Grown Ups Gap Year

Now the girls have finished University it is our turn for a gap year! #grownupsgapyear

Vessel Name: Mirage
Vessel Make/Model: Moody 38CC - 1993
Hailing Port: Poole, Dorset, UK
Crew: Sally and Paul
Extra: After the girls had finished university we decided it is our turn for a gap year.
04 August 2020
29 July 2020 | Atlantic Ocean
25 July 2020 | Atlantic Ocean
22 July 2020
15 July 2020
11 July 2020
05 June 2020
29 May 2020
19 May 2020 | Atlantic Ocean
12 May 2020 | Atlantic Ocean
04 May 2020
11 April 2020 | Guadeloupe
03 March 2020
Recent Blog Posts
04 August 2020

Falmouth to Studland

We spent two nights on a mooring buoy in Falmouth but wished we could have stayed longer and had a slow passage home to Poole. However we are getting Mirage lifted out of the water as soon as practicable and we do this near to where we live. To get to the boat yard we have to go up the local river that [...]

02 August 2020

Azores to Falmouth - the arrival

With the final 400 NM we were typically doing 140 NM a day or better until the last night on the way to Lizard Point and the entry to Falmouth. The wind was around 20 knots for most of the time but the wave grew bigger during the first 200NM and became steeper once we had crossed the continental shelf. These [...]

29 July 2020 | Atlantic Ocean

Azores to Falmouth Update 2

Day 4 brought the strong winds we had been expecting but we had kept ourselves further south than the shortest route to help keep out the strongest. The day was a mix of drizzle and sunshine but still warm enough to keep the shorts on & we carried on sailing at a good pace crossing the 800NM to go [...]

25 July 2020 | Atlantic Ocean

Azores to Falmouth Update

We left just after 10am on Wed 23rd to sail the 1156NM to Falmouth. The weather did its best to give us a good send off but the wind was missing! We were waved goodbye by the boats from Praia do Vitoria and help with our lines by some friends we had met there. With the lack of wind we needed to motor [...]

22 July 2020

Terceira

We did an overnight sail to Terceira Island (Ilha Terceira) from Sao Jorge to ensure we arrived in the daylight. Our destination was the marina at Praia da Vitória. This is known to be the cheapest in the Azores but is also a good departure place from the Azores to the UK. The sail took us initially [...]

15 July 2020

São Jorge

We left Horta for São Jorge at 08:30 to sail the 22NM. We knew it was going to be a slow sail as the wind was light and we also only had the genoa which when on its own isn't the ideal sail for an upwind sail. With her clean bottom however Mirage didn't disgrace herself and we managed the sail in just [...]

Ilha do Sal, Capo Verde

02 December 2019
Paul Kember
We arrived at Porto da Palmeira on the island of Sol, Ilha do Sal, just after 7AM and were anchored by 7:30AM and having breakfast after a sail of 858NM taking us less than 7 days and using the engine for 9.5 hours but mainly for battery charging. We fortunately had an uneventful passage, which is always the best ones, and if you got chance to read our brief blog updates whilst on passage we generally had pretty good winds after the slow start. We saw quite a few pods of dolphins including over 30 large ones on one particular day, as usual using us to mask their approach and for us to flush out the flying fish for them to devour, a few turtles gently sauntered by and thousands of flying fish. We had a few flying fish land on the deck to keep us on our toes on night watch and even discovered a stowaway by the mast that we hadn't noticed on our arrival. The dawn and dusk at sea are absolutely amazing with the clarity of the skies. We saw only a few yachts during our passage, quite a few ships, generally heading to Gran Canaria, and a reasonable number of aircraft, but surprisingly mainly only at night. The photos from the sail have been added into the Cape Verde photo album.

Sally shared the watches with Dave during the night as he is colour blind and enjoyed each others company making her watches fly by.

The first job, after breakfast, upon arrival was to pump up the dinghy, go ashore to clear customs and immigration. Here the young boys rush to greet you promising to look after your dingy in exchange for your loose change. It took us a little while to find the correct building as most of the streets looked the same and there isn't the luxury of a tourist information centre or a local map to follow. We had been warned that this can be a laborious and tedious operation and we anxiously waited our turn. Thankfully they weren't terribly busy and after only half an hour wait with the Harbour police and Immigration, fortunately located in the same building in the centre of Palmeira (Policia Marítima), they registered our arrival and we received our stamped passport. We were then officially entitled to lower our yellow quarantine flag and fly the Cape Verde courtesy flag on our return to Mirage.

Whilst looking around Palmeira, a Port and fishing village, we found the fresh water taps, public showers (0.5 Euros/person), small supermarkets with expensive food, cafes and bars, the fishermen selling their fish on the quayside and ladies selling car boot style clothes and vegetables. The local guys are friendly but not too pushy when selling their 'genuine branded goods' for a few Euros as this is not the true tourist area of the island! We noticed that they all get along very well, have an amazing personality and sense of fun and comradery.

The rest of the first day was used to sort out the boat, a rigging climb and check, and going for a swim as it was 24degC using the excuse I needed to check the anodes on the boat. Dave enjoyed snorkelling whilst Sally observed from the deck. The final trip ashore in the evening was for a shower to wash away the 7 days at sea! The showers were basic but clean. Despite the water being tepid, which makes it sound warm (but we are soft Europeans) it was welcome.

After a good nights sleep we went ashore, initially to fill our three water containers, before going for a nice walk to stretch our legs. The walk headed south along the west coast, and although not very scenic as the island is pretty brown and barren with very little greenery, there was a good amount of surf coming in from the Atlantic on to the deserted rocky beaches. We even saw a herd of cows! On the very south coast of the island there are the sandy beaches but most of these are now surrounded by the tourist complexes that bring a large source of income into the island. We were joined on our walk by three local dogs who decided to follow us to ensure we didn't do anything we shouldn't. They were well behaved, friendly and didn't even scrounge for food when we stopped for lunch. If Sally could have smuggled them back in the dingy undetected I think she would have. Again on the return to Mirage we went for a swim and found the spoon that Sally had thrown out by mistake earlier on in the day! This was a joint effort with Dave doing the spotting and me diving down to the bottom as I had fins on.

We used the local transport, mini-buses and pickups called Aluguer (literally translates as 'to hire') to visit Espargos, the main town on the island, to have a look around and for Dave to visit the airport where he flies home from. The key thing to remember is that this is Africa and not an off-shoot of Europe to fully appreciate the place and to understand how the island operates but this all adds to the wonder of Sol. The local currency can't be purchased outside of Cape Verde but they do accept Euros at a direct rate of exchange which naturally is higher than their Escudos. The town is a lively place with market stalls, shops, cafes, supermarkets and even a fantastic ice cream parlour that needed to be sampled with each of us having a two scoop cone, albeit at European type prices so definitely a treat for the locals, thanks Dave for the treat. Sally did a check on two supermarkets for fresh and frozen food ready for our small amount of restocking needed for the next part of our journey before we returned to Mirage. The Christmas decorations are up, including a giant snowman and street lights depicting snowflakes, reindeer etc. just as we would see at home. I wonder when it last snowed here, may be back in the last ice age!

On Sunday we caught two Aluger each way to the southern point of the island, Santa Maria, where the area is much more touristy. We made use of the sandy beaches to swim and sunbath, exploring the reefs snorkelling and admired the local marine life, before walking along in the surf a couple of miles to where the developments ended. The beaches are used by turtle to lay their eggs and if you see a turtle laying it's eggs you are supposed to record the serial number of the turtle but not go near it, a bit contradictory!

The beaches are also used as anchorages for the various charter boats, fishing boats and yachts that make it down to this end. Any travelling yacht should then in theory sail back to Palmeria to check out of customs but I bet the Aluger would be used in reality!

When we returned back to the tourist area Dave treated us to a delicious meal in one of the local restaurants, with Sally having a local spicy tuna dish, I had roasted squid and Dave had a local bean and pork dish. We returned via the local minibus now like pros and enjoyed the banter of the locals returning home from work. After returning to the boat I had a final dive on the boat giving the underside a final clean with a scrubbing brush to remove the slight trace of fouling to help with our sailing speeds.

The final day on Sol was spent getting the last water, the fresh and frozen food with another Aluger trip to Espargos. All this before finally, clearing out of customs and preparing the boat for departure. We also said goodbye to Dave as he flew back to a lovely warm UK in the afternoon.

We will try to update the blog and blog map as we sail across the Atlantic to Barbados and we are hoping to take around 16 days to complete the crossing, so we should be there by Christmas but just in case we are not we wish you all a Merry Christmas!.
Comments
Mirage's Photos - Main
30 Photos
Created 22 July 2020
50 Photos
Created 15 July 2020
6 Photos
Created 11 July 2020
62 Photos
Created 4 July 2020
29 Photos
Created 22 June 2020
16 Photos
Created 4 May 2020
37 Photos
Created 11 April 2020
47 Photos
Created 11 March 2020
51 Photos
Created 3 March 2020
23 Photos
Created 13 February 2020
22 Photos
Created 6 February 2020
29 Photos
Created 1 February 2020
37 Photos
Created 25 January 2020
15 Photos
Created 12 January 2020
29 Photos
Created 11 January 2020
7 Photos
Created 11 January 2020
21 Photos
Created 11 January 2020
23 Photos
Created 20 December 2019
40 Photos
Created 2 December 2019
18 Photos
Created 18 November 2019
12 Photos
Created 14 November 2019
51 Photos
Created 9 November 2019
20 Photos
Created 27 October 2019
31 Photos
Created 27 October 2019
8 Photos
Created 17 October 2019
34 Photos
Created 16 October 2019
19 Photos
Created 10 October 2019
18 Photos
Created 6 October 2019
52 Photos
Created 29 September 2019
11 Photos
Created 26 September 2019
16 Photos
Created 24 September 2019
Nazare and O Sitio
19 Photos
Created 23 September 2019
33 Photos
Created 18 September 2019
14 Photos
Created 15 September 2019
70 Photos
Created 14 September 2019
12 Photos
Created 14 September 2019
From Corrubedo to Foz du Minho
11 Photos
Created 12 September 2019
15 Photos
Created 10 September 2019
Journey to Cabo Finisterre and the visit
11 Photos
Created 9 September 2019
Ria de Camarinas
11 Photos
Created 7 September 2019
3 Photos
Created 5 September 2019
16 Photos
Created 2 September 2019
General photos of the crossing
8 Photos
Created 31 August 2019
The final loading and setting up for the start of the true Adventure
2 Photos
Created 10 August 2019

About & Links

Photo Albums
22 July 2020
30 Photos
15 July 2020
50 Photos