09 July 2011 | San Francisco, USA
06 July 2011 | Monterey, California, USA
29 June 2011 | Santa Barbara, California, USA
17 June 2011 | San Diego, California
16 June 2011 | Northern Baja, Mexico
14 June 2011 | Turtle Bay, Baja, Mexico
12 June 2011 | Past Magdalena Bay, Baja, Mexico
11 June 2011 | Cabo Los Puertos, Mexico
05 June 2011 | Cabo Del San Jose,Baja, Mexico
28 May 2011 | La Cruz Marina, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
19 May 2011 | Barra De Navidad, Mexico
13 May 2011 | Zithuatanejo, Mexico
09 May 2011 | Punta Galera, Mexico
06 May 2011 | Oaxaca city, Mexico
03 May 2011 | Huatulco, Mexico
27 April 2011 | Puerto Chiapas, Southern Mexico
23 April 2011 | Bahia Del Sol, El Salvador
21 April 2011 | Golfo De Fonseca, El Salvador,Honduras,Nicaragua
19 April 2011 | Playa Del Cocos, Northern Costa Rica
18 April 2011 | Quepos

Into The Tropics

15 June 2009 | Townsville, Nth QLD, Australia
anne
We pulled into Hamilton Island to pick up our friend Robert who flew up from Melbourne to spend a week with us. The island is operated as a big resort with all the stuff that goes along with it. Daytime resembles an ant colony, as holiday makers scurry around hurriedly in little golf carts on a mission to nowhere, by night silence replaces daily hub of activity, neon signs flash over empty bars and cafes, large fancy power boats sit sparking still in the marina, waiting patiently for the next day's polishing to begin all over again.
We left immediately for the tranquility of Whitehaven Beach which only occurs at evening time when all the day trippers return to where they came from. Robert fell into the swing of things quite rapidly as we pitched and tossed over the boiling stew of water towards the anchorage. We were all a bit "crook" as they say here in Australia, except for Kara of course, who likes to surf the waves by sliding from one end of the cockpit to another.
The breeze had increased sending a chill over the rippled waters of the WhitSundays, which kept all but the hardiest of folk (that would be Uwe) out of the water. A roly day sail brought us to the tip of Hook Island, into a pretty little spot called Butterfly Bay. A continuous and steady stream of dive boats and pleasure boats came and left to enjoy the fish life and clear water. Only those souls with that steely Germanic blood braved the waters without wetsuit. Robert had promised us a fish, expert fisherman that he is. He almost succeeded when he and Kara dropped a line of the boat while at anchor, something bit, but we were ill equipped to aid him with a net to hoist the fish on deck, and it swam away. He was disappointed; I was impressed that we ALMOST got one from the boat, which was a new experience. We sailed all day and night downwind up to Townsville with our brightly colored gennaker pulling us along swiftly and comfortably all the way. A day that started out somewhat roly emerged into one of those days where you wonder why it can't always be like this or forget that it could ever be any other way. We are unable to hoist our mainsail due to the fact that 4 of the travelers are kaput. It was the very first time we left the gennaker up for the whole night; usually we take it down for fear of not being able to take it down in the dark if it starts to blow. It was a very comfortable ride. For even extra bonus points, with a 3rd person on board, we slept for longer intervals. Early in the afternoon, we pulled into sunny Townsville, where it truly feels like we have entered the tropics.
Comments
Vessel Name: Magnum
Vessel Make/Model: Peterson 44
Hailing Port: San Francisco
Crew: Uwe Anne Kara
About: Anne Crowley Kara Dobers
Extra: http://www.sailblogs.com/gallery/magnum
Home Page: http://www.sailmagnum.com
Magnum's Photos - Magnum: Anne Crowley,Uwe Dobers, Kara Dobers (Main)
A much more exciting transit than the Suez canal 9 months earlier, another epic moment in the voyage as we re entered the Pacific Ocean
21 Photos
Created 28 May 2011
We spent an enjoyable 2 weeks exploring these close knit group of islands, home to the Kuna Indians. It was the first time in a while that we felt like we were cruising and not racing to get somewhere. Many cruising boats chose to make it their home by staying long periods of time. The Kuna's still live in a very traditional way, and create the most intricate sewing cloths called "molas". We hooked up with other kid boats, which pleased us all, and Kara certainly enjoyed her last taste of island life
32 Photos
Created 27 March 2011
The passage from Aruba to Colombia can be one of the roughest passages in the world, thankfully ours was not too bad, as we paid close attention to the weather. We sailed direct to the big city of Cartagena, and took the bus to the old city of Santa Marta
14 Photos
Created 27 March 2011
Late at night on December 23rd 2010, we made landfall at St.Lucia, 22 days after leaving Canary Islands, with a 2 night rest at Cape Verde in between. We were tired but happy to have made it in time for Santa's arrival. Daniel and Philippine flew in from SF and joined us for Christmas and came aboard to sail down through the Grenadines with us. We continued on to Grenada with brief stops at the Dutch Antilles islands of Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba.
21 Photos
Created 15 January 2011
First stop in the Canary Islands was Lanzarote, followed by Fuerteventura and then to the Capital of Las Palmas to await weather to Cape Verde. We had 2 short nights in Mindelo, before the Atlantic crossing to the Carribbean
9 Photos
Created 15 January 2011
At tip south end of mainland Spain lies the British territory of Gibraltar. It marked the end of the Meditteranean, and entrance to the Atlantic Ocean
9 Photos
Created 15 January 2011
Our first stop in Spain was at the Balearic Island of Menorca. From there we continued rapidly through Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera, before arriving at mainland Spain. We left Magnum in Alicante and took the plane to visit beautiful Barcelona. Halloween was spent in Cartegena befor continuing on to Gibraltar.
16 Photos
Created 15 January 2011
Stops at both Sicily and Sardinia were brief, but enjoyable nonetheless. The island of Favignana, off Sicily was just beautiful as were the quiet anchorages in southern Sardinia, especially with the end of high season
8 Photos
Created 22 October 2010
A quick detour to Malta to pick up our mainsail made us glad to see the old city of Valetta
12 Photos
Created 22 October 2010
We meandered slowly through the Dodecanese, Cyclades and Peleponnese islands, together with Kleiner Bar. Despite the high winds in some places and the high temperatures, it was a truly enjoyable few weeks
30 Photos
Created 22 October 2010
Reaching Turkey was greeted by all with relief, and a feeling of returning to civilisation. Delicious food, warm waters, wonderful anchorages and many things ancient
12 Photos
Created 23 August 2010
After arriving in Turkey in late May, we took a break from the boat to visit our families and enjoy the comforts of land for a month
15 Photos
Created 23 August 2010
From the endless desert to the ancient temples of Luxor,endless baksheesh in the suez canal; A box of contrasts.
25 Photos
Created 25 May 2010
After crossing the Gulf Aden, Eritrea was our first introduction to the east coast of Africa. From the Italian colonial feel of Eritrea's Port Massawa to the remoteness of Sudan, both countries were certainly unique. In Sudan, taking pictures was sometimes difficult as most Sudanese expressed great reluctance toward it, so we eventually put the camera away.
34 Photos
Created 21 May 2010
After Maldives, it was a 12 day sail into Oman, in completely new surroundings. After managing to go through the pirated Gulf of Aden, we arrived in Aden, Yemen, another new experience
34 Photos
Created 11 April 2010
From Sri Lanka we sailed to the Northern Most Atoll of the Maldives Islands called Uligan. We swam and relaxed for 7 days in this slice of paradise, clear water and tons of fish
24 Photos
Created 13 March 2010
From Galle Harbor, we took a 5 day trip inland via train, and bumpy buses with our companions on Kleiner Bar
27 Photos
Created 11 March 2010
From Phuket Thailand, we began our progression west, our first stop being the beautiful and remote Andaman Islands, a welcome break from the chaotic and busy Phuket
28 Photos
Created 25 February 2010
From Langkawi Malaysia, it was a brief trip up to the first island in Thailand,south of Phuket. We spent Christmas on the west side of Phuket, at Nai Han Bay with my sister and family. Travel in Thailand was limited,as the passage to the Indian Ocean beckoned by January.
50 Photos
Created 9 January 2010
From Indonesia, we motored our way through the maze of the busy shipping lane of the Malacca Strait, and into glitzy Singapore for a brief stop. We then continued along the Malacca strait on the west side of Malaysia stopping at Pangkor, Georgetown (Penang) and finally on to the last Malaysian island of Langkawi.
33 Photos
Created 8 January 2010
From Ashmore Reef, we sailed north toward Central Indonesia to Rinca and then sailed the southern route to Lombok and Bali. From there we sailed north in the Java Sea to the last exit port of Indonesia to the Island of Batam
74 Photos
Created 19 October 2009
Our first stop at an Ocean reef, Ashmore reef, still part of Australia, although closer to Indonesia, did not dissappoint. We spent about 5 great days here.
9 Photos
Created 8 September 2009
Our last passage in Australia brought up along the reefs of Eastern Austrlalia, around the rugged top end of Cape York to our last port of call in Australia:Darwin
11 Photos
Created 27 July 2009
As we left New South Wales, we moved slowly up the Coast towards Queensland, haven of wonderful weather and sandy beaches
49 Photos
Created 22 June 2009
Pictures from our first port of entry at Coffs Harbour. We then made our way down the coast to Sydney where we spent Christmas and New Year. We took a road trip to Melbourne for 2 weeks in January. Then toward the end of Febuary we sadly left Sydney and progressed back north.
67 Photos
Created 27 February 2009
From the Loyalty Islands of Lifou, Mare, then the Capital of Noumea and the Idyllic Isle De Pins Further South
42 Photos
Created 10 December 2008
Vanuatu's Capital Port Vila where Kara celebrated her 6th Birthday, and Islands of Malekula and Espirito Santo
27 Photos
Created 22 October 2008
Our First Destination in Vanuatu was Tanna, home of the Mt Yasur Volcano
41 Photos
Created 10 September 2008
A few pictures from Viti Levu on Fiji's Western Side
38 Photos
Created 20 August 2008
We left the boat in Tauranga and drove to Wellington, where we took the ferry to the South Island. We completed the circle of the South Island by going down the West Coast and back up the East Coast
89 Photos
Created 31 March 2008
Our first trip in the North Island brought us From Tauranga to Roturua, Hamilton,Waitomo Caves,Galatea, Taupo,Whakatane
37 Photos
Created 23 January 2008
50 Photos
Created 12 October 2007
32 Photos
Created 5 October 2007
30 Photos | 1 Sub-Album
Created 22 June 2007
36 Photos
Created 22 June 2007
16 Photos
Created 12 April 2007
31 Photos
Created 6 February 2007
55 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
6 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
5 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
5 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
6 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
1 Photo
Created 20 January 2007
19 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
5 Photos
Created 1 December 2006