Intrepid Travels

Vessel Name: Intrepid Elk
Vessel Make/Model: Outremer catamaran 51
Hailing Port: Fremantle
Crew: Robert and Revle Elks
16 May 2017
06 October 2016
30 September 2016
22 September 2016
18 September 2016
17 September 2016
14 September 2016
13 September 2016
12 September 2016
10 September 2016
04 September 2016
01 September 2016
31 August 2016
30 August 2016
27 August 2016
24 August 2016
23 August 2016
21 August 2016
19 August 2016
Recent Blog Posts
16 May 2017

Cherbourg encore

We are reunited with Intrepid Elk after a winter/summer separation and it is good to be home again. IE has had a facelift and her shiny white hulls are dazzling once more. She has a beautiful new bimini (shade cover) over the helm seat, which Robert designed and which was fabricated in Portsmouth and [...]

06 October 2016

IE preparation for winter

Our sailing days for this year are over and we are once again busy getting IE ready for a winter in the northern hemisphere. This year, she will be in the water for most of the time, with a short interlude on land in a large painting shed, where she will have her hulls painted. In order to get her into [...]

30 September 2016

Cherbourg, France

It was an inky black moonless night as we slipped out of the river and across the sand bar with fishing vessel Emma Louise behind us. Revle was on the bowsprit with a spotlight looking for hazards ahead. I was at the helm, peering at our chartplotter and concentrating on following our inward track. [...]

22 September 2016

Plymouth

We made a motoring passage of 35 miles to Plymouth Sound, then battled against strong currents up the Tamar River to an anchorage at West Mud where we spent a peaceful night. Plymouth has been a major naval base for centuries and we had some close encounters with modern navy ships in the harbour. We [...]

18 September 2016

Falmouth

Our passage to Falmouth took us past The Lizard, a projecting headland with a ferocious tidal race. We passed a little too close and got caught in the race which was too bumpy for comfort. Approaching the Falmouth harbour, we had the excitement of crossing our track from June 2015 when we made landfall [...]

17 September 2016

Newlyn

We left the Isles of Scilly early in the morning to catch a light northerly wind to Land's End and the fishing port of Newlyn, just south of Penzance. We couldn't believe our luck, having another gentle passage through one of the most treacherous and notorious waterways in northern Europe. We galloped [...]

Santo Antao

17 November 2014
We have been privileged to have had two remarkable activities organised for us, we really opened our eyes to the people of the islands and the daily struggle of life here. Early on Sunday morning, we boarded an old rust bucket of a ferry for the one hour crossing to the neighbouring island of Santo Antao. The mountains loomed out of the distance as we stood on deck, bracing ourselves against the wind that howls across the channel. Once on land again, we split into groups and were carried off in vans with driver and wonderful guide, Carlos, for a day of exploration that took us up and over the highest mountain peak that separates the arid south of the island from the lush green of the north. We marvelled at the miles and miles of cobbled road, rising up impossibly steel inclines, with sheer drops on either side into great canyons of rock. The few local people along the way appeared to live very simple, and soberingly tough, lives and we were saddened to hear of their struggles to survive. The Cape Verdeans are very proud of this island for it is where there is rain and food can be grown (with some difficulty, however)
Along the way, we stopped briefly at a local grogue distillery: just a simple house and some primitive equipment in the yard for the extraction of the juice from sugar cane to make this local brew. Unfortunately, the grogue is the cause of much alcohol related illness on these islands, where we were told that 80% of hospital admissions are due to alcohol abuse.
On a brighter note, we hiked through the lush green valley at the foot of the ravine we had seen from the heights, and ended up in a big cabin where lunch (local delicacies) was served at wooden tables commanding a wonderful view of the valley behind.
After a long drive along the coast road, we returned to the ferry for a very windy crossing back to Mindelo. It was a magical day.
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