Diary 16 October - 2 November
The Journey continues......
Friday 16th October 2009
Posn: Quinta do Lorde marina, Madeira
Minnie B has been here for over a month and is champing at the bit – we are ready to go sailing too. BUT ... the start of the rally is tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 17th) and the weather forecast is for 5kts wind, possibly increasing to 5-10kts on Sunday. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. Looks like it’s a diesel wind for the 260nm trip to Tenerife. We are headed just west of the Salvagem Islands (about 100nm north of Tenerife) and then for Santa Cruz and the Darsena de los Llanos (that’s the marina). We should arrive some time on Monday.
On Tuesday, Sally and Gilli join us for the trip to Dakhla, Western Sahara and to Dakar, Senegal and the Sine-Saloum rivers. We are excited by that.
Our week though has been a combination of entertainment and hard work. We have had a few things to do to get the boat ready: replace the battery charger, new service batteries (the last were 3.5 years old and would not have lasted the trip), modify the bowsprit and replace the masthead light. The latter was loads of fun ... not. Thank goodness we have mast steps as Phil was up and down some eight times. Yes, the fitting had been changed and to get the new light installed involved taking a heavy duty power drill to the top of the mast to drill a new, larger hole. Then, of course, the wire connections had been reversed and in addition, there was no knowing what was under the plate at the top of the mast. Still it’s done and working.
The weekend included the first get-together with the crews of all the other rally boats. There are 33 boats starting from Madeira and one joining in Tenerife. Then in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, nine boats head south to Rio de Janeiro, rejoining the next rally in 2011, while three boats already in South America will join us in Salvador. The boats are all on the RIDS website.
We have also been fitted with a tracking beacon that automatically updates our position on the rally website every 24 hours when we are in port/at anchor and every 4 hours when we are on passage. In addition we will be sending updates to Brian for this website.
We have been settling in to a new way of life as we will be with the crews of most of the boats for the next six months. There are four British boats, three Swiss, three Belgian and the rest are French. The lingua franca is therefore French, but at the formal meetings great efforts have been made for the presentations by the Organising Committee to be given in English as well as French. Everyone is very friendly and we are getting to know not only the other Brits, but also many of the other crews. The age range is mixed, with some very small children participating, but predominantly 50’s upwards. Understandable, really.
Posn: Quinta do Lorde marina, Madeira
Minnie B has been here for over a month and is champing at the bit – we are ready to go sailing too. BUT ... the start of the rally is tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 17th) and the weather forecast is for 5kts wind, possibly increasing to 5-10kts on Sunday. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. Looks like it’s a diesel wind for the 260nm trip to Tenerife. We are headed just west of the Salvagem Islands (about 100nm north of Tenerife) and then for Santa Cruz and the Darsena de los Llanos (that’s the marina). We should arrive some time on Monday.
On Tuesday, Sally and Gilli join us for the trip to Dakhla, Western Sahara and to Dakar, Senegal and the Sine-Saloum rivers. We are excited by that.
Our week though has been a combination of entertainment and hard work. We have had a few things to do to get the boat ready: replace the battery charger, new service batteries (the last were 3.5 years old and would not have lasted the trip), modify the bowsprit and replace the masthead light. The latter was loads of fun ... not. Thank goodness we have mast steps as Phil was up and down some eight times. Yes, the fitting had been changed and to get the new light installed involved taking a heavy duty power drill to the top of the mast to drill a new, larger hole. Then, of course, the wire connections had been reversed and in addition, there was no knowing what was under the plate at the top of the mast. Still it’s done and working.
The weekend included the first get-together with the crews of all the other rally boats. There are 33 boats starting from Madeira and one joining in Tenerife. Then in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, nine boats head south to Rio de Janeiro, rejoining the next rally in 2011, while three boats already in South America will join us in Salvador. The boats are all on the RIDS website.
We have also been fitted with a tracking beacon that automatically updates our position on the rally website every 24 hours when we are in port/at anchor and every 4 hours when we are on passage. In addition we will be sending updates to Brian for this website.
We have been settling in to a new way of life as we will be with the crews of most of the boats for the next six months. There are four British boats, three Swiss, three Belgian and the rest are French. The lingua franca is therefore French, but at the formal meetings great efforts have been made for the presentations by the Organising Committee to be given in English as well as French. Everyone is very friendly and we are getting to know not only the other Brits, but also many of the other crews. The age range is mixed, with some very small children participating, but predominantly 50’s upwards. Understandable, really.
Wednesday was more boat preparation – re-rigging the preventers and the spinnaker pole control lines and lots of cleaning.
We have also been getting to grips with the SSB (MF/HF radio) – we have been successfully using it for e-mail when on passage, but not done voice other than for test purposes. To the rescue came Andy and Sue on ‘Spruce’. They are two of the most delightful people we have met and despite trying to get on to the rally at the last minute, they couldn’t get their insurance sorted in time so are headed for the Canaries, Cape Verdes and the Barbados. Andy gave Phil a couple of tutorials and we are now a lot more confident about using the SSB for voice as there will be a net set up for the rally so that we can call each other with relevant info. It was very sad when Andy and Sue left on Monday for the nearby Islas Desertas, but we hope to see them in either Tenerife or Cape Verdes.
To-night we have the Rally dinner, which is described as “folklorique et offert” in French, but “a free party” in English – not sure what this means about translation ability or attitudes towards the Brits.
Well, we are almost ready for the off tomorrow – we have not completed all the jobs on our list, but have provisions, water, diesel and communications. What more could we want? Oh, yes, some wind.
On Tuesday there was a coach trip to Funchal, where we visited the Botanical gardens, wandered around Funchal and took in the Cathedral where the statue “Our Lady of Fatima” was on tour. The statue is here for a week then off elsewhere. It was clearly a big deal as the cathedral was full of people taking photos, sitting, waiting to confess etc.
Yesterday (Thursday) we took a long-awaited levada walk. The water on the island is moved about via narrow, open channels which cling to the rock faces and hillsides. It is possible to walk on the retaining wall for the channel, but these are often no more than 24 inches wide and have sheer drops of hundreds and in some cases over one thousand feet. Now the good burghers of Madeira have had the smart idea of fitting safety railings – well, a couple of wires. Many of the walks have advice that they are not suitable for people who experience vertigo. Notwithstanding this, Andy and Sue loaned us their map, and with David and Suzanne from ‘Suzy Too’, we did the Caldeira Verde and the Caldeira d’Inferno. This was a round trip of 21 kms – not that it was round as it was a there and back kind of walk, that included a number of tunnels where the levada cut through the rock. It was a headbanging kind of trip as Phil managed to hit the roof of one tunnel and walked into a low hanging branch: the shorter people had not shouted a warning. (Just to round it off, today, he hauled the spinnaker pole into the side of his head when adjusting the control lines and now has grazing to the left forehead and a bloodshot right eye – looks like domestic violence, but anyone who knows Norma also knows she wouldn’t ... would she??
The Rallye Iles du Soliel has commenced -15:00 hrs Saturday 17 October
Sunday 18th October 2009, 1400 hours
Posn: 30deg49'.020N 16deg27'.642W
We are at sea. The wind is NE F3 and we have a full main and the bright pink cruising chute flying. In fact we have had this sail configuration since 1630 yesterday shortly after the start of the rally. The forecast wind of just 5kts was out and we have had some good sailing, albeit that the True wind speed fluctuates between 8kts and 13kts. We have had fine weather apart from a few spots of rain a couple of hours ago.
Friday saw our final(ish) preparations and the Rally dinner. We were entertained by some Madeiran folk singers and dancers who were dressed accordingly and inevitably reached a grand finale of a Madeiran conga around the room, with most of the crews joining in. It was a good night and an opportunity to meet more of the rally participants - including a Yorkshire Terrier whose owner was almost convinced that Phil and the dog could communicate in Yorkshire dialect. Might have had something to do with the amount of wine drunk.
Interesting French Mindset No.2: the VHF channel for the rally boats to call each other on is 69.
The start of the rally was great fun - the boats were called to leave the marina in turn, and Catia, the Marina Manager gave her and the team's best wishes to each boat as it passed the marina entrance. Then we hung around until all boats were assembled for a "Start". The line was shortened ... to get a better photo opportunity. We were all reminded time and again "C'est un rallye, ce n'est pas une course" - it's not a race. Anyways, despite this, Minnie B was with the lead pack when the final gun went but everyone was being sensible. As for it not being a race, people do seem to be well aware of comparative boat speed.
Posn: 30deg49'.020N 16deg27'.642W
We are at sea. The wind is NE F3 and we have a full main and the bright pink cruising chute flying. In fact we have had this sail configuration since 1630 yesterday shortly after the start of the rally. The forecast wind of just 5kts was out and we have had some good sailing, albeit that the True wind speed fluctuates between 8kts and 13kts. We have had fine weather apart from a few spots of rain a couple of hours ago.
Friday saw our final(ish) preparations and the Rally dinner. We were entertained by some Madeiran folk singers and dancers who were dressed accordingly and inevitably reached a grand finale of a Madeiran conga around the room, with most of the crews joining in. It was a good night and an opportunity to meet more of the rally participants - including a Yorkshire Terrier whose owner was almost convinced that Phil and the dog could communicate in Yorkshire dialect. Might have had something to do with the amount of wine drunk.
Interesting French Mindset No.2: the VHF channel for the rally boats to call each other on is 69.
The start of the rally was great fun - the boats were called to leave the marina in turn, and Catia, the Marina Manager gave her and the team's best wishes to each boat as it passed the marina entrance. Then we hung around until all boats were assembled for a "Start". The line was shortened ... to get a better photo opportunity. We were all reminded time and again "C'est un rallye, ce n'est pas une course" - it's not a race. Anyways, despite this, Minnie B was with the lead pack when the final gun went but everyone was being sensible. As for it not being a race, people do seem to be well aware of comparative boat speed.
As we went into the night, the fleet started to stretch out - 54' boats, 36' boats, light boats, heavy boats. Still, it was great to see the lights come on and be in the fleet. We saw one amazing boat that seemed to be sailing backwards - must have been the red saloon lights shining through the ports without any curtains. Our tactic was to stay to the west as that meant we didn't have to worry about boats below us, nor about our course for passing the Islas Salvagems, which are now just 45nm away. We are 118nm from Madeira and have about 140nm to go. At our current speed we should be in by late tomorrow afternoon. We are running 4 hour watches: Norma 2200-0200, 0600-1000, and 1400-1800; Phil 1800-2200; 0200-0600, and 1000-1400. This way we share the hours of darkness which are essentially 2000 to 0800. We have had some good sleep and feel in great shape. Morale is high - how could it be anything else?
20th October 2009
Posn: 28deg28’.004N 16deg14’.574W
We docked in Santa Cruz marina at 1610 yesterday – what a night we had. After doing the diary update we continued to sail along, we had a call on the VHF from Tim on ‘Mina 2’, but whilst we could hear him, we were not transmitting. Hm! Then at 1830 UTC we had a scheduled SSB call with Andy and Sue on ‘Spruce’, who were somewhere in the Canary Islands. We made contact on 8104 Khz and had a good chat about what they were up to and how things were going for us. We decided to try switching frequencies to something in the 6Mhz range and [coincidentally???] we lost our GPS data.
AAAAAAAAAAAAArgh. We terminated the SSB fun and made sure we had a “last known position” – that was OK, but clearly the chartplotter thought we were stationary. Reach for manual, turn things off and on again. No luck. Still, no problem as we have the chartplotter (without boat movement), paper charts and our trusty handheld GPS. Check the batteries on the handheld GPS and let it acquire satellites ... good, one acquired ... doh, it’s not picking up satellites so not so trusty after all. Still, no problem as there are rally boats in sight but more importantly we know where we were when we lost GPS, our course and speed. So back to good old DR (Dead Reckoning)and EP (Estimated Position) – yes, we picked up the two lights on the Salvagem Islands and got a fix there. So, all was well.
At 0915 we called Navico-Simrad UK on the satphone and within an hour the Spanish agent called us and talked us through a re-boot of the GPS. Most interesting was that our DR had been a bit rough and ready, but even so we were only 1nm out after 15 hours.
This was a great relief, but a phone call to Gilli means a new back-up GPS is on its way.
So, once in we got hold of the local Simrad people and fixed for a visit to fix the VHF – a soldering problem with the transmit button. Not uncommon apparently.
The electronic problems slightly overshadowed the trip, but the main issue was lack of wind. We mostly had 7-10 kts NE or N, which didn’t really get us (or anyone else) going so there was a bit of diesel in the air to help us on our way.
We had a superb meal in a back street, local, tipico cafe last night – lots of different fish and a few beers – with Malcolm, James and Steve on ‘Vita’ (a Halberg Rassy 45).
To-day has been boat tidying, re-wiring the towed water generator so that its input shows on our battery monitor, making some anti-chafe covers for the pulpit/lifeline connectors, rigging some fruit and veg netting, and preparing for the arrival of Gilli and Sally. OK, Neil, you are right on this one ... too much detail. We must get out more.
It’s actually quite nice here on the pontoon as most of the rally boats are together and there are no interlopers such as ARC boats – it means we can get to know people on the other boats a lot more easily. We are looking forward to some exploring of the island and enjoying more of the local cuisine.
Posn: 28deg28’.004N 16deg14’.574W
We docked in Santa Cruz marina at 1610 yesterday – what a night we had. After doing the diary update we continued to sail along, we had a call on the VHF from Tim on ‘Mina 2’, but whilst we could hear him, we were not transmitting. Hm! Then at 1830 UTC we had a scheduled SSB call with Andy and Sue on ‘Spruce’, who were somewhere in the Canary Islands. We made contact on 8104 Khz and had a good chat about what they were up to and how things were going for us. We decided to try switching frequencies to something in the 6Mhz range and [coincidentally???] we lost our GPS data.
AAAAAAAAAAAAArgh. We terminated the SSB fun and made sure we had a “last known position” – that was OK, but clearly the chartplotter thought we were stationary. Reach for manual, turn things off and on again. No luck. Still, no problem as we have the chartplotter (without boat movement), paper charts and our trusty handheld GPS. Check the batteries on the handheld GPS and let it acquire satellites ... good, one acquired ... doh, it’s not picking up satellites so not so trusty after all. Still, no problem as there are rally boats in sight but more importantly we know where we were when we lost GPS, our course and speed. So back to good old DR (Dead Reckoning)and EP (Estimated Position) – yes, we picked up the two lights on the Salvagem Islands and got a fix there. So, all was well.
At 0915 we called Navico-Simrad UK on the satphone and within an hour the Spanish agent called us and talked us through a re-boot of the GPS. Most interesting was that our DR had been a bit rough and ready, but even so we were only 1nm out after 15 hours.
This was a great relief, but a phone call to Gilli means a new back-up GPS is on its way.
So, once in we got hold of the local Simrad people and fixed for a visit to fix the VHF – a soldering problem with the transmit button. Not uncommon apparently.
The electronic problems slightly overshadowed the trip, but the main issue was lack of wind. We mostly had 7-10 kts NE or N, which didn’t really get us (or anyone else) going so there was a bit of diesel in the air to help us on our way.
We had a superb meal in a back street, local, tipico cafe last night – lots of different fish and a few beers – with Malcolm, James and Steve on ‘Vita’ (a Halberg Rassy 45).
To-day has been boat tidying, re-wiring the towed water generator so that its input shows on our battery monitor, making some anti-chafe covers for the pulpit/lifeline connectors, rigging some fruit and veg netting, and preparing for the arrival of Gilli and Sally. OK, Neil, you are right on this one ... too much detail. We must get out more.
It’s actually quite nice here on the pontoon as most of the rally boats are together and there are no interlopers such as ARC boats – it means we can get to know people on the other boats a lot more easily. We are looking forward to some exploring of the island and enjoying more of the local cuisine.
Friday 23rd October 2009
Posn: Santa Cruz, Tenerife
We have now enjoyed some of the highlights of Tenerife - stunning.
Gilli and Sally arrived on Tuesday evening and Suzanne ('Suzie Too') joined us for dinner - the craic was mighty.
Posn: Santa Cruz, Tenerife
We have now enjoyed some of the highlights of Tenerife - stunning.
Gilli and Sally arrived on Tuesday evening and Suzanne ('Suzie Too') joined us for dinner - the craic was mighty.
To-day we have all been getting ready for our departure to Dakhla - some 290nm to the south. We did a mammoth shop and discoverd lots of new places to stow food and drink. A net was rigged in the saloon for vegetables and fruit, and we bought a very large serrano ham which is hanging in the middle of the boat. The fruit and vegetables have been washed, dried and stowed in the magic bags which we bought from "Lakeland" and are supposed to lengthen the life of fruit and vegetables.
To-night we have a Skippers' Briefing and then a cocktail party at the Real Club Nautico - should be fun, as we are getting to know more and more of the participants. Norma's French is coming back very quickly and she is increasingly at ease - Phil just blunders along hoping that a smile will cover up any linguistic faux pas (that's French for embarrassing mistakes).
We leave the pontoons at 1000 tomorrow and sail past the Real Club Nautico dressed overall (that means we have lots of small flags/pennants from bow to masthead to stern) and woe betide anyone who gets them in the wrong order.
Incidentally, 21st Otcober was Trafalgar Day so we reminded Patric and Nicholas (organisers) - they said that date was not taught in French schools. Wonder why.Patric managed not to have a sense of humour failure ... just. Ah well, must look up soome more dates when the British/English have beaten the French.
To-night we have a Skippers' Briefing and then a cocktail party at the Real Club Nautico - should be fun, as we are getting to know more and more of the participants. Norma's French is coming back very quickly and she is increasingly at ease - Phil just blunders along hoping that a smile will cover up any linguistic faux pas (that's French for embarrassing mistakes).
We leave the pontoons at 1000 tomorrow and sail past the Real Club Nautico dressed overall (that means we have lots of small flags/pennants from bow to masthead to stern) and woe betide anyone who gets them in the wrong order.
Incidentally, 21st Otcober was Trafalgar Day so we reminded Patric and Nicholas (organisers) - they said that date was not taught in French schools. Wonder why.Patric managed not to have a sense of humour failure ... just. Ah well, must look up soome more dates when the British/English have beaten the French.
Wednesday saw us sorting the boat a bit, and some shopping for guess who in the morning, and then we went to the Real Club Nautico in the afternoon, where there are four swimming pools and free wifi. We booked a car for two days and yesterday did the trip to Mt Tiede, which at over 3300 metres is Spain's highest mountain. The scenery amid the volcanic remains is quite awesome. We drove back via the Orotava valley and the town of Orotava, which has many medieval buildings with characteristic Canarian wooden balconies. There was a nice garden and a square/terrace where it was comfortable to sit and have a drink. The day was rounded off with a visit to a local Santa Cruz tapas bar, with capairinhas and mojitos - oh, yes, and some food.
Sunday 25th October 2009, 1200 UTC
Posn: 26deg08'.097N 16deg15'.694W
We are 140nm from Santa Cruz, Tenerife and have just over 150nm to go to Dakhla. The sun is shining and it's hot. We have put boat time to UTC in line with the clock change in the UK.
We have wind NE 8kts True and we are sailing with full main and the cruising chute, and steering by the windvane. Our boat speed is around 4kts, which is better than it was for part of the night when we were down to 3kts wind and a boat speed of less than 1kt. This is cruising ... except that there is a bit of pressure (self-inflicted?) to arrive in Dakhla tomorrow. We are hoping the wind will fill in this afternoon.
Our departure from Santa Cruz was at 1100 and very quickly we had the benefit of the Canary Islands acceleration zones, as the wind was 15-20kts and we were bowling along with full main and poled out genoa at 7-8kts. Then, by 2300 last night the wind eased and virtually died. We did a bit of motoring to keep going and charge the batteries. We are operating a watch system of 2 hours on/6 hours off. We generally do this from 1800 to 1000 and then during the day things are less formal.
There is plenty of chat on the VHF and we call up other boats to see how they are doing and they call us too. We have scheduled calls for the fleet twice a day on VHF and SSB, although they are a bit hit and miss as to who calls in and who can hear. Doubtless the regime will improve for the longer trips as on the two short stages from Madeira to Tenerife, and Tenerife to Dakhla, we are rarely out of sight of other boats.
We have just been chatting Alain on 'Ti'Ouane', an Ovni 445, about fishing and swimming - he suggested that we put women in the water in order to attract fish, and since we have three women on board, he thought we had one or two who could be expendable!! Cheek ... but on second thoughts ... His crew have been swimming, but 4kts is a bit quick for people to keep up and we are not slowing down when every knot of wind counts.
Morale is very high ... and why wouldn't it be? All is well with Gilli and Sally and everyone seems to be getting enough rest. We are all looking forward to our first taste of west Africa and the culture change. Meanwhile, we will keep sail-tweaking to keep up the speed.
Posn: 26deg08'.097N 16deg15'.694W
We are 140nm from Santa Cruz, Tenerife and have just over 150nm to go to Dakhla. The sun is shining and it's hot. We have put boat time to UTC in line with the clock change in the UK.
We have wind NE 8kts True and we are sailing with full main and the cruising chute, and steering by the windvane. Our boat speed is around 4kts, which is better than it was for part of the night when we were down to 3kts wind and a boat speed of less than 1kt. This is cruising ... except that there is a bit of pressure (self-inflicted?) to arrive in Dakhla tomorrow. We are hoping the wind will fill in this afternoon.
Our departure from Santa Cruz was at 1100 and very quickly we had the benefit of the Canary Islands acceleration zones, as the wind was 15-20kts and we were bowling along with full main and poled out genoa at 7-8kts. Then, by 2300 last night the wind eased and virtually died. We did a bit of motoring to keep going and charge the batteries. We are operating a watch system of 2 hours on/6 hours off. We generally do this from 1800 to 1000 and then during the day things are less formal.
There is plenty of chat on the VHF and we call up other boats to see how they are doing and they call us too. We have scheduled calls for the fleet twice a day on VHF and SSB, although they are a bit hit and miss as to who calls in and who can hear. Doubtless the regime will improve for the longer trips as on the two short stages from Madeira to Tenerife, and Tenerife to Dakhla, we are rarely out of sight of other boats.
We have just been chatting Alain on 'Ti'Ouane', an Ovni 445, about fishing and swimming - he suggested that we put women in the water in order to attract fish, and since we have three women on board, he thought we had one or two who could be expendable!! Cheek ... but on second thoughts ... His crew have been swimming, but 4kts is a bit quick for people to keep up and we are not slowing down when every knot of wind counts.
Morale is very high ... and why wouldn't it be? All is well with Gilli and Sally and everyone seems to be getting enough rest. We are all looking forward to our first taste of west Africa and the culture change. Meanwhile, we will keep sail-tweaking to keep up the speed.
29th October 2009, 1700
Posn 23deg41'.367N 15deg55'.626W Dakhla, Western Sahara.
Well it is interesting and sorry no photos at present but wifi here is very poor - they will follow later, we hope in Dakar.
We arrived here on Monday afternoon at 1745 after some very up and down wind, with sometimes no wind and all sails down and other times the cruising chute and main, and then the poled out genoa and main. We gave Minnie B a bit of assistance in the light/no wind periods with the engine running at 1000-1500 rpm. This means diesel consumption at just over 2 litres and hour compared to 3.2 litres an hour at 2200/2300 rpm. Too much detail? Well, the sailors will be interested. If the wind is on the beam then we can scoot along at 6kts in 8-9kts of breeze, but if the wind is really aft then we are down to 4kts. We have just got the passageweather.com forecast which looks as if we will have 20-25kts wind NNE when we leave tomorrow, provided we head west to about 18-20 degrees longitude. We will compare notes with our fellow sailors.
Now to Dakhla. It is a major military town with a very large number of barracks - as someone said it looks like an interesting alternative to handing out dole money - shove people into a uniform (don't give 'em a gun!) and send 'em off to the desert. So, it is quite a busy and bustling town outside siesta time - we managed to have a walk around at about 1530 on Tuesday and took photos of very quiet streets. After 1600 the place comes alive and is busy. There are lots of restaurants and tea shops, but no bars - this being a Muslim country. Our anchorage is just off the hotel Bab Al Bahar (which incidentally is part of the Best Western group/franchise) and this is our shore base. The RIDS team are staying there and they have built a pontoon for dinghies to come ashore and also provide a water taxi from 0900 to 2300. It is very handy, but beer is 40 dirhaams a bottle (that's about £3.60), so not cheap. Fortunately we did a big stock up in Tenerife.
There is a superb market for fresh produce near the mosque but supermarkets are not so common and are very traditional - all the stock is on shelves behind the counter - very four candles/fork handles.
When we arrived on Monday, we had to check in - this involved producing our ship's papers and passports. I would love to know why they are interested in the horsepower of our engine. Anyway, there were no less then five people in different uniforms and two people in plain clothes (customs, health, immigration, police and goodness knows what else) making notes and filling out forms. Our passports were taken away for stamping and returned the next day. We were quite tired so a few beers and some wine and we were all fast asleep quite early.
Tuesday was boat sorting and reconnaisance. Those of a shopping disposition among us (3 out of 4) eyed the charming silver jewellery and other knick-knacks. We called in at a couple of cafes and had a long chat with the owner of one, who would have been a supporter of the Polisario independence movement. Then we had dinner at the hotel where they have laid on a special seafood/fish buffet - all very nice.
The highlight of our visit was yesterday - Wednesday, when virtually all the crews signed up for a trip into the desert. Nearly every four wheel drive vehicle had been rounded up. The organisation was typique, so we selected a car with blacked out windows as we thought this would provide some protection from the sun - it did, but this was nearly a big mistake. We set off in convoy - about 25 vehicles - and our driver, Khalifa introduced himself. Unfortunately he spoke Arabic with very little of anything else. He was cheerful and had a bit of a mischievous smile. We were to find out why. The first taste of things to come was when we turned off the metalled road and headed across country beside the sea. We were in a race. The younger drivers - about eight of them began tearing as if they were in the Paris-Dakar rally ... and they never stopped. There were overtaking manouevres that Lewis Hamiton would have been proud of, and this was at 80-90 kph on stony and sandy desert. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time bouncing up and down in our seats and clinging on for our lives.
Our first stop was an ostrich farm ... interesting ... ish. Then we went to a large sand dune beside the head of the long lagoon on which Dakhla sits - this was great because there were hundreds (thousands?) of small red crabs that kept popping up and down holes in the sand. And the view was good. After that we hurtled along and saw some feral camels and then found some thorn trees where we stopped for our picnic lunch. Moroccan flat bread is really very nice. After that we headed across the desert which was at times very stony and at times very sandy ... we were back in the race ... for a long time ... like 4 hours with occasional stops for the drivers to consult (we kept working out which way was North) and comfort breaks .. behind the nearest stone ... Eventually we arrived at a place called Porto Rico which is on the Tropic of Cancer and where some of the rally participants were spending the night in tents - we had decided against this option, and eventually got back to Dakhla at 1930 after a hair-raising dash down the metalled roads. Back to the boat, where Sally decided that Phil's gins just were not stiff enough, a quick bite to eat and we were tucked up by 2230. Exhausted, but all we had done was sit in a car, wasn't it? We reckoned that the bouncing and holding on was the equivalent of a four-hours gym workout.
To-day, Thursday has been boat preparation (including dealing with some serious chafe on the end of the spinnaker halyard), laundry and food shopping. Our e-mail attempts failed as we could not get onto googlemail.
What else? Oh yes, we have become the owners of one and a half French dinghies. Well yesterday morning on the way ashore we were hailed by Edith and Denis from "Harmonie" - their outboard engine had stopped and could we give them a tow - no problem. That's one half of a dinghy by way of salvage. Then last night at about 2130 we heard a cry of "Minnie B, Minnie B, mayday. mayday" - it was Edith and Denis again, hanging onto our dinghy. Despite having taken the outboard for repair, it conked out again. So, Phil gets out the oilies, lifejacket etc and gives them a tow back to their boat. That's one whole dinghy from salvage. We decided to put the dinghy away to-day so we could get off straight away on Friday. The outboard had been stowed and we were having lunch when Nicole from "Pilhoue V" arrives and hangs on to Minnie B - her outboard has conked out. So the "Minnie B Sauvetage Services" pops our back-up 2hp outboard onto our dinghy and she gets a tow back to her boat. So, that's one and a half dinghies we have from salvage. We will see.
To-night we have a big dinner at the hotel, and the local dignitaries will be here - the Wali (yes! He's the regional representative of the King, the General commanding the Army deployment in the region, the Colonel commanding the Navy in Dakhla, and the Chairman of the city council. No shorts then. We will probably have a couple of drinks on board as it may be orange juice with dinner, albeit the hotel serves wine (we had a Chablis that as far as we could taste had been nowhere near Burgundy!) We will see.
Posn 23deg41'.367N 15deg55'.626W Dakhla, Western Sahara.
Well it is interesting and sorry no photos at present but wifi here is very poor - they will follow later, we hope in Dakar.
We arrived here on Monday afternoon at 1745 after some very up and down wind, with sometimes no wind and all sails down and other times the cruising chute and main, and then the poled out genoa and main. We gave Minnie B a bit of assistance in the light/no wind periods with the engine running at 1000-1500 rpm. This means diesel consumption at just over 2 litres and hour compared to 3.2 litres an hour at 2200/2300 rpm. Too much detail? Well, the sailors will be interested. If the wind is on the beam then we can scoot along at 6kts in 8-9kts of breeze, but if the wind is really aft then we are down to 4kts. We have just got the passageweather.com forecast which looks as if we will have 20-25kts wind NNE when we leave tomorrow, provided we head west to about 18-20 degrees longitude. We will compare notes with our fellow sailors.
Now to Dakhla. It is a major military town with a very large number of barracks - as someone said it looks like an interesting alternative to handing out dole money - shove people into a uniform (don't give 'em a gun!) and send 'em off to the desert. So, it is quite a busy and bustling town outside siesta time - we managed to have a walk around at about 1530 on Tuesday and took photos of very quiet streets. After 1600 the place comes alive and is busy. There are lots of restaurants and tea shops, but no bars - this being a Muslim country. Our anchorage is just off the hotel Bab Al Bahar (which incidentally is part of the Best Western group/franchise) and this is our shore base. The RIDS team are staying there and they have built a pontoon for dinghies to come ashore and also provide a water taxi from 0900 to 2300. It is very handy, but beer is 40 dirhaams a bottle (that's about £3.60), so not cheap. Fortunately we did a big stock up in Tenerife.
There is a superb market for fresh produce near the mosque but supermarkets are not so common and are very traditional - all the stock is on shelves behind the counter - very four candles/fork handles.
When we arrived on Monday, we had to check in - this involved producing our ship's papers and passports. I would love to know why they are interested in the horsepower of our engine. Anyway, there were no less then five people in different uniforms and two people in plain clothes (customs, health, immigration, police and goodness knows what else) making notes and filling out forms. Our passports were taken away for stamping and returned the next day. We were quite tired so a few beers and some wine and we were all fast asleep quite early.
Tuesday was boat sorting and reconnaisance. Those of a shopping disposition among us (3 out of 4) eyed the charming silver jewellery and other knick-knacks. We called in at a couple of cafes and had a long chat with the owner of one, who would have been a supporter of the Polisario independence movement. Then we had dinner at the hotel where they have laid on a special seafood/fish buffet - all very nice.
The highlight of our visit was yesterday - Wednesday, when virtually all the crews signed up for a trip into the desert. Nearly every four wheel drive vehicle had been rounded up. The organisation was typique, so we selected a car with blacked out windows as we thought this would provide some protection from the sun - it did, but this was nearly a big mistake. We set off in convoy - about 25 vehicles - and our driver, Khalifa introduced himself. Unfortunately he spoke Arabic with very little of anything else. He was cheerful and had a bit of a mischievous smile. We were to find out why. The first taste of things to come was when we turned off the metalled road and headed across country beside the sea. We were in a race. The younger drivers - about eight of them began tearing as if they were in the Paris-Dakar rally ... and they never stopped. There were overtaking manouevres that Lewis Hamiton would have been proud of, and this was at 80-90 kph on stony and sandy desert. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time bouncing up and down in our seats and clinging on for our lives.
Our first stop was an ostrich farm ... interesting ... ish. Then we went to a large sand dune beside the head of the long lagoon on which Dakhla sits - this was great because there were hundreds (thousands?) of small red crabs that kept popping up and down holes in the sand. And the view was good. After that we hurtled along and saw some feral camels and then found some thorn trees where we stopped for our picnic lunch. Moroccan flat bread is really very nice. After that we headed across the desert which was at times very stony and at times very sandy ... we were back in the race ... for a long time ... like 4 hours with occasional stops for the drivers to consult (we kept working out which way was North) and comfort breaks .. behind the nearest stone ... Eventually we arrived at a place called Porto Rico which is on the Tropic of Cancer and where some of the rally participants were spending the night in tents - we had decided against this option, and eventually got back to Dakhla at 1930 after a hair-raising dash down the metalled roads. Back to the boat, where Sally decided that Phil's gins just were not stiff enough, a quick bite to eat and we were tucked up by 2230. Exhausted, but all we had done was sit in a car, wasn't it? We reckoned that the bouncing and holding on was the equivalent of a four-hours gym workout.
To-day, Thursday has been boat preparation (including dealing with some serious chafe on the end of the spinnaker halyard), laundry and food shopping. Our e-mail attempts failed as we could not get onto googlemail.
What else? Oh yes, we have become the owners of one and a half French dinghies. Well yesterday morning on the way ashore we were hailed by Edith and Denis from "Harmonie" - their outboard engine had stopped and could we give them a tow - no problem. That's one half of a dinghy by way of salvage. Then last night at about 2130 we heard a cry of "Minnie B, Minnie B, mayday. mayday" - it was Edith and Denis again, hanging onto our dinghy. Despite having taken the outboard for repair, it conked out again. So, Phil gets out the oilies, lifejacket etc and gives them a tow back to their boat. That's one whole dinghy from salvage. We decided to put the dinghy away to-day so we could get off straight away on Friday. The outboard had been stowed and we were having lunch when Nicole from "Pilhoue V" arrives and hangs on to Minnie B - her outboard has conked out. So the "Minnie B Sauvetage Services" pops our back-up 2hp outboard onto our dinghy and she gets a tow back to her boat. So, that's one and a half dinghies we have from salvage. We will see.
To-night we have a big dinner at the hotel, and the local dignitaries will be here - the Wali (yes! He's the regional representative of the King, the General commanding the Army deployment in the region, the Colonel commanding the Navy in Dakhla, and the Chairman of the city council. No shorts then. We will probably have a couple of drinks on board as it may be orange juice with dinner, albeit the hotel serves wine (we had a Chablis that as far as we could taste had been nowhere near Burgundy!) We will see.
Saturday 31st October 2009, 1400
Posn: 21deg20'.164N 17deg18'.890W
We are 160nm from Dakhla, having left at 1000 yesterday morning, and we have 395nm to go to Dakar, so we should arrive on Tuesday if the wind holds. We are sailing at 6.5-7kts in a Northerly of 14kts True wind. Needless to say, the sun is shining and although it's not too hot and humid, the sun is fierce. We were first away in the first group and maintained our lead until dark ("Ce n'est pas une course"! .. oh yea). The fleet has been split into two groups according to boat speed with a 5-6 hours gap in start times aimed at us are all arriving around about the same day.
We crossed the Tropic of Cancer last night at 0300 with Norma and Phil sharing the moment (it was Norma's watch).
We have had good wind since we left Dakhla and at times we have had a steady 7.5-8kts with the cruising chute. At present we are goosewinged with the pole boomed out on the starboard side.
The dinner on Thursday night was good, with some Moroccan-rock-fusion music and we had great craic at a table with David and Suzanne ("Suzie Too")and Frank, Marta, Lammert and Sue (all on "African Seawing"). There was so much demand for the water taxi that we didn't get back to Minnie B until 0100 - so
Posn: 21deg20'.164N 17deg18'.890W
We are 160nm from Dakhla, having left at 1000 yesterday morning, and we have 395nm to go to Dakar, so we should arrive on Tuesday if the wind holds. We are sailing at 6.5-7kts in a Northerly of 14kts True wind. Needless to say, the sun is shining and although it's not too hot and humid, the sun is fierce. We were first away in the first group and maintained our lead until dark ("Ce n'est pas une course"! .. oh yea). The fleet has been split into two groups according to boat speed with a 5-6 hours gap in start times aimed at us are all arriving around about the same day.
We crossed the Tropic of Cancer last night at 0300 with Norma and Phil sharing the moment (it was Norma's watch).
We have had good wind since we left Dakhla and at times we have had a steady 7.5-8kts with the cruising chute. At present we are goosewinged with the pole boomed out on the starboard side.
The dinner on Thursday night was good, with some Moroccan-rock-fusion music and we had great craic at a table with David and Suzanne ("Suzie Too")and Frank, Marta, Lammert and Sue (all on "African Seawing"). There was so much demand for the water taxi that we didn't get back to Minnie B until 0100 - so
Monday 2nd November 2009, 1700
Posn: 16deg14'.033N 17deg40'.512W
We have had a cracking sail from Dakhla ... until the last hour when the wind has dropped to less than two knots. We are now less than 100nm from Dakar. The sailing has been superb and Norma has the fastest boat speed of 9.3 kts in about 22kts True. We have been sailing for most of the time goosewinged, but then the wind veered and we were on a broad reach and eventually close-hauled until the wind died.
The two nights ago we had a very gloomy evening and the visibility reduced. Then we found out why as Minnie B became covered in a fine layer of sand - north-easterly wind from the Sahara. When light came we brushed off as much as possible and then lots of buckets of water, but it is everywhere and Phil dreads going up the mast which is still covered in it.
We caught a second bonito yesterday and again had it for lunch - delicious. Despite having the line out to-day we had no luck.
Yesterday we also saw whales and one breached 4-5 times only about 200 metres from us. During the night we are frequently accompanied by dolphins that are not quite as acrobatic as the ones we had earlier in summer off the south coast of Ireland. Then this morning we had three dead flying fish on the deck. They fly much further and much faster than we had thought. Sometimes we pass through shoals of them and the air (about two feet above the waves) is full of them.
We have been making water (watermaker) and our tanks are now full, as we will be at anchor in Dakar and the Sine-Saloum.
All is very well, morale is high since we eat tremendously well.
Posn: 16deg14'.033N 17deg40'.512W
We have had a cracking sail from Dakhla ... until the last hour when the wind has dropped to less than two knots. We are now less than 100nm from Dakar. The sailing has been superb and Norma has the fastest boat speed of 9.3 kts in about 22kts True. We have been sailing for most of the time goosewinged, but then the wind veered and we were on a broad reach and eventually close-hauled until the wind died.
The two nights ago we had a very gloomy evening and the visibility reduced. Then we found out why as Minnie B became covered in a fine layer of sand - north-easterly wind from the Sahara. When light came we brushed off as much as possible and then lots of buckets of water, but it is everywhere and Phil dreads going up the mast which is still covered in it.
We caught a second bonito yesterday and again had it for lunch - delicious. Despite having the line out to-day we had no luck.
Yesterday we also saw whales and one breached 4-5 times only about 200 metres from us. During the night we are frequently accompanied by dolphins that are not quite as acrobatic as the ones we had earlier in summer off the south coast of Ireland. Then this morning we had three dead flying fish on the deck. They fly much further and much faster than we had thought. Sometimes we pass through shoals of them and the air (about two feet above the waves) is full of them.
We have been making water (watermaker) and our tanks are now full, as we will be at anchor in Dakar and the Sine-Saloum.
All is very well, morale is high since we eat tremendously well.
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