge, Maryland
21 May 2013 | Dunedin Municipal Marina, Dunedin, Florida
05 May 2013 | Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
27 April 2013 | 22 56.8'N:073 02.0'W, Nearing the Exumas & Bahamas
23 April 2013 | 18 25'N:064 50'W, The BVI
13 April 2013 | Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
08 April 2013 | Admiralty Bay, Port Elizabeth, Bequia
04 April 2013 | Tobago Cays and Mustique, Grenadines
29 March 2013 | Port Louis Marina, St. George, Grenada
15 March 2013 | Port Louis Marina, St. George, Grenada
06 March 2013 | Between Salvador, Brazil and St. George, Grenada
05 March 2013 | Port Louis Marina, St. George's Harbor, Grenada
17 February 2013 | Terminal Nautico, Salvador, Brazil
04 February 2013 | 153 miles from Salvador Brazil, Atlantic Ocean
30 January 2013 | Island of St. Helena, Atlantic Ocean
29 January 2013 | 14 36.9'S:22 37.3'W, On the way to Brazil
20 January 2013 | 15 55.55'S:005 43.58'W, Jamestown, St. Helena

The Joys of Having Extra Crew!

05 September 2012 | Tipperary Waters Marina, Darwin, Australia
Janet
We have arrived safely in Darwin and are amazed at the difference having two extra crew members makes. Britt and Shadow are still honing their sailing skills so we ended up with two people for each shift. Britt and Janet were team one. Mark and Shadow were team two. Both Britt and Shadow were keen on learning everything about the boat while also helping with the cooking and cleaning. It was a joy. Having an extra set of eyes on each shift was a huge help. Although the seas were quite flat being inside the reef (and the shipping lane) along the way, we did have many cargo ships and fishing boats to negotiate around. There were also many small reefs along the way to avoid. We were able to sail for much of the trip and by the end of the trip both Britt and Shadow had learned so much about sailing our boat. One morning I was cooking breakfast and suddenly I saw that the spinnaker was raised. I didn't even have to get involved. What a nice team we made.

Once in Darwin, we had quite an interesting trip into Tipperary Waters Marina. Because the tide changes in the area can be up to 30 feet, you have go through a lock in order to enter the marina. Given our experience with the Panama Canal, we were somewhat familiar with the method but the lock we went through could only fit one boat and it was quite a tight fit. It was so tight a fit that the catamarans in the fleet were too big to go through the lock and needed to stay at a different marina.



We were able to visit Litchfield National Park while we stayed in Darwin which was one several national parks in the area. Our first stop on the trip was a visit to see termite mounds. There were two types of mounds, cathedral and magnetic. The mounds are basically termite excrement and can become about thirty feet tall. The queen termite lays about 3,000 eggs per day and lives to be about 150 years old. The magnetic mounds all face magnetic north and are flat like a tombstone. They face magnetic north to keep the sun consistently on them throughout the day. This seems quite amazing since the termites are blind and generally come out at night. Ants tend to like to eat the termites and we saw many of the mounds covered with them.



We also visited several watering holes while in Litchfield Park. They were beautiful and the water was clear, cool, and refreshing. It has again gotten quite hot here in Darwin compared to the sweater weather we were experiencing in MacKay. It was a little odd to go swimming in Wangi (pronounced one guy) Falls where there were crocodile warnings but we were assured that it was safe to do so.



While we were in Darwin we also went to a movie theater called Deck Chair Cinemas and saw the Pixar animated film Brave. The seating was outdoors in lawn chairs. We popped an incredible amount of popcorn on the boat and brought it with us. We also went to the Mindil Beach Evening Market. It was open on Sunday and Thursday evenings. You are able to watch the sunset on the beach, visit endless numbers of food vendors, buy all sorts of local handicrafts, and enjoy all sorts of entertainment. We listened to a few bands and also saw a show with a man who had fire torches that he twirled like batons.

Britt and Shadow have worked out so well on the boat that we have invited them to continue with us through to South Africa. The next leg of the trip (the Indian Ocean) can be one of the more difficult ones of the entire circumnavigation. They have happily agreed to join us and we are thrilled.

We are off for a five day sail to Bali, Indonesia. We are all very excited. Britt has been to Bali before so she has many ideas about where to go and what we should see. Unfortunately our stay there will be quick - about five or six days. Alas, the problem with completing a circumnavigation in 16 months!!!
Comments
Vessel Name: At Last
Vessel Make/Model: Island Packet 465-02
Hailing Port: Wickford, RI USA
Crew: Mark & Janet Gorrell
About:
Hi, We have been sailing for more than twelve years, chartering in the BVI, Leeward Islands, Chesapeake, and Florida. We completed many US Sailing certifications. We have been saling At Last for the last four years in New England between Nantucket and NYC. Mark has crewed on deliveries to St. [...]
Extra:
For those of you who know Mark, you would agree that he is a very conservative and risk adverse person and one who suffers terribly from motion sickness. So, you must be wondering how he could give up the security of a wonderful job to sail around the world, especially in this economy. Well, [...]
Home Page: http://sailingatlast.com
At Last's Photos - Main
Back in the US and heading home
1 Photo | 2 Sub-Albums
Created 3 June 2013
Our time in Marigot Bay, Rodney Bay and other photo albums commemorating our trip
1 Photo | 4 Sub-Albums
Created 19 April 2013
Stops in Grenada and the Grenadines
1 Photo | 4 Sub-Albums
Created 28 March 2013
Carnival and Old Town in Salvador
25 Photos | 1 Sub-Album
Created 17 February 2013
Photos of this unique and friendly island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean
18 Photos
Created 16 February 2013
The pictures from our stops in Richard's Bay, Durban, St. Francis and Cape Town.
1 Photo | 4 Sub-Albums
Created 14 December 2012
Halloween party and a visit to a volcano
21 Photos
Created 23 November 2012
Our time in Mauritius
46 Photos
Created 23 November 2012
Our visit to the atoll of Cocos Keeling, Australia
23 Photos
Created 21 October 2012
35 Photos
Created 18 September 2012
Our time in Mackay, Cairns and Darwin Australia
1 Photo | 3 Sub-Albums
Created 5 September 2012
Our time in Port Resolution, Dillon's Bay and Port Vila
43 Photos
Created 17 July 2012
Our time in Denarau and Musket Cove, Fiji
20 Photos
Created 6 July 2012
Our visit to Vava'u Tonga
56 Photos
Created 21 June 2012
The Islands of Suwarrow and American Samoa
27 Photos
Created 8 June 2012
1 Photo | 4 Sub-Albums
Created 29 April 2012
Rangiroa
26 Photos
Created 29 April 2012
This gallery include the passage from the Galapagos and photos from Hiva-Oa, Oa-Pou and Nuku Hiva
1 Photo | 3 Sub-Albums
Created 11 April 2012
These are pictures of the passage to the Galapagos and our experience on the islands of San Cristobal, Isabella and Santa Cruz
2 Photos | 4 Sub-Albums
Created 2 March 2012
Here are photos of the passage to Panama, the San Blas Islands, the transit through the canal and events yet to come.
11 Photos | 6 Sub-Albums
Created 22 January 2012
A compendium of pix of our various excursions around St Lucia
5 Photos | 2 Sub-Albums
Created 6 January 2012
These are pictures from the last of the Leeward Islands.
25 Photos
Created 19 December 2011
Photos of Terre-De-Haut, an island part of Les Saintes southeast of Guadeloupe.
13 Photos
Created 18 December 2011
Here are more photos of English Harbour taken form At Last as we left Antigua for Guadeloupe
10 Photos
Created 16 December 2011
These are the pictures of our passage from Antigua through our stay on Guadeloupe
28 Photos
Created 16 December 2011
These are photos of Admiral Nelson's Dockyard and our trek to the top of Shirley Heights overlooking English Harbor
42 Photos
Created 13 December 2011
Here are some photos of the islands as we were leaving Nevis, passing Montserrat and arriving at Antigua. A pleasant 50 mile motor sail into 10 knot head winds. I took a nap for 90 minutes. Blogging keeps me up late at night.
15 Photos
Created 13 December 2011
Pictures of Nevis
14 Photos
Created 11 December 2011
These are pix of Saba, Statia and St Kitts as we passed by them to sail to Nevis
18 Photos
Created 11 December 2011
Pictures of his homes and yacht on the island as we passed headed for Anguilla
11 Photos
Created 5 December 2011
7 Photos
Created 2 December 2011
Some of the photos of the passage that hit the cutting room floor
27 Photos
Created 22 November 2011
These are pictures of some of the results of the recent outfitting for the trip
8 Photos
Created 19 October 2011
These were taken last year sailing in Long Island Sound by Yacht-Shots. My colleagues at Baystate Health were kind enough to have three copies of one these photos printed and framed for me as a going away gift. A large one for home, one for the boat and one for my desk. Very Special!
7 Photos
Created 19 October 2011
This is a compilation of photos taken over the first four years of cruising on At Last in Naragansett Bay and Long Island Sound with close friends, family and the Cruising Club of New England, a wonderful group of sailors.
55 Photos
Created 1 October 2011
At Last is painted in January of 2008
4 Photos
Created 1 October 2011
At last is delivered, commissioned and has its maiden voyage just in time to be in the 2007 Newport Boat Show
6 Photos
Created 1 October 2011
These are pictures of the layout of the IP 465 and the interior of At Last
12 Photos
Created 1 October 2011

Profile of At Last and the Gorrell's

Who: Mark & Janet Gorrell
Port: Wickford, RI USA

Our Current Position