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 [...]
Antigua
English Harbour is a famous all-weather harbour established in the eighteenth century as Britain's main naval station in the Lesser Antilles. Its Georgian buildings and ruins around Nelson's dockyard create a timeless and very beautiful backdrop. The bay is the site of the annual Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. When we arrived several dozen very beautiful classic yachts were being lovingly prepared and polished for the event.
We enjoyed walks around English Harbour, the adjoining Falmouth Harbour and Middle Ground, a nature trail between the two, with spectacular views over both.
We met fellow Australians Ashley and Cathi Kerr on their magnificent schooner Windjammer - built in Brisbane. Like us they are on a retirement adventure, sailing around the world, so far having crossed the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, rounded Cape Horn, visited Antarctica and Alaska. We bid farewell and hope to cross their path again one day.
For a change of scenery, we sailed around the west coast of Antigua and anchored in the bay outside Jolly Harbour. Ashore we found a well-stocked supermarket. This may sound trivial but it has been a long time since we were able to buy such a range of fresh fruit and vegetables. The local produce is very much of a hot climate variety and limited. Even nectarines! That night we had roast chicken, potatoes, vegetables and gravy. I had forgotten how good this simple meal could be. Unfortunately the nectarines were all brown inside after long periods of cold storage.
