Intrepid Travels
| Vessel Name: | Intrepid Elk |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Outremer catamaran 51 |
| Hailing Port: | Fremantle |
| Crew: | Robert and Revle Elks |
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 [...]
Bequia
We had a wonderful walk to the Bequia Whaling Museum, passing along boardwalks and sandy beaches in Admiralty Bay, then up and over a steep hill to the Atlantic side of the island. Bequia has been a whaling centre since the days of slavery. The skills have been retained and very small scale whaling still occurs using traditional methods continues with the approval of the IWC. A tiny museum houses some exhibits some whale bones, photos and historical notes. A lovely young Bequia girl gave us a tour and commentary. Her time is shared between being a guide and her beautician business in a small room next to the museum.
We hailed a minibus for the return journey. These are always fascinating. They are painted up in loud colours with slogans such as "NEVER GIVE UP NEVER", "LOVE IS DE ANSWER". Ours had fluorescent crimson seats and quilted roof. Reggae mix music was blaring out at full volume as we drove back to Elizabeth at breakneck speed.
Saturday night was a big night for the island with the "Rise Up Bequia" talent competition. Winners go through to the SVG national competition. A stage was erected at the local primary school. Security men and organisers sold tickets and we filed into a small pavilion in front of the stage. In true Caribbean style, the music eventually started about an hour late due to the absence of anyone who seemed to be in charge of proceedings. School children played popular pieces without a conductor and consequently didn't know when to stop the rounds. Some of them looked in panic as they tried to work out how to exit the repetitive melodies. What they lacked in skill was more than compensated for by enthusiasm. After a few hours of wonderful entertainment with periods of on-stage chaos included, we departed. Our timing was perfect as the heavens opened and we sprinted to the dinghy dock, arriving drenched.
