The shortest route is not necessarily the quickest or the easiest The passage from the Cape Verdes across the Atlantic to the north-eastern corner of Brazil is pretty much the shortest ocean crossing that one can possibly make – it’s less than half the distance of the passage between the Canary Islands and the Caribbean – but although the miles are far fewer, weather conditions on this route are apt to be somewhat less favourable. Somehow or other you have…
Recent Articles in Logbook
In which we tell of our adventures under sailI have always wanted to sail, but I never knew what sailing would be like... One day a friend wrote to me saying that he had sailed with a family who were going to sail from Cape Verde to Brazil, and there was a chance that I could join them... and after two days I was already on the plane to Cape Verde!
Some months ago we gave you our thoughts on hitch-hiking. If you’re a singlehander then the advantages of having an extra crew-member aboard are obvious, but so too are the disadvantages; and if you’re not short of watch-keepers then there is no reason whatsoever for allowing a complete stranger to take up residence in your home. Having established that fact we then provided some words of advice for that class of persons who hangs around on the waterfront, confident in…
The following article was penned by Adam Ziv, a young Israeli musician who hitched a ride with us for the passage from La Gomera to the Cape Verdes. We always said that we would never take hitch-hikers – but Adam was… Well, he was different. Without exerting any effort at all this young man charmed his way into our lives, so that we actually WANTED to take him sailing! I can’t pretend that it isn’t also quite nice to have…
The flag of Bermuda features a big red monster attacking a ship… or, at least, that’s what it seems to show at first glance. “I s’pose it’s something to do with the Bermuda triangle,” said I to myself. “All those boats and planes disappearing out here… P’raps there’s a legend about a sea monster.” The Isles of Bermuda The last time we crossed from the Caribbean to Europe we passed within fifty miles of Bermuda. Near enough to excite such…
Last week’s article saw your intrepid travellers obstructed by obdurate officialdom. Would we ever be able to step ashore again onto the pristine sandy islets which fringe the north coast, or would the Cuban government’s paranoia keep us at bay?
Cuba was great. After just one day of partying with the people we were Cuba-philes. Castro was a wonderful guy. “Well, he must be, to supply all that cut-price beer and rum to the people!” Then we set off to cruise the north coast of the country – and that was where things started to go wrong.
Having given Puerto de Vita and its environs a fairly bad press I am now going to tip the scales the other way, because when we think back to our fortnight in Cuba it is this particular place that we remember with the most affection. Puerto Vita is a bit of a non event – unless you happen to be there in time for the country’s biggest party. And when would that be? Would it be the day that Castro…
When we first arrived in the Caribbean and planned our itinerary amongst the islands Cuba was envisaged as the highlight of the whistle-stop tour; thus we had allowed ourselves four weeks in its waters. But by the time we left Luperon it was the 25th of April and only two weeks remained before the date when we must flee away from this region. “Two weeks…” moaned Your Correspondent. “It’s not enough.” “Well, it’s all we’ve got,” said the skipper firmly.…
The northern winter was trickling past like sand through an hour glass. Already we were eating into the second week of April. “June soon” says the weather rhyme; “July nigh”. But the fact of the matter is that by June the Caribbean hurricane season has often already begun. It is true that the “biggies” don’t tend to hit the place until August or September, but for a yacht at sea even a little, gale force Tropical Depression is a major…
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