Sunday, December 27 Kiteboarding Success

"Today I found it. Excellent to near perfect. Much like Long Bay Caicos; narrow beach with lots of dried sargasso backed by bushes. Sandy beach, onshore quartering wind, chop a little more than The Basin at high tide, plus some swell. Park the car in the bushes at the edge 50 feet from the water. It is a bay, Yesterday I was on the other side of the bay and could see this beach on the other side. The "good" kiters are over there. The wind was 18-20 steady. Again it was at the limit of my capabilities. I am not used to dealing with the waves Not making my turns so good. But tomorrow I will! I met Ted, an American living in France, here for two weeks. His daughter, probably 18, did it for the first time today. Also a windsurfing location, and they were having fun too. I saw only one carving jibe. Most of the people made the turn but came off the plane.
  It felt good. I feel good.
Love,
Bill"

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Kiteboard location

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Merry Christmas !song for Bill this Christmas

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve
A few years ago Normandie and I were leaving to go sailing and Will gave us a collection of about ten discs with music, all types of music. Will, that stack of DVDs is still on the boat, and occasionally I still go to it for some music. Two of those discs are Christmas music. Thank you Will.
A few days ago I was anchored at the island of Nevis, and surprizingly got a really strong wifi signal. I googled kiteboarding St Kitts, I got nothing on St Kitts, but what I got was kiteboarding Saint Martin, and some good pictures of flat water, good wind, even sailboats in the background. So Saint Martin became my destination. Just about this time the wind startred blowing Beaufort force 6, 22-27 knots. Downwind sailing in that is not a problem; Sterling and I had quite a bit of that, especially from Canaries to Cape Verde, but from Statia (ST Eustatius) (I have never heard of Saint Eustatius) up to Saint Martin it was a close reach of 30 nm. Wind blowing 25 knots and had been for three days, very bouncy and very wet. Continuous spray over the bow, spray over the cockpit every three minutes, solid water over the cabin and into the cockpit every half hour. We arrived at Simpson Bay, Dutch Sint Maarten, Wet and salty. It was good to get there but the anchorage was blasted by willie-waws form the wind coming around the mountain. And, something I read said that the French were doing all the good kiteboarding, so the next day I moved around to the French side, Marigot Bay. And that was hard. Some of it motoring sdirectly into strong wind and ocean waves. Marigot Bay is on the west side of Saint Martin, and I thought that it would be a good peaceful anchorage. The wind continues to blast, of course, but the waves are odd. Here I am not having the rolly waves that make life aboard so difficult. The waves are like a hundred motorboat waves all around all the time. The water is so dense with waves Advent hardly rocks at all. But it is very difficult, to the point of being almost not doable, to get in or out of the dinghy. And, the wind continues to blow, really hard. While I was writing this I heard a crash up front, and the wind had lifted the open front hatch, the prop had fallen, then the hatch slammed shut.
I am going to a mooring ball at one of the marinas. While in the marina office I got a rental car, and spent most of the day on a double quest, to go look at Orient Bay, where the kiteboarding is, and find a church. I did find Orient Bay, and i found about six kiters, and I also found one of the kiteboarding schools. I was going to take a lesson to learn the particulars about this location, but he said he was booked up solid for weeks, and that the wind had forced cancellations so he was trying to fit present students in whenever he could. That is not a problem, but the beach is only about 50 feet wide, and literally beach lounge chairs are side-by-side, four rows deep. There is a gap in the chairs and umbrellas wide enough to launch a kite, but the instructor said that you had to go out 200 feet, not kite within 200 feet of the beach. Students are taken by boat out to a shallow bar about 1/2 mile out. And people everywhere. The instructor, however, tried to talk me into joining them on there weekly trip to Anguilla, "where the water is flat and there are no tourists on the beach". I think that is where the pictures I saw were taken. So I don't know what I do with that information. I don't think kiting will be my pleasure while here.
The other goal, find a church. I did not appreciate the congestion on the roadways. Today I drove the circle of the island, maybe 20 miles around. I think I spent two hours either sitting still in traffic or moving at a walking pace. I found two churches with schedules posted, none local, I would have to drive to another part of the island. Also it would be dark when the service ended, and I did not like the thought of first getting back to the marina, and second safely getting out of the dinghy and back on the boat. Barbara, You gave us, for the boat, a beautiful miniature manger scene, with Mary, Joseph and the Baby, tiny works of art. I don't have that with me but I visualize it set up on the settee, as it was back then. But Will, I do have your music. Tonight I will read the Christmas story, and have the blessing of your gift of music.
Happy Birthday Jesus.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

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Atlantic to Antigua pictures

Wing 'n Wing. Genoa poled to port, trisail to stbd. All the way across.

Monday 21 December - It is Dark All the Time

Monday 21 December - Winter Solstice - Thank Heavens
After a wonderful day sailing mu pleasure is to go for a swim, a cockpit shower, and drinks on the foredeck. Yesterday was a good day sailing, good swim in the coolish water, wonderful shower, and drinks watching the sunset. I stayed on the foredeck enjoying where I was until black dark, 18:00, six o'clock. Go below, fix something to eat, listen to Christmas music. By that time it is about eight o'clock. Then go to bed. Awake about 03:30, stay in bed till 04:30 if I can manage to doze some. Get up and drink coffee till daylight, about 07:30. Three hours of drinking coffee, reading. It seems like it is dark all the time. But today is the shortest day of the year. Thank heavens the days will be getting longer, and I will not drink so much coffee.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Sunday 20 December

Sunday 20 December - Relax
For the past months I have been on the tense edge of my capabilities: Weather windows that must be met, or else; Health and safety requirements that must be met, or else; seamanship and navigation requirements that must be met, or else; Government requirements that must be met, or else. As I said, the tense edge of my capabilities. I can get to St Kitts today, St Martin tomorrow. Then get up at midnight to sail to the eastern Virgins, wind will be 30-35 knots. It will be uncomfortable but I can make it. Then to eastern BVI, on to USVI, find a place on St Thomas to go ashore, find transportation. . . .
Sterling is legally ashore and I may legally depart. I sailed from Antigua about 06:30, just as it was getting light. The wind was about 15 knots, the seas easy and the sun was rising. It was perfect and I only had 50 miles to go to a safe, open, comfortable anchorage. I realized that this is what I have been looking for. The wind is reasonable, short distances between non-critical destinations, sandy beaches, waving palms, other cruising boats, warm water, calm anchorages, and Jesus would come whether or not I got to St Thomas on the 24th.
It was a beautiful day sailing, and instead of forcing my way on all the way to St Kitts I stopped at a beautiful location on Nevis, and made the change from dealing with "or else", to dealing with enjoying what is here, now.
The plan is to go to St Kitts today, build the dinghy, go ashore, check in, and try to find a kiteboarding shop.
Welcome to the Caribbean.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

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I'm starting my trip, follow along at my MapShare!

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Monday 14 December - English Harbour

Monday 14 December - English Harbour
Several years ago Normandie and I made our first voyage of discovery. Our first stop was Bermuda, and at the church there we met a cruising couple, and after church we went to lunch together. We had no sailing destination, and really had no idea where the good places were. At lunch that other couple gave us advice as to where to go, and we left the restaurant with directions to English Harbour written on a paper napkin.
English Harbour, on Antigua, is a natural harbour with a twist, or rather the entrance channel turns back on itself, so that from the ocean any ships back in the harbour can not be seen. The British had a major navy base there; a place to refit and maintain the warships. It is called Nelson's Dockyard, and is a combination of national park and upscale destination. When Normandie were here back then it there were some yacht facilities, maybe a hotel, boat oriented shops, all utilizing the old original dockyard buildings. We could anchor Advent in close and there were convenient toilets, trash disposal, water, etc friendly to cruisers. Well, my how it has changed. It still has the romantic 18th century dockyard feel, and it is still friendly to cruisers, and it is still a great destination, one that I will recommend, but now you have to elbow the mega-yachts aside to get in. I could almost say that nothing has changed, all the buildings are the same, the streets are the same, etc. but now everything has a rustic gold plating about it. And I have never been anywhere with as many mega-yachts. Sailboats and motor yachts 100 - 200 feet long. This morning I awoke before daylight, was in the cockpit drinking coffee, and counted seven sailboats with aircraft obstruction lights on their masts, really tall masts.
Sterling is ashore trying to determine his future. I can not leave without him, unless he finds another boat to crew on or has an airplane ticket. A hindrance is that we have not figured out yet how to get access to the internet, and a lot of what he needs is on the internet. I think he walked over the ridge to the next harbour, Falmouth, where he heard there is an internet cafe. There are other boats in Falmouth Harbour, and he will ask around to try to find a berth on another boat. Another goal of his is to get his hair cut and styled, and not come away with dredlocks.
The good news is that I dived on the propeller, and found a big wad of sargasso weed all wrapped around the strut and shaft. I cleaned it off, ant took the boat for a brief ride around the anchorage, and I think it is usable. There is movement in the shaft/cutless bearing, so the bearing does need to be replaced. My plan is to use it like it is as I make my way to the Virgin Islands. When I get there I will have a better feeling about how it is doing, and either pull the boat there to replace the bearing, or proceed with it like it is, and replace it at the next haulout for bottom paint.
Last evening I went for a delicious swim, wonderful soapy cockpit shower, sat on the deck reading Patrick O'Brian (The Nutmeg of Consolation), waved at other cruisers passing in their dinghies, and had a sip of Nelson's Blood. This is wonderful. The only thing that could make it better is if Normandie were here. But she reminded me that the only thing that makes it possible for me to be here is for her to be there, and if she were here I would not be here I would be be there, and I would want her there, but I am not there, I am here . . .
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Sunday 13 December

Sunday 13 December
Anchor down. English Harbour, Antigua
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

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Anchor down English Harbour ,Antigua

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Saturday 12 December - Final full day

Saturday 12 December - Random Thoughts
First thoughts: 1. Give thanks to God for giving me this opportunity, and for seeing us through without any injury, or worse. 2. Concern about the drive line: transmission, shaft, cutless bearing, and propeller.
This is the last day; landfall Antigua at daybreak tomorrow, Sunday. We have about 100 miles to go, and it is 22 hours until morning twilight, so if we sail faster than 4.5 kts we will have to stop and wait for light before entering. The wind is light so going slow will not be a problem.
It is nice having a restful arrival. We are just sitting back, thinking about the passage and the trip down from Tenerife, and enjoying the last of this part of our adventures. In April Normandie and I made two landfalls, both very difficult. Our trip to Bermuda was during a rare (For April) five day "weather window" (no storms). So it was a race to make it there , and we did just after the "adverse weather" caught up with us. We also had a failing diesel lift pump and an intermittent cooling water pump. Upon arrival we collapsed in exhaustion, onlu to depart Bermuda a few hours later because a massive storm system (hurricane force winds)was forecasted to arrive in four days, trapping us in Bermuda well into the next week, preventing Normandie from getting back to work in time. So we immediately sailed south. The farther south we could go the less severe the storm. (And this was a storm, not a gale) So we sailed south, down off Florida. The storm caught up with us, then we headed home, bucking cold fronts every other day. Between the cold fronts we had north-west wind. That is the direction we wanted to go to get back to the US, north-west. It was a fight every mile of the way, and very rough. We could not make Cape Fear, but even with one sail split asunder and a seam opening on another we did make Beaufort, much to our relief. It was a tough trip. Unlike this one. The only sail handling we have done is to cross the boom from a broad reach to wing 'n wing, and let the genoa in or out to adjust for wind speed. This is a most pleasant landfall.
I left North Carolina in June and had a most pleasant trip up to Norfolk. A trip I always want to share. A varied and interesting three day run. I always like that part of North Carolina. Then John and I sailed up to New Bedford. That "landfall" was more difficult for me than any of the others because I didn't know where I was going or what I would find when I got there. I did not know that I could find a safe place to anchor. We ended up sailing into Block Island and anchored with a few hundred of my best friends for 4th July. I don't have to tell generations of sailors that New England is a Mecca for maritime lovers.
Adnaan and I crossed the Atlantic. Expecting icebergs we were instead challenged by a stationary front stretching from Cape Hatteras all the way across to the British Isles, with low pressure systems running up the front every two days. That gave us north-east wind north of the front. From New England we had to cross to the south side of the front to get favourable wind. So we went south. And we went south. And we went south. All the way down to the Latitude of Norfolk, VA. All the way down into hurricane territory, and it was August. But we did finally cross the front, and had good sailing to the Azores.
Faial, Azores - With the wall on which we painted out "Advent II" sign, and a week long street festival. And I liked the boats there. They were all traveling boats, not seasonal boats for locals and European vacationers as in the other marinas. Did I say marinas? No anchorages. The Azores, Maderia, Canaries, no anchorages. You must stay in a marina, behind a 12 foot high seawall. (And all the marinas required insurance documents be presented.) But on the plus side they were safe, had water at the boat, showers, and did not cost but $20.00/day.
Tenerife, was my home for several months, with all its ups and downs, emotional, geologic and kiteboarding. Where Sterling joined me.
It is obvious from the shirt collars. Back in the Canaries and Cape Verde my shirt collar got grimy in one day, but when we left the desert dirt and volcanic ash the shirts stay much cleaner. Back there the air was dirty. Every day I could wash the dirt off the boat deck. And wow didn't the wind blow. Normal wind in August/September was 30 knots. It just howled. When Sterling and I sailed down to Cape Verde from Canaries we had 30 k nots+ all the way, sailing with just a partial genoa. Our time in Cape Verde was defined by the strong wind. Wind that bade it difficult to use the dinghy. I have pictures of people at the grill on the pontoon hanging onto their beers, the chop making the beers slide back and forth across the bar. We left Cape Verde heading west in 30 knots. Before the night was out the wind was down to 15 knots, and has been 10-15 knots since. Eighteen days. We put the genoa with pole to port, trisail on the boom to stbd, and have not changed either. We never raised the main. It has been an exceptional passage.
By far the most uncomfortable and injurious thing about offshore sailing is the motion of the boat. It is constantly in radical motion, mostly side to side. Not really rocking. Rocking implies a gentle motion. With this motion the boat rolls to one side, and instead of gently ending the roll and starting down in the opposite direction, it is jerked back in the opposite direction. Everything slides across a table and food jumps off the plate. Then three seconds later everything is jerked in the opposite direction. Lying in the bunk you are snapped back and forth. You can not lay anything down. The act of brushing your teeth meand that you have to hold the tooth brush in one hand, the tooth paste in the other hand, and hold on to the boat with a third hand, or find a place to put the toothpaste down wher it will not jump onto the floor, while holding on. We haven't even gotten to how to manage the water. I am comvinced that most injuries are a result of the radical, dramatic, sudden and continual movement. You really get tired of it. And typing, with the keyboard sliding around, is really hard. What I do is type a few characters, they my hands fly up to grab supports on both sides of the table, hang on the two or three seconds, then both hands back to the keyboard for a few more strokes. Meanwhile my core muscles are working overtime keeping the body in the seat.
I have been surprized that we have seen very few birds, very few dolphins, no fish. A great deal of sargasso, but almost no wildlife. And very few other boats. I think four ships and five other yachts, all but one had AIS, so we knew the name of the vessel and its course relative to us. All the sailboats have been in the 45-60 foot range, and traveling one or two knots faster than us.
This adventure (An adventure is something that, when you start it you do not know how it will end.) This adventure has several phases: 1. North Carolina to New England. 2. New England to Azores/Madeira/Canaries. 3. In the Canaries. 4. Canaries back across the Atlantic. 5. the 2000 miles back up to North Carolina. Phase 4 has almost been completed. I will still have 2000 miles to go, but as Normandie says, I will be in my home waters. Most of the way will be day sailing between islands. I hope to share this part of the journey with others, and stop and see friends and relatives along the way. And there will be afternoon swims, waving palms, and sunsets from the foredeck. But first I need to fix whatever is wrong with the driveline. That will be tomorrow.
This has been an exceptional crossing. Few have had it so easy. But now, with gentile winds on the last day, and a peaceful night, tomorrow it will end. Give thanks that we have made it and no one has gotten hurt.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
Advent II
Antigua 63 miles
And as Normandie says,"It is not the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean."

Beautiful Night

Absolutely beautiful night. Clear sky, no rainy clouds, stars so bright the lessor ones overwhelm the brighter ones. Wind is warm, and about 10 kts, perfect for the 4.5 kt boat speed we need for daybreak Sunday morning. Seas calm, boat motion easy, just a gentle swaying from side to side. I want to share it with everybody.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Friday 11 December

Friday 11 December - 180 miles to Antigua
A beautiful day sailing; 5.5 - 6.0 knots. The problem is that if we continue to sail at 5.5 knots we will arrive Antigua in the dark and have to stop and wait for daylight before we enter the harbour. So we are trying to maintain the speed between 4.0 and 5.0 knots to get there at daybreak, or more precisely, the start of nautical twilight. The boat doesn't understand why we are going slowly and, like a horse being constrained, is not really happy. She will understand Sunday morning. Other than sailing slowly today, and I expect tomorrow, the last day, will be just like any other day. Just another day of beautiful sailing.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Thursday 10 December

Thursday 10 December - 350 miles to Antigua
It has not been but a few days that it has been warm enough in the afternoon to feel sweaty, and the idea of a cockpit shower has not been attractive. But today has been warm, the seas calm, and we are only three day out, no problem with the water supply. Wonderful cockpit showers! Even splurged enough to wash some clothes. Sponge baths are OK I guess, but nothing refreshes you all over like a real shower.
In a few days the cockpit shower will be preceded by a swim in Caribbean waters. Then drinks on the foredeck. Three more days!
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Wednesday 09 December - Not Under Command

Wednesday 09 December - 463 miles to Antigua
About three bells in the morning watch (05:30) still dark, Sterling woke me to check a ship that concerned him. The "Orient Strength" was on the AIS and its lights plainly visible, eight miles directly on our bow. The odd thing was that its speed was 1.2 knots. The AIS gave the following information: Length 837 feet. Speed 1.2 knots. Heading (the direction the ship is pointed) 152 degrees. Course over Ground (the direction the ship is moving) 230 degrees. Rotation ( a measure of the ship turning) 2 degrees per minute. (very slow turn). We wondered. I didn't want to go back to sleep until we figured it out. It is not moving in the direction it is heading, moving and turning very slowly. We decided that it was drifting. Then we went to "notes" on the AIS and it said "Not Under Command". I have never, ever seen a craft officially Not Under Command. The Rules say "The term 'Vessel Not Under Command' means a vessel which through some exceptional circumstance is unable to maneuver and is therefore unable to keep out of the way of other vessels." In other words, it is broke down. I was tempted to call him on the VHF radio and ask if we could be of any assistance. . . We sailed on past.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Tuesday 08 December

Tuesday 08 December - 1545 miles from Cape Verde Islands
The Canary Islands are dry, almost no rainfall. The public Utility warer in Lanzarote is all desalinated. In Cape Verde Islands we had to buy water for the tanks. I think I have seen rain only twice since maybe the Azores. In the past few days we have discovered that those white puffy clouds I have been enjoying so much have rain in them. Not much, but a heavy sprinkle. As of last night they have become bothersome. Day or night they are obvious up in the sky so you can see them coming. The first thing is that over about two minutes the windspeed increases about 10 knots. So, being always alert that is the time to frantically furl the genoa. Hopefully the genoa gets furled in time to go below before the rain starts. It heavily sprinkles for about ten minutes as the wind dies. Then it takes 30 maybe 45 minutes for the wind to slowly pick back up again. As we move west the air is getting noticeably warmer and the sprinkles get more frequent. Another thing is the water temperature back in the Canaries was 71 degrees F. That is OK for the Northern Europeans for pleasure swimming but not me. I just measured the temp here and it is 81 degrees F. I am looking forward to some afternoon swims. It has been a long time.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Monday 07 December

Monday 07 December - 1410 miles from Cape Verde Islands
This is absolutely beautiful sailing. The wind has dropped to force 4, about 15 kts, and it is directly behind us, pushing us at about 5 kts. A beautiful clear sky above and the ocean is peaceful. The boat just keeps going west. We don't touch anything. It is as if the boat has a mind of her own, and wants to go to the Caribbean. We are just riding along.
A surprise is that we have not seen much traffic out here. We have seen two ships, one of them directly behind us moving up. The AIS showed it would passclose on one side then the other. That means possible collision. At three miles it altered course and passed one mile on the stbd side. It amazes me that with as much ocean there is out here, that two craft can be in the same spot at the same time and run into each other. We have also seen three sailboats, in the 45 to 60 foot range, crossing our track from our stbd quarter (if a car the right back fender) passing us and going off to the left. These boats are going to an island south of us, probably St Lucia, and are probably boats from the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, ARC. 250 of them left The Canaries a week or so ago and all of them have to cross our track. I would love to see their tracks, and look at where we are, and see if any are coming close. You can do that on the internet.
From Will: "You are in the center of the fleet with more and more passing you both to your north and south. The boats are spread from 15-22 N Lat and some have reached St Lucia and they are spread east as far as 41 W Long. Follow this link and scroll over the viewing options at the top of the viewing pane and find the Lat/Lon overlay -www.worldcruising.com/arc/arc/eventfleetviewer.aspx "
If you get that far, our position is Lat 17degrees 30 minutes north, Long 50 degrees 00minutes west

Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Sunday 06 December - Advent II

Sunday 06 December - Advent II - 1295 miles from Cape Verde Islands

Ditto

Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Saturday 05 December

Saturday 05 December - 1164 miles from Cape Verde Islands
We made the big sail change today. Back in the Canaries and all the way down the coast of Africa the prevailing wind was from the north or NE. All the way from Canaries to Cape Verde Islands the wind was over our left shoulder (blowing real hard!) Then from Cape Verde Islands we sailed straight west, and the wind was over our right shoulder, still north-east. Now, in the trade winds, as we go more westward the wind is coming more and more from the east. The forecast is that in three days we will have solid east wind, all the rest of the way. We crossed the boom, and are now sailing wing 'n wing right before the wind, and probably will for the rest of the trip.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Friday 04 December

Friday 04 December - 1020 miles from Cape Verde
Exceptionally good sailing. The waves are large, but even and spaced out so the ride is smooth. The wind feels like about 15 kts but we are going 6+ knots.
We may have arrived at a routine. The day starts at 20:00 in the evening when I go to bed and Sterling goes on watch, until midnight when we switch. Then at 04:00 I go back to bed and he comes on until 08:00. The last few days Sterling has stayed awake until about 15:00 when he goes down until his watch at 20:00. We have one common meal a day, about 14:00. Sterling does all the cooking and I do all the cleanup. Other trips have been rice 'n stuff. This trip is beans 'n stuff. This system seems to be working well.
If we ever have to change the sails we will have forgotten how to do it. The wind stays on out stbd quarter, over our right shoulder. Sometimes it blows 20, sometimes 15. One day it was 10. I think I like Atlantic trade wind sailing.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Thursday 3 December

Thursday 03 December - 897 miles from Cape Verde
The wind picked up to 20 knots and we have been sailing more than 6 knots all day. Of course the waves are up too. It is not too bad because the wind has been blowing long enough for the waves to settle down and get more regular. They are large, but even. The only drawback is that about once an hour we get spray in the cockpit. It is annoying. We rigged a weather cloth (thank you Normandie) and it keeps most out. Most, I say. I had showered off, clean shorts, lounging in the cockpit just aft of the weather cloth, when, KERSPLOSH!! Not spray. Green water. I was soaked. Soaked to the point that I literally poured water out of my shoes. I re rinsed off with fresh water and everything is drying. Just a minor annoyance.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Wednesday 02 Decenber

Wednesday 02 December - 760 miles from Cape Verde
It has been pointed out to me that I have not introduced Sterling. Sterling Spencer. One day back at Marina San Miguel on Tenerife a young man came walking down the pontoon, stopped and said, "I understand you need crew." I said,"Yep". He said,"I'm your man." I told him to come back in a few weeks. The third time he came by I said,"Yep, we sail on the 16th." He wants to sail to the Caribbean, and I can take him there. There might be a picture of him on adventtwo.blogspot.com. I haven't had internet in a long time and I don't know what is on the blogspot. I think it has these daily updates, some pictures, links to other pictures, and a link to the inReach satellite track. If you go to the inReach track all you may see is ocean. You will have to zoom way out to see where we are relative to land.
So we are going to the Caribbean. The problem is that we do not have a destination. Sterling has been making his way sailing on a private yacht to a resort area and getting a job until he moves on, sailing to a new exotic location. I told him I would take him anywhere he wanted to go. The problem is that neither he nor I know of any tourist locations in the Caribbean. His best opportunity will be at a place where the cruise ships land, where there are resorts, hotels, tourist catamaran, tourist snorkel boats, bars, night clubs, etc. I will use Caicos Island (Turks & Caicos) as an example. There is an east side of the island and a west side. The west side is the "boat side". I know the boat side. There is the marina, kite boarding beach, anchorage, supermarket. Get in the car and drive to the east side of the island to Providenciales, (Provo), however, and there are resorts, hotels, snorkel boats, the whole thing. The kind of place he is looking for. I am somewhat familiar with the Caribbean Islands, but I am only familiar with the boat side. What I see is a seaside village with a beautiful anchorage, not resorts and restaurants.
So I am requesting input. Surely some of you have been to the Caribbean, maybe on a cruise ship, and know the location of some resort beaches. Please let me know. It would really help.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Tuesday 01 December

Tuesday 01 December - 635 miles from Cape Verde
The wind veered around some to the east so we went to wing 'n wing, with the genoa poled out to port and the trisail out to stbd. We picked up some speed, but there is no side force of the sails to dampen the boat roll. And the wind picked up some so the waves are increasing. This makes really awkward boat motion. I am having a really hard time at the keyboard. Hanging on with two hands I can't type.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Monday 30 November - Trade Wind Sailing

Monday 30 November - Trade Wind Sailing
The air is clean. The sky, very light blue at the horizon is deep blue overhead. White puffy clouds. The ocean has settled in a regular wave pattern after three days of Force 4 (12 kt) wind. The boat motion is rather dramatic, rolling mostly, but regular so it is easy to take. We are not sailing fast, but we made 100 miles yesterday and that is my "budget", 100 miles a day. This is easy sailing, in fact beautiful sailing. It is the part of the experience I wish I could share. Nothing around the horizon except two birds that fly by, then go far away and in ten minutes come back by. A lot of sargasso. Great fields of it. Most of it is floating just below the surface, and it has "sprouts" reaching up above the surface about an inch, like sprouts coming up out of the earth. Coveys of flying fish erupting from the water and flying off downwind. What a privilege it is to experience this.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Sunday 29 November - Tradewind Sailing

Sunday 29 November - Tradewind Sailing - 410 miles from Cape Verde Islands
"Look, over there, something in the water."
"Where?"
"Over there."
"Oh yes. I see it. What is it?"
"It looks like. . . Yes, it is. . .It is a plastic bag!"
"A plastic bag?"
"Yes. I am sure of it."
"How can that be? We are hundreds of miles from any land."
"It must have fallen off a ship. Or maybe the desert winds carried it from Africa."
"It could have drifted all the way from Portugal. Or even France. I wish we could read the writing to see what language it is."
"The markings look to be the same as from the supermarket in Tenerife."
"And it is still clean. No marine growth. That means that it has not been in the water long."
"If it came from Tenerife, and is still clean, the only way to get here is on a sailboat."
"It had to have been an accident. Nobody would deliberately throw a plastic bag overboard."
"I wonder how long it will float out here?"
"They say the plastic breaks down into very small pieces but doesn't really go away."
"It looks sortta like a Portuguese Man-O-War"
"Or just a jellyfish. . . ."

Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Saturday 28 November - Trade Wind Sailing

Saturday 28 November - Trade Wind Sailing
Course 270 degrees. Speed about 4.5 knots. Wind is 12 knots from north-east.
About 0600 Sterling changed the WindPilot heading one notch, or 15 degrees. At 1015 I took in the genoa sheet about 4 inches.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Friday 27 November - Trade Wind Sailing

Friday 27 November - Trade Wind Sailing
Course 270 degrees. Speed about 5 knots. Wind is 15 knots from north-east. Today the wind veered a little and I had to adjust the windpilot to stay on course. Sterling slept most of the day.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Thursday 26 November

Thursday 26 November - 90 miles west of Cape Verde Islands
I had a rough night. Three hours of calm with very rough seas, then the propeller shaft problems; lying in the quarter-berth with my ear two feet from the shaft, listening to it grind and clank away, then locking the shaft with ViceGrips. I awoke at 0800 feeling really groggy and with no desire for adventure. Fortunately Sterling had the boat on 270 degrees, sails set. He went to sleep and I sat there, being groggy. Four hours later I was still sitting there feeling a little better, had not touched the sail. Now it is night. All day we have not touched the sail nor the windvane. We are sailing west at about 4.5 knots in force 4 (15 knot) wind. This is trade wind sailing at its best. We could sail days, even weeks with no sail change. I hope that is the way it will be. I am not in the mood for an adventure.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day - Let us give thanks for the blessings of family, health and wealth which God has giving us.

We spent all day doing all the things that need to be done for leaving a country, and crossing an ocean. I got all the boat things done, then walked the two miles to the commercial port the check out with the officials. Very friendly, helpful and efficient. After a last water run we had a hamburger at the pontoon cafe. Literally on a float, bobbing around with all the boats. It was disorientation until getting used to it. We upped anchor just before sunset. A little later we were sailing straight west day was fading into night, and the lights of town were on the horizon. A full moon was rising over the lights of town. It was very beautiful; a final gift given to us from Cape Verde.
Both of us liked Cape Verde. The name is really Cape Verde Islands. Directly to the east, on the coast of Africa, is a cape named Cape Verde. Back in the age of exploration the Portuguese mariners discovered these islands and thought that they were close to and associated with the cape, so they called the archipelago the Cape Verde Islands, and has caused confusion ever since. This is not a European resort, like all of The Canaries is. It is a little chunk of civilized Africa. The marina is at the main port (once again these are volcanic islands with very few places suitable for a port) and a town, and all of it is just an ordinaly town, with people living their ordinary lives. An African town, with cheerfyl friendly African people, and all seemed happy to see us and say hello. And the amazing thing is that the place is so clean it is spotless. I walked down the street and would stop and take pictures to show how clean the street was , or around a park bench, or the municipal water pumping station. The official officies were clean, the beched and common areas were clean. The market was clean. The friendly, welcoming way the people greeted us and a general feeling of pride they have for their country, left both of us saying that I would like to come back and spend a few weeks.
We sailed into the sunset, about 2,000 miles to go. The wind was 20 knots from the north-west, as forecasted for the next two days, then 15 knots. Then about 20:00 the wind picked up, we partially furled the genoa, the only sail flying because the wind was coming from 135 degrees, and any mainsail blankets the genoa. I turned the watch over to Sterling and went to sleep. At 23:30 he woke me saying the wind had died and we needed to motor. Lordy it was bouncy, almost to the oint of not being able to move about the boat. The week of 20 - 35 knot winds had built up a heave seas, and suddenly the wind stopped. And we bobbed and wallowed, and hung on as tightly as we could. I started the engine, and that started three hours of constant struggle trying to get some wind in the sail to stabilize the boat. It was really tough. Then, at 0300 the wind came back, at 20 knots, 135 degrees, and we were sailing again. I don't know where the wind went for those three hours.
When I sail I let the propeller shaft spin, with the transmission in neutral. Last night I noticed a worsening of a shaft vibration, and then a metal to metal tap-tap-tap coming from the area of the propeller. Not a banging, but a tapping, almost like a screwdriver on sheet metal. I was not sleeping at all. I got up and fixed the shaft so that it would not spin, using vice-grips clamped to the shaft. When the wind dies and we want to motor I will remove the vice-grips and try it. It may be only a plastic bag over the propeller. Or a bent propeller, or the cutless bearing, or a bent drive shaft, or even a transmission problem. If I learn anything significant I will let you know.
REef Early
Bill Doar
Advent II - sailing west`

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Monday 23 November

Monday 23 November
In a few more hours we will end this leg of the journey; we will be in Cape Verde. It has been a straightforward passage. We set thwe sails when we left Tenerife, and for a week never changed them. The wind has been constantly at 135 degrees. When the wind strengthened we furled the genoa some, when the wind slackened we let out the genoa. lways the wind coming over my left shoulder.
Something that has impressed me is that this part of the Atlantic has almost no apparent life. Or rather that part of the Atlantic. In the past day the temperture has gotten noticeably warmer (no jacket tonignt, just two shirts) and I have seen, for the first time, birds, flying fish and sargasso. Some sort of transition has taken place, the change from the Canaries Current to the North Atlantic Equitorial Current, that will carry us across the Atlantic.
Tomorrow will be a new adventure. We are now in the sailing mode, not the visit-a-new-country mode. It may be only a one day stop, primarily for water.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Sunday 22 November

Sunday 22 November - 225 miles from Cape Verde
The wind has died down to 20 kts and after what we have had for the past few days it feels like a gentle breeze, and we are not being tossed around so much. We are taking it easy tonight, tomorrow will be our last day before Cape Verde.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Saturday 21 November - Day four

Saturday 21 November - Day four - 344 miles from Mindelo, Sao Vicente, Cape Verde
The wind speed is higher and so are the waves. The needle on the wind speed indicator centers on 30 knots, then goes up to about 35 or down to 25 as the boat rocks left and right with the waves. Rocks is not te right word - Jerks back and forth with the waves. We are riding with just about 25% genoa out giving us 5 knots for steerage. The good thing is that we are going almost downwind. Windy, the WindPilot windvane is steering, and has not been more than 10 degrees off the 135 degree mark. The huge waves come up behind us and look like they will swallow us, then the stern rises, the wave lifts us, passes under, and we settle in the deep trough between waves. At one point the waves conspired against us, and instead of passing under us the wave broke on top of us. Crash. (Big crash) I had a man-overboard retrieval device called a "Lifesling" on the port side rail. Also in the port rail is a storage bag containing the dinghy rigid seats. All that is left of the Lifesling are three velcro tabs that attached the container to the rail. The dinghy seats are still there, but two of the four attaching bolts have broken free. That was spectacular, but what is annoying is that when the wave lifts the boat to the max top of the wave, the wind blown spume from the top of the wave blows into the cockpit.
Break - New Subject: The sky is not blue but sortta white. The sun is a silver disc. The solar panels are only putting out a fraction of what they normally do. That is Sarah dirt. Because it is carried by the wind I thought it would be fine, like talcum powder. It is gritty, with discernable grains, and has an abrasive quality that it may really scratch sunglasses. It is gathering on the boat and the wind piles it up in corners, like snow. And combined with the spray the wind blows aboard the cockpit is really grubby.
And it is chilly, two shirts plus foulie chilly. But we are officially in the tropics and soon I will be complaining about it being too hot.
Maybe this wind will calm down some. I am getting bruised up.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Friday 20 November - The Third Day

Friday 20 November - The Third Day - Sao Vicente, Cape Verde 466 miles
This is day three of strong wind from the east and north-east. The wind speed indicator just stays at 25 knots, sometime down to 20 and sometimes up to 30. I haven't seen it oer about 32. But that is with us going with the wind at 5 knots. Whatever the velocity may be, the wind is strong, and steady, and has been blowing for three days. That is long enough for the seas to build. Very impressive. They have spread out so there is no chop involved, but my - my, they are big.They come up behind, towering over the boat, and I think - gosh - I hope it doesn't fall down on top of us. Then just when I think I am about to get really wet, the stern rises up, up, over the top, and I am looking down 20 feet into the trough between the waves. The distance down is far enough to tickle my insides. Advent doesn't seem to mind at all. She is flying only the genoa furled about 2/3 the way in, and going about 5 knots. It is not really an uncomfortable ride, but it sure is spectacular.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Thursday 19 November

Thursday 19 November - Cape Verde 588 miles
The ocean is so bleak it is picturesque. There is a picture that is most often seen in cheap restaurants. It is a sailing ship, all sails flying, sailing across a troubled, almost turbulent ocean. That is how it has been today. Wind 20 - 25 knots, waves built high by the wind, and a slate gray sky. The kind of sky you expect to produce snow. And the temperature seems to be dropping the further south we go. Today we stayed in long sleeved shirts and light jackets. The wind is coming from almost behind us so it is more-or-less pushing us along. We are not uncomfortable and Advent is relaxed, just doing her job. All is well.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Wind Force 6 Beaufort Scale

The wind speed indicator is reading in the 20's up to 30 knots. Broad reaching with wind at 135 degrees relative. No main/trisail. Only poled genoa 3/4 furled. Windy steering. Boat speed in the 5's. Very comfortable.

Wednesday 18 November

Wednesday 18 November - 723 miles from Sao Vicente
Day 1 - We are making exceptionally good progress, going in excess of 6 knots most of the time, and the seas are not really all that rough. But the seas are "dirty". Lots of random waves, big and small, coming from different directions, and the surface is "disturbed". It is a nervous ocean. The wind is dirty too. It is not really a steady breeze but more like it is spitting the wind, and from different directions. Even the air is dirty. Dirt from the Sahara blows with the wind and makes the sun a pale white and everything grimy. But we are making good progress and it is not all that uncomfortable.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Tuesday 17 November - The Long Way Home

Tuesday 17 November - The Long Way Home
Sterling came to the boat about 08:30 this morning. We became acquainted, I introduced him to Advent; I think we will all be friends. We walked the mile to the supermarket, spent almost $500 on provisions, and got a taxi to take us and a mountain of food back to the boat. Sterling sorted and stowed while I made ready to get underway, we had an easy check-out with the authorities, and slipped the dock lines at 14:10. It is aout 850nm to Cape Verde.
It is now 19:45. We are about 5 miles off the southern end of Tenerife. Sterling is asleep now, in a few minutes I will wake him for his first watch at night, from 20:00 until 24:00. We are on the line (the rhumb line from Canaries to Cape Verde) sailing wing 'n wing directly before the wind, at about 6 knots. Surprisingly it is very comfortable, not rocking side to side. I think we are off to a good start. By the time we go down to Cape Verde, then across, then up to North Carolina, the trip will be about 5,000 miles. That is a long way home.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

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Saturday 07November: Jean-Michel Keroulle

Until the past few days I have not seen a single boat from the US,
and very few British boats. I did make some friends along the way, and
some of them knew enough English to communicate so that we could
communicate. I am continually humbled, even a little humiliated that
they can speak english and I know none of their language. I will
sometimes say that a particular person does not know enough english for
us to communicate, as if it is their fault. That embarrasses me
personally. Back at Marina San Miguel, with the golf resorts and
kiteboarding, most of the time there were no native english speakers on
any of the boats. A few days after I got there there was a French boat
tied a few boats away. I met the man on board, and he knew enough
english to communicate basic facts but we could not really communicate
comfortably.  In spite of that we became friends. We took several
"trips" to the other end of the island together, and did some boat
maintenance. It was really an interesting experience for me to be upside
down in the bilge of his boat aligning the engine, and asking for a
wrench. I tried "spanner", "gripper, turner, he would hand me something
like another nut or a screwdriver, meanwhile I am holding the engine in
place with one hand wanting to tighten the nut with the other. And lordy
it was hot. Both of us were drooling sweat.
    This experience is notable because, apparently he is a world class
underwater archeologist. He is singlehanding now on the way to the
Caribbean, where he has twenty-two ship wreck sites he wants to
investigate. I just wish I knew enough french to be able to be friends.
    Look at his website. Maybe you will be impressed, like I am.
http://archeosousmarine.com/

Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

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Monday

I got here no problem, after a miserable night, looking forward to peaceful sleep. I was happily grinding rust when I became aware of some sort of horn. I looked up, and there was a man in uniform standing beside a police car, waving at me. I had not ordered a pizza so that was not it. I rowed the dinghy over, he told me politely that anchoring was not allowed. In face I didn't understand a word he said. Maybe it was something about olives, cheese and sausage. I smiled, said Grascious, went back to the boat, upped anchor, and left. I hope he enjoyed the pizzza.
I am now in a terrible anchorage with ten other boats. The bottom is rolling stones. If the wind starts blowing I will leave and sail off and on until the marina opens.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Saturday Morning 31 October

As the anchor chain comes up over the bow it goes across two rollers
set at 45 degrees. Instead of going across one large roller to turn 90
degrees, the chain goes to the first roller turns 45 degrees then to the
second roller and turns another 45 degrees. When I conceived the anchor
arrangement many years ago  I went to West Marine and bought two hard
plastic rollers (I even recorded the part numbers). The system worked
amazingly well. But now the rollers have worn out. And those rollers are
no longer made. Nor is anything else that would fit. I was dragging the
anchor chain over the 1/2" bolt shaft of the now completely worn out
rollers. Then another thought. I took some 1/2" stainless steel washers
of different OD size, and using  hole saws cut different OD discs from a
polyethylene cutting board, and came up with a really good roller. My
prototype worked well enough to use the concept for both rollers. The
last time I anchored was with John in  Lynhaven, Hampton Roads. I
haven't thought about those rollers since June.  No problem, I am no
longer in a marina, but the dinghy is in the water and I can get to the
rollers from the dinghy.  I forgot that I was anchored in the ocean.
True, I was in the lee of the island, but the boat is really active. I
got the tools, got in the dinghy, and got half way to the front with the
dinghy pitching, jerking and rolling, and Advent pitching, jerking and
rolling; I aborted when Advent's chine rocked up, and on the way down
came down on top of the dinghy's gunwale, almost pushing it under water.
I guess I had gotten used to excessive boat motion. It honestly caught
me by surprize.
    Then another factor came into play. The weather report showed calm
Friday, but 20 knots on Saturday. I know that I am in the lee of the
island, but with the acceleration zones I wanted to find a more secure
place to go. I started looking at all anchorages within range, and found
another anchorage within a commercial harbour, just what I wanted. It is
about half way up the eastern side of Lanzarote, about three hours away.
And, I could install the new anchor rollers there. 

    I have been anchored in a little cove with cliffs on two sides and
resort on one side. But just a little way down the island are sandy
beaches, beautiful sandy beaches backed by desert hills and rugged
volcanic rock, high cliffs, etc. I left early enough to stop at the
beaches, anchored with the six boats already there, and rowed ashore.
This is a public park and the beach goers had not gotten there yet. The
beaches are separated by cliffs and rugged rocky outcrops, and between
the outcrops are little sandy areas big enough for a family to have
their own private beach. I made my way from beach to beach along the
rocks to the last beach, then went back over the tops of the cliffs,
high in the desert hills. I found a historical site where the first
settlers lived. They have an interesting way to inexpensively protect
historical objects. They build a concrete wall around it and put steel
bars over the top. For example they have a well. It has a wall about
four feet high, with steel bars on top. You can get close to it, you can
see it, but you can't touch it. I eventually made it back to the beach
where the dinghy was. The beach people were arriving for a perfectly
beautiful day. I went to the dinghy to push it to the water when a man
came and asked if he could ask a question, and we started talking about
who I was, where I came from, (Advent was just a little bit off the
beach and the US ensign was clearly visible) where I was going, the odd
dinghy, all about Advent, etc. And others gathered. For awhile I was the
most interesting thing on the beach. They were not British, but those I
talked with had very good English. I had no trouble at all. But I needed
to get going to check out the new anchorage, and get somewhere else if
it was not good.  I liked that beach. I liked being able to anchor
there. I liked rowing ashore, and being able to walk high in the hills.
As far as a place, I enjoyed it more than any other place on this trip.
    Then it was motoring up the east coast across a flat ocean for about
three hours. I found the harbour, and yep, it is a commercial port.
Things can change since the book was written, so with much trepidation I
eased along beside the cruise ship, past the cement silos, and there,
beside the container dock is a . . . I don't know what to call it. . .
an area of water about two cruise-ships long and about half a cruise
ship wide. I will call it a bay, as in a work bay, not a large body of
water. And, thanks for the blessing, it is flat calm.

  I am at peace. It feels funny for the boat to not be moving. This is the stillest I have been in months. When I transmit this I will request a grib and see what the weather has in store. I don't have internet here, and really want to call you, hear your voice, and catch up. As of last night the forecast was that I would have wind today, then tomorrow I can go to where I may be able to get pay-to-use internet, then Monday back here. I am in the same harbour as the marina where I am going Tuesday. If I come back here Monday, then I am assured that I can make it to the marina Tuesday. So far I like it here. The book says that it is "gritty". I don't know if that means it is in an industrial area, or if grit blows off the cliffs. I may find out. There is a beach at the end of the "bay". (I don't know what to call it. It is rectangular about two cruise-ship's long and one-half cruise-ship wide, with a container dock on one side and cliffs on the other. So the word "bay"
  is like a work bay, not Chocowinity Bay.)I will start over. There is a beach at the end of the "bay" I am anchored just a little way from it. All afternoon yesterday about 20  were having life guard training. It was really interesting. Part boot camp running here to there, part on the beach care, sometimes multiple patients, and a lot of in the water exercises, most of it with one arm held in the air. Swimming with one arm in the air. Pulling someone with one arm in the air, etc. Then, after all the life guards had left, some friendly folks came by in a dinghy from the marina. I can see the marina way down at the other end of the harbour. We talked till after dark, then they left and went to the beach. I wonder what is there? Dinghy is in the water. I will row over after awhile and go exploring.

Saturday afternoon- About noon the wind picked up and light misty rain started. We had a real ugly day with 20-30 knot winds. I really made a good call this time. I was feeling sorta silly this morning, with the beautiful weather. I don't feel at all silly now. I am really glad that I am here and not down south anchored in the open off a beach.
    This is the commercial harbour, where the cruise ships land. Yesterday when I got here I had to go down beside a cruise ship to get back to the bay. Since then three more have arrived. Great big things, with eight levels of cabins above the deck line. So for awhile there were four cruise ships here. Then about thirty minutes ago great, deep horns started blasting. Three longs followed by one short. All four ships did it. Quite impressive. Then they all left! All four of them. I wonder what all those thousands of people do on Lanzarote for one day?

Sunday morning:
  Up early and left my wonderful anchorage at first light, which is 08:00. It is a pretty day with some of the wind left over from the storm yeaterday. I had a beautiful sail back down the east side of the island. I am going back to where I was a few days ago to try to find wifi, and talk to Normandie on skype. It was a beautiful sail down, but man is it rolly anchored here. It must have been really bad yesterday. The boat is rolling side to side on about a three second period. Every three seconds I have to stop typing and grab the edge of the table for support. It has a dampening effect on creativity. So I will stop. I sure hope this roll stops. It is hard to do anything.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Wednesday 28 October

Wednesday 28 October
The weather forecast model I am using is the National Weather Service GFS, and I receive it on the shortwave radio, and it is displayed on the computer as arrows showing wind direction and feathers giving the forecasted velocity. Since before I left the marina it has been showing 5 or 10 knots. The forecast for today was for 15 knots. Add to that the fact that I am in an acceleration zone, and I saw 30 knots in gusts today. The wind has to come across some mountains and through the high-rise resorts, and by the time it get to me it is real ragged, gusty and veering through 90 degrees. But the wind is OK. The ocean waves curve around the ends of the island and get to me sideways. So all day I have been pitching, veering and rolling. It makes me flexible, improves my balance, and strengthens my core muscles, my arms, legs, and especially my grip.
The real project is to get everything cleaned and stowed following the haul-out last week. And get the boat set up again for sailing. Tomorrow I might explor another anchorage, or stay here. If the waves settle down I may even put the dinghy in the water. I like this better than being behind a concrete wall.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Tuesday 27 October

Tuesday 27 October The High Point
I made it upwind to Lanzarote. In a way this is the high point of this adventure. As I said to Normandie, it is downhill all the way from here to the Caribbean. Typically prevailing wind will take us to Cape Verde and trade winds across the Atlantic. I think I had exceptionally good weather for the five day hop coming up. Except for the first day it was really smooth. The rather strong, unusual south-east wind, and I was really happy to get to Santa Cruz Marina. Then the easy crossing to Gran Canaria, and the great anchorage in the commercial harbour of Las Palmas. Then the very comfortable anchorage at the south tip of Fuerteventura. There is a hook at the south end much like the hook at Cape Lookout that protects it from the ocean waves. There is a lighthouse on the extreme tip, and a village on the crescent shaped beach. It looks typical for Spain, White cubical looking with tile roofs, but there were some odd things about this village. It is located many miles across desert dunes from anything. I mean there is nothing there for 15 or 20 miles. No buildings, no trees, no utility poles, no fences, nothing. OK, so it is a fishing village. There were no boats on the beach, no docking facilities, no quay, no mole, no nothing. And the village seems to have been built backed up to the water. I was looking at the backs of the buildings with no roadway between the buildings and the beach. But it was a good place to stop, and I slept well. Then Monday I went to the northern-most place to anchor on the east coast of Fuerteventure. It was just a nook in the rock cliffs with some protection if needed from the north-east. Ashore were some buildings. I hesitate to call them a village. It was a row of about eight buildings? booths? rooms? and they may have been joined together. There were some people, maybe 6 or 8. One man spent the evening fishing with a pole from a nice little rowboat. At night, two of the buildings had lights, but when I left at O black :30 the Tuesday morning everything was dark. Next was the crossing from Fuerteventure over to Lanzarote, and to anchor off a resort beach back in a little bay, under the protection of high cliffs to the east and west, and high resort hotel on the north.
By far the most enjoyable time was from 05:00 until about 07:30 when it is getting light. I just loved it. So much of this I want to share. Ant this little trip uf the last few days would have been a great experience to share.
Not that I am here, I hope to explore some of the anchorages for a few days. Today the wind is from the north or north-east, and I am in an acceleration zone, so that may be something to consider when I go exploring.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Monday 26 October

Monday 26 October
I just simply love getting underway early in the morning before the sun rises, while it is still dark. I love the sky that time of day, even before nautical twilight. To my left is the Big Dipper. To my right is Orion, with his very distinguishable three star belt, and sword. Directly behind me is the setting full moon. And ahead are two very noticeable, very bright stars. Perhaps you have seen them in the eastern sky when you ride your bicycle to work. Venus and Jupiter one finger-width apart, and Mars two fingers below them. If you watch them day-by-day, each day they change their relationships. All the other stars stay in exactly same place. But these, plus Saturn, wander around. I can only imagine the scientific quest to find out why they do, and determine their future locations.
The eastern sky is just starting to get light. I can see clouds just above the horizon. Very light wind. The ocean is calm in the lee of the island. I just love this time of day.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Sunday 25 October - A Plan

Sunday 25 October - A Plan
It is about 50nm from Santa Cruz on the island of Tenerife to Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria. Leave at first light, have to wait until daylight to get out of the marina, average 5.0 knots, and the passage takes 10 hours. Then add two hours to go down to the harbour entrance and into the harbour. There are 12 usable hours of daylight, so I had just enough time to make a quick pass into the marina, then anchor. The marina at Las Palmas is tucked into a corner of the busy commercial port, and is the staging and gathering location for the 250 or so boats on the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC). I wanted to go in the marina just to see what the place looks like. It is the largest marina in the Canaries, which is why ARC starts there. I went in, and there they were, rows and rows of boats, gunnel to gunnel, flying the distinctive, oversize 2015 ARC banner. Curiosity satisfied I went back outside the marina and anchored in a real anchorage adjacent to the marina breakwater.
The ARC boats sail in two groups. Those sailing for Cape Verde start at 14:00 on 06 November, and those sailing straight to Saint Lucia start about two weeks later. I am sure that is to schedule their arrival in Saint Lucia at about the same time. I would love to see one of the starts. Just think about 150 or 200 amateurs trying to start an ocean crossing simultaneously. I bet it is beautiful, with lots of mix-ups.
It was interesting, and distressing to me, that there seemed to be no finger piers, that all the boats were tied up stern to, that dreadful Med-moor, where the boat is backed to the dock and the bow is held in place with an anchor. You step onto the boat at the stern. The boats are tied side by side with no finger piers between them. I would have thought that the largest marina in the Canaries would have finger piers. Distressing to me because I think I am unable to Med-moor. One reason is that Advent has a rudder protruding aft, and that is what would hit first. If Med-moor is what they do here, then I can not go into those marinas.
But on a brighter note, I just loved being anchored, in a real anchorage, with other cruising boats around me and commercial traffic rolling us around with their almost continuous wakes. The marinas all all walled in to stop the ocean swell, and the walls are too high to see over. But in the anchorage I can see, and Advent can swing with the wind, and the continuous goings-on can be enjoyed. It was raining, but I cozied up under the dodger top and enjoyed it until well after dark.
Because I was at anchor and not in a marina, this morning I could leave before daylight. It is about 60nm to the south tip of the island of Fuerteventure. Up until now I have not had a plan. I knew that I wanted to go to the windward most island of Lanzarote, and I knew that I could not go when the 20 knot north-east prevailing winds were blowing. Friday, the day I left, the wind was south-east, and it was an eye-opening experience. The prevailing wind is north-east. (Wonder how many times I have said that ?) My guide book is "The Atlantic Islands, Azores, Madeira, Canaries and Cape Verde." Very good. But all the listed anchorages are for protection from the prevailing wind, and are not OK in any other wind, just as the south-east wind and waves were going directly into the anchorage I had planned on for Friday night. My conundrum was that I couldn't go with NE wind, but any other wind made anchorages unusable, and the marinas are full or nearly full, and the only berths are that dreadful stern-to Med moor. But the forecast last night made everything OK, I hope. The winds are forecasted to be light, 10 kt or less, from the north. From Las Palmas ro the south tip of Fuerteventura, where there is an anchorage, is straight east. So I sail east to Fuerteventure, Then go up the east coast in the lee of the island, and also where there are several more places to anchor. Motor into the light north wind for the 15nm Fuerteventure/Lanzarote crossing, up the lee side of Lanzarote, and Bob's your Uncle.
I know that all this doesn't make much sense. I think I am transmitting my position on the DeLorme inReach satellite communicator. It should be posted on adventtwo.blogspot.com That should show a map with my track, and you may be able to figure out where I am going.
Reef Early
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Saturday 24 October - Normandie's Birthday

Saturday 24 October - Normandie's Birthday
Normandie is celebrating her birthday at Cape Hatteras windsurfing. I am so very proud of her. Happy Birthday Normandie.
I arrived in the Canaries with no plan as to where to go and what to do. There are seven islands, roughly northeast / southwest, and the prevailing wind, almost trade wind, is from the northeast. There was no particular reason to chose Tenerife as landfall. All I knew was that there was an airport there. And since I checked in at Santa Cruz on Tenerife, I want to go back there to check out, in a month when we leave for Cape Verde. Now I want to visit the upwind islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Now is the time to make the move. The wind forecast is for light and variable for four days.
Starting at the south tip of Tenerife the firsr step is to go about 40 miles back up to Santa Cruz. But I need to back up a few days. I had it scheduled to have the boat hauled out of the water to paint the bottom, a hot, hard and dirty process. It was scheduled for the 19th and it happened the afternoon of the 20th, and I frantically went to work. The wind had died and the forecast was for no wind and I wanted to get the boat back in the water and heading north-east. In record time about 10:00 the 23rd, splash, Advent II was back in the water. I said goodbye to my friends and was underway at noon. Everything was piled up everywhere, all the painting supplies, dirty clothes (old scrubbed off bottom paint laying under the boat dirty) tools, have to remove and re-jury rig backstays so the travelift can pick up and to do that have to remove solar panels, plus eight bags of provisions for a month, all piled in the boat. That's OK, there is no wind and I can do some straightening up underway. Thee is an anchorage just north of Santa Cruz, and it will be a good staging place to cross the 60nm to Gran Canaria. True, there was no wind, but the ocean was just about a rough as it could be. I don't know why. There was a large, close swell mixed with a viscous surface chop coming from the south-east. Dog-gone I was getting knocked around. I had the solar panels on the floor with settee cushions on top in case something heavy jumped out of a locker and landed on one of them. One thing about it, when everything in on the floor nothing goes crash. Then the wind cam up, from the south-east. Good strong 15-18 knot wind. That caused another problem. The place I was going to anchor is exposed to the south-east. Change of plan. I rolled, bucked, tossed and jerked into the Santa Cruz Marina. That was a good call. I even saw three boats that had been friends along the way, and we had a German/Austrian/French get together.
There may be some convolutions of messages. Advent II doesn't go but six miles per hour, but it is faster than the internet. Normandie gave me a GoPro camera and I wanted to upload some video clips. A one minute clip took 280 minutes to upload. That is darn near five hours. When I get back to the internet I want to upload some pictures, etc.
Happy Birthday Normandie.
Love,
Bill

19 October - Kiteboarding

About five miles away is the vacation resort village El Medano. It has
one of the only sandy beaches on Tenerife, certainly the largest. As the
wind blows around the very high mountain which is the island, it
accelerates in certain areas. At times the wind will double in velocity
near the downwind edges of the island. El Medano in in one of those
"Acceleration Zones". The combination of constant strong wind, a sandy
beach and resorts makes this beach world famous for windsurfing and
kiteboarding competition.

So good ole Bill had to go do it. Something I
quickly realized is that (in a snow skiing reference) the olympic
downhill venue doesn't have a bunny slope. All of my kiteboarding
experience has been in flat, shallow water. This is in the open ocean
waves and deep. I am not used to not being able to stand on the bottom.
(You might say that I was in over my head)  It was really difficult.  Then throw in crowds of tourists walking along the beach.  Yes I did it.
But to be really honest it was a struggle, and each time when I made it
back without someone getting hurt, I was thankful. In August and
September the winds are consistent, and strong. Now the season has
changed and the winds are very light and coming from the wrong
direction. But if the right wind returns in the next few days before I
leave, I will grab the kite and hit the beach.
Try this link. It is a webcam at the El Medano windsurfing beach. With
no wind all you will get is European tourists, but if the wind blows it
is fun to watch:
https://www.skylinewebcams.com/es/webcam/espana/canarias/santa-cruz-de-tenerife/surf-kitesurf-medano.html
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Friday 09 October - Bill Comes down from the Mountain

Volcanoes are not part of my experience. Never seen one before.
Never been in one. I was impressed. I was also impressed with its
elevation. 12,000 feet rising out of the ocean impressed me. I came back
down to the visitor's center, bought a coffee cup, climbed in my little
rented Panda, and headed down. I had about 8,000 feet of elevation
change and about 15 miles back to the marina. The first few miles is
relatively even being inside the volcano, then the road crosses over the
edge, and down it goes. I am surprised at the high quality of the roads
here, good surface, well marked. But curvy, really curvy. I had just
gotten to the going-down-part when I rounded a curve and saw confusion
in the road ahead. Remember those four-wheeler tourist "trains"? Going
fast? Looking dangerous? One of those "trains" had gotten tangled up,
several had tumbled, and scattered around the road were damaged
four-wheelers and injured tourists. I must have been one of the first
cars to come along. There were four injured, two guys with road rash,
walking, and two gals with unknown injuries, down. I went to each of the
women to make sure that no one tried to remove their helmets (which
might exacerbate a neck injury)  and went back to the car to move it to
block oncoming traffic. The two injured women were lying still and
nobody was trying to move them, so things were stable for the moment.
Then what? who is in charge? what is going on? The tourists were
Italian, the four-wheeler safari operator was Spanish and I spoke
English. None could talk with the other. After a few minutes it was
apparent that nothing was happening and apparently no ambulance was on
the way. I decided that it was time to start playing EMT. It was
becoming obvious that someone was going to have to take these people to
medical help, and it was time to find out what was wrong with them. None
spoke English. I went to the more seriously injured of the two and tried
to explain that I knew what to do, because I didn't want to start
pushing, twisting and feeling if they didn't understand what I was
doing. I was aware that someone came to me, said nothing, and went to 
the other woman and was examining her. Then, as I was starting at her
feet and working my way up he came back to me, and lo-and-behold if he
didn't speak Italian, and some English, and he knew how to examine an
injured person. There were no apparent broken bones in either patient.
Both had bled some, but it had mostly stopped. Both were bloody, badly
bent, but not broken. Now what? The four-wheeler operators had
four-wheelers, but no car. I had the only car, and it a Panda. I
strapped my kiteboard bag on the roof. The lesser of the injured women
rode in front. In back were the more seriously injured woman, and the
more skinned up man. I had no idea how to find a medical center.

 I was led by a four-wheeler who had the lesser of the skinned up men riding
double with him. We are 8,000 feet up, maybe ten miles away, and he can
not ride the four-wheeler on a major highway. The next hour and half can
not be described. Extreme downhill roads. I am in 1st gear riding the
brake. Visualize a very steep driveway. That is how it was, going down.
Some seemed like water drain courses, not roadways. Back roads, alleys.
We mush have gone through three villages, the back way, me following the
four-wheeler with two on it. The lesser of the injured women is
beginning to complain so I am not worried about her. But the other seems
to be hurting more. I can see her eyes in my rear view mirror and her
eyes were OK, but I really wanted to get her to help, but this obstacle
course of near impossible down with twists, turns and switchbacks went
on and on.. Then, after emerging from a twisty road about as wide as a
driveway (the two way roads were only one lane wide) we were suddenly at
the emergency entrance of a modern big city hospital.

 I sure was
relieved. Hospital staff took care of the patients and I cleaned up the
car. I had some towels in the car which had been used to mostly keep
blood off the car seats. It was OK for me to leave, but my adventure was
not over yet. I had no idea where I was! I found a policeman who showed
me on a map where I was and where I wanted to go, and as it was getting
dark, off I went in rush hour freeway traffic, trusting God to get me back.
    I was there, I could help, and I did. There is no greater privilege
than to be able to help someone when they need help.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II

Re: Friday 02 October - Bill Goes to the Mountain

Hello all!

This is your friendly neighborhood geologist here. To answer Bill's 2 questions-

First-  caldera is a correct term for the lower, larger crater. Calderas can be as large as Yellowstone NP or as small as Santorini, Greece.

Second- geologically "in the long term" is a vague term. It depends on who is using it and in what context. I know a bit about Teide so I have some context in this instance. "In the long term" means anytime in the next 1,000 or so years. There is a crack that divides the island into 2 sections. The northern 1/3 of the island is on one side of the crack. That 1/3 has moved a bit down slope.  As water enters the crack the crack both expands and becomes more likely to expand. If the surface of the crack slips and the 1/3 of the island slides off into the deep ocean, a tsunami may result.  This is really the only tsunami risk we know of in the Atlantic. If an earthquake hits this area tomorrow, it could happen tomorrow.  If the process is left up to water in the crack, it could 1,000 or so years.

Thanks for the wonderful travel update!

Will

 

"With a little Love and Luck you will get by." Jimmy Buffett

Friday 02 October - Bill Goes to the Mountain

   I think the most amazing thing about the Azores is the island of Pico, which is the volcano Pico. It rises up from the ocean to an elevation of 7700 feet, 1,000 feet higher than any mountain east of the Mississippi. From where we were in the Horta marina it was only about ten miles over to it, and it dominated the view. I was really impressed. And then I got to here, Tenerife, Canaries. Like Pico in the Azores, Tenerife island in the Canaries is also simply a volcano, named Teide,  rising up from the ocean. Except Teide is not 7,700 feet high, it is 12,200 feet high. Wow! It is at the latitude of Cape Canaveral, Fla. and is snow capped in the winter. Well nothing would do but I had to up there.

   Here people don't turn left, or turn right. You turn up or turn down. Last week I found my way to the church but had to ask directions how to get back out to the Interstate Highway. I was told to go up the road to the intersection and turn up, then go to the round-about and turn down.  (The other directions are left around and right around) You either go up, down, or around. The road starts at El Medano (the windsurfing center) and goes up. You start the car, put it in gear, and drive up. Sometimes in 3rd gear, sometimes in 2nd gear, but up. And windy, as a winding road (not as the wind blows) (maybe I should say "twisty") Turns and twists with one turn leading directly into the next, so that I was turning the steering wheel 270 degrees first one way then the next, up, at 30 kilometers/hour, whatever that is. There was surprizingly little traffic. Most of it was motorcycles going much faster that I was, going up and down. What a fun ride it must be on a motorcycle. I also met several "trains" of four-wheelers, four wheel drive motorcycles. These are called "Four Wheel Safaris". They take maybe 10 of these things to the hotel, pick up the tourists who signed up for an adventure, and off they go. Coming down the road at you they don't really look safe. They must be going 30 mph, and I wonder about how much training the people get. (I guess it is like renting a jet-ski. Show them how, and turn them loose.) So up I drive, and enter the National Park, the 9th most visited national park in the world. One minute I am driving up, then through a pass, then I am inside a volcano. A volcano from the inside, looking up at the ridges around the caldera (if that is the correct word). The landscape is that of an old science-fiction movie, incredibly sharp jagged rocks of different sizes and shapes. (When I say sharp, I have been doing some rock-hopping. At one point my footing was not perfect and I reached out to catch my balance, and sliced the ends of two fingers) Clinkers. The rocks are like clinkers from the coal burning furnace on Iredell Drive. And the landscape looks like the scene from a wild-west movie, with the vertical scale was multiplied times four.  The elevation of all of this maybe 8,000 feet. Of course there is  a National Park office, visitor's center, hotel, etc. But then another volcano rises up from inside the first. A cable car takes people up to about 11,600 ft, maybe 1,000 feet from the absolute top. I wanted to climb up to 12,000 feet but it was too late in the afternoon. Besides, there is not much air up there. Two tourists "fainted" and were lying down, feet up. It was cool, windy, and jagged.  The view was impressive, but not unlike that from an airplane. But the rocks, everything jagged. The edge of the crater was jagged, the individual boulders were jagged, and the structure of the rock itself was jagged enough to to cut your fingers.

  A quote from Wikipedia:      Teide additionally is considered structurally unstable and its northern flank has a distinctive bulge. This bulge is not believed to be associated with an influx of magma, but stems from a slow northwards collapse of the edifice. The collapse could, in the long term, potentially accelerate into a cataclysmic landslide, which, in turn, could potentially produce a mega tsunami that could cause significant damage and loss of life around coastlines in the Atlantic Ocean.  An accepted model shows a tsunami wave 40 meters, 150 feet high along the east coast of the US. Will, in geologic time what is meant by "in the long term" ?
   A very impressive place.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II