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 [...]
Nanny Cay, Tortola
We have been to Road Town, the capital of the BVI, which is a 15 minute taxi ride away. It is a functional town of limited interest although there are a few older buildings that have survived hurricanes and development. One curious thing we have noticed: 90% of cars are left hand drive (probably sourced from the USA) but the roads and rules still align with England, so cars drive on the left. It is very peculiar to see all the drivers on the wrong side of the car! The Moorings charter fleet is kept in the central marina: apparently there are 600 boats in the fleet, which rates as the largest fleet we have yet seen. It is quite a sight to see them all together.
We have befriended a Belgian couple who are also sailing East. They know the English channel and North Sea very well and we are picking their brains for useful infomation and have already gleaned much. They are good company and we have enjoyed our conversations with them, and hope to have a few more before we all embark on 9 May.
