Saturday Jan 31,09
We are currently sailing SSW with the spanker and gaff topsail, all square sail, the mizzen staysail and the
flying and outer jib set. We are making 5.5 knots and the tradewinds are much warmer now, as is the sea
which is 25.5 C currently.
There is much speculation about what kind of ordeal us polliwogs will be forced to have when we cross
the line. I do know that we are keeping all food waste aboard until then which doesn’t bode well.
We should cross the line late Tuesday or early Wednesday at current speed , however the winds may drop
before then as we hit the doldrums (also known as the “intertropical convergence zone”).
Bruce, Rich and I are on solo galley duty tomorrow which will be “interesting” as none of us really cook. I
suggested a couple of things that I have actually done and promptly got elected as “boss”, lovely.
More later…
It’s later. We are now sailing as before but we have the two remaining stunsls set. It didn’t seem to mess
up the steering too much which was good.
Bruce and I have a plan for the cooking tomorrow which has reduced the anxiety level a whole bunch. At
least for me :-)
We will be getting up at 5:30am to get rolling and I’ll let you know how it goes.
Thanks for reading
KJ
Atlantic Rollers
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Friday, January 30, 2015
Atlantic Crossing Jan 30, 09
Fri Jan 30,09
Did my first noon sextant sight today! I’m fairly happy with the results. My calculations were 10 minutes
of arc off from the sight taken by the first mate, whose sight is of course considered authoritative :-)
The calculations are not onerous and with current tables take maybe 5 minutes if you have to do
interpolations , which we didn’t.
The next classes will be on lines of position and plotting which is also cool.
We had a workshop on anchoring today. The Picton Castle has anchors and anchor chain sufficient for a
500 ton ship which is nearly twice our size. We actually have 4 anchors on board, the 1500 lb port fisherman’s anchor and the 1200 lb stbd navy stockless. In the hold we have another big fisherman anchor and a 200 lb danforth kedge anchor. The anchor chain weights a ton per shot which is 90′.
In modern maritime circles anchoring is considered more as an emergency tool rather than a standard
mooring. That is because most ships go alongside now rather than anchoring out. The Captain prefers to
anchor out as it keeps the rats and cockroaches (both two legged and multi-legged) away.
Night watch was uneventful and cloudy so no star identifications for me.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Did my first noon sextant sight today! I’m fairly happy with the results. My calculations were 10 minutes
of arc off from the sight taken by the first mate, whose sight is of course considered authoritative :-)
The calculations are not onerous and with current tables take maybe 5 minutes if you have to do
interpolations , which we didn’t.
The next classes will be on lines of position and plotting which is also cool.
 |
| My first Sun sight. Photo by David Bellows |
We had a workshop on anchoring today. The Picton Castle has anchors and anchor chain sufficient for a
500 ton ship which is nearly twice our size. We actually have 4 anchors on board, the 1500 lb port fisherman’s anchor and the 1200 lb stbd navy stockless. In the hold we have another big fisherman anchor and a 200 lb danforth kedge anchor. The anchor chain weights a ton per shot which is 90′.
In modern maritime circles anchoring is considered more as an emergency tool rather than a standard
mooring. That is because most ships go alongside now rather than anchoring out. The Captain prefers to
anchor out as it keeps the rats and cockroaches (both two legged and multi-legged) away.
Night watch was uneventful and cloudy so no star identifications for me.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Atlantic Crossing Jan 29,09
Thur Jan 29,09
This morning I was on lookout as the Sun was rising. It is amazing to see the waves change colour as the
light grows. Thy start out almost black then as the light grows they get silvery grey highlights. Soon they
take on a polished steel colour and then finally as the Sun breaks through the clouds, that are almost
always on the horizon, a luminous deep blue.
I’ve tried to take pictures of the Sea to capture that colour but it doesn’t do it jutice.
After breakfast I laid in with the crew switching out the damaged upper topsail. The sail was switched out,
re-rigged and set in about 1.5 hours.
Later we had our CN class and actually got to play with sextants which was very cool. Then it was time to
try and set the stunsls again. This time a wind gust caught the middle one and flipped it up over the boom
which promptly speared the sail and ripped the sail across. So we down rigged the whole shebang. Buddy
has his work cut out for him wth two sails to repair now.
More later.
An email from King Neptune was posted on the scuttle today. It was very interesting and basically warns
that he will be visiting the ship when we cross the line to deal with the infestation of “odoriferous
polliwogs”. It also asked the Captain to pass greetings along to “Queen Chibley” :-)
We are only 550 miles from the equator so another 4 days or so.
Night watch was OK very warm but mostly cloudy. I tried to do some astronomy, identifying the 57
“fixed” stars used in navigation by comparing the star charts in a book with star maps but there were just
too many clouds. I found a planetarium program on my little laptop which allows me to set the date time
and lat long and it shows what the sky looks like. I even took that out on deck and oriented it with the sky
which worked OK too.
We adjusted our clocks back one hour last night since we are moving West slow but sure so now it is light
for most of our “night” watch. This means we will start to have shipwork of sorts to do at the end of the
watch.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
This morning I was on lookout as the Sun was rising. It is amazing to see the waves change colour as the
light grows. Thy start out almost black then as the light grows they get silvery grey highlights. Soon they
take on a polished steel colour and then finally as the Sun breaks through the clouds, that are almost
always on the horizon, a luminous deep blue.
I’ve tried to take pictures of the Sea to capture that colour but it doesn’t do it jutice.
After breakfast I laid in with the crew switching out the damaged upper topsail. The sail was switched out,
re-rigged and set in about 1.5 hours.
Later we had our CN class and actually got to play with sextants which was very cool. Then it was time to
try and set the stunsls again. This time a wind gust caught the middle one and flipped it up over the boom
which promptly speared the sail and ripped the sail across. So we down rigged the whole shebang. Buddy
has his work cut out for him wth two sails to repair now.
More later.
An email from King Neptune was posted on the scuttle today. It was very interesting and basically warns
that he will be visiting the ship when we cross the line to deal with the infestation of “odoriferous
polliwogs”. It also asked the Captain to pass greetings along to “Queen Chibley” :-)
We are only 550 miles from the equator so another 4 days or so.
Night watch was OK very warm but mostly cloudy. I tried to do some astronomy, identifying the 57
“fixed” stars used in navigation by comparing the star charts in a book with star maps but there were just
too many clouds. I found a planetarium program on my little laptop which allows me to set the date time
and lat long and it shows what the sky looks like. I even took that out on deck and oriented it with the sky
which worked OK too.
We adjusted our clocks back one hour last night since we are moving West slow but sure so now it is light
for most of our “night” watch. This means we will start to have shipwork of sorts to do at the end of the
watch.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Atlantic Crossing Jan 28,09
Wed Jan 28,09
Night watch was fantastic, the stars were amazing and for most of my time as lookout there wasn’t a
single cloud in the sky. I had first lookout and fourth helm so I was on the helm at the end of our watch
from 7-8am which was also when the Sun was rising. As the sky brightened the sea changed colour from
almost black to dark grey and then various shades of grey and silver to the blue it has during the day.
A flying fish landed on deck and Sophie, second mate on the Bluenose who is getting sea time with us on
the crossing, found it under the coffee rack on the Aloha deck. Had agood look at it, Their wings are long
tapered fins almost as long as their bodies.
Today will be our second CN class and we are supposed to get a chance to work with a sextant which will
be cool.
More later…
It’s later and there was no CN class today as everybody was deeply involved in rigging up th stunsls
(studding sails). We also had a class in different kinds of sailing rigs and why our ship was rebuilt with the
barque rig. Very interesting on both fronts.
There was one hiccup during the stunsl rig down when a wind gust pushed the spar holding the peak of
the sail right through the upper topsail! That means we have to unbend the sail and replace it with an older
sail from storage. I guess that will be on the agenda for tomorrow.
We are now 760 miles from the equator and I do believe that Neptune’s “minions” are about their
preparations. Or at least they want us pollywogs to think so. :-)
Thanks for reading
KJ
Night watch was fantastic, the stars were amazing and for most of my time as lookout there wasn’t a
single cloud in the sky. I had first lookout and fourth helm so I was on the helm at the end of our watch
from 7-8am which was also when the Sun was rising. As the sky brightened the sea changed colour from
 | |
| Me on helm at the end of our night watch. Photo by David Bellows |
A flying fish landed on deck and Sophie, second mate on the Bluenose who is getting sea time with us on
the crossing, found it under the coffee rack on the Aloha deck. Had agood look at it, Their wings are long
tapered fins almost as long as their bodies.
Today will be our second CN class and we are supposed to get a chance to work with a sextant which will
be cool.
More later…
It’s later and there was no CN class today as everybody was deeply involved in rigging up th stunsls
(studding sails). We also had a class in different kinds of sailing rigs and why our ship was rebuilt with the
barque rig. Very interesting on both fronts.
There was one hiccup during the stunsl rig down when a wind gust pushed the spar holding the peak of
the sail right through the upper topsail! That means we have to unbend the sail and replace it with an older
sail from storage. I guess that will be on the agenda for tomorrow.
We are now 760 miles from the equator and I do believe that Neptune’s “minions” are about their
preparations. Or at least they want us pollywogs to think so. :-)
Thanks for reading
KJ
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Atlantic Crossing Jan 27,09
Tuesday Jan 27,09
Had a good night watch, we’re still sailing along with Royals set making 6-7 knots.
We will be having the first formal celestial navigation workshop today which should be interesting.
Just finished the first of our Celestial Nav (CN) classes. The class was held on the quarter deck. There is
something really cool about learning navigation when you are actually at sea. I’ve read a lot about
navigation and all the math etc necessary to do it but actually doing it on a ship is a good way to make it
real :-) We will be having these classes every day now and although optional I think I will try to stick with
it for a bit.
I’ve downloaded some pdf files with CN info so I have some references to use as well.
Also started my “ditty bag” which uses all the same techniques as Buddy the sailmaker uses to make the
sails for the ship. Most of the crew have theirs since they started back in May but I and the other new(er)
trainees got started today. the weather is fabulous with steady force 4 trade winds and bright blue skies
with only a few puffy white cumulus clouds hurrying downwind.
When I came off the afternoon 4-8 watch the sky was ablaze with stars some of the brightest I’ve seen so
far, the night watch should be good.
Thanks for reading
KJ
Had a good night watch, we’re still sailing along with Royals set making 6-7 knots.
We will be having the first formal celestial navigation workshop today which should be interesting.
Just finished the first of our Celestial Nav (CN) classes. The class was held on the quarter deck. There is
something really cool about learning navigation when you are actually at sea. I’ve read a lot about
navigation and all the math etc necessary to do it but actually doing it on a ship is a good way to make it
real :-) We will be having these classes every day now and although optional I think I will try to stick with
it for a bit.
I’ve downloaded some pdf files with CN info so I have some references to use as well.
Also started my “ditty bag” which uses all the same techniques as Buddy the sailmaker uses to make the
sails for the ship. Most of the crew have theirs since they started back in May but I and the other new(er)
trainees got started today. the weather is fabulous with steady force 4 trade winds and bright blue skies
with only a few puffy white cumulus clouds hurrying downwind.
When I came off the afternoon 4-8 watch the sky was ablaze with stars some of the brightest I’ve seen so
far, the night watch should be good.
Thanks for reading
KJ
Monday, January 26, 2015
Atlantic Crossing Jan 26, 09
Note that originally this was posted as a single long post when I got ashore in Grenada.
I will be posting each day separately here so you can follow each days action.
Monday January 26,09
So we are off across the Atlantic Ocean at last.
We hoisted anchor and “sailed off the hook”, ie we didn’t use our engine to get underway, around 1:00pm
this afternoon. We are now headed to the WSW under topsails, foresail, inner and outer jibs and main
topmast staysail.
The weather is fabulous with bright sunny skies, deep blue seas and steady force 4 tradewinds blowing in
exactly the right direction.
The Captain says we have the makings of a good passage as long as we are sharp on our sail handling so
he can keep the t’gallants and royals set longer. The crew is in favour of that so we should have an
interesting passage.
I’m back on the 4-8 watch for this passage so I will have to get re-oriented sleep wise again. I put on the
seasickness patch last night so I’m hoping I can avoid a repeat of the last passages “flux”. My back doesn’t
hurt and I’m feeling good to be heading West towards my lovely Lady so far away in cold and snowy
Calgary!
I’ll be updating this post as we go along so you will be able to follow how I’ve made out by simply reading
below. You already know I made it because if I didn’t you won’t see this So consider this a message
from the past to all you fine folks following along at home!
Thanks for reading
KJ
2015 Postscript
Here is the video of us "sailing off the hook" taken by Spencer's Grand Father Hal.
I will be posting each day separately here so you can follow each days action.
Monday January 26,09
So we are off across the Atlantic Ocean at last.
We hoisted anchor and “sailed off the hook”, ie we didn’t use our engine to get underway, around 1:00pm
this afternoon. We are now headed to the WSW under topsails, foresail, inner and outer jibs and main
topmast staysail.
The weather is fabulous with bright sunny skies, deep blue seas and steady force 4 tradewinds blowing in
exactly the right direction.
The Captain says we have the makings of a good passage as long as we are sharp on our sail handling so
he can keep the t’gallants and royals set longer. The crew is in favour of that so we should have an
interesting passage.
I’m back on the 4-8 watch for this passage so I will have to get re-oriented sleep wise again. I put on the
seasickness patch last night so I’m hoping I can avoid a repeat of the last passages “flux”. My back doesn’t
hurt and I’m feeling good to be heading West towards my lovely Lady so far away in cold and snowy
Calgary!
I’ll be updating this post as we go along so you will be able to follow how I’ve made out by simply reading
below. You already know I made it because if I didn’t you won’t see this So consider this a message
from the past to all you fine folks following along at home!
Thanks for reading
KJ
2015 Postscript
Here is the video of us "sailing off the hook" taken by Spencer's Grand Father Hal.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Ashore in Mindelo, again. Jan 25,09
Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Here I am again in the Yacht Club cafe cooling my heels, surfing the net and drinking coffee.
The weather, specifically the swell and winds, were not good for our passage to Brazil so we have stayed
at anchor. The “current” plan is to leave tomorrow morning but who knows.
Yesterday an American submarine came into port and tied up alongside the wharf across from us. This
morning a bunch of us went over when we got a shore and brazenly asked if we could get a tour and lo
and behold they were happy to give us one! It was really interesting and there was surprisingly enough
head room in most of the crew compartments for me. The crew was really friendly and open and we even
got to have lunch in their mess, mmmm chicken nuggets and fries :-)
I’ve added some pictures of the sub to the Sao Vincente album linked in the previous post.
More later…
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Ashore | No Comments »
2015 Postscript
After I got back from the trip, Jayne and I watched the sci fi show SG1.
The movie they made after the series ended featured our heroes being picked up off the arctic ice by a US Navy Nuclear Sub. It was a sister ship to the one we boarded at Mindelo!
Same fake wood paneling and everything :-)
They also used the real crew as extras, I could tell because of the way they spoke.
Very cool.
Here I am again in the Yacht Club cafe cooling my heels, surfing the net and drinking coffee.
The weather, specifically the swell and winds, were not good for our passage to Brazil so we have stayed
at anchor. The “current” plan is to leave tomorrow morning but who knows.
Yesterday an American submarine came into port and tied up alongside the wharf across from us. This
morning a bunch of us went over when we got a shore and brazenly asked if we could get a tour and lo
and behold they were happy to give us one! It was really interesting and there was surprisingly enough
head room in most of the crew compartments for me. The crew was really friendly and open and we even
got to have lunch in their mess, mmmm chicken nuggets and fries :-)
 |
| Suzy, Bruce, and I aboard the American Nuclear Sub USS Pittsburgh |
I’ve added some pictures of the sub to the Sao Vincente album linked in the previous post.
More later…
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Ashore | No Comments »
2015 Postscript
After I got back from the trip, Jayne and I watched the sci fi show SG1.
The movie they made after the series ended featured our heroes being picked up off the arctic ice by a US Navy Nuclear Sub. It was a sister ship to the one we boarded at Mindelo!
Same fake wood paneling and everything :-)
They also used the real crew as extras, I could tell because of the way they spoke.
Very cool.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Ashore in Mindelo, Sao Vincente, Jan 22,09
Friday, January 23rd, 2009
Went ashore on the first skiff run yesterday and had a good wander around this nice town.
On the way into to the yacht club wharf we passed a defunct Russia hydrofoil that is anchored out in the
bay. It looks like something from Buck Rogers. The Soviets donated them to various small islands during
the eighties and most are now sitting due to a lack of spare parts.
The town itself was very quiet as it was a national holiday of some sort. This morning (the 23rd) is much
noisier and busy with traffic and lots of people about.
Bruce and I wandered around and criss crossed the town just to see what there was to see then I headed
back to the Cafe we found (the Yacht Club) that has Internet access and a reasonably priced restaurant.
Today my primary objective is to get stocked up on snacks, pick up my laundry and do this :-)
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been aboard for nearly 2 and half months already and that tomorrow we head
out to cross the Atlantic ocean! I’m excited, and a bit anxious to be honest, to finally be doing the “big
crossing”. I hope I will get my sea legs back quickly. I should be OK since the anchorage is fairly rough so the ship has been moving a lot which will help.
It is very unlikely that I will be able to do any Internet stuff for the next month or so. Unless the island of
Fernando de Noronha off the coast of Brazil has Internet, anything is possible these days I suppose.
The crossing will take anywhere from 10-20 days. We head South from here then angle SW across the
equator to get to Fernando de Noronha. Crossing the equator has a lot of rituals associated with it and
each ship has it’s own so I have no idea what to expect. One must pay his dues to Neptune that is for sure
for it is his realm that we travel in after all.
Wish me luck and send good vibes and I will update you all from the other side of the Big Briny Atlantic
Ocean.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
There are pictures of Mindelo here.
Posted in Ashore | 1 Comment »
Went ashore on the first skiff run yesterday and had a good wander around this nice town.
On the way into to the yacht club wharf we passed a defunct Russia hydrofoil that is anchored out in the
bay. It looks like something from Buck Rogers. The Soviets donated them to various small islands during
the eighties and most are now sitting due to a lack of spare parts.
The town itself was very quiet as it was a national holiday of some sort. This morning (the 23rd) is much
noisier and busy with traffic and lots of people about.
Bruce and I wandered around and criss crossed the town just to see what there was to see then I headed
back to the Cafe we found (the Yacht Club) that has Internet access and a reasonably priced restaurant.
Today my primary objective is to get stocked up on snacks, pick up my laundry and do this :-)
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been aboard for nearly 2 and half months already and that tomorrow we head
out to cross the Atlantic ocean! I’m excited, and a bit anxious to be honest, to finally be doing the “big
crossing”. I hope I will get my sea legs back quickly. I should be OK since the anchorage is fairly rough so the ship has been moving a lot which will help.
It is very unlikely that I will be able to do any Internet stuff for the next month or so. Unless the island of
Fernando de Noronha off the coast of Brazil has Internet, anything is possible these days I suppose.
The crossing will take anywhere from 10-20 days. We head South from here then angle SW across the
equator to get to Fernando de Noronha. Crossing the equator has a lot of rituals associated with it and
each ship has it’s own so I have no idea what to expect. One must pay his dues to Neptune that is for sure
for it is his realm that we travel in after all.
Wish me luck and send good vibes and I will update you all from the other side of the Big Briny Atlantic
Ocean.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
There are pictures of Mindelo here.
Posted in Ashore | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
At anchor Sao Vincente Jan 21,08
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
Well it finally happened, I had galley duty when Donald the cook was ashore. Luckily Corey was with me
and he can actually cook :-)
Yesterday after we arrived here in Sao Vincente my watch was able to go ashore and all I did was find
Internet and hang out. Simple needs for me
Otherwise it was a pretty calm day. We are using the three watches even at anchor so there was only one
watch aboard the other two were ashore. It was pretty quiet with only 10 or so people here.
The weather on this island is odd. The mountains are high enough to cause clouds but not quite high
enough to cause rain, just the odd sprinkle in the wind gusts. The gusts are very strong but because the
anchorage is sheltered we only hear it in the rigging. We have both anchors out just in case however.
I get the next two days off so I will be doing internet stuff and wandering around the town. On Saturday I
will hookup with the 4-8 gang and maybe head out of town for a look at more of the island.
I also want to stock up on snacks and stuff because once we leave here on Sunday it will be nearly a
month before we get to shore and that will be on the other side of the Atlantic!
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Well it finally happened, I had galley duty when Donald the cook was ashore. Luckily Corey was with me
and he can actually cook :-)
Yesterday after we arrived here in Sao Vincente my watch was able to go ashore and all I did was find
Internet and hang out. Simple needs for me
Otherwise it was a pretty calm day. We are using the three watches even at anchor so there was only one
watch aboard the other two were ashore. It was pretty quiet with only 10 or so people here.
The weather on this island is odd. The mountains are high enough to cause clouds but not quite high
enough to cause rain, just the odd sprinkle in the wind gusts. The gusts are very strong but because the
anchorage is sheltered we only hear it in the rigging. We have both anchors out just in case however.
I get the next two days off so I will be doing internet stuff and wandering around the town. On Saturday I
will hookup with the 4-8 gang and maybe head out of town for a look at more of the island.
I also want to stock up on snacks and stuff because once we leave here on Sunday it will be nearly a
month before we get to shore and that will be on the other side of the Atlantic!
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Ashore on Boa Vista Jan 18,09
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
Just got back aboard ship after a very nice day ashore on Boa Vista, Cape Verde.
John and Spencer and I walked about 3 miles down the magnificent beach here past one of the fanciest
resort I have ever seen. The place even has a restaurant shaped like a giant crab.
They also have grumpy looking guards at the gates. It is afterall an all inclusive place so we can’t have any riffraff wandering through can we. :-)
Just past this place was a geocache that John had the coordinates for, one of two on Boa Vista the other
was 60km away. The geocache was in the ruins of a pottery factory which looked quite romantic half
covered in sand dunes.
We then took a cab back into Sel Rei as the thought of walking back along that beach into the teeth of the
force 7 wind blowing across the and dunes (was not pleasant at all).
Once back in town we had a nice lunch at a pizzaria in the town square, that didn’t have pizza even
though most of menu was pizzas of various sorts. Then we went to a resort that had wifi, the one I had
found before actually, and did all my emailing and blog updates.
The trip back to the ship started with a splash. Just as we were loading up, the skiff got turned broadside to
the beach and got a wave broadside. We were using an anchor to hold the bow aimed into the waves and it
came off the bottom. Once underway the ride back was pretty dry so it looks like the wind may be
moderating a bit.
Tomorrow we leave for Sao Vincente and the town of Mindelo. This town is much larger and should have
more “amenities”. The passage should take two days.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
There are pictures from my run ashore in Boa Vista here.
Posted in Ashore | No Comments »
2015 Postscript
Here is a picture of me and Spencer doing our online stuff at the resort after our ramble.
The wifi speed here was slower than dial up!
You can check out more of John's photos of Cape Verde here.
Just got back aboard ship after a very nice day ashore on Boa Vista, Cape Verde.
John and Spencer and I walked about 3 miles down the magnificent beach here past one of the fanciest
resort I have ever seen. The place even has a restaurant shaped like a giant crab.
They also have grumpy looking guards at the gates. It is afterall an all inclusive place so we can’t have any riffraff wandering through can we. :-)
Just past this place was a geocache that John had the coordinates for, one of two on Boa Vista the other
was 60km away. The geocache was in the ruins of a pottery factory which looked quite romantic half
covered in sand dunes.
We then took a cab back into Sel Rei as the thought of walking back along that beach into the teeth of the
force 7 wind blowing across the and dunes (was not pleasant at all).
Once back in town we had a nice lunch at a pizzaria in the town square, that didn’t have pizza even
though most of menu was pizzas of various sorts. Then we went to a resort that had wifi, the one I had
found before actually, and did all my emailing and blog updates.
The trip back to the ship started with a splash. Just as we were loading up, the skiff got turned broadside to
the beach and got a wave broadside. We were using an anchor to hold the bow aimed into the waves and it
came off the bottom. Once underway the ride back was pretty dry so it looks like the wind may be
moderating a bit.
Tomorrow we leave for Sao Vincente and the town of Mindelo. This town is much larger and should have
more “amenities”. The passage should take two days.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
There are pictures from my run ashore in Boa Vista here.
Posted in Ashore | No Comments »
 |
| Photo by John Gareri |
Here is a picture of me and Spencer doing our online stuff at the resort after our ramble.
The wifi speed here was slower than dial up!
You can check out more of John's photos of Cape Verde here.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Boa Vista Cape Verde Islands Jan 17,08
Sunday, January 18th, 2009
Woke up this morning to find that the wind had increased to a steady force 7 directly offshore into our
anchorage, that is the lower end of Gale force. There is not much wave action which is good although the
odd swell does sweep in from the Atlantic.
Spent the day doing ship work that included splicing and whipping a couple of lines. Some “sailorizing”
stuff that :-)
In the morning the Alexandre Humbolt steamed in and anchored as well as another freighter making a
total of 2 tall ships, and 3 freighters in the anchorage. The wind has been steadily pushing us back so we
have both anchors out and a lot of chain to go with them. Leaving this anchorage on Monday will be a
real workout!
About mid afternoon I came up from my splicing to see that the new freighter had been dragging her
anchor and was now about a ship length away from the Humbolt. Apparently the Humbolt radioed her and
said “you are dragging” to which they responded “no we aren’t” !?!
The freighter shortly thereafter fired up their engine, hoisted anchor and steamed ahead back to where
they were before and dropped anchor again. It appears two hours later that they are still dragging but
much slower now.
We appear to be holding OK although we are “plowing” a bit downwind at the moment, but we are on
notice that all hands may be required sometime during the night if conditions change.
Tomorrow I should be able to go ashore again so hopefully I can find some way to send this so you can
read it in a bit more timely manner.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
P.S. It is now 8:30 in the evening and the wind has moderated a bit but is still near gale force. Deb came
down a few minutes ago and mentioned that both the Humbolt and the dragging freighter have up
anchored and headed for sea. I can see the lights of the freighter she seems to be standing off and on just
off shore but there is no sign of the Humbolt.
On the plus side I used John’s cellphone to call the mysterious Internet provider and now have a place to
go to get access when I get ashore (if I get ashore) in the morning.
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
2015 Postscript
Here are two pictures showing how far that freighter had dragged her anchors and drifted down towards the Alexandre Humbolt!
Woke up this morning to find that the wind had increased to a steady force 7 directly offshore into our
anchorage, that is the lower end of Gale force. There is not much wave action which is good although the
odd swell does sweep in from the Atlantic.
Spent the day doing ship work that included splicing and whipping a couple of lines. Some “sailorizing”
stuff that :-)
In the morning the Alexandre Humbolt steamed in and anchored as well as another freighter making a
total of 2 tall ships, and 3 freighters in the anchorage. The wind has been steadily pushing us back so we
have both anchors out and a lot of chain to go with them. Leaving this anchorage on Monday will be a
real workout!
About mid afternoon I came up from my splicing to see that the new freighter had been dragging her
anchor and was now about a ship length away from the Humbolt. Apparently the Humbolt radioed her and
said “you are dragging” to which they responded “no we aren’t” !?!
The freighter shortly thereafter fired up their engine, hoisted anchor and steamed ahead back to where
they were before and dropped anchor again. It appears two hours later that they are still dragging but
much slower now.
We appear to be holding OK although we are “plowing” a bit downwind at the moment, but we are on
notice that all hands may be required sometime during the night if conditions change.
Tomorrow I should be able to go ashore again so hopefully I can find some way to send this so you can
read it in a bit more timely manner.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
P.S. It is now 8:30 in the evening and the wind has moderated a bit but is still near gale force. Deb came
down a few minutes ago and mentioned that both the Humbolt and the dragging freighter have up
anchored and headed for sea. I can see the lights of the freighter she seems to be standing off and on just
off shore but there is no sign of the Humbolt.
On the plus side I used John’s cellphone to call the mysterious Internet provider and now have a place to
go to get access when I get ashore (if I get ashore) in the morning.
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
2015 Postscript
Here are two pictures showing how far that freighter had dragged her anchors and drifted down towards the Alexandre Humbolt!
Friday, January 16, 2015
Sailing to Boa Vista Jan 16, 09
Sunday, January 18th, 2009
An early all hands wakeup had us scrambling for the Windlass around 6:30 this morning. We got the
anchor up and used the engine to get turned around and heading South. Then it was aloft to loose all sail
and we had her sailing along close hauled on the Port tack at 8.5 knots in another half an hour.
It’s a beautiful clear day for a sail! The Sun rose over the island and lit up all our sail in a bright golden
light. The seas are not that high in the lee of Sel but they will get lumpier once we pass Sel and head down
to Boa Vista.
Boa Vista is 36 miles away so at this rate it will only take a bit more than 4 hours so we may be anchored
before noon.
The ship is running with the usual sea watches but all hands have to be ready to do sail handling so we
have to be ready to jump at a moments notice, no snoozing allowed this morning.:-)
More later…
It’s later and after an exciting bit of sail handling and motoring we are anchored off a small town on the
island of Boa Vista in the Cape Verde. This island is also very dry with large sandy beaches and dune
fields fronting the sea. The wind is blowing a stiff force 6 with force 7 gusts from the North making the
water very choppy even in the lee of the island. They are trying to get a local to do the boat runs as it is a
bit rough for our skiff.
There is a wifi signal out here in the anchorage, surprisingly strong. It looks like the town is covered in
wifi as my little laptop finds 5 access points with the same name. They charge for downloads here and
restrict the access based on time. Hopefully I can get to some free access ashore, if we get ashore.
We sent the skiff with 4 intrepid foul weather gear clad crew members to to scope out the (code named
Falcon Team) landing and see if they can hire a local top do the runs.
Stay tuned.
The boat they hired was the same size as the skiff. When I went ashore this afternoon we got soaked.
Luckily my camera and laptop were in plastic bags in my pack so didn’t suffer.
The town is quiet and very clean, a welcome change from Senegal.
Tried to find Internet access but was unsuccessful hopefully I’ll have better luck on Sunday. Had a really
nice dinner of grilled tuna steaks, rice and french fries(!?!) washed down with a nice red wine, in a little
hole in the wall restaurant in the square, very nice way to end the day.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
2015 Postscript
Our arrival at this anchorage had an event which sticks in my mind but I didn't record at the time.
As we motored into the anchorage we had to pass an island on the port side that shelters the Anchorage.
As we were slowly approaching the anchorage there was a brief rumbling sound from beneath our deck.
You get to know all the sounds the ship makes after a while and I had never heard or felt anything like this before.
We looked at each other with a "WTF?" look on our faces. Then it happened again louder his time and the ship seemed to hesitate. Two hundred tons of steel suddenly slowing under your feet is a frightening feeling!
"Hard a Starboard!" roared the Captain and after what felt like a long time the rumbling died away.
We had come very close to running aground! Extending from the point of this island was an unmarked sand bar. The shifting sands that formed the dunes of the island were present under the sea as well.
Odd that I did not record this event in my blog at the time, interesting thing memory.
An early all hands wakeup had us scrambling for the Windlass around 6:30 this morning. We got the
anchor up and used the engine to get turned around and heading South. Then it was aloft to loose all sail
and we had her sailing along close hauled on the Port tack at 8.5 knots in another half an hour.
It’s a beautiful clear day for a sail! The Sun rose over the island and lit up all our sail in a bright golden
light. The seas are not that high in the lee of Sel but they will get lumpier once we pass Sel and head down
to Boa Vista.
Boa Vista is 36 miles away so at this rate it will only take a bit more than 4 hours so we may be anchored
before noon.
The ship is running with the usual sea watches but all hands have to be ready to do sail handling so we
have to be ready to jump at a moments notice, no snoozing allowed this morning.:-)
More later…
It’s later and after an exciting bit of sail handling and motoring we are anchored off a small town on the
island of Boa Vista in the Cape Verde. This island is also very dry with large sandy beaches and dune
fields fronting the sea. The wind is blowing a stiff force 6 with force 7 gusts from the North making the
water very choppy even in the lee of the island. They are trying to get a local to do the boat runs as it is a
bit rough for our skiff.
There is a wifi signal out here in the anchorage, surprisingly strong. It looks like the town is covered in
wifi as my little laptop finds 5 access points with the same name. They charge for downloads here and
restrict the access based on time. Hopefully I can get to some free access ashore, if we get ashore.
We sent the skiff with 4 intrepid foul weather gear clad crew members to to scope out the (code named
Falcon Team) landing and see if they can hire a local top do the runs.
Stay tuned.
The boat they hired was the same size as the skiff. When I went ashore this afternoon we got soaked.
Luckily my camera and laptop were in plastic bags in my pack so didn’t suffer.
The town is quiet and very clean, a welcome change from Senegal.
Tried to find Internet access but was unsuccessful hopefully I’ll have better luck on Sunday. Had a really
nice dinner of grilled tuna steaks, rice and french fries(!?!) washed down with a nice red wine, in a little
hole in the wall restaurant in the square, very nice way to end the day.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
2015 Postscript
Our arrival at this anchorage had an event which sticks in my mind but I didn't record at the time.
As we motored into the anchorage we had to pass an island on the port side that shelters the Anchorage.
As we were slowly approaching the anchorage there was a brief rumbling sound from beneath our deck.
You get to know all the sounds the ship makes after a while and I had never heard or felt anything like this before.
We looked at each other with a "WTF?" look on our faces. Then it happened again louder his time and the ship seemed to hesitate. Two hundred tons of steel suddenly slowing under your feet is a frightening feeling!
"Hard a Starboard!" roared the Captain and after what felt like a long time the rumbling died away.
We had come very close to running aground! Extending from the point of this island was an unmarked sand bar. The shifting sands that formed the dunes of the island were present under the sea as well.
Odd that I did not record this event in my blog at the time, interesting thing memory.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Galley Duty Jan 15, 09
Thur Jan 15,08
On galley duty today.
We arrived at Sel Island in the Cape Verde islands around 9:30 this morning and anchored beside the
Alexandre Humbolt, she of the green sails. The Captain has gone ashore to clear in and if he gets back in
time we will up anchor and head for Bona Vista (sic) rather than stay here.
Sel is very dry and dusty looking with at least 3 volcanic cones looming up in the haze. Apparently Boa
Vista is nicer and has a nicer anchorage as well.
The Captain returned but says that we won’t have time to get to Boa Vista today so we will head out early tomorrow morning. All hands are to be awoken at 6:00am to get underway shortly thereafter. It is only
about 36 miles to Boa Vista so we should get there by 10:00 or so.
The Starboard watch went ashore and from the reports of those I’ve talked to since there isn’t much to see
or do here on Sel. Not even any Internet, although Corey did mention he saw an Internet Cafe that looked
more like someone’s living room than a business.
Not sure when you will get to see this, if there isn’t any Internet here you might not see this till we get to
Grenada!
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
On galley duty today.
We arrived at Sel Island in the Cape Verde islands around 9:30 this morning and anchored beside the
Alexandre Humbolt, she of the green sails. The Captain has gone ashore to clear in and if he gets back in
time we will up anchor and head for Bona Vista (sic) rather than stay here.
Sel is very dry and dusty looking with at least 3 volcanic cones looming up in the haze. Apparently Boa
Vista is nicer and has a nicer anchorage as well.
The Captain returned but says that we won’t have time to get to Boa Vista today so we will head out early tomorrow morning. All hands are to be awoken at 6:00am to get underway shortly thereafter. It is only
about 36 miles to Boa Vista so we should get there by 10:00 or so.
The Starboard watch went ashore and from the reports of those I’ve talked to since there isn’t much to see
or do here on Sel. Not even any Internet, although Corey did mention he saw an Internet Cafe that looked
more like someone’s living room than a business.
Not sure when you will get to see this, if there isn’t any Internet here you might not see this till we get to
Grenada!
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Rolling along to Cape Verde Jan12-15, 09
Sunday, January 18th, 2009
We upped anchor and motored out of the anchorage of Dakar at 2:45pm Jan 12. We were sailing under
topsails, main topmast staysail, spanker, fore topmast staysail and inner and outer jibs by 3:00pm. The
fastest transition from engine to sail yet!
The wind had shifted a bit to the East and consequently it was filled with reddish dust from the Sahara. It
was so thick it was like fog making visibity pretty poor.
I picked up a stomach bug in St Louis so I wasn’t feeling very good and hit my bunk for a snooze as soon
as I could. This turned out to be bad idea, when I woke up 4 hours later we were out in the steady
tradewinds close hauled on the starboard tack and really rolling in the big swell. As a result I got seasick
and spent the next day being pretty miserable from both ends! Blah.
The sailing is fantastic however. The sky out here is only a little hazy mostly bright blue and the seas are a
beautiful dark blue with very bright white foam caps. The swells are easily 10′ or more in height and
rolling down wind this means we are sailing across them at an angle which makes for a roller coaster like
ride!
There are lots of flying fish here. I didn’t used to think that they flew, more glided like a flying squirrel.
They actually do fly for a lot farther and under a fair amount of control than I thought. I watched one go
for several wavelengths up over a wave crest and down the trough! Pretty cool to see. So far we haven’t
had any land on board much to Chibley’s disgust (apparently she likes them rawwwww and wwwiiiiggling
precious).
Steering this ship is fascinating. Different people have different styles I’ve noticed. Some people move the
wheel a lot back and forth, essentially “hunting the course”, others tend to make small adjustments, just
enough to start her moving and then wait till she goes back and then they undo the adjustment. I favour
the latter approach myself. I tried once before to make big changes in order to speed up the corrections
but ended up getting into an over correcting feedback loop. Nasty. Note this only applies to sailing of
course, maneuvering is another matter entirely and I have not had to do that yet.
We are now, Wednesday the 14th, over half way to Cape Verde and should arrive sometime tomorrow
morning.
I’m on galley duty so will not have to get up for my night watch which will be nice.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
We upped anchor and motored out of the anchorage of Dakar at 2:45pm Jan 12. We were sailing under
topsails, main topmast staysail, spanker, fore topmast staysail and inner and outer jibs by 3:00pm. The
fastest transition from engine to sail yet!
The wind had shifted a bit to the East and consequently it was filled with reddish dust from the Sahara. It
was so thick it was like fog making visibity pretty poor.
I picked up a stomach bug in St Louis so I wasn’t feeling very good and hit my bunk for a snooze as soon
as I could. This turned out to be bad idea, when I woke up 4 hours later we were out in the steady
tradewinds close hauled on the starboard tack and really rolling in the big swell. As a result I got seasick
and spent the next day being pretty miserable from both ends! Blah.
The sailing is fantastic however. The sky out here is only a little hazy mostly bright blue and the seas are a
beautiful dark blue with very bright white foam caps. The swells are easily 10′ or more in height and
rolling down wind this means we are sailing across them at an angle which makes for a roller coaster like
ride!
There are lots of flying fish here. I didn’t used to think that they flew, more glided like a flying squirrel.
They actually do fly for a lot farther and under a fair amount of control than I thought. I watched one go
for several wavelengths up over a wave crest and down the trough! Pretty cool to see. So far we haven’t
had any land on board much to Chibley’s disgust (apparently she likes them rawwwww and wwwiiiiggling
precious).
Steering this ship is fascinating. Different people have different styles I’ve noticed. Some people move the
wheel a lot back and forth, essentially “hunting the course”, others tend to make small adjustments, just
enough to start her moving and then wait till she goes back and then they undo the adjustment. I favour
the latter approach myself. I tried once before to make big changes in order to speed up the corrections
but ended up getting into an over correcting feedback loop. Nasty. Note this only applies to sailing of
course, maneuvering is another matter entirely and I have not had to do that yet.
We are now, Wednesday the 14th, over half way to Cape Verde and should arrive sometime tomorrow
morning.
I’m on galley duty so will not have to get up for my night watch which will be nice.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Ashore in St Louis Senegal Jan 10-11,09
Saturday, January 10th, 2009
I’m sitting in the courtyard of the Hotel La Poste in St Louis, Senegal. This is the oldest hotel in St Louis.
The courtyard is in the center of 4 stories and has palm trees in it, very nice.
The trip here was quite the adventure. It took 4.5 hours in a small station wagon that held 7 people and the
driver. In order to get this car we had to go to the main transport hub, which is a large parking lot filled
with cars, vans, buses and lorries. None of them will leave until they are full so buses don’t run on any
regular schedule and are packed with guys even riding on the back bumpers. We managed to get this car
so we didn’t have to wait which was good. Of course everybody needed to get a cut before we could even
get out of the parking lot. That poor driver must have paid 5000 francs just to get on the road.
The road was in pretty good shape but getting out of Dakar took an hour and a half in stop and go traffic.
The traffic jam was swarmed by people selling everything from oranges to inflatable beach balls and
sunglasses. It’s a kind of slow moving market.
Once out in the country we were moving along pretty well.
The towns along the road all pretty much look the same, dusty and half built, half destroyed cinder block
buildings. Each one also has a drift of garbage surrounding it. Blue plastic seem to be the most obvious but
it looks like most of it is plastic, the smell is awful.
St Louis is a much lower key place than Dakar and definitely shows more of the French Colonial
architecture. The people are less pushy and they seem to speak more english but they still all seem to have
an angle of some sort.
Tomorrow we are heading even further North to the National Park so with any luck I’ll be able to get
some pics posted before we head back.
The current plan has the ship leaving for Cape Verde on Monday sometime and the trip should take 3-4
days.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
P.S. It is now 9:00pm on Sunday night and we finally made it back to Dakar after a 6 hour drive back. We
went to the National Park this morning and that was pretty cool. The park is setup to protect wildfowl
primarily.
There are a set of waterways and lakes behind a series of dikes that have been used to keep the sea out and allow the rains to wash out thensalt from the soil. It is a major Pelican rookery. We also saw many
different kinds of birds, Egrets, Storks, Ibis, Ducks, Spoonbills, Eagles, Cormorants and Terns. I’ll try to
post some pics before I head back to the ship on the 11:00pm skiff run.
Next stop Cape Verde in a few days.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
The pictures of the new Dory paint job and my trip to St Louis are here.
Posted in Ashore | No Comments »
I’m sitting in the courtyard of the Hotel La Poste in St Louis, Senegal. This is the oldest hotel in St Louis.
The courtyard is in the center of 4 stories and has palm trees in it, very nice.
The trip here was quite the adventure. It took 4.5 hours in a small station wagon that held 7 people and the
driver. In order to get this car we had to go to the main transport hub, which is a large parking lot filled
with cars, vans, buses and lorries. None of them will leave until they are full so buses don’t run on any
regular schedule and are packed with guys even riding on the back bumpers. We managed to get this car
so we didn’t have to wait which was good. Of course everybody needed to get a cut before we could even
get out of the parking lot. That poor driver must have paid 5000 francs just to get on the road.
The road was in pretty good shape but getting out of Dakar took an hour and a half in stop and go traffic.
The traffic jam was swarmed by people selling everything from oranges to inflatable beach balls and
sunglasses. It’s a kind of slow moving market.
Once out in the country we were moving along pretty well.
The towns along the road all pretty much look the same, dusty and half built, half destroyed cinder block
buildings. Each one also has a drift of garbage surrounding it. Blue plastic seem to be the most obvious but
it looks like most of it is plastic, the smell is awful.
St Louis is a much lower key place than Dakar and definitely shows more of the French Colonial
architecture. The people are less pushy and they seem to speak more english but they still all seem to have
an angle of some sort.
Tomorrow we are heading even further North to the National Park so with any luck I’ll be able to get
some pics posted before we head back.
The current plan has the ship leaving for Cape Verde on Monday sometime and the trip should take 3-4
days.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
P.S. It is now 9:00pm on Sunday night and we finally made it back to Dakar after a 6 hour drive back. We
went to the National Park this morning and that was pretty cool. The park is setup to protect wildfowl
primarily.
There are a set of waterways and lakes behind a series of dikes that have been used to keep the sea out and allow the rains to wash out thensalt from the soil. It is a major Pelican rookery. We also saw many
different kinds of birds, Egrets, Storks, Ibis, Ducks, Spoonbills, Eagles, Cormorants and Terns. I’ll try to
post some pics before I head back to the ship on the 11:00pm skiff run.
Next stop Cape Verde in a few days.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
The pictures of the new Dory paint job and my trip to St Louis are here.
Posted in Ashore | No Comments »
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Dory painting fun Jan 8-9,09
Saturday, January 10th, 2009
The Captain has decided that we will not be going to Gambia as the strong Northerly winds will make it a
tough slog to get up to Cape Verde. This means that we will be in Senegal for another 4 days. It also means
I get another two days ashore. A bunch of us are planning to head out of Dakar into the countryside,
maybe up North to the city of Saint Louis which is near the National Park and sounds interesting.
I spent the day today sanding and painting the 18′ Dory that we have had stowed on the top of the galley
since Lunenberg. It originally was buff coloured with green trim but now it is considerably more brightly
coloured.
The outside is hot pink, red and sky blue and the interior is yellow a kind of light olive green, blue and red.
They say this is to get her ready for the Caribbean…yah man!
We will also we setting up her rig so she can be sailed, which will be interesting to play with.
There are several of the crew with various ailments at the moment. Some are flu like others seem to be
food poisoning. So far I’ve managed to avoid both so fingers crossed I will continue to do so.
I’m reading a very interesting scholarly treatise on the merchant seaman’s world in the seventeenth to
eighteenth centuries. It mostly talks about the seaman as a “free wage” agent but by putting his labours
into the overall economic context and the unique environment in which the seaman lived and worked, he
shows how the culture, superstitions and customs of the sea came to be formalized as much as they were.
The book is “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” Merchant Seamen ,Pirates and the Anglo-
American Maritime World, 1700-1750 by Marcus Rediker. If anyone is interested
More later…
It’s now evening of Friday the 9th of January 2009. Still odd to write that year out.
We will be off for the next two days so the big debate is what to do. I think the consensus is to try and get
out of Dakar and see the countryside. The issue is how. Apparently the trains no longer runt to the second
largest city, St Louis, which was one possibility. so who knows.
I’ll let you all know how we make out.
Please keep reading for more.
KJ
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
The Captain has decided that we will not be going to Gambia as the strong Northerly winds will make it a
tough slog to get up to Cape Verde. This means that we will be in Senegal for another 4 days. It also means
I get another two days ashore. A bunch of us are planning to head out of Dakar into the countryside,
maybe up North to the city of Saint Louis which is near the National Park and sounds interesting.
I spent the day today sanding and painting the 18′ Dory that we have had stowed on the top of the galley
since Lunenberg. It originally was buff coloured with green trim but now it is considerably more brightly
coloured.
The outside is hot pink, red and sky blue and the interior is yellow a kind of light olive green, blue and red.
They say this is to get her ready for the Caribbean…yah man!
We will also we setting up her rig so she can be sailed, which will be interesting to play with.
There are several of the crew with various ailments at the moment. Some are flu like others seem to be
food poisoning. So far I’ve managed to avoid both so fingers crossed I will continue to do so.
I’m reading a very interesting scholarly treatise on the merchant seaman’s world in the seventeenth to
eighteenth centuries. It mostly talks about the seaman as a “free wage” agent but by putting his labours
into the overall economic context and the unique environment in which the seaman lived and worked, he
shows how the culture, superstitions and customs of the sea came to be formalized as much as they were.
The book is “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” Merchant Seamen ,Pirates and the Anglo-
American Maritime World, 1700-1750 by Marcus Rediker. If anyone is interested
More later…
It’s now evening of Friday the 9th of January 2009. Still odd to write that year out.
We will be off for the next two days so the big debate is what to do. I think the consensus is to try and get
out of Dakar and see the countryside. The issue is how. Apparently the trains no longer runt to the second
largest city, St Louis, which was one possibility. so who knows.
I’ll let you all know how we make out.
Please keep reading for more.
KJ
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Goree Island Senegal Jan 7,09
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009
Went ashore yesterday on the first skiff run.
Went into town to a very nice hotel, the F’aidherbe, and got a room to use for the night. Then after doing
the obligatory internet updates :-) we headed out to take the ferry over to Goree island.
This island off of Dakar was the original capital of French West Africa, it was also the largest slave
transport center in West Africa. It has along and bloody history. Originally occupied by the Portuguese,
then the Dutch, the English and finally the French. For 300 years it was the main point for sorting and
shipping “black ivory” to the New World. In all nearly 20 million men and women passed through this
little island. Of these 6 million or so died by disease, malnutrition or harsh treatment.
In the “Slave House” on the island there is a small doorway that opens out onto the sea it is called the
“door of no return” once a slave passed through that door they never returned. They were either loaded
onto ships for tranport or tied and tossed into the shark filled waters for disposal, if they were sick or
undersized! The other name for this island in slave times was “shark island”.
It is a moving and horrifying place.
There is also a big fort built by the French after slavery was abolished and the area became a colony of
France. It is a massive structure with huge guns. In 1960 when Senegal became independent the French
destroyed the fort (nice of them huh). The biggest set of guns are still in their position looking out over the
sea although the barrels and mechanisms are destroyed.
Interestingly they were only ever fired once and that was at a British merchant ship just offshore during
WWII. It seems the French were worried that the Brits were going to try and take the island from the
French after France fell to the Germans. The British ship was sunk and is marked by a buoy. Every ferry
that comes into Goree needs to make a swing around the wreck.
The island has many baobab trees. These trees can live for a thousand years and grow with trunks almost
9 meters across. They store water when it rains. Big ones can hold almost 100,000 liters of water.
By the time we got back it was rush hour! Amazing that anyone would want to drive here but they sure
seem to move along.
There are pictures from my trip to the island here.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Went ashore yesterday on the first skiff run.
Went into town to a very nice hotel, the F’aidherbe, and got a room to use for the night. Then after doing
the obligatory internet updates :-) we headed out to take the ferry over to Goree island.
This island off of Dakar was the original capital of French West Africa, it was also the largest slave
transport center in West Africa. It has along and bloody history. Originally occupied by the Portuguese,
then the Dutch, the English and finally the French. For 300 years it was the main point for sorting and
shipping “black ivory” to the New World. In all nearly 20 million men and women passed through this
little island. Of these 6 million or so died by disease, malnutrition or harsh treatment.
In the “Slave House” on the island there is a small doorway that opens out onto the sea it is called the
“door of no return” once a slave passed through that door they never returned. They were either loaded
onto ships for tranport or tied and tossed into the shark filled waters for disposal, if they were sick or
undersized! The other name for this island in slave times was “shark island”.
It is a moving and horrifying place.
There is also a big fort built by the French after slavery was abolished and the area became a colony of
France. It is a massive structure with huge guns. In 1960 when Senegal became independent the French
destroyed the fort (nice of them huh). The biggest set of guns are still in their position looking out over the
sea although the barrels and mechanisms are destroyed.
Interestingly they were only ever fired once and that was at a British merchant ship just offshore during
WWII. It seems the French were worried that the Brits were going to try and take the island from the
French after France fell to the Germans. The British ship was sunk and is marked by a buoy. Every ferry
that comes into Goree needs to make a swing around the wreck.
The island has many baobab trees. These trees can live for a thousand years and grow with trunks almost
9 meters across. They store water when it rains. Big ones can hold almost 100,000 liters of water.
By the time we got back it was rush hour! Amazing that anyone would want to drive here but they sure
seem to move along.
There are pictures from my trip to the island here.
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Saturday, January 3, 2015
Ashore in Dakar Senegal Jan 3,09
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
I’m ashore at the CVD Yacht club in Dakar Senegal on the West Coast of Africa.
We came ashore on the first skiff run of the day. The plan, such as it is, will be to do internet for a couple
of hours then send the laptops back to the ship so we can explore the city unencumbered by backpacks.
The “yacht club” is a nicely setup small compound right on the beach with lots of exotic birds singing and
WiFi. which hopefully I can get to work.
The first watch went ashore yesterday after we cleared in. They had some “interesting” things to say
about the town. Pickpockets and scam artists being the biggest issues. So we’ll see.
Later…
Just got back from a day in the frenetic metropolis of Dakar.
It is definitely a “much of a muchness” kind of place. The people are friendly but fairly aggressive. The
city itself is in a state of permanent disrepair. It is difficult to tell whether any given bit is being destroyed,
built or just being allowed to rot and fall down on it’s own. Any place of interest or beauty has high fences
and well armed guards. We had a guide and a taxi hired for the day which really helped.
We went to a market and went past a couple of fancy buildings like banks and government buildings. Then our guide took us to a very expensive hotel, the Meridian President, which seemed to be built in honour of
the Saudi King. The contrast was actually hard to look at. They wouldn’t allow the rattletrap of a cab we
had to even park in their parking lot.
I’m hoping to get some pictures uploaded before we leave here but not sure when that will be. The
Internet access at the yacht club was spotty and I was not able to get connected properly on my laptop.
More when I get back online on Tuesday.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Here are pictures of my first day ashore in Senegal.
Posted in Ashore | No Comments »
I’m ashore at the CVD Yacht club in Dakar Senegal on the West Coast of Africa.
We came ashore on the first skiff run of the day. The plan, such as it is, will be to do internet for a couple
of hours then send the laptops back to the ship so we can explore the city unencumbered by backpacks.
The “yacht club” is a nicely setup small compound right on the beach with lots of exotic birds singing and
WiFi. which hopefully I can get to work.
The first watch went ashore yesterday after we cleared in. They had some “interesting” things to say
about the town. Pickpockets and scam artists being the biggest issues. So we’ll see.
Later…
Just got back from a day in the frenetic metropolis of Dakar.
It is definitely a “much of a muchness” kind of place. The people are friendly but fairly aggressive. The
city itself is in a state of permanent disrepair. It is difficult to tell whether any given bit is being destroyed,
built or just being allowed to rot and fall down on it’s own. Any place of interest or beauty has high fences
and well armed guards. We had a guide and a taxi hired for the day which really helped.
We went to a market and went past a couple of fancy buildings like banks and government buildings. Then our guide took us to a very expensive hotel, the Meridian President, which seemed to be built in honour of
the Saudi King. The contrast was actually hard to look at. They wouldn’t allow the rattletrap of a cab we
had to even park in their parking lot.
I’m hoping to get some pictures uploaded before we leave here but not sure when that will be. The
Internet access at the yacht club was spotty and I was not able to get connected properly on my laptop.
More when I get back online on Tuesday.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Here are pictures of my first day ashore in Senegal.
Posted in Ashore | No Comments »
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Dakar Senegal Jan 1, 09
Thur Jan 1, 09
We arrived in Dakar around 4:00pm this afternoon after an uneventful day sailing down the coast. Heard
my first real “Laaaaannndd Hoooo” which was pretty cool.
Dakar is a big bustling smoggy/hazy city of 2.5 million. We will be here for about 6 days and we are again
using the two watch system. I have to work tomorrow but will go ashore on Saturday to scope out the
Internet situation
Thanks for reading.
KJ
We arrived in Dakar around 4:00pm this afternoon after an uneventful day sailing down the coast. Heard
my first real “Laaaaannndd Hoooo” which was pretty cool.
Dakar is a big bustling smoggy/hazy city of 2.5 million. We will be here for about 6 days and we are again
using the two watch system. I have to work tomorrow but will go ashore on Saturday to scope out the
Internet situation
Thanks for reading.
KJ
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