VOYAGE of the MARCY

Marcy Returns

2010-10-02T10:37:00.002-07:00

On a blustery and cold afternoon in Puget Sound, after spending the night in Port Madison, we dressed Marcy with signal flags and foreign courtesy flags of various countries we had visited. It seemed appropriate for Marcy to celebrate the end of all those miles on the water. Thinking that we looked suitably festive, we headed out for the short hop across the water to Shilshole.

After rounding the breakwater, as we drew close to “H” dock, we spotted a group of loyal Marcy fans huddled in the lee of the gas dock office. We circled, tied up, champagne was poured, toasts were toasted, and suddenly it was the end - we were home.

The flags snapped in the chill breeze as Ginger explains the countries. Hmmm, was that Mauritius or Namibia?

It was wonderful to see friends, chat, catch up, meet blog readers for the first time and sip champagne.

So it's over, and people ask, “What's next?” We're asking that question ourselves. We're still a bit overwhelmed and aren't sure what to think or say. We do know that we loved the adventure of sailing around the world and if we could, we would do it again. But for now, we're tied to the float on F dock and re entangling ourselves in all of the mundane details of life in the states – licenses, insurance, jobs. As the philosophical Argentines taught us to say, "Es lo que hay."

O Canada

2010-09-29T12:35:00.004-07:00

As Marcy and crew entered Canada we were fortunate to meet a couple of sailors, Marty and Mae of Wild Abandon, at the gas dock in Prince Rupert.

They convinced us that we should have a crab pot on board for our trip south and then gave us a ride in their pickup truck to purchase a pot and license. On the way back to the boat we stopped by their house where they gave us fresh herbs from the garden and TWO chunks of frozen salmon for crab bait. With their enthusiasm and assistance and careful intructions, we scored our limit of crab both times we set the pot and ate well on our trip south. What a nice welcome to Canada, eh?

Marcy "smelled the barn" as we hurried south. The first gales of fall had swept over us in Alaska, giving us added incentive to keep moving, so we travelled from sun rise to sun set when we could. Travel at night was not really an option because of debris in the water - we passed by many logs, deadheads, and sometimes whole trees complete with foliage. Even the ferries had to weave a path around the debris. We were grateful for the calm water making these hazards easier to spot and avoid.

One evening just before sunset we pulled into a quiet bay with a spooky ghost town named Butedale.

The solo caretaker gave us a tour of what's left of the town and the hydro power generator building, amazingly still in operation.

Marcy's radar got a workout in fog and drizzle, but even so we were fortunate to have some sunny days.

The scenery was interesting, especially the lighthouses.

And since we also had plenty of rainy days the waterfalls didn't disappoint either.

We saw lots of wildlife along the way.

Some nights we were fortunate to squeeze in at a dock which allowed for a walk ashore.

And finally, after only two weeks in Canada, we were back in the USA and familiar territory. Our friends at Marine Service Center in Anacortes (the Rards of Ruby Slippers) who we met sailing in the South Pacific three years ago treated us well. And we got to spend time with family, too. Ginger's uncle Cole surveyed Marcy before we left to circumnavigate. He was especially happy to see us back safe and sound and he gave us a thumbs up on the condition of the boat after the long voyage.

Being in our home waters after so long away is a pleasure.

Marcy Almost Home

2010-09-15T11:27:00.002-07:00

After a four year voyage, Marcy will return to the guest dock, “H” dock, at Shilshole Marina at 5:00 PM on Thursday, September 23. Of course, family, friends and blog readers are welcome to come on down to the Marina for a visit.

A Quick Spin in SE Alaska

2010-09-05T09:35:00.003-07:00

On our last day in Sitka the rain stopped and the sun almost came out.

We learned that Sitka security systems can be simple yet effective, but we wonder if this system might be more dangerous for the person that sets it nightly than for the thief.

As we left to make our way through the narrow passes and sounds of SE Alaska we confirmed that Alaska is the land of sport fishing boats, seaplanes and state ferries.

The coast guard is vigilant about keeping the navigation markers in working order.

Though sometimes foggy, when it cleared we were rewarded with beautiful vistas.

A much anticipated stop on our tour was the Baranof Warm Springs. A stop complete with a float for the boat to come alongside!

We tied up with a view of the falls. Any closer and maneuvering the boat would have been difficult with so much water coming down from the mountains.

We had to decide between the public bath house and the warm spring pools a short hike away - so we resolved to do both.

The scenery was beautiful, and neither the bathhouse nor the hot spring pools disappointed.

Refreshed from the soaking, we untied the lines and crossed Frederick Sound.

Frederick Sound is known as an area where hundreds of humpback whales congregate this time of year and our transit was in calm conditions perfect for seeing the them.

Though typically we would rather be sailing than motoring, it was a treat to have our day made more enjoyable by such great entertainment. We stopped the motor for almost an hour just to hear the whales blowing and communicating. This was the first time either of us had been around so many whales.

At the east end of the sound is a town called Petersburg. On our way in to town we saw the masts of a fishing boat sticking out of the water and the salvage boat just arriving.

In town we learned that the boat had struck a large chunk of ice in the middle of the night and had gone down within minutes. We had seen some small bergy bits in the channel and this boat reminded us why we are not traveling at night with ice and logs to avoid.

The town of Petersburg was fun to explore with old building and a Norwegian influence that reminded us of Ballard and Poulsbo, WA.

The town is a very active fishing town with several processing plants and even a large bunkhouse complex for workers.

We were told that sunny days in Petersburg are rare and the good motoring weather made it prudent for us to leave the comfortable dock in time to transit the Wrangle narrows after a quick one night stop.

The channel is marked by 60 navigation markers in the narrows. They were easy to follow and our timing of the tides on Marcy was done perfectly to avoid the potentially nasty area in the middle of the 20 mile long narrows where the current reverses. The markers come fast and furious around marker number 42 and look a bit intimidating upon approach but all in all it was an easy transit.

Our last stop in Alaska at an inhabited location was a small community, Meyers Chuck, where even the post office has a dinghy dock.

Upon arrival we were greeted by a couple, Carol and Dan, who have a home on the island and who keep a troller at the dock this time of year. Luckily for us Dan was able to do a quick brazing repair for us, saving us a run-around in Ketchican. We were very grateful for his help and enjoyed a nice afternoon with them.

After Meyers Chuck the weather began to deteriorate and our progress south was halted at Foggy Bay for a couple of days to wait for an early fall storm to blow through SE Alaska and northern BC. This storm was just a reminder that we need to keep moving south to avoid the fall storms that will probably arrive soon. The storm blew over and we were on our way to Canada just in time for labor day weekend.

Marcy Chilly Again

2010-08-24T13:09:00.002-07:00

As we stowed gear and prepared for sea, Hanalei Bay displayed Hawaii at it's best. Attractive women in skimpy clothes fished nearby as colorful sailing canoes glided past.

A catamaran anchored next to us. As we watched the athletic efforts of the crew putting on the mainsail cover – on a long and high boom – we resolved never to complain about the process on Marcy again.

Squalls moved in as we left the bay and Marcy was saluted by a rainbow. We ghosted away from Kauai in very light winds.

Light winds continued. Our passage, although slow, was very comfortable. Conditions were ideal for spotting wildlife. Boobies were everywhere.

At one dawn a week into the passage, a group of dolphins raced around Marcy hunting fish.

Our route was busy with commercial traffic. This big container ship appeared on the horizon headed directly for Marcy. It looked like we were exactly in their track as we sailed along at a slow 3 knots. The officer on watch answered Ginger's VHF call immediately and graciously offered to alter course. Ginger asked, “How shall we proceed?” and the reply came back “Why, mam, you are a sailing boat and you need do nothing! We will pass your stern by a wide margin.” It is a pleasure to encounter alert and responsive watchkeepers at sea. Too many times our calls go unanswered and we wonder if we were seen.

As usual, small maintenance jobs kept us busy. Ginger re sewed some tabbing on the jib that had come loose. UV damage, chafe, and corrosion took their constant toll.

The wind continued to be light, but sometimes the breeze increased a bit and Marcy would accelerate to fishing speed – about 5 or 6 knots. We'd put the line over (if we needed fish) and it seemed like minutes later we could pull dinner (usually 3 or 4 dinners) on board.

Comfortable though we were, the passage seemed to be taking forever. Instead of the usual 130 or 150 miles per day, we were sometimes sailing only 60 or 80 miles. So we welcomed the drop in temperature that signaled our approach to Alaska. We found ourselves sailing along silently in dense fog for a few days, peering at the radar screen because nothing else could be seen, then on our last day at sea the fog lifted and the wind finally filled in briskly. Icy cold spray was flung on deck and in the cockpit.

A few miles from Sitka, we were greeted by enormous humpback whales breaching.

Passing small islands left and right we made our way into town. The water was gray and absolutely calm as the wind died. We motored the last quarter mile into a spacious marina, and were directed by the harbormaster to a spot among the fish boats.

Our friends Jim and Fran of Cape St James were on the dock to greet us. It was a fitting end to the last open ocean passage of our circumnavigation, as they were our neighbors at the dock in Shilshole when we were preparing to depart four years ago. Circumnavigators themselves, they were wonderful inspiration to us as we wrestled with the myriad of details that can bog down a departure. Now as we are returning, they are outbound on the next adventure - so goes the cycle.

Out of the fog with 200 miles to go

2010-08-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

After three days and nights of sailing in fog we emerged from the fog last night and found ourselves in perfect visibility under a crystal clear sky with shooting stars. The price for clear skies was no wind and consequently, motor noise. As we motored the seas that had built during the day subsided. We'd been sailing close hauled all day with OK wind but the wind was coming straight from Sitka, so we were making good progress towards Kodiak Island, where we don't want to go. There is no moon at night this time of month so the only thing keeping us from seeing every star was the short night. At this latitude sunrise is officially at 4:52 by Marcy's clock. At 2AM the there was a rosy glow in the sky to the east. By 3AM the glow on the horizon had made most of the eastern stars disappear. The gentle dawn brought with it a light but favorable wind that was unexpected, but very welcome. The wind filled in by 3:30AM and we were sailing again headed at 4 knots directly toward Sitka. Now as we approach mid-day we have raised the spinnaker and are enjoying a comfortable sunny day. It is surprising that we have used the spinnaker so much and the storm staysail so little on this trip. We staged the hank on staysail on the foredeck before departing Hawaii and have only sailed with it for about 6 hours while we've enjoyed several days worth of spinnaker weather. With luck, we'll be tucked in at Sitka before the real wind starts to blow with a low that's expected to push through on Wednesday.
Cheers!

Light winds for Marcy

2010-08-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

Marcy has been out 15 days on this passage. It has been a slow trip, bedeviled by huge high pressure systems and light airs, and we still have 700 miles to go to Sitka. The past few days were very pleasant, enough wind to keep steerage way, small waves, and lots of marine life to keep us interested. Marcy sailed silently and we could hear sounds normally lost in the roar of wind and sea. We learned that small seabirds make a pleasing peep peep sound at night as they circle us. We heard fish splashing and could carry on conversations in a normal voice. Fishing was great. Meals could be eaten from plates set at the table, even the glasses never tipped. Right now, though, the wind is still light but vicious swell from the NW (beam on to us) has arrived. We cringe at the slamming of the rig, which bangs with each swell even with the boom prevented three different ways. The battens invert and revert with a loud crack. A cup of water cannot be set down, and yet we're still only making a couple of knots! So needless to say we hope either the wind comes up or the swell dies down soon. The weather grib files show wind close to us, but not close enough. The days are getting longer - this morning the sun rose at 4:37 and sunset will be 7:12. It's also chilly at night now, and the saloon stove was fired up this morning for the first time since chilly Chile.

North Pacific High

2010-08-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

Marcy is ghosting slowly north - instead of our usual winds of 15 to 25 kts, we experiencing the 2 to 10 knots typical of the "North Pacific High." Our plan, courtesy of Jimmy Cornell's excellent book "World Cruising Routes," was to head north from Hawaii until clear of the high, then angle northwest to Sitka. Unfortunately the high is huge right now and has enveloped our route. So progress is slow. It isn't all bad - the sky is sunny, the sunsets are gorgeous and the waves are small. We are passing thousands of beautiful jellyfish, Portuguese Men O' War, and have been visited by dolphins. Also we are lucky to be sailors from the Pacific Northwest where good ghosting skills are easy to aquire. About a dozen or so boats are heading back now to the mainland, on this route more or less, and some of them have resorted to motoring - at this latitude we're still concerned with heating up our cabin. Some sailors have a set speed to start motoring. Below that speed, say 3 knots, the motor comes on. On Marcy we usually will motor only if we can't maintain steerage or if the seas are too big to sail slowly. Much of this afternoon we were happy at a blistering 1.5 knots with the spinnaker.

Today is day 6 of the passage and so far we have been able to maintain an average speed of 5.9 knots. We have gone 865 nautical miles as of noon today and we have 1550 to go to our Sitka waypoint so we're about a third of the way there. Now that we are in lighter wind, all we can do is patiently plod on, hoping wind will fill in soon. Our average speed will drop, but life is comfortable and we will get there eventually!

Alaska bound

2010-07-29T18:43:00.001-07:00

What we thought would be a quick month in Hawaii turned into two and a half months of boat work, marinas, seeing friends and a few spectacular anchorages. When we finally hauled anchor in Hanalei Bay on the north side of Kauai we felt ready to be at sea. We were rewarded with smooth seas and comfortable winds. We have been at sea 53 hours (it's Thursday afternoon now) and the routine here seems to be light winds at night, squalls and shifty wind in the morning to early afternoon and trade winds from 3P to 10P. We'll take it. Our course is due north and we have just crossed the 27th parallel North. We are well out of the tropics now but we can't tell that by the scorching temperatures during the day. Below decks the temperatures are in the high 80's, on deck it's closer to 100 in the sun. Peter has had to chase two boobies around the deck (the birds, of course) before they made a mess. We are into the watch routine and the wind has been cooperating - sail changes have been mostly only necessary when we've both been up. Speaking of sails, we have four sails (our whole inventory) on deck right now. Our storm stays'l is staged (hanked on the stay but not hoisted) for the higher winds we're sure are coming, the jib and main are up pulling and we used the spinnaker this afternoon for a few hours. We are enjoying our full radio capabilities (knock on wood) with email and voice check-in to the Seafarer's Net. With just over 2000 miles to go to Sitka we're enjoying the passage so far.

Hawaii, Land of Plenty

2010-07-17T12:57:00.005-07:00

A trip to Costco had us feeling spoiled for choice and yielded a bowl full of familiar summer flavors. It's amazing to taste a perfect raspberry after four years without. And finally, in Hawaii we found the answer to the question “Why do sailors go ashore?”

While Hawaii has been very handy for shopping we have also taken advantage of the quick service of the US Post office. What a relief to have such easy shipping and no worries about customs! We arrived in Lahaina with our chartplotter screen dark. We sent the chartplotter via USPS to Raymarine for repair with our fingers crossed for a speedy return. With our electronics pending we turned our attention to sailing. Our trip from the Big Island to Maui confirmed that we needed to replace our 25 year old back-up jib. We had been using our old jib since we dug it out of the locker on passage to Hawaii when our working headsail tore. We did a search on line and found that Second Wind Sails in Florida had the perfect used jib waiting for us. We contacted them and had our new-to-us sail on the boat in 5 days! Happily, the sail arrived as listed on the site, the measurements perfect and the shape good. We expect this jib to come in very handy for the close hauled sailing on our passage to Alaska.

Some mornings off Lahaina were almost calm. Especially when the current pointed the bow into the always present swell.

More often the ocean motion at the mooring made us especially appreciative of our time ashore with friends. We caught up with Deanna and Tim as they made numerous trips to Lahaina to visit and of course there was plenty of time to talk as Deanna took Ginger on extended shopping trips.

We even improved our shore transportation situation when Tim found a folding bike in his shop for Marcy.

We got an email that Sue and Fred (Peter's ex and her husband) would be vacationing on Maui from Seattle and happily we were able to meet up with them for lunch and a walk on the beach.

Too soon it was time to say goodbye to our friends and goodbye to Lahaina. Peter said not soon enough to say goodbye to the rolly anchorage. The exhaust manifold job kept Peter upside down in the engine room for hours here.

We unfurled the jib and headed for Molokai.

This was our opportunity to have a memorial for Peter's mom, a Hawaii native who died last year, by scattering her ashes with flowers from Deanna's tree.

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We used our low tech (no chartplotter) skills and charts to enter the reef at Kamalo Harbor on Molokai. We had a few nervous moments as we watched the depth sounder go from 30 feet to less than 10. Then, because the water was stirred up by the waves the depth read 0! Luckily we have lots of practice around reefs, and some good luck too, we were able to enter the harbor and drop our hook safely inside the reef.

We went ashore to meet our radio friend Jaime and Kim.

They took us on a tour of most of the island showing us their favorite beaches and the view of Kalaupapa the leper colony.

Back at Marcy we found that Kamalo Harbor is a very windy place. The anchorage is on the channel between Maui and Molokai, where the wind accelerates as it comes through between the islands.

Unfortunately we were plagued by outboard problems here and rowing was almost dangerous. On our return to the boat from our shore visit (rowing with the outboard tipped up because it wouldn't start) we were almost blown past Marcy. We tried a couple of times to row out our light Danforth to keep Marcy's head to wind. Each time the anchor dragged in the soft mud, so eventually Peter just fastened a line to a nearby mooring.

Jaime and Kim offered a second day tour of the east side of the island. Though we wanted to spend more time with them we had to decline for lack of safe transportation to shore. We said goodbye over the phone and sailed out into the channel. It was a beautiful spot and we were sad to leave so soon after arriving.

We found our quiet anchorage on the west end of Molokai at Hale o Lono. We left Marcy at anchor and hiked up the back side of the cliffs over the bay. We even got to borrow a dog for the complete walk experience.

The marine supply stores of Honolulu were close and it was time to sail on. Our trip to Oahu was noteworthy for comfortable winds and seas. It was so calm Canadian warships in the area were practicing personnel transfers at sea.

Finally, the landmark Diamond Head was near.

Our time in Honolulu was a blur of big city, visiting with sailing friends and getting ready for our passage to Alaska. We met Mike and Mon, fellow cruising sailors on "Windy City" homeported in Tacoma, who are “stationed” in Honolulu for a few months. They helped us with many errands, showed us their local hangouts and took us on an island tour.

The chartplotter was returned in working order and is back in service, the outboard is reportedly running well again and numerous other jobs are done. It was hard to leave our front row seats for the Friday night fireworks.

But, with the gift of a "Bon Voyage" cake from Mike and Mon it was time once again for the hardest part of cruising - saying goodbye to friends.

We're going to miss the tropics, but Alaska calls. Now if we can only figure out where we stowed the poly-pro!

Honomalino to Lahaina HI

2010-06-24T09:58:00.003-07:00

The definition of cruising on Marcy is still “working on the boat in exotic places” and we are definitely a cruising boat. We've been in Hawaii 6 weeks and we have spent only 8 days in places where we can swim from the boat. But oh, how good that swimming has been!

Peter has cleaned all of the battery terminals, painted some rusty things, and gone up the mast for maintenance items. Ginger has been scrubbing all the hidden corners of the boat with an old toothbrush.

Since our last refit in Buenos Aires 6 months ago we have traveled over 10,000 nautical miles, many of those miles in very windy conditions. So, it came as no surprise that during a daily inspection of the rig Peter found a problem. On our trip around the south end of the Big Island we cracked a turnbuckle toggle on our intermediate shroud.

It's a good thing that Peter found this before the other side broke! It is one of the important pieces that keeps the mast up. With the impaired rig we left the excellent anchorage on the SW side of the Big Island and motored up the voggy (volcano fog) Kona coast to Honokohau Harbor to get a new part.

What a relief to tie up to the guest spot in the calm waters of the harbor with the mast OK.

The water was so clear we had to double check the depth sounder to make sure there was enough water for our boat. The bottom looked much closer than the actual depth of 14 feet.

It's a clean harbor with turtles and eagle rays circling for handouts from the fishermen.

And we had front row seats for the sport fishermen daily weigh in.

At the end of our week we enjoyed a visit from Randy and Lynn. We knew Randy, KH6RC, because he's one of the net controllers for the Pacific Seafarer's Net. He helped us before we arrived in Hawaii by making a dentist appointment and by giving us a ton of local information making our stay here easier. After lunch and a trip to Costco(!) they brought us back to the boat just in time for a tuna weigh in. What a treat to meet Randy in person after talking with him so often.

With our new turnbuckle toggle installed and supplies on board we set out early Saturday morning for Maui. We had a windy channel crossing and arrived off Little Beach at Makena.

We dropped the hook in a patch of sand, Ginger dove in and snorkeled the area to find a spot where we wouldn't damage any coral. With hook down we were just in time to enjoy the sunset on the famous Maui red dirt.

And the sunset over Lanai.

We detoured to Molokini in the morning to check out this famous snorkeling spot. The state has installed 20 mooring buoys 6 feet below the surface. When arriving at the island a person needs to dive for the mooring pennant to hook the boat up. No problem, any excuse is a good reason to get in the water here. After our quick swim and a stitch up job on one of our main sail slides we slipped our mooring and sailed for Lahaina.

Reportedly it's difficult to anchor off Lahaina because of strong currents, poor holding and deep water. Luckily the Lahaina Yacht club offers courtesy moorings which are available to visiting yachts and we happily picked one up off the harbor entrance in water 60 feet deep.

The first day we couldn't get the outboard started so we rowed in to meet friends for dinner. It took quite a few hours of Peter's time to get the outboard working after 2 months of storage. It's a long trip from the moorings. We could barely see Marcy and the paraglider that likes to circle Marcy as we arrived at the dinghy dock.

The surfers were out in force.

And there was a wrecked sailboat on the reef reminding us to check our mooring line for chafe regularly.

Peter adjusted to life in touristville.

And Ginger was happy to finally get a lei.

The boat work continues - our motor repair done by the mechanic in NZ failed and needs to be re-done here. Not ideal at anchor with big waves but Peter is meeting the challenge.

And the work goes better when a cool off is as close as the side of the boat.

Marcy in Hawaii

2010-06-10T23:38:00.002-07:00

At first, Radio Bay in Hilo seemed a bit like prison for sailboats. Marcy was not allowed to move around the area. Amazingly, we were not allowed to have any visitors. And the crew were only allowed to leave the quay and the restroom area under security escort. To leave the port to go shopping or explore we were required to call the security station, and someone would be sent to escort us through the port to the street. Our first challenge was to try to get our African cell phone working – no easy task in the mall. Finally we found one provider who offered a SIM card that worked, and we became heavy users of port security. As we got to know them - Moku, Pretty, Leah, Lena, Honeygirl and Bryner - we found that they were a cheerful and hardworking bunch. We looked forward to our daily interactions.

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We set the awning to protect us from the fierce sun and the daily rain (we were on the windward side of the island here) and Peter started in on the inevitable list – including cleaning and greasing winches and reattaching stanchions.

Beautiful little finches brightened up the mornings. We saw turtles and many fish cruised through.

A family nursed an old Ericson to the quay. The son, Tyler, swam their stern line ashore and told us of their tough crossing from Southern California. The headstay was broken, engine dead, chartplotter failed, and transom cracked. The list on Marcy suddenly seemed very doable. The kids borrowed our canoe as the parents brought wet gear on deck to dry. It was nice to see how patient Tyler was with his little sister.

The skipper of the Hilo pilot boat, Mike, stopped by and introduced himself. He was a great help to cruisers. He knew all the sources for hardware, helped refuel by jerrycan, and even dispatched a piglet that was ravaging his garden, and brought it down for pork sandwiches for Peter.

Mike also brought flowers for Ginger and beer for Peter. What a welcome for sailors!

On days we could get out and walk, we enjoyed Banyon Drive. Ginger wasn't sure what sort of meeting was in process, but it sounded good.

Ginger gave the cute neighbor girl, Coral, a new sun hat.

Coral came over to watch a movie, to get her nails polished, and to help bake banana cake.

Finally the repairs were done on the Ericson “Blow Me Again” and the family set sail for Guam. Still no engine or chartplotter. Spirits were high as they were towed out of the bay.

Repairs were “finished” on Marcy, also, so a day or two later we also headed out. We sailed down overnight to the south end of the Big Island, turned north and coasted up the lee side. We found a nice little cove, Honomalino, and dropped the hook to swim and hike for a few days.

Just ashore of Marcy, Ginger found a blow hole in the lava.

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The bottom is perfectly visible 20 feet down. We jump in the water in the afternoon heat and snorkel around the rocks. Part of the reason the water is so clear here is that there is a drought on this part of the island. Mindful of the water shortage we carefully rinse off with few cups of fresh water. The last rain here was months ago.

It is great to be anchored in a tropical water again.

Passage North

2010-05-16T15:17:00.003-07:00

Marcy's leg north from Chile to Hawaii was a typical passage, but a long one at 6500 nautical miles. Preparations in Chile included flushing the outboard motor with fresh water and storing it down below.

We bought and stored two months of provisions, topped off fuel and water tanks, and rigged the jacklines.

Our special buy was a box of 180 delicious high quality eggs, beautifully packaged for easy turning and never refrigerated. These eggs easily lasted the six weeks to Hawaii, and we ate 170 of them. Eggs that have not been refrigerated last much longer at sea. We wish such eggs would be available in other countries!

Another good buy was a big chunk of the delicious unpasteurized country cheese that is popular in Chiloe.

As we worked on Marcy, the huge tide came and went. We made a mental note to carefully consult the tide table to time our departure.

Indeed, when we entered the narrows on the way to the ocean, barely past the turn of the tide, the ebb had already built to ten knots. Apparently slack water only lasts five or ten minutes here!

Safely past the narrows, we dropped the hook at a bay just at the ocean to wait for wind and tide to head out to sea. The next day, a familiar boat, the Vlakvark (we had both been working on bottom paint at the same time hauled out in Pto. Montt) joined us at anchor. We had considered our plan of a direct passage to Hawaii was bold, but Vlakvark is headed to Victoria BC in one hop!

After a day, weather and tide cooperated, so we pulled up short on the anchor rode and gave a courtesy call to the lighthouse informing them of our departure. Permission denied! The forecast was for 20 knots with possible squalls, perfect for us of course, but apparently considered too brisk for the Armada. The actual wind was a pleasant 15 knots. So we waited. After waiting all day, permission was finally given. The tide was no longer favorable, but we felt we should depart while departing was allowed – fearing that we would be trapped . This was probably most unseamanlike and dangerous decision we've made for years – as we headed out on the full ebb we were thrashed thoroughly by steep waves as the current met the ocean swell. We were lucky there was no damage. A big mistake, and we should have known better. And it underscores one of the major challenges of cruising Argentina and Chile – a sailboat can be trapped in port when the conditions are ideal for the sailor (i.e. wind!) and only released when conditions are not good. The port captains mean well but they do not understand the capabilities of ocean cruising sailboats.

We breathed a sigh of relief as we cleared the washing machine, and the familiar routine of a passage was established. A small rip, not entirely unexpected, appeared in our old jib. Being of composite construction it could not be repaired by sewing.

We kept our usual good lookout for shipping. We spotted this big tanker on our first day out, and had a nice chat with the captain. He graciously altered course to spare us the work of jibing.

Ginger got used to cooking at an angle again.

Peter got used to fixing broken stuff again.

Soon we were solidly in the tradewinds and enjoying great daily runs as Marcy sailed herself without much attention from us. We basked in the sun and relaxed.

We set the trolling line.

We worked on deck setting and dousing sails and a daily rig inspection.

Setting the spinnaker pole is always a careful balancing operation

As we made our way north, the weather warmed up. Flying fish appeared on deck. The rip in the jib grew.

We always had seabirds to keep us company. The birds rest on the water in light wind and take to the air when the wind is brisk.

Our towing generator also needs attention as the breeze waxes and wanes. If it is too windy we need to bring it in, otherwise the propeller skips out of the water and snarls the line.

One evening we snagged a drifting section of fishnet. Peter was skeptical at Ginger's suggestion that we trawl for tuna with it.

We settled into the pleasant passage routine, watches four hours on and four hours off, punctuated by the radio net at 0330 zulu. Our Pactor modem failed early, knocking out email capability, so the net was our only contact with the outside word. Ginger, the voice of Marcy, takes a rest before checking in.

Ginger also chatted with Vlaakvark daily. Somehow we remained within 100 miles of each other as we approached the equator even after weeks of sailing. We were well matched in speed and our tactics were similar.

A small ceremony was held at the line crossing. Ginger gave Neptune his dram of spirits.

Shortly after crossing the equator, we approached the outbound track we had made on the passage from Mexico to the Marquesas three years before. Ginger had marked that track on the chartplotter with little blue flags, and when we crossed that line we celebrated completing a circumnavigation. Always the accountant, Ginger noted that we had circled the globe in three years and 29 days. In the process we had sailed over 45,000 nautical miles. We celebrated again with a bit of port and a bite of chocolate.

That evening at radio time we found ourselves quite close to Vlakvark, and agreed to try to rendezvous the next morning. With some careful navigation, we spotted each other and pulled out the cameras. We got some great pictures of Vlakvark sailing 2000 miles from the nearest land. (For more Vlakvark photos click on the photo)

Exhausted from all of the parties and photo shoots in the equatorial heat, we looked forward to taking up our routine again. Unfortunately, Ginger's jaw and throat became swollen. A tooth seemed to be infected, and she was taken off watch duty and stayed in her bunk. After a day or two, she became even more uncomfortable as the infection got worse and started to feel like it was affecting breathing. We confirmed our treatment plan via radio contact with a doctor. A course of antibiotics was started and Peter sharpened a kitchen knife just in case a tracheotomy was called for. Luckily the antibiotics did the trick and by the time we reached Hilo she felt much better. Marcy dropped the hook and tied to the quay after an easy approach to the small basin called Radio Bay at the far end of Hilo Harbor.

are we in the tropics yet?

2010-04-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

We crossed the tropic of Capricorn on Monday, yay! Ever since our official arrival in the tropics we have been looking for signs of the tropics. We have watched diligently for flying fish and dolphins to no avail. True, we are in bikini weather sometimes but other times and especially during our days and nights of squalls we have also been bundled in our winter clothes. We caught a jack fish just before crossing into the tropics. He was mum about the signs of the tropics as he stabbed Peter in the finger with one of his dorsal spines. That fish must have really wanted to come aboard Marcy. We were barely making any way with light winds and huge seas. We had a fishing line in the water because we were close to some islands. They're secret islands. OK, maybe they're not secret because they are on our paper charts, they're even on our globe but they're not on our electronic charts. Anyway, we had a line in the water thinking there might be fish in the area but we were going so slow we had little hope of getting a fish. As we pulled the line in at sunset to put it away there was our fish on it just waiting to come aboard. What luck! Our entry into the tropics was also celebrated by chafing through our self steering line at 3AM the other morning. No problem, Peter had us up and going again by hanging over the stern the replace the line all before 4AM. Most exciting with our entry into the tropics came our ability to connect easily to our winlink email again. We've been using only sailmail by radio in South America and we can get a good signal to Panama now.

Today we are north of 17S latitude and we are finally enjoying steady winds at 12-15 knots and sunny skies. Day 5 in the tropics. We were visited by a large group of dolphins last night and this morning we saw our first flying fish in a year! It's good to be back!

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Anyone for a swim?

2010-04-08T08:57:00.001-07:00

With light winds and slightly warmer weather we have been doing small boat things and getting ready for the next wind that's we expect on Saturday. We are back in the cloudy day routine of towing our water electricity generator. Though with little wind and no sun our batteries are getting a bit low. The water temps are starting to rise and we're no longer wearing sweaters during the day. In fact, just yesterday we were discussing how much warmer the water is and how blue it has become again. Ironic that we would discuss that hours before dark on the very night that we snagged a fishing net on our prop. The timing was quite unfortunate. It is barely warm enough for us to consider a swim at the warmest part of the day. As the fishing net found us just after dark the day had cooled and the idea of a swim was less than appealing. We aren't very excited about swimming around the boat in 11,000 feet of water in the middle of the day. It just doesn't appeal to us to be that low on the food chain in "their" environment. We know people jump in and enjoy the water when it's very hot out but we have NEVER been tempted mid ocean to try, even when we hadn't showered for weeks, our water supply was low and it was 100 degrees F in the cockpit. So, there we were "just after dark" dragging a net which in the 5 knots of wind was really a sea anchor. And it was a very dark night. We're not sure what comes up from the bottom at night but we do know that the words "giant" and "squid" are intimidating when put together. What to do? We quickly decided we were not going to swim. As the night progressed the wind died to nothing and we would really have liked to use a bit of motor to recharge the batteries and keep steerage way with the boat. We slopped around all night towing our net but catching nothing! Finally in the light of the morning we were able to tie a rope to the net and pull it forward toward the bow to get it off. Swim averted! As of this morning we have sailed 950 miles since hauling our anchor, a fine number for the first week of our trip.

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Northbound in the Pacific

2010-04-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

We made our escape from Puerto Ingles, but not without drama. We were planning to haul anchor and get under way at the evening slack water. Our friends on Vlakvark, also at anchor waiting to leave, called and called on VHF radio for updates on the port status with the same answer each time - that when the new forecast was published at 8PM we might expect a change in the status of the port. Vlakvark heard another sailboat on the VHF radio and hailed them as they sailed past the lighthouse on their way to sea. When queried as to why it was safe for one sailboat to continue on to sea while two others were forced to wait they said only that the other sailboat had received permission to leave from another port. Of course, peer pressure works all over the world and within a few minutes the port was miraculously opened. We were free to leave as of 4PM. BUT, the timing was as awkward as it could be. We didn't want to wait in case they changed their minds so we hauled anchor and left at maximum ebb tide. When the eight knots of ebb current met the four meter waves coming in from the sea it caused the steepest most confused seas we ever want to face. To further complicate things we had been eating as if we were staying for a few more hours so with full queasy stomachs we bashed five miles out to sea and finally were able to head north with the wind on our beam and the large seas on our quarter. The wind lasted all the way north to Juan Fernandez Island and the seas kept up with the wind as waves tend to do. Our stomachs finally adjusted to the motion about 36 hours into the trip. We left Puerto Ingles with the beginnings of colds and our stuffed heads made the demands of going to sea even greater. Keeping up with sail handling, watches, radio check ins, sleep and eating was all we could accomplish. There were a few minor items requiring immediate attention like a loose lashing on a diesel jerry can and some noises coming from inside the dinghy (not a stowaway, just the gas can) and worst of all was the bottle of red wine that was tossed across the cabin on a particularly boisterous wave. The wine was mopped up, the bumping noises were quieted and we recovered our sea legs and settled in to our routine. Each day brings slightly warmer weather. Our jib had developed a big rip so when we have calmer seas we will drop it and put up our old sail. There was a low pressure system forecast to bring near gale force winds from the north across our path so we are heading due north to get away from that danger and as we get further north we are enjoying the calmer seas that go along with lighter winds. We have just crossed the south equivilent latitude that would take us from California into Mexico if we were on the reciprocal heading in North latitudes so we're considering a quesadilla and guacamole celebration lunch.

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The April Fools

2010-04-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

As we sit in Puerto Ingles twiddling our thumbs we feel that we are The April Fools. We've checked our weather carefully and tied up and put away everything on the boat in readiness for some wind and bouncy seas. The express train known as a high is coming through and we're planning to ride that up to the trade winds around 25 south. With several oceans in our wake we feel qualified to make the decision about when to go to sea. In fact, one of the most difficult decisions is going when there is lots of wind because it's better than going with no wind. We know these things. We have been anchored in the shelter of a lighthouse waiting for the wind to come around a bit more west than north so we wouldn't have to sail too close to the wind. As we called the lighthouse this morning, and using our best Spanish told them that we are leaving they said "Have a nice trip" or something like that.. next came the SECOND call. We know better than to answer when they call back.. but what harm could there be in answering? We shouldn't have answered. The port of Ancud is closed and we are officially in their district if not in their port so we are not authorized to leave. Arrgh! Not because of current conditions but because of the forecast for some windy squalls! We're sitting here because maybe a forecast will come true and some windy squalls might come through?! Of course, the Marcy captain would like to leave and the mostly law-abiding crew would like, if not permission, at least not NO. Our departure is further complicated by currents that run at such a rate that we actually saw speed over ground of 14.4 knots for an extended period of time when coming through the channel. We would prefer to leave at the end of the ebb and get a push out to sea rather than getting sucked back in toward Chile. So, we plot, we wait, we do a few last minute projects and we complain about officials who would keep an ocean going vessel from going to sea because of a squally forecast. We've heard if one runs out of fuel the Armada will transfer some free of charge. We're wondering if we're forced to wait here until the wind dies will they meet us a few hundred miles up the coast to refuel? If we leave anyway will they chase us down? Would they shoot at us for leaving in unsafe conditions? And which is worse, trying to leave on April Fools day or on a Friday? We have lots of time to wonder..

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Chiloe

2010-03-27T13:01:00.003-07:00

In the interest of full disclosure, mention must be made of a certain type of aggressive biting fly that lives in this part of the world. For a few miserable days, it was unsafe to venture on deck alone. One needed protection to do any job, someone to swat as the other worked. Soon, though, we either got far enough north and thus out of range, or the weather changed – in any case we were no longer harassed by these flies. After crossing the Gulf of Corvocado to Chiloe and the outlying islands we found ourselves in a well populated gentle pastoral world. It's an area of small farms, small towns, and attractive coves. The people here seem to be equally at home at the the helm of a tractor or a fishing boat.

Rowing boats are everywhere.

Some little boats are not very pretty – stryrofoam planks are often used as tenders.

We got a nocturnal visit from a fisherman and his wife wanting to trade crab for just about anything.

With wooden boats in daily use, it isn't surprising that we spotted many boats under repair and new construction.

Ginger found a pile of lumber ready for the next big vessel. The trees are cut with the curving grain of natural crooks preserved for knees or frames.

We were offered tea in the kitchen of one house as water was heating on the wood stove.

The weather was predicted to breeze up beyond comfort level, so we found a nice secure nook to wait for a couple of days.

The little bay soon filled with other boats also seeking shelter. One fishing boat was beached to repair a plank that had sprung loose while bashing into the weather.

For some reason, on that particularly windy afternoon, everyone vanished. All the fishermen rowed ashore and disappeared.

The little fishing boat just upwind of us dragged alongside. We spent hours fending off, expecting the captain to return any minute and deal with the problem. Finally Peter rowed out, pulled the little anchor, and repositioned the boat downwind. Problem solved, but where the heck did everyone go?

That evening, as people returned to their boats, we heard that there had been a tsunami warning. It was sheepishly explained that everyone had climbed to high ground in confusion. We were promised that next time we would not be forgotten. A gun would be fired by the Carabineros to alert us. Possibly the church bell would be rung as well, although that was not known in certainty. A meeting was to be held that night to discuss the situation.

We never tested the new warning system as the weather turned nice before the next tsunami warning. We set sail for the capitol of the area, Castro, and as we dropped anchor we saw the wonderful wooden cathedral that towers over the town.

Near our anchorage the shore was lined with distinctive “palafitos” - houses on pilings built over the water.

We rowed ashore and explored. The buildings were interesting, sided with a variety of materials such as wood shingles, tin sheets and split logs.

Back on the beach we were ready to launch the dinghy when a labrador retriever decided he wanted a boat ride. He jumped in our dinghy and did not want to budge. Here doggie! Get out! Come! Peter tried his best dog bossing voice.

Maybe he should have tried to reason with the dog in Spanish.

We needed to lift him bodily from the boat, and even then he paddled after us for a while. It was time for us to move on, so we sailed the distance to Puerto Montt, the biggest city we'd seen since arriving in Chile. As we sailed up the channel, a low tide provided opportunity to boat owners of vessels large and small for painting and maintenance.

We were reminded that we also needed new bottom paint. We arrived at at Club Nautico Reloncavi and in short order arranged for a haulout by travelift. How nice (and inexpensive) it would be to use the tide instead. Some small cruisers dry out here on every tide, with the help of legs to stay upright.

Soon enough, Marcy headed back to the water sporting a new blue bottom.

While at Puerto Montt, which is one of the major crossroads of cruising, we had the pleasure of meeting many international sailors. We have good new friends from Holland, Norway, Australia and the UK. We had been on the lookout to meet one couple, Annie and Trevor, for some time. They sail a gaff rigger named Ironbark that is a near sister ship to Ariel, whom we had cruised with in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was good to finally meet friends of friends.

Trevor and Annie (Annie Hill, marine author) were freshly back from the New York Yacht Club where they had just flown to accept a prestigious award from the Cruising Club of America. They haven't let the awards go to their heads. They were great fun to chat with. Iron Bark has wintered over in both Arctic and Antarctic ice, and we heard many fascinating hints and tidbits of staying warm and happy in such a severe environment. Our time for socializing was limited, though, because we had to prepare Marcy for our longest open ocean passage yet. Our next destination is Hawaii, 6,000 nautical miles away, where we will return to the northern hemisphere for the first time in over three years. We must quickly shoe horn two months of supplies aboard Marcy and shove off.

Lots of Wild Country, Few Small Towns

2010-03-06T13:58:00.002-08:00

We enjoy the wilderness. We've often wondered as we cruised our home waters – what was it like before the pioneers, or even before people? Here in Southern Chile we get an idea of what that might look like. We have spent many days traveling without seeing a trace of mankind.

We saw no other boats, no towns, roads, power lines, no logged areas, no airplanes in the sky, no lights at night – only wilderness. The only sounds we heard that we did not make ourselves were birds, seals, frogs waves and wind. Only the occasional navigation marker and the daily radio contact told us that we hadn't somehow been transported back in time.

Of course, there is a sad history of why this area is so deserted. Two hundred years ago, the coast was the home of thousands of indigenous canoe people. Tough, warlike, and independent, they were virtually wiped out by the European newcomers and disease. The only trace we see today of them here are the names of geographical features such as Ushuaia.

We have seen a lot of wildlife. Even some shy marine otters in quiet anchorages at sunset.

We passed a dead whale on the beach. Sad for the whale, but the albatrosses were very happy.

In one bay, hot water bubbled out of a spring near the beach. We made a hot tub using our inflatable kayak, piping in spring water through our awning battens. We cooled the water with buckets of seawater occasionally to keep from melting the kayak or boiling Ginger.

We enjoy wilderness, yes, but when we came across one of the few small fishing towns we were very glad to greet people and see buildings again. Our eyes were happy to see bright colors after only seeing the browns, greens and blues of the wilderness for so long. As we approached the tiny fishing village of Eden, we saw the bright yellow fishing boats from a distance. We spotted the masts of a couple of other cruising sailboats, too.

Our French friends Pierre and Amelie, who we first met in Brazil and hadn't seen for weeks, took our stern line as we approached the pier.

We loaded fuel by siphoning from a drum on the dock. Ginger was stationed at the critical valve, ready to stop the transfer if anything went wrong. A friendly cat dropped down on Marcy's deck and kept her company.

Fuel on board, we moved Marcy out to the anchorage and turned our attention to exploring the town.

Some of the buildings were a bit ramshackle. And the waterfront supermarket didn't look very appealing.

A nice board walk connects the houses, with many small booths lining it. We thought maybe they were school bus shelters but there are no motor vehicles here. We never did find out what they are for.

At one point there is a shrine for St. Peter, patron saint of fishermen, complete with a beautifully built model fishing boat. The Armada had filled out and posted a zarpe, paperwork all vessels need here in Chile for permission to leave port.

The pilot house door on the “Capitan Cristo” had a bright mural of a determined looking Christ driving his boat.

As we walked along, Ginger was a magnet for all the cats.

We noticed a strange thing – there was no wind! And it wasn't raining! As we worked our way north, the weather has gotten much better. As we headed back out the next morning, we hoped the trend would continue. We'd like to order some wind from the south, we feel we've used enough diesel fuel for now!

Wind and Rain, Sun and Ice

2010-03-02T13:02:00.002-08:00

We're in the rhythm of cruising the canals here in Chile. It's been cold, so we wore lots of clothes and kept the heater running day and night.

It was usually blowing a gale the wrong way, so in the rare calms we motored north. Even more rarely we got to sail, to reach or run for half a day or so. Most of the time, we rode out the winds at anchor, explored the shore and kept warm down below.

Ginger is very happy to use our radio capabilities, restored fully after our catastrophic radio failure in Namibia. She chats daily to the “Patagonia Net,” reports (en español!)to the Armada ships and shore stations, keeps up with emails, and downloads weather gribs and charts.

Using as much diesel as we were, made us glad to finally reach Puerto Natales, our first fuel stop. We felt like a big boat as we refueled directly from a tanker truck.

After getting fuel, we anchored across the fiord to get a bit of protection from the wind. The view from the boat was magnificent.

Beautiful black necked swans cruised by Marcy.

Interestingly, Puerto Natales is just outside the coastal rain belt, getting only a tenth of the rain that falls just a few miles away. Ginger was giddy with happiness as she peeled off the foulies she had lived in for weeks.

The terrain reminds us of Eastern Washington with dry hills and blue skies. It was good to dry out, but Ginger's weather information told us we needed to move on – a spell of high pressure promised good conditions for northbound travel. We set course for one of the many great glaciers that spill out into the channels. As we motored up the twenty mile long fiord, we passed groups of seals warming up in the classic “jug handle” pose and chunks of ice.

Dolphins seemed glad to see us and escorted us along.

The skies kept clearing, and we began to see awesome peaks that had been hidden in the clouds.

We made a quick pass by the 150 foot tall, two mile wide face of the glacier named Pio XI, then retreated to a nearby cove for the night. The next morning dawned clear and cold.

The wind was very light, perfect for sailing among the bergy bits – since the motor wasn't running, we didn't need to worry about the prop being damaged by ice.

Ginger went up in the rig to take some pictures.

The dolphins, bored with our slow speed, hunted nearby.

We felt very lucky that one of the very few brilliant sunny days we've had since arriving in Chile would occur as we visited the photogenic glacier. What are the chances? After some last looks at the glacier, we turned and motored back out the long fiord.

The dolphins were happy that we were moving fast again, we were happy to have had such a wonderful day at the glacier and to be heading back to resume our northbound course in the channels.

all OK on Marcy

2010-02-27T18:51:00.000-08:00

We are anchored in the Chilean channels about 100 miles south of Isla Chiloe. All is well on Marcy, we had no tsunami in our area. Our shore station for email was down (probably no power) for the day, but is now back on the air. Thank you for your emails.

Ginger and Peter

Sailing the Beagle Channel

2010-02-11T09:06:00.002-08:00

Weeks of rubbing elbows and fenders with all the boats in urban Ushuaia made us ready to depart Argentina for Chile. We wrangled with “government bureaucracy” for the last two weeks of December and it was a relief to finally get underway again. Though we did have to haul the Argentine flag to the top of the mast to satisfy the Armada safety inspector before we were allowed to untie the lines!

Had we been headed south, Peter would have lashed a lamb somewhere as a traditional way to carry meat into the deep-freeze climate in the south.

To Ginger's relief it isn't quite cold enough for “outdoor refrigeration” in the Beagle Channel so we had to settle for vacuum packed beef in the fridge. Lucky for the cows in Puerto Williams we left Ushuaia with more beef than one person should be able to eat in a month. In fact, we had so much Ginger even had to taste a few bites of it. She liked it....

We enjoyed our trip to Cape Horn and the quiet uninhabited islands around the cape.

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On our way back from Cape Horn we stopped at Puerto Toro and enjoyed a hike to an old cemetary.

One more stop (required by Armada) for paperwork to travel from Puerto Williams to Puerto Natales and we were finally on our way west in the Beagle Channel. Our first couple of days were short hops between tiny anchorages barely out of the wind. Several times we anchored for a few hours and then carried on as the wind subsided.

After entering the NW arm of the Beagle Channel our travels were rewarded by close up views of glaciers and waterfalls. It seemed almost like cheating to see these sights from the comfort of the cockpit without having to hike even a few feet.

We encountered our first floating ice soon enough and were lucky to have an unusual following wind as we sailed in to anchor near a glacier.

After setting our anchor and shore line we decided to stay a couple of nights while the wind howled out in the canal. We took advantage of the great views from above our anchorage.

Peter explored the bay by dinghy.

For lighter winds the best time to travel in the canals seems to be early in the morning, so we rose before sunrise and headed west in the channel early one morning

Several anchorages along the route provided excellent opportunities for hiking as we enjoyed some sunny weather.

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With the hilly terrain we were afforded many views of Marcy at anchor.

One of the most unusual anchorages was Caleta Brecknok with steep rock walls and hanging lakes, one barely higher than sea level.

Of course, after the sun.. comes the rain. We are in Patagonia for summer and the coldest winter we've seen on this trip has been summer in Patagonia!

It's great weather for ducks!

So, we don our rubber boots and foulies and go hiking in the rain.

Anchoring

2010-02-08T05:23:00.002-08:00

We're anchoring a lot these days, since we're coastal cruising as opposed to sailing ocean passages. Patagonia is full of beautiful coves, protected from waves if not violent wind gusts. Similar to our home waters of the Pacific Northwest, glaciers have carved out a wonderful variety of nooks and crannies perfect for sheltering mariners. A boat could spend years exploring this area and never stay in the same cove twice.

Most mornings, weather permitting, we pull the anchor and head out. Depending on conditions, we go a long way or not – usually there is another anchorage available very close by. At this latitude the days are long, so we are never tempted to try to enter an anchorage at night. This is good because the charts are not complete so the sailor must rely on “eyeball” navigation. We rely also on the “Italian Guide” officially known as "Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego Nautical Guide" by Mariolina Rolfo and Guiseppe Adrizzi. The Italian's sketches are quite accurate and give much more information than the official charts. This guide is really nice work, almost a coffee table book with photos, history, and advice of all sorts. It is so universally used by the sailors in this area that during the radio net reports on the “Patagonia Net”each boat calls in position by the book number, i.e. “anchorage 8.10” rather than “Bahia Borja.” We met the authors on their boat Saudade III when we were in Ushuaia.

Many of the sketches in the "Italian Guide" suggest that skippers run out shore lines as well as anchor. Some boats carry spools of line enhancing the “high latitude” look, a fashion statement sort of like huge wheels and banks of lights on a 4x4 truck.

On Marcy, we use a simpler and less expensive system. We flake our shore lines on deck, lashing them to the stanchions. We have two polypropelyne lines (floaters) and two nylon anchor lines (sinkers) that can be used if needed. As we gain experience, we are using shore lines less and less. It's a lot of work to launch the dinghy and run out multiple shore lines for an overnight. Perhaps if a long stay of days or weeks was anticipated it would make sense, but we find that the holding is usually good and swinging to the hook is comfortable and safe. And leaving in the morning is certainly easier!

We anchor carefully. There are wonderful big luxuriant healthy kelp patches in many of the anchorages here - we remember when Puget Sound had kelp (and fish!) so we try not to uproot any. We carry a machete to clear the chain of loose floating kelp mats that sometimes drift down, but we don't hack at attached kelp. We never “set the hook” with reverse motoring. This wrong headed practice doesn't make a bit of sense, because dragging the anchor plows the bottom ripping up grass, kelp, and anything else. Besides, the anchor needs time to settle in, especially in grass. Dragging the anchor around under power does nothing for security, and makes the hook likely to encounter a rock or debris to foul and jam. And what good is it to choose a precise spot to anchor in and then motor around in reverse all over the bay? We've seen some remarkable performances.

We also set scope carefully, the ratio of rode set to water depth, so that there isn't an excess of chain lying on the bottom. As our friend Darrell on "Wiz" pointed out to us a long time ago, chain on the bottom isn't really doing much good for holding. And in this environment, dragging chain across fragile grass isn't doing any good for the flora. So we usually set a three to one scope, unless it's blowing a gale with waves, in which case we run out a bit more chain until it doesn't snub with violence anymore. Using too much scope is also sort of antisocial because the boat charges all over the anchorage (especially with rope rode) making it difficult for the next guy to figure out where to anchor.

Our day to day anchoring equipment has proved to work well in all sorts of different conditions. We carry 300 feet of 3/8”chain on a 66 pound Bruce on the bow. Only once (on an open roadstead in South Africa) have we wished for a longer chain, and then it was easy enough to add a rope rode on the end of the chain. In most anchorages we use less than half of the chain, which is marked with paint and bits of spinnaker cloth in a code indicating length. We have a little 35 pound Danforth that we often use with rope rode for a stern anchor or a second anchor on the bow to prevent swinging to gusts.

Sometimes on long passages we store the anchor down below – to remove weight from the bow for better sailing and to plug the hole in the deck that the chain goes through for better watertightness.

Ginger does most of the anchor work on the foredeck. She knows how dangerous chain and rope under load can be, and works very, very carefully. We've encountered several sailors with injuries caused by anchoring equipment and don't want to have any incidents onboard Marcy.

So far, knock on wood, our record is very good - no real injuries (a bruise and a sprain or two) and no real dragging (a couple of feet here and there.)

Straits of Magellan

2010-01-23T15:33:00.000-08:00

Our arrival in the Straits of Magellan has been hard won. Low pressure systems seem to arrive quickly, every 12 hours or so, making choosing a "good" time to leave anchorages difficult.

We checked our grib weather files and left Brecknock Cove early Thursday morning. It looked like our only chance to travel the Cockburn Channel in the next few days. After we had untied the shore lines the wind began to gust from the north. As we were hauling the anchor the williwaws became stronger and we were forced to leave the cove with the dinghy alongside. We hoped for shelter from one of the small points along the mile long fiord but as we found none we finally hauled the dinghy in a relative lull. The wind was blowing very hard and the gusts were heeling the boat half way over toward the dinghy. We were in reverse at 1600 rpm and still making forward way at three knots. As we blew away from our anchorage and rounded the corner into Occasion Channel we had brief respite from full force of the weather. We threaded our way through a fisherman's pass, Paso Gonzales, protected from the swell by some small treeless islands. The visibility was about a quarter of a mile with heavy rain making the radar unusable at times. Our charts were good (enough) and the pilot guide directions were perfect. We made it to the middle of the pass with the wind building and decided to duck into a small cove, La India, rumored to have protection from the wind. We anchored, had a hot drink and some oatmeal, launched the dinghy and set some shore lines and a second anchor.

As soon as we were settled in the cove the wind died to nothing and the water was flat calm. We decided we had just been about four hours too early for the light weather we expected. It was only 10AM so after our rest we hauled in all the lines and anchors and continued on. Out front it seemed better at first. We cleared the second part of the fisherman's channel and stuck our nose out into the middle of the Cockburn Channel. The wind was coming from the north west making it a trip close to the wind. As we made progress further north the wind built and we could see the gusts raising sea smoke 100 feet into the air from the water. We rounded our final protection island and checked the possibility of heading to our namesake bay "Puerto Niemann" but it was upwind and we knew we couldn't motor the five miles into the now fierce wind and waves. We changed course to an anchorage further east and rocked and rolled our way across the last few miles of channel. The dread tide against wind made very steep waves as we approached the point we were to duck behind. Just as we thought we were almost out of the maelstrom we got tossed on our ear by a very steep wave dousing the cockpit, dinghy and even sending water through the vent in our sleeping cabin. Yes, we've now got a system for closing those vents with a seal from inside but it was open for this "inland passage" to try to let some condensation out of the boat. Below decks some things were tossed across the cabin that have never been dislodged before. The big waves were a strong hint that it was time to give the autopilot a rest and hand steer the last 45 minutes out of the channel.

Finally in the protection of the land we found rest at Parmelita Cove with a mud bottom, 20 feet deep. After running two lines ashore and putting out 2 anchors we felt we could ride out the gusts that were rocking our anchorage. By morning, with sore muscles from all the line setting and hauling the previous day we were ready to move on as the weather seemed better. Our trip north was uneventful and we spent two days at Murray Cove waiting for less wind to enter the Magellan Straits. This morning, Saturday we were able to cross the Magellan Straits, seven miles wide here and motor 20 miles up wind at an average of 3.5 knots. The waves were short and steep and the wind was, as expected, a head wind. We finally pulled in at lunch time to wait for the tide change and with luck, better weather soon. We needed a warm up and some hot soup because though it's the middle of summer here it's raining hard and 47° F and we're getting chilled sitting in the damp cockpit.

As we sit watching the rain streak the ports and contemplate what might be lighter conditions and another opportunity to move we glance at the barometer and see that it has just fallen six hPa in the last hour and we have another high wind warning. Maybe we'll just give Peter a snack and a beer and work on boat jobs this afternoon.

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Marcy Exploring Chilean Channels

2010-01-19T10:48:00.000-08:00

Marcy is pinned down at the moment. We are sharing a small cove with a Belgian sloop, neither of us wanting to move in the current weather. It's pouring rain and windy, and the wind is strong enough to make the next hop impractical. It's not a question of sailing or motoring, rather a question of motoring into strong wind, thus wasting fuel, or motoring efficiently in calm conditions. And it's all about conserving fuel because there are no opportunities to refuel in this area. The next available spot to refuel is over 400 miles away, miles of beautiful, wild, deserted and windy canals and narrow fiords. And we've already gone 125 miles since we refueled at Puerto Williams. Marcy has sailed the world for over three years without ever needing to augment the 70 gallons of diesel tankage we carry. In fact during our time in trade wind areas we have sometimes worried about not running the motor enough to keep the fuel fresh – diesel can go bad or grow slime with time. Solar panels and a wind/water powered generator take care of electrical needs without running the motor, and we enjoy sailing whenever possible, often sailing to and from anchor. But now we need to motor most of the time as here in the Chilean channels heading north as we are there are only two wind conditions we can expect– dead calm or gale on the nose!

To increase our range, about 360 miles in light conditions, we are now carrying diesel on deck in these extra containers:
a big orange bag on the cabin top, 120 liters
and a big blue drum in the cockpit, 200 liters
and 6 (!) jerry cans lashed to the rail, total 160 liters
We also consume diesel for heat – a Webasto furnace up forward, used mostly only to warm the boat up in the mornings, and a Sig drip stove in the saloon, which we are running day and night to combat the chill and damp.

When the weather breaks we will stow the spider web of shore lines that hold us in place, pull the two anchors we have run out, and motor onward. In the meantime we peer out the ports and admire the scenery we can make out between the sheets of rain – sheer cliffs, dramatic waterfalls, and thick mossy stunted forests. Every now and then a williwaw, or "racha"as it's called here in Chile, roars down the mountainside and blasts Marcy almost rail down. Yesterday we hiked around the area, squelching through bogs in rubber boots. Today we're thankful that we're snug and warm and content to go about cooking, reading, eating, yoga, and waiting for that break in the weather.

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Cape Horn to Starboard!

2010-01-11T14:06:00.002-08:00

Marcy tacked past Cape Horn in light winds on Friday January 8, 2010.

The Horn is a place of sailor's legend. We spent a quiet moment thinking of all the maritime history linked to this cape, and reflected on all the sea miles that had led us here. And, make no mistake, we were grateful for the quiet weather!

The image of Marcy is courtesy of Yorikke, flying the South African flag but still wearing Washington State registration stickers. She followed us out of a little cove close to the Horn where we had anchored the night before. We agreed to swap photos.

Now, of course, we are entitled to wear the gold earring..........

Cape Horn

2010-01-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

Today, January 8, we rounded Cape Horn. Now we begin our trip through the Chilean channels toward Puerto Montt.

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Ushuaia in Argentina, the Southernmost City in the World, and Puerto Williams in Chile, the Southernmost Town in the World

2009-12-31T04:50:00.002-08:00

With daughter Lisa onboard, we wanted to see penguins. No problem, we've seen lots of penguins! We passed a breeding colony as we made our way westward.

Finally we spied a much photographed lighthouse and knew we had almost arrived in Ushuaia. We were ready to enjoy the town.

Cruise ships come and go at the commercial pier across the bay.

Marcy was tied to the dock at AFASyN, the only game in town for yachts.

A DC-3 wearing Argentine Armada colors is parked at the nearby airport.

The dock is a busy place, as the Antarctic charter fleet comes and goes. Rafting can be intense and complicated maneuvers are carried out to extract boats at all hours.

Most of the boats, Marcy included, refuel with drums and siphon hoses.

To spice dock life up, Ushuaia is a windy spot. One day the airport reported 74 knot gusts. As one can imagine, wind like that can play havoc with rafted boats. It's lucky that the wind usually doesn't last for more than a day or so and the waves are not serious. Peter assisted a catamaran needing to augment mooring lines.

The atmosphere at the dock is something like a climbing camp, with much gore-tex and down clothing. Skis and tents are loaded alongside the usual potatoes and gas cans. Many of the boats, almost all metal, are being prepared for the Antarctic or a long term cruise of the fiords and glaciers. There is a lot of excitement in the air. Most of the boats here are French. And there are famous sailors here, notably Isabelle Autissier of BOC/Around Alone fame and Patrick Taberly, brother of Eric. One Sunday when Marcy was flying her jack at the bow a French girl on a neighboring boat sneaked on board and jokingly tied the “Tricolour” to the staff.

The town itself is nice, reminiscent of a ski town. Which is appropriate because there are a couple of ski areas here. The traffic rules are unusual – at every unmarked intersection (and most of them are unmarked) the uphill and downhill traffic has right of way over traffic on the level street. As pedestrians, we had a heck of a time figuring out what cars were going to do until this was explained to us. Ushuaia is a tourist town, and people from many different countries visit. It attracts lots of young adventurous backpackers, many of whom walk the docks looking for a ride on a yacht to Puerto Williams or further.

With fuel and groceries replenished, it seemed like a good time to leave the hectic scene in Ushuaia and head down the channel to Puerto Williams. Only a half a day away across the Beagle Channel, it is a change of countries and a world away in atmosphere. We noticed one difference right away when we arrived, instead of the need for us to search out the appropriate offices to clear into Chile, all the officers came down to the boat. How nice!

The yacht club at Puerto Williams is unique and very famous in the sailing world. The “dock” is a derelict cargo ship, the “Micalvi,” that is resting on the bottom.

Peter enjoyed imagining hand cranking the 1930's windlass.

The ports reflected the mountains across the channel.

The bar is a cozy cabin. Among long distance sailors, a casual mention of having enjoyed a “Pisco Sour” on the “Miclalvi” gains a certain respect. We earned our bragging rights and enjoyed our drinks with our friendly neighbors, Swiss and Austrian sailors.

Puerto Williams calls itself “the southernmost town in the world” in competition with Ushuaia, which calls itself “the southernmost city in the world.” We have heard that there is a small fishing village further south, no doubt called “the southernmost fishing village in the world.” In any case Pto Williams is a walker's paradise. The roads have no traffic to speak of, there are trails all over the island, and beautiful scenery is everywhere.

The town is relaxed - horses foraging loose in town lie down for a nap, and cows graze on the beach.

The practical Chileans made a bridge using an old steel hull.

Pto Williams is an Armada (Navy) Base. With the considerate English translation on this sign we knew exactly where we were.

We hiked inland a bit, and enjoyed the wilderness.

Back in town, we realized that we need to get back to Ushuaia soon so that Lisa would not miss her flight back home. Filing our papers at the Port Captain's office we noticed that the view is spectacular even from this office. We look forward to returning a few weeks as we continue on south.

Estancia Harberton

2009-12-27T04:48:00.002-08:00

Upon arrival at Harberton we launched the dinghy and went ashore to arrange a ride to town. We received a warm welcome from Tommy Goodall and his daughter Abby and family. We were even invited to stay for dinner. With great company ashore and no fresh food left on the boat we didn't hesitate to accept. We were back at the boat before sunset, 10PM, and enjoyed a quiet night at anchor. The next morning we were up early. Peter had to cut a hole in the bulkhead to remove the exhaust mixing elbow from under the engine and was ready to go by mid morning. We packed our empty cooking gas bottle, and a small overnight bag and went ashore. The Piratour bus which brings people to see the penguins near Harberton had two seats available and they were kind enough to give us a lift for the two hour ride into town. With the dinghy stowed ashore and a last glance toward Marcy we were off.

Our time in town was well spent. As we arrived on Friday afternoon we were anxious to find a person to repair the boat part first. We found a welder, Sr. Castro, who was willing to take on the task and left our old part in his capable hands. With a hostel room for the night (showers and wifi too!) we visited the yacht club to inquire about a mailing address for some cables to connect our radio. By the time Lisa arrived we had a few groceries and a full gas bottle and were ready for our return to the boat.

We didn't recognize Lisa when she got to baggage claim. She had to wave at us several times before we realized that cute woman with short hair was someone we knew!

Sunday morning we got a taxi to take us back to the boat. What a relief to find Marcy safe and sound at anchor.

We still had a few issues aboard making life a bit more like camping than home. With no motor we couldn't make water so we had to ration fresh water until Ushuaia. We still had no galley sink drain. It's amazing how many times a sink drain is used in the course of a day. But most importantly we were out of fuel and the boat was cold. Our last gallons of diesel were transferred into our heater tank when we arrived at Harberton. Andreas from the Piratour company was kind enough to bring more fuel for us on Monday morning and we wasted no time putting Lisa to work. We had to bleed the fuel line to fill the heater tank.

It was a messy job involving Peter sucking on his end of the diesel hose, Ginger blowing into the tank to pressurize it and Lisa turning the pump on and off to get the line clear. Finally, with heat in the boat we were able to turn our attention to exploring the area.

We walked out the road and over to the next bay to look for another boat we knew to be in the area.

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In addition to the incredible scenery we were impressed by the wildlife at every turn.

The old road used by the family before the new road was built is a bit rough now.

We had time to explore the farm

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and the Acatushun Museum also on the property.

The boat jobs continued and Lisa was hauled up the mast to change out the telltales.

We made oatmeal cookies with our last butter to thank everyone ashore for all their help.

Our communication with our welder Sr. Castro wasn't quite good enough to figure out how to get our engine part back to Harberton. Ana, also from Harberton and Piratour, was kind enough to pick it up in town and deliver it to us at the boat. We felt very fortunate for all of Ana's help and hospitality.

With the elbow installed and the boat just about ready to move Abby invited us for a hike with two of her kids.

We set off across the fields and along the way Abby pointed out all the necessary plants for survival in the wilderness here.

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The spring melt had the rivers and creeks at full flood

and the water table high.

On our trip back there was a commando race to the car and many laughs shared by all

We stopped to inspect an old plane wreck and hear the story of the crash. We were impressed to hear that the pilot and passenger though both severely injured survived for 3 days in the snow after the crash before rescue. Frontier living is tough!

Too soon it was time to say goodbye to Harberton,Tommy and his family.

With luck we'll return some day soon.

The last push to (almost) Ushuaia

2009-12-20T06:05:00.005-08:00

As promised, we saw much sea life as we traveled the south coast of Argentina. One of the larger specimens at Mar del Plata gets much respect from Peter as he shows his fangs.

As we sailed south, seals and dolphins kept us company

along with lots of seabirds.

We enjoyed a beautiful day (despite motoring) as we passed a scenic lighthouse south of Puerto Deseado in light winds.

As we continued on the days were marked by light winds and of course - a gale. All from the south. The birds loved the windy weather

and the waves built up a bit.

Most of our challenges on this trip were focused around dishwashing. With no drain on the galley sink (due to the broken seacock) we were using the head sink for dishes. The fluorescent light in the head decided this was a good time for the ballast to die so we had no light. Then about a day after we left Puerto Deseado a fresh water connection came loose while motoring and we dumped our full water tanks – all 90 gallons – into the bilge. Of course, this happened in the middle of the night so our thinking wasn't very clear when we closed the valves to isolate the leak - wherever it was. We started the water maker and proceeded to make another 30 gallons of water and dump that in the bilge too! With daybreak, our mistake became obvious. Luckily we carry several large containers of water and were able to use our bottled water while we found and reconnected the loose fitting and made water – again.

We hauled up the storm jib for one overnight blow and then fired up the engine as the wind died and motored on. With all that motoring we needed to refuel from jerry jugs, so we took advantage of the calm.

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As we progressed into higher latitudes the days got longer but the weather got colder. During the cold front and gale that passed the temperature outside dropped to 37°F making watches on deck painful with the wind chill. Those flying bird photos were taken with frozen fingers.

Just as we arrived at the notorious Estrecho de le Maire the barometer bottomed out and the light wind we had enjoyed built to a 20 knot headwind. We had heard about 30 foot standing waves that can occur in this area when wind opposes tide so we tried the recommended tactic entering the pass with wind and tide together, even though it was unfavorable. Unfortunately going against wind and tide we were unable to make progress. So we waited for the tide to change and then beat into the wind for hours to get to Bahia Buen Suceso. Not our normal style, and not elegant but the other option of waiting for fair wind at Isla de los Estados would have delayed us too long.

We anchored in Bahia Buen Suceso and woke to snow on the deck and strong winds. The windlass refused to work because the lubricant that has worked so well in the tropics had thickened in the chill.

After a second night at anchor rolling in the now large SE swell watching the barometer rise we decided it was time to go. Our last weather information was four days old but we knew that as the forecast low went by the wind should come around from a more favorable direction. When the baro reached 1005 we hauled anchor and rounded Buen Suceso. This was another motorboat trip and as we crawled along at top RPM's, but only making 2 knots we were anxious about our fuel reserves and wishing we had brought even more fuel!

The barometer topped out and the wind began to ease as we entered the Beagle Channel. At midnight, with just 25 miles to go, we were both in the cockpit for watch change when the engine made a noise. Peter opened the hatch and black smoke billowed out. We immediately killed the engine and began inspecting for fire. The prospect of abandoning a boat on fire in these icy waters had two very motivated people working quickly to find the source. We were relieved to find that the boat and engine were not on fire. Further examination revealed that we had blown a hole in our exhaust mixing elbow and were shooting raw exhaust fumes into the cabin. Not pleasant, but a relief to find that the boat was uncompromised. The current in this area has an onshore set and we were just a half mile from shore and kelp. We rolled out the jib, hoisted the main and started to sail against the wind and current toward our destination.

Twelve hours and 27 tacks later we arrived at Puerto Harberton. This was one of very few possible anchorages after Buen Suceso and the first port with road access where we could get a ride to town to get a new part made and pick up Lisa when she arrived. We made our arrival deadline (sort of) with just two days to spare and were relieved to know we'd be able to make our appointment at the airport.

Calms and a Gale

2009-12-05T19:27:00.005-08:00

Life in San Fernando was wonderful and easy, but it was not easy to leave. We were mindful that our date to meet our daughter Lisa in Ushuaia, a thousand sea miles to the south, was looming ever closer. But seemed that even the water level in the river conspired to keep us at San Fernando. The water level fell for days before our planned departure date. The weather forecast was for light winds and no rain inland (conditions that keep the river low) and we knew if we didn't leave very soon we'd be prisoners for a while, maybe a long while. At the Prefectura office, we cleared out of San Fernando with hopes that we could leave on the mid-day high tide, but it was not to be. Back at the boat there was not sufficient water - Marcy's keel was firmly on the bottom. Our last hope was the 3AM high tide that night. With last minute jobs to do and a quick dash into town for dinner we were exhausted as we fell into our bunk. To our happy surprise at 3AM the water was just high enough to get out. We crept out of the marina in the dark with perfectly calm water. Following our depth sounder and radar to get out of the delta we only had a couple of mis-steps. We accidently steered into the reeds once, and another bump on a bend found us running from side to side, trying to roll the boat free, as the boat idled in reverse. It all worked out, and as the sun came up the light on the river was softened by light fog. What a perfectly gorgeous morning it was!

At first, it was an uneventful trip toward Mar del Plata. There wasn't much wind so we motored a lot. The VHF radio got a lot of use as we had to check in regularly with the Prefectura, giving our position and particulars every 4 hours or so. About forty miles from Mar del Plata, in very light wind, we saw an enormous and ominous cigar cloud on the horizon, complete with flickering lightening. Definitely a weather event!

We had the presence of mind to prepare for high wind quickly, and got the storm jib hanked on and raised just before the wind picked up.

After spending 12 hours hove to, listening to the wind whistling in the rigging, we were able resume sailing and duck in to Mar del Plata.

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Mar del Plata was a good stop for refueling, re-provisioning with fresh veggies, and showering - then we were on our way again. And we were able to celebrate our wedding anniversary on land with a nice restaurant meal instead of top ramen gulped down in a seaway.

We departed just after a blow from the north. We had hoped to catch some of that favorable wind but needed one more day to get organized. As we left in the dying northerly, the large swell it had produced was rolling in through the entrance which made for an exciting departure. As soon as we left the harbour the wind came around 180 degrees, sadly for us, and we had to motor into a light southerly wind. Motoring in calm and sailing in gale winds with just the storm jib was the story for the next few days. The wind was an all or nothing on this trip. We saw lots of fishing boats the first two days out. During one of Ginger's watches, a trawler passed close by and the captain no doubt spotted her alone on deck, and called her on VHF for a nice chat. Ginger was invited to bring Marcy to Puerto Madryn..... After the chat there was a moment of silence on the radio, then it came alive with every unseen fishing boat in radio range weighing in on the likelyhood that this captain would find a woman to talk with at sea. "Besos a todos," kisses to all, said one commenter.

We had lots of bird visitors while we motored on, sailed on, and motored on some more.

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As always, some items of Marcy's equipment fared better than other items. The seacock to the galley sink broke during this passage. Fortunately for safety's sake it broke in the closed position but it made washing the dishes very difficult. But the star of the trip was our new heater, lighted as we left Mar del Plata and going ever since.

With the wind dying again and the anticipation of more motoring to come we decided a stop at Puerto Deseado to refuel was in order. We arrived in the early morning with the fog and were soon invited to tie up to the pilot boat Yamana.

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Since we were stopping just for fuel, we couldn't think of a better situation. Not only did Enrique, the pilot boat skipper on duty , help with the refueling but the Director of the Port actually drove us to the gas station for our second load and arranged for a port truck to take us back. They are a very friendly and helpful group.

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We found time for not one but two (!!) safety inspections by the Prefectura – one on arrival and one before our departure was allowed,

and were able to enjoy the views of this beautiful area. The stark and treeless but very beautiful landscape reminded us of Eastern Washington.

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After a brief stop, only two nights, we set out again to make our appointment to meet our daughter in Ushuaia.

Patching the Old Girl Up (Marcy, that is...)

2009-11-26T02:49:00.005-08:00

Our last weeks in San Fernando were a blur of work, play and more work. We got more projects completed here in a shorter time than ever before. It would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of Miguel. He cheerfully dropped by the boat regularly with a bit of this or a part (repuesto) to finish up a job. From mechanical jobs to electrical jobs with messy fiberglass jobs in between he was willing to tackle it all. What got done? Stern to bow:

New gaskets and latches on lazarette hatches * outboard rail mount * installed stove, chimney, new fuel tank and fuel transfer pump * rudder stem patch

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* moved tuner, new copper ground and installed new radio * settee ends for stove area * new woofer * repaired starter * new alternator brushes * replaced cracked heat exchanger end cap * improved galley stowage for sea * increased clearance for stove gimball * sealed cockpit floor hatch

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* new gaskets in all opening hatches and ports * new hoses and fittings for soft fuel tank * jib pole releases repaired * latches and gasket for anchor locker hatch * bilge pump in anchor locker

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* improved anchor locker storage * bow nav light installed * storm jib lines run * new control lines for poles * new chocks for anchor *

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If you're in the BA area and need help as we did, we highly recommend Miguel:
mgarberi (at) 2vias.com.ar
phone: 54 11 4030 0459

In between all that work we were able to experience more of Argentina:
asado with friends

a tango night at a milonga

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our local parilla restaurant

and even an impromptu photo shoot on Marcy!

We also took several trips in to Bs As and were fortunate to visit malba, the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de BsAs, with friends and knowledgable guides Olga and Silvia.

We leave Buenos Aires humbled by the hospitality shown us during our stay. Though Brazil doesn't claim much in common with Argentina we see the common thread in South America of amazing hosts, generous spirit and warm welcomes which we hope to learn from ourselves.

Today is Thanksgiving at home and we are feeling very thankful for family and good friends.

Some other web sites for BsAs:

Olga is an artist, and a great friend: www.olgapita.com.ar

Alejandro helped us get settled and he takes people out on the delta for sailing: www.naveguemosavela.com.ar

Hair salon: www.robertogiordano.com at Abasto shopping mall. Jorge for cut, Diego for color, Martes assistant – best hair wash ever!

Southbound - Argentina

2009-11-19T04:37:00.003-08:00

Marcy is on the move. After a quick stop at Mar del Plata, today we are on our way south again to Ushuaia. We are racing an airplane south and if we don't get going soon it will win! Our radio and computer are not speaking to each other so passage updates will be posted later.

Flying Over the Delta

2009-10-31T07:15:00.002-07:00

One of the awkward factors of our moorage at Neptuno is that the neighborhood directly outside is too risky to walk in, being a known area for muggings. As a result we've taken many short taxi rides, safely crossing the danger zone. One day a driver mentioned to us, casually, that when he wasn't driving a taxi, he was driving a helicopter for the Prefectura (similar to Coast Guard but more police duties.) Pablo is one of Christina's pilots, the president of Argentina. Furthermore, if a couple of seats were available, he would be glad to take us for a ride! After a first short reaction of disbelief we noted his military bearing and unusual driving skill..... A few days later we got a call, and before we knew it we were at the airport watching Pablo's helicopter landing to pick us up!

Just seconds after take off we passed Marcy moored at Neptuno and headed out to the rivers and canals of the delta.

As we roared down the waterways at a low altitude, the helicopter banked left and right to stay over water.

Looking down we saw the scenery flash by.

At one point at low altitude (at about 150 feet) and high speed (at about 150 knots) we roared past a ferry heading the other way. For sailors like us that get “white knuckles” at 9 or 10 knots it was quite thrilling.

Pablo looked like he was enjoying driving.

The helicopter had the same Garmin GPS onboard that Marcy has.

We returned to the airport and were introduced to the other passengers. Interestingly, they were a group of Dutch technicians in BA to rig a new Prefectura training ship.

We were invited to share sandwiches and coke in the pilots lounge.

There was a photo on the wall of the Prefectura helicopter in windy weather winching crewmembers up from the deck of a stranded shrimper. We learned that Pablo had taken the picture. We remembered when onboard Marcy a few days earlier he had warned us to avoid these windy and shallow dangerous waters to the south.

We were given a ride home by the Prefectura, leaving us amazed at our good fortune to have met Pablo and the hospitality of Argentina.

Argentina!!

2009-10-21T15:13:00.002-07:00

Marcy arrived in downtown Buenos Aires in a cold rain. Argentina's gorgeous sail training ship “Libertad” was moored to the wall in the outer basin.

After some awkward Spanglish radio calls and waiting what seemed like endless time for permission to enter a marina – any marina – we were finally allowed into Puerto Madero. After waiting a bit longer for the swing bridge to open for us, we docked and were finally settled for a while. We could stay long enough to complete formalities, then we needed to move upriver and find a spot to refit for cold weather.

We admired the “Libertad” as we passed when we walked to the various offices to check into Argentina: Prefectura, Aduana, and Migracion.

After a couple of days to wait for weather to pass by, we headed up into the labyrinth of creeks, rivers, and bayous of the delta. We wanted to find a quiet spot near marine and industrial suppliers to prepare Marcy for the next leg. By all recommendations, the area for us would be San Fernando, a suburb of Buenos Aires and the regional yachting center . Although not far away in a direct line, the shortcut isn't deep enough for Marcy's seven and a half foot draft so we needed to make a long detour to follow a dredged route. Even so, sometimes the depth sounder indicated that we only had inches of water under the keel. The scenery was beautiful as we motored up tranquil canals, spent a night next to a reeded bank, and made our way to San Fernando.

On the rivers and canals, people are moved about in beautiful old varnished launches.

Sand for cement is dredged and transported, wood for furniture and goods is also moved back and forth on the water.

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Rowboats and yachts come out on sunny days and weekends.

The Prefectura watches over all.

We had read that Argentina's yacht clubs and marinas offer free moorage for a time under a system called “courtesia.” As we arrived and tried to find a spot, it became obvious that this system is undergoing change. Not only was there no free moorage, but the rates charged were higher here than we had encountered anywhere else in the world – including expensive Tahiti. At one club, the rate sheet had been lined out only a few days ago and replaced by hand written prices four times higher! With no other options, we spent an expensive night at a yacht club in a pond across the channel, with no power and no easy way to get to town. It seemed clear that San Fernando was not going to be a good spot for refit, and we made plans to return to Urugauy. Luckily, a nearby boat owner, Alejandro, struck up a conversation with us, and was amazed at the rates we were quoted. We later learned that locals would pay in a year what we would pay in a month for moorage. Alejandro taught us a new word, estafa, or swindle. But Alejandro knew a guy, who knew a place......... and in a short time he and his friend Miguel had found a spot for us, negotiated a fair price, and helped move Marcy upriver to Guarderia Neptuno, our new home.

It was nice to be in freshwater as Marcy was caked with salt inside and out. The river rose and fell according to the wind direction. An strong upriver wind produced a high tide.

And when the wind reversed, the water drained out, Marcy's keel dug a hole in the mud, and we remained upright and comfortable.

Ginger met yet another friend, our neighbors young dog.

Hearing Peter admire the wonderful wooden sculling boats, a friend and rowing club member brought one by for Peter to try out.

There are many rowing clubs on the river, this elegant one is upriver a mile or so.

Our neighbors took us on an enjoyable river cruise, their classic cruiser having appropriate draft for the area.

We passed an opulent riverside mansion, now an art museum.

Seattle friends Rachel and Paul flew south for a week in Buenos Aires. We met them at the airport, and had a great time catching up.

We shared an apartment downtown in the San Telmo district. We absorbed the city ambience: shopping, wine at lunch, watching tango, and visiting tourist attractions.

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The week flew by, and Rachel and Paul headed off to visit Iguazu Falls and Colonia, Uruguay, and the crew of Marcy set to work installing all our new equipment. Miguel offered to help with the installation of our new diesel heating stove. We've heard that summer weather in Patagonia is very wet and cold, and want to be as ready as we can be. We planned the installation with all the proper tools: tape measure, instructions, and Spanish/English dictionary!

Time for a breather in BA

2009-10-06T14:34:00.002-07:00

Upon arrival in Argentina the Marcy crew was tired. During the 33 days from leaving Bahia de Ilha Grande, Brazil to arriving in Buenos Aires, Argentina we sailed fifteen days, traveled over 1500 difficult coastal sailing miles and crossed the borders of three different countries with two different languages. We visited officials in twenty two different offices while clearing in and out of countries and cities, and stopped in nine different cities and anchorages. It took three weeks of that time to dry out the boat after our storm in southern Brazil. Further, and most challenging since we've been thoroughly acclimatized to hot weather, we left the tropics and sailed into the end of winter in the southern hemisphere. We went from 70 degree nights to ice on the deck in the mornings!

We are recuperating nicely, and today we are enjoying a sunny spring day in Argentina while we enjoy a land of good beef AND (finally!) good wine. While South America enjoys a reputation for good beef we've found a well kept secret in the incredibly rich avocados – from Ana's garden in Brazil to the grocery version here in Argentina.

We've just posted some new Uruguay photos on Flickr.

Marcy Sailing Uruguay

2009-09-27T13:14:00.002-07:00

Our introduction to the coast of Uruguay was a cold, bleak, rainy and windwept anchorage at Punte del Este, perched tenuously at the corner where the Atlantic Ocean meets the big river mouth of Mar del Plata. There was no doubt in Ginger's mind, we had sailed south into winter.

As we launched the dinghy to go ashore for formalities, long ocean rollers swept around the breakwater and rolled Marcy almost gunwale to gunwale. At the landing, a big sea lion guarded the steps.

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After clearing in, we noticed many damaged sailboats. We were told that a storm had come through a few weeks earlier, and eighteen boats had been blown ashore from their moorings.

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If we hadn't known before, we soon learned exactly what pounding on shore can do to a sailboat. This wing keel used to have flat wings.

How many hours of grinding on the beach rocks took so many inches off of this keel?

Exploring further, we learned that if you paint your fishing boat in Uruguay, only one color is allowed. We've been told that orange is the easiest color to spot for rescue on a rough sea.

After a couple of days in bleak Punte, we headed upriver to the next port, Piriopolis. This country requires checking in with the authorities, offices of “Prefectura” and “Hydrografica,” at every move of the boat. Passports are carefully thumbed through, registration is copied, and much care is taken with keeping track of visitors. Ginger checked in and took advantage of a wifi connection .

The weather improved, and we recorded the highest pressure (1035 mb) of the voyage to date. This was only hours after a low of 997 mb. Our ears were popping.

In Uruguay, older vehicles are maintained and used for everyday transportation. We saw many very cool cars and trucks.

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Of course, bicycles are never thrown out either. They are repaired and used forever.

We loved the old pickups.

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Moving further upriver (sailing for hours in water less than 10 feet deep!) to the beautiful old town of Colonia, the weather improved even more. We were treated to a gorgeous sunrise as we sailed past some industry.

Sailing in these waters a good lookout is needed to avoid tangling up in fish nets or longlines. Many small boats set gear even in nasty weather.

As we arrived in Colonia, the national flag of Uruguay waved proudly from the point.

Mooring, we snugged up close to the buoy. Marcy's stern barely cleared the row behind, as the moorings in Uruguay are set typically set for 25 to 35 foot boats. Our keel was only inches from the bottom at low water.

Colonia was a pleasant historical town to explore.

A military band played just the right music for an old fortified town.

Peter thinks it would be great if we could fit a cannon on deck. For fighting pirates, or honoring warships and the like.

It is necessary to show a salient feature of life here, which is of course the drink “mate.” People here go about daily life with a bowl of the stuff firmly planted in the crook of their elbow. A friendly senora offered Ginger a taste. Ginger is not yet a convert.

We enjoyed laid back Uruguay, land of mate and old vehicles, but we needed to move on to a spot where we could prepare Marcy for colder weather. So we set sail for Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Rio Grande

2009-09-10T07:30:00.003-07:00

Rio Grande may be the best kept secret of cruising Brazil. It's not in any guide book. In fact, our cruising guide specifically says that they have no information about this port along this dangerous coast so it's best skipped. We first heard of a museum in Rio Grande that welcomed yachts from Canadian yacht Illawong who had visited years ago. Then by email from South African yacht Skebenga who was a few weeks ahead of us on the trek south. They mentioned free water, free power, and free internet, while tied up to a nice pier. Free of charge. So after a long motor up the lagoon, we arrived at the Oceanographic Musuem and were greeted by Lauro, the director of the museum and related entities. In perfect English, he invited us to lunch. We learned he had attended an American University, Duke we think, and that he had also visited Mystic Seaport several times which inspired in him a desire to create something similar in Rio Grande to preserve the old maritime technologies. The setting is beautiful and tranquil, with birds everywhere. Across the water is a marsh designated as a bird reserve, to the east views of the city.

As in other Brazilian seaports, all kinds of small craft move goods past Marcy propelled by sail, oar, and motor.

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Did we mention a good grocery store is within easy walking distance? For the crew of the Marcy, it doesn't get much better than this.

In between drying out wet sails.....

and various small repairs, we visited a couple of Lauro's facilities – the Oceanographic Museum and the maritime trade school. There is a type of boat here that is constructed like the log canoes of the Chesepeake. There are a couple of examples being restored in Lauro's shop.

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Very large planks of tropical hardwood are available here in Brazil.

Lauro modeled a mask for us in an art studio that is part of his operation.

We admired a product of the boatbuilding school.

To make our stay even more enjoyable we met a couple we had seen as we motored up the channel. We first say them aboard their small sloop with their two dogs aboard. They waved and welcomed us while reaching back and forth in the brisk wind. We met them later for a beer aboard Marcy, and learned that they plan to cruise the world someday. We also learned that they knew of a churrascaria with a good reputation in Rio Grande. About to leave Brazil, we couldn't pass up a last visit.

We had a walk on one of Brazil's wonderful beaches, reportedly the longest in the world, with our friends Keith (pronounced like “Kate”with a “ch” at the end and yes, she knows it's a boy's name in English) and Thiago (again the th is pronounced "ch").

We reluctantly made our way on a beautiful day back out to sea, passing the old cathedral and a steam dredge on the way.

Our destination is Urugauy, where we'll hear Spanish spoken again for the first time since Mexico three years ago.

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Ilha Grande to Rio Grande

2009-09-02T16:26:00.002-07:00

The month of August flew by on Marcy. We made a quick stop at ICAR (Iate Clube Angra dos Reis) which turned into a week. We were anchored in a large flat bay well protected from ocean swell with free wifi and a restaurant and snack bar ashore. The only draw back was the weekend powerboat traffic to the fuel dock nearby.

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With the good natured skippers zooming by at full speed we had to make sure everything on the boat was well secured as we rolled gunnel to gunnel in the wakes. We have never taken green water over the bow at a protected inland anchorage in calm weather before!

With almost 1000 nm ahead of us and time running out on our visas we had to move on. We said goodbye to our friends on Estrela with hopes to see them back in the states.

We stopped for two beautiful days at Ilha Itanhanga.

The weekend traffic was fun to watch as local boaters came out to take advantage of the warm weather.

The floating restaurant was very popular.

Our boat project for the weekend was a timely cleaning of the bottom, propeller scraping and replacement of the zincs that had almost completely disappeared from the skeg. After a couple of hours in the water, two days in a row, we fondly remembered the warm water of the Pacific and all those hours spent cleaning the Marcy's bottom. The water at this time of year here is barely tolerable in a thin wetsuit for 2 hours. Bahia de Ilha Grande is almost out of the tropics so with anticipation of colder weather ahead we knew this would be our last opportunity for extended boat projects in the water.

Our last stop before heading to sea was the port town of Parati. The historic part of town is well preserved and brightly painted.

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The old church graces the waterfront

which is dominated by tourist schooners and boats for hire.

Parati is the hub for many small villages only accessible by water in this area and as such is also a working port.

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We are impressed by how many horses are used in Brazil for normal day to day transport.

One of the most unusual features of the town is that some of the streets flood at high tide.

One afternoon as we returned from the grocery store we discovered that high tide combined with sudden strong onshore winds can flood the streets quickly and thoroughly. We had to wade through knee deep water for several blocks to get back to the quay and rescue Hootie from the cement stairs where we had tied up in calm weather. Marcy was almost directly upwind from the quay so a 10 minute row turned into an hour epic adventure with waves slopping over the bow while Peter struggled to make contact between oars and water and Ginger pumped water out over the stern. Unfortunately we didn't have the camera with us for the dramatic water adventure, but it's just as well since everything was thoroughly soaked by the time we got to Marcy.

With provisions aboard the weather was perfect for another hop south. We hauled anchor and sailed out among the schooners.

With just 2 weeks left on our visas we planned to clear out of the country in Florianopolis (Floripa to locals) and then make the 600 mile trip to Uruguay in one hop. Our 350nm trip to Floripa was uneventful. We had good northerly winds and arrived quickly. We passed rafts of floating penguins, proving that we were well out of the tropics!

As the sun set we ducked in to Floripa while a brisk northerly wind built. The waves in the anchorage increased and tossed the boat around a bit. We launched the dinghy and went ashore to chat with the yacht club. We were told by the yacht club employee that it was impossible to clear out of the country there with customs. So we decided it was necessary to make an effort to get to Rio Grande quickly. During our stop at Floripa we had missed 24 hours of perfect wind for heading south but the forecast appeared to be OK for leaving. Not great, but OK sailing weather. We left Florianopolis, got 20 miles down the coast and had to run for cover from a front that passed through.

We took our cue from the fishermen and started out again the next morning. Most of the miles went by quickly. Night 3, With just 44 nm to Rio Grande we thought we would make it in by morning, but it was not to be. The wind increased and came from the SW. In the middle of the night intense lightning began. With almost continuous strikes all around the boat we watched hoping we would not be hit. Then we experienced a complete calm that lasted about a minute. A reversal of the wind direction suddenly occurred, and soon we encountered rapidly building wind and seas. And rain. The rain was so fierce it was as if we were swimming on deck. We thought the rain was bad until it turned to hail! We furled the jib to ease the boat, heeling rail under by now. We started the engine hoping to at least keep moving a knot or two in the correct direction. The seas built quickly, within 20 minutes we could no longer motor. Our propeller was popping out of the water every other wave. We killed the engine, unfurled a few feet of jib and hove to. After 24 stormy hours we were able to resume sailing. As we inspected Marcy we were glad to see the damage seemed to be limited to a torn jib and lots of water down below - everywhere. The force of waves landing on deck had found every possible entrance. Then we began the heartbreaking task to tack (for 2 days!) up wind to get close again to Rio Grande. As the temperatures dropped outside to 50F (and inside to 55F) we would have been happy if the seas had been calm enough to run our heater and dry out, but no such luck. Finally after sailing an additional 250 nm we were at the entrance to Rio Grande. It was a hard won landfall and one that we were glad to enjoy. We later learned that the Rio Grande bar had been closed for 3 days, winds were clocked at sustained 80 kph and a fishing boat was lost further north in the same storm. We were indeed lucky to have faired so well.

To be welcomed at the Oceanographic Museum was the sweetest part of this journey. How fortunate we felt. Our host, Lauro, prepared a feast and invited us to join him.

The museum is an animal refuge and a yacht refuge indeed.

Water life in Brazil

2009-08-11T05:32:00.001-07:00

The pace of life onboard Marcy has slowed to a tropical pace as we explore Brazil's Ilha Grande area. Our first stop at Ilha Grande was the town of Abraao. Touristy ($$$!) but excellent pastries.

When it rains, we read, cook, eat, do chores. On nice days, we walk through the jungle, which is crisscrossed by trails. Some of the island dogs have a cheerful habit of accompanying walkers for a while. When we walked over the ridge to visit the opposite side of the island we met a friendly terrier. She was glad to investigate any hole in the sand for us.

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The beach was wide and beautiful. Brazil truly has the most wonderful beaches we've ever seen.

On another hike, at a small fishing village, a different little dog showed us a couple of abandoned boatbuilding projects. The jungle is claiming the framework of a big schooner.

Ginger waited while Peter climbed through the frames. Remembering stories of recent snake sightings Ginger decided she could see well enough from the beach.

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We rested later with our friend, sitting on a schooner mast.

We had a lunch at the beach front restaurant, as children played at the water's edge.

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Ginger asks, “Que es mejor? What do you recommend?” (It never works!)

When a tourist schooner rounded the point and headed for the dock, we were glad to have already eaten.

The fishermen repair their nets in the sun.

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The boatyard repairs their boats in the sun.

There is a wide variety of fishing boat types. Some have a pretty fantail stern

The boats are interesting and diverse. No two are alike.

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From the outlying villages, school kids go to school by boat.

Back on the trail, we passed little houses nestled in the trees.

Anywhere there are Brazilians, there is football.

This open air kitchen shows the owner is a practical person. If the electric appliance doesn't work anymore, build a fire on top!

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We are aware that our time in this lush land is running out. Our visas will expire in a couple of weeks, and we must head south into winter. So we're enjoying the flowers while we can.

Horses, boats and bicycles - and birds

2009-07-28T05:16:00.002-07:00

While safely anchored off Clube Naval Charitas, Marcy was our comfortable base for exploring urban Rio and Niteroi.

But soon we craved a quieter part of Brazil to explore, and motored up river. We anchored at a pretty little island called Paqueta. We arrived as the sun set and found a spot to drop the hook without getting a good look at the harbor. In the morning, we got up early to explore. We startled a beautiful egret who was on Marcy's deck fishing.

We were quickly enchanted, the island has no cars, just horses, boats and bicycles - and birds. As we rowed ashore, we saw a line of horse drawn carriages lining up, waiting for the first ferry of the day.

What better way to see the island? We signed up for a ride around. As we set off at a brisk trot, our driver enthusiastically pointed out the sights and explained everything in detail – in Portuguese, of course. We couldn't understand much.....

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The houses are beautiful, the roads shady and picturesque, and the place has a sense of peace and calm. The lack of cars seemed to make pedestrians, dogs, and horses all more relaxed.

One lady passed by with her bike loaded aboard a carriage, no doubt opting to pay a few reals to avoid the effort of cycling across the island....

After our ride, we found the quay submerged at high tide.

Back aboard Marcy, we watched the ferries come and go. The skippers were very skilled, docking their big single screw direct drive vessels and making it look easy. No bow thrusters here! They use lots of throttle, backing and filling with flurries of black diesel smoke filling the air.

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The waterfront scenes in Brazil must be similar to the 1920's in the USA, with much varied action. Fishermen row past in skiffs loaded with nets as bigger fish boats motor past with the pleasing ”pocketa, pocketa” of slow a turning inboard engine. All sorts of goods move by small boat. We watched a load of cooking gas bottles motor past.

Even the smallest and humblest craft is used, named, and taken care of. We think that this little skiff might have a rude name. Sometimes it's just as well not to speak the language.

One of the most common boat types here is the dory, absolutely familiar in fishing history of the USA. Not surprising, when you remember how Portuguese immigrants shaped the fishing industry in the northeast part of our country. Rowed with single thole pins, or fitted with little inboards, steered with yoke and tiller ropes, various sizes of dories are everywhere.

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This little skiff was gathering mussels from anchor rodes.

We're thinking of Joshua Slocum these days, the American ship captain who was the world's first solo circumnavigator. Slocum was familiar with Brazil. He was stranded here and built a cruising boat, the Liberdade, and sailed home in 1888 to the states with his family. Later, he rebuilt a junked fishing boat, named it the Spray, and sailed around the world alone. For a dinghy, he sawed a dory in half to fit on deck. We noted that the lines of the Brazilian tourist “schooners” are very similar to the Spray – shallow, bluff bowed, long keeled.

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We went ashore for showers. It would not be right to avoid describing the Brazilian technology used to heat shower water – the shower heads have 220 volt heater elements inside them. Wiring is usually exposed and casual. The potential mix of lethal amounts of electricity with your shower water adds a unique component of excitement.

Ashore again, we rented a tandem bicycle. It's an enjoyable experience to cycle without fear of cars, only giving way to the occasional horse buggy. Ginger negotiated with the bike shop for a good price.

The only motorized vehicle we ever saw was a garbage truck (a Volkswagen!) that arrived and was taken away by a barge on the beach.

We left Paqueta refreshed and eager to cruise further down the coast.

Charitas and Rio

2009-07-07T12:15:00.002-07:00

We are anchored off the small town of Charitas across the bay from Rio de Janeiro. On the way in from the ocean we passed many fishermen and were intercepted and greeted in English by one fisherman in a rowing boat who had worked on fishing boats in Alaska. He was happy to see our American flag flying off the stern.

Clube Naval Charitas, our host yacht club, had a problem last month with disappearing outboard motors. Being inspired by all the rowboats in the bay, as well as keeping the outboard safely stowed below decks, Peter was motivated to get our dinghy into rowing condition. He fabricated thole pins and has been rowing ever since. It's not a fair competition between the beautiful old local pulling boats

and our homely tinnie.

We've decided to re-name the dinghy “Hootie the wee beastie” in honor of Peter's mom. We've been thinking about her a lot after her death last week and will think of her always when we use “Hootie” now.

Charitas has an active marine community. There are 5 or more yacht clubs around the bay and hundreds of fishermen too. On the 29th of June there was a celebration to honor St. Peter, the patron saint of fishermen and sailors. We were lucky to be on board Marcy to catch all of the action. We heard voices, drumming and music, it sounded as if a parade was approaching the anchorage.

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In fact, it was a parade, there were many party boats,

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barbecues.................... and even lifeguards.

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There were so many fireworks set off that the clear day quickly turned to a dense haze that reduced visibility to a quarter mile as the boats sped toward our anchorage.

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Our tourism has not been limited to the water. Susy, who lives here in the Clube Naval marina, is an amazing host to all the cruisers. She took us up to a paraglide launch ramp overlooking Niteroi for an early morning view of the city.

It was a perfect morning and on the way back we even found a spot for a snack.

Food is an important part of travel. Especially when celebrating national holidays far from home. We celebrated American Independence Day, July 4th, with traditional fare – with an international twist. Peter did miss the bun and mustard but beans and dogs were still on the menu on Marcy.

One day we were invited to tour the district of Santa Teresa during an artist studio opening day. This artist opening happens only one day each year and was a great opportunity to see not only the art work but also to see the inside courtyards and architecture of this old neighborhood.

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There were musicians, fantastic views and lots of people.

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Our lunch stop, with our hosts Maria and Max, involved a beer on the street while waiting for a table.

One of the traditional art items is a lady house monitor looking out the window – or guarding the front door. We couldn't figure out where to place one on Marcy.

There were so many people in the afternoon when we were ready to leave we couldn't find an room on a trolley car for the ride back downtown. We'll have to do that on a day with smaller crowds.

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Our day in town ended with a stop to see the night view of Rio and the modern art museum at Niteroi.

It's always good to be back at the boat after a hectic day in the city!

Vitoria to Rio de Janeiro

2009-06-25T15:42:00.004-07:00

We were in Vitoria for three weeks. That seems to be about the minimum for recovering from an ocean passage, repairing the necessities and getting started in a new country. The yacht club employees were extremely helpful and many people we met in town were willing to find a way around our language challenges. We enjoyed patient explanations by our Brazilian friends of local foods, customs, and pronunciations, though we quickly learned that Logan's wicked sense of humor made some of his suggested Portuguese vocabulary suspect. Our stop in Vitoria was a fine introduction to Brazil though we didn't venture far from the boat or do any tourist things.

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Alexandre machined new bolts to replace worn parts in the boom gooseneck. The fit when reassembled was better than when it was new. We are so grateful for his generous efforts.

Logan entertained us and kept up a steady stream of Portuguese/English translation, including perfectly delivered jokes in two languages. He and his daughter Stephanie took us to a fantastic Italian restaurant before we left. Unfortunately our camera skills were not up to par and we neglected to take many photos.

Ginger was on antibiotics for much of our stay in Vitoria and had an allergic reaction to medication on our last day in town. Though we had to cancel lunch plans with Logan he delivered flowers and his special roasted almonds to the boat. With such hospitality we were tempted to stay a few more weeks! Before departing Peter secured the flowers for the passage by lashing them to the saloon table.

We look forward to returning to Vitoria some day to explore more of the city and to visit our friends.

Sailing down the coast took 47 hours anchorage to anchorage. It was an easy, comfortable passage and reminded us of coastal sailing in Mexico. The mountains provided a dramatic backdrop for the sunsets. We saw a huge sea turtle that looked like a large piece of styrofoam until we were close and could see the barnacles on his back. Sea birds were abundant and the sailing conditions were near perfect for a sail down the coast.

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There was a fair amount of shipping traffic.

The sun rise approaching Rio de Janeiro was a beautiful end to a good trip.

As we entered the famous bay and passed Sugarloaf Mountain we saw frigate birds circling overhead and reflected on all the ocean miles we had sailed since we last saw them in Mexico.

Vitoria, Brazil

2009-06-09T07:28:00.002-07:00

We love Vitoria, Brazil. Maybe it's the fantastic weather, the nice yacht club and the beautiful city, but it's more likely because we've met such engaging people here.

How long does it take to check in to a new country? For Marcy, an entire week this time! And that was with lots of help.

Our first day in the city was a difficult one. First stop, yacht club office. Second stop, HQ Policia Federal for immigration. They couldn't help us. Third stop, a long taxi ride across the entire city to the airport for Policia Federal. Success, with stamped passports in hand a quick trip downtown. Then, FULL STOP, customs downtown. We suffered a breakdown of the check in process.

If we spoke Portuguese it might have gone well. We don't and it didn't. To our surprise we were sent by customs to a private agent who wanted to charge us $500US to handle our paperwork. Though our informal survey revealed that none of the other visiting yachts here have paid any fees to enter the country, none of them entered in this city. We were determined to avoid paying an agent even if it meant we'd need to leave Vitoria and do our paperwork in Rio de Janeiro. We managed to check in with the Port Captain and somehow found the correct bus to take us back to the yacht club arriving at 6P. The outboard fuel filter clogged on the way back to the boat and we paddled the dinghy to Marcy. Defeated, we fell into bed exhausted.

Day 2 in Brazil we were very fortunate to meet a couple of members of the yacht club who are interested in sailing and fantastic ambassadors for the city as well. Logan speaks perfect English and is also a shipping agent. Alexandre is an engineer who offered to help with a boom goose neck repair. While Logan helped us (it took a week of his time and help from friends of his too!) with our clearance issues, Alexandre machined new bolts to fit our worn boom attachment. But, more than the help with our problems, they also hosted us at their local hangouts, offered rides for errands and showed us how to enjoy Brazilian beer and their national drink caipirinhas.

What else have we been up to? We went to a "meat by sword" lunch place with Logan and his girlfriend Natache where the meat is delivered skewered on swords and sliced off at the table. The meat keeps coming as long as you've got room to eat it. Peter was in heaven! The salad and accompaniment buffet was fantastic as well but Peter didn't really get a chance to taste much of that. No photos, we were too busy eating!

Though there are definite advantages to anchoring, when offered power, water and a dock for the same price as anchoring, we can hardly pass it up! Further incentive was provided by the pilot boat (and big wake) passing regularly through the anchorage. In fact, we (gasp) lost a bottle of fine Madagascar rum to a pilot boat wake. Our first med-mooring in Marcy went well. It's no mean feat to back a sailboat between two others, drop an anchor and get aligned without hitting anything.

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We've been walking on Vitoria's beautiful beach front walks.

And, of course, we've checked out the local fishing boats.

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We and the other international yachties here were invited to a fantastic lunch at the home of Ana and Alexandre.

And there was a lot to talk about as we sat on the patio and enjoyed the good food and great company. Sometimes charades were necessary to communicate between all present including Americans (just us), Brazilians, Canadians, Italians, South Africans and Venezuelans. Logan translated for all of us, including some well executed translations of jokes.

Our second week here finds us enjoying life in Brazil.

St. Helena to Brazil

2009-05-30T07:06:00.003-07:00

Our last 24 hours on Saint Helena were busy. We went ashore to have one more check of the weather and ended up having a beer with Ann at her favorite watering hole. She's the retired proprietor of the famous “Ann's Place” a must stop for all yachties in Jamestown.

On our way out of town we signed a flag at “Ann's” left by friends who passed by earlier this year.

We couldn't leave the island without a quick swim. And what a luxury to swim and then take a shower ashore! There were thousands of yellow and white fish called “common fish” by the Saints. It felt like swimming through clouds of tree leaves in the water.

There was much to see on the bottom with old ship anchors and evidence of wrecks from the last 300 years. We should have snorkeled Marcy's anchor while we were in the water to see if the anchorage was equally dodgy. Turns out it was!

Luckily the ferry was close and the skipper swung by to be of assistance. The huge tangle was too much to be handled by Peter's acrobatics off the bow.

The swell was considerable so even with the ferry it was a tough job. With just one ding in Marcy's paint (the first one hurts the most, right?) we were off.

The first day and night of the passage were cloudy making the nights dark and the days ominous. We had plenty of wind and fast conditions. The movement of the boat after our stair climb sprint on St. Helena had us limping around with our screaming legs as the boat lurched with each wave. As the wind eased the clouds cleared. The first four days were so fast we'd covered a third of our mileage! We were expecting a weather change and it arrived exactly as forecast. The wind died, the spinnaker was set and we continued for another 24 hours at a slow pace. Finally the wind disappeared to nothing and we fired up the motor. With our new awning attached to the back of the spray dodger we enjoyed the calm motoring days and wondered how we ever survived the tropics without such quality cockpit shade.

The ocean was so beautiful it was easy to do our watches and be entertained by the texture of the water.

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The few birds that were about were forced to expend much energy for fishing. Normally they get lift off the top of the waves as they soar in the steady wind but, like us they had to use their “engine” during the calm.

We don't use the motor to make mileage in a calm but rather to make the motion better in the large ocean swell. We motored for the longest stretch we've ever done at one time, 40 hours, with not much to do but keep an eye out for traffic (saw only one ship in 2 days) and read.

By then end of our marathon motor we were both relieved to shut off the engine and enjoy the peace of sailing. The wind came back, more or less, over the next 24 hours and during that time we hoisted the spinnaker. The spinnaker guy ripped the starboard nav light off the bow and tossed it in the water. We'd been planning to move that light anyway because it was in the way. The only other casualty of the trip was a temporary clogging of the large stove burner due to a tricky yogurt transfer in rough seas. This job was tackled by the Captain with typical good humor.

Unfortunately, we don't have spare screws for the burner and one of the old ones is a bit frozen. We decided after much effort that it would be prudent to finish that project with spares in hand.

We crossed 2 shipping lanes on this passage and were surprised to see so many ships. We encountered 3 ships which were on courses that would bring them within less than one mile of Marcy. All were easily avoided.

We've started a new tradition on Marcy this season arriving in ports during the middle of the day. We like that! Though it's possible to stand off all night waiting for daylight we've been lucky to have our last few arrivals during daylight and actually seeing land on approach is always exciting. Vitoria is beautiful from the ocean.

Marcy Anchored with the Saints

2009-05-13T07:02:00.004-07:00

Our passage from Africa was comfortable, if not fast. We ran in light winds for days without touching the wheel or the sheets. We were under a poled out jib and the spinnaker using the boom as an extra long pole for the spinnaker sheet.

It was exciting to see the island appear under a cap of clouds.

We anchored flying the Q flag as usual. We were told to remain on board until a doctor could come on board to check us for swine flu. Soon he arrived in one of the little ferry boats that service the anchorage and cleared us to go ashore.

On the ride to the famous “steps” Ginger asks the ferryman about island facilities. The steps are set in the quay. We we timed the ocean surge and jumped ashore at the same spot where countless navy captains and Napolean himself did.

St Helena provided us with a nice break in the Atlantic crossing. It's not a large island, and the anchorage is deep and rolly (being just an open roadstead on the ocean,) but it is fun to explore and has a long and interesting history. It is famous for being Napolean's jail and final resting place. The locals, called Saints, speak English but with a dialect we have a very hard time understanding. So we smile and nod our heads.....

Anchors and cannons are everywhere. Hundreds of years of Royal Navy presence have left their mark.

We enjoyed the very English feel of the town. We saw churches, historical plaques, gardens with topiary, and a public library – said to be the oldest in the southern hemishpere.

There is even an olympic sized swimming pool built in the old moat.

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We found it easy to complete our errands in town. We visited the customs and immigration offices.

We chatted with the prison warden while we waited for immigration to arrive.

We visited the bank, conveniently located in the post office, to get some St. Helena pounds. No ATM on this island

We took showers in an ancient port structure built into the cliff wall.

We found a cafe with internet to catch up on our correspondence.

You know it's a small island when you see single digit license plates.

Remember the doctor who checked us for fever? He and his wife encountered us walking in town and kindly offered to take us for a drive in the “country” and off we went for an eight hour tour. The island is covered with one lane roads and hiking trails.

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It was wonderful to see the luscious green vegetation inland.

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We visited the governor's country house where Jonathan, the famous tortoise, lives with his friends. It's a bit scary when you get close because they take in a big breath and then exhale and start moving. Then it becomes clear that the breathing is in preparation for a push-up so they can be properly scratched on the head.

After the tour, Sarel and Elza invited us home for coffee. Home for them is Maldivia House, where Napolean stayed sometimes.

Back on board, we attacked the repairs needed before setting out again. The jib needed some work and we spent the better part of two days wrestling with the stiff material rerunning the leech line.

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There is a set of steps (699 of them) running up one of the hills surrounding Jamestown, called the “Jacob's ladder.” It's a sailor's must to climb it, so we headed ashore early in the morning before the day got hot.

The view of the town and anchorage from the top is spectacular.

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Down went faster than up, and back at the “steps” we launched Red Dogfish to paddle back to Marcy. We were reminded of the Marquesas in French Polynesia as we carefully timed our loading operation between ocean waves. The grab ropes are a great addition to complete a tricky process.

Marcy is ready to set off again, so we're heading off refreshed after our enjoyable stay at St. Helena.

Walvis Bay to St. Helena- the log

2009-05-12T03:35:00.002-07:00

Departure, April 29,
After a 2PM departure under sail we entered the fog bank. With fair wind and calm seas we made good time in the fog and kept a close watch on the radar. 32 was an auspicious number our first night out. 32 minutes after sunset and 32 miles into our trip we broke free of the fog in time to see the last of the red sky from the sunset. We saw 2 ships, the closest on a perfect reciprocal course to ours. We flipped on our steaming light and our deck level nav lights to show our boat better. After altering to starboard the other boat did the same and we passed with at least a mile between us. The sea was glowing. Every wave was tipped with green and our dolphin visitors were perfectly illuminated. We've never seen such luminescence. We could clearly see fish and squid swimming away from the boat and being caught by the dolphins. Now, there is no question why the dolphins like to swim with Marcy. It's a guaranteed buffet in the right conditions. With a dry bilge and a full pantry, wind in the sails and comfortable seas our passage is starting off well.

Day 1, April 30
150 NM from Walvis Bay at noon and a good passage so far.

Day 2, May 1
328 nm from Walvis Bay
Marcy's May pole is sporting a reefed main and poled out jib. We're rolling along down wind. The overnight temp only got down to 69F and today it's 80F. It really feels like we're back in the tropics again. After the moon set last night it was a very dark night with an inky sea and lots of stars. Tradewind clouds above and a steady barometer confirm our plan to head for 20S to avoid the winter weather systems passing below.

Day 3, May 2
485 NM from Walvis Bay
Still rolling along under main and poled out jib. Last night dolphins streaked toward us, looking like torpedoes headed for a direct hit amidships in the phosphorescent water. The air continues to get warmer and night watches are bearable again. With the boat mostly sailing itself our attention turns to food. The cook is happy to see and smell the last of the boerewors sausages.

Day 4, May 3
611 NM from Walvis Bay
Light winds in the convergence zone have cut our mileage to 126 miles for the last 24 hours. As we plod along at 3 knots under chute and jib we're seeing a few ships on AIS rounding the bulge of west Africa heading to Cape Town. On the menu today: Prawn wraps. Prawns sauteed in butter and sweet chili sauce with carmelized onions, mushrooms, rice, fresh cucumber and tomato served in a warm tortilla. The motion of the boat still makes it necessary to keep a close eye on the knife lest it make an attempt at the cook's feet!

Day 5, May 4
702 NM from Walvis Bay
Marcy was used as a hunting tool by a big school of dolphins this morning. As we slowly sailed over a calm sea, Ginger happened to be looking at the water forward when all of a sudden dozens of dolphins simultaneously jumped in a precise line. The sea surface was churned white as the creatures closed around around their prey in classic pinching maneuver. The wind is light and we are running in light winds under spinnaker and poled out jib alone.

Day 6, May 5
806 NM from Walvis Bay
Third day of running in light winds under spinnaker and poled out jib - easy, comfortable, but not fast. The guy (that's a line, not the captain!) on the spinnaker managed to snag, rip off, and dump the starboard nav light overboard. Had planned to relocate those lights further aft where they wouldn't get so wet - now that item moves up the list.

Day 7, May 6
943 NM from Walvis Bay
We experienced a nice wind increase to a solid 15 kts this morning. We dropped the chute, jibed the jib, raised the main with a single reef, and are now headed directly to our destination and making a fast 7 kts of boat speed. Just before noon we celebrated a milestone as we crossed the prime meridian and left the eastern hemisphere, which we had entered near Fiji in the Pacific Ocean.

Day 8, May 7
1111 NM from Walvis Bay
Wind has shifted to westerly with no southerly in it at all. So we jibed to deal with it, always a serious job in brisk conditions. We have two mainsheets, three preventers, two jib poles each with a topping lift and fore guy and after guy, two running backstays, and two jib sheets. That makes 15 lines in all to handle for a jibe! It takes about an hour to complete the operation and tidy up afterward. A fine aerobic workout for the captain and a true test of agility as well.

Day 9, May 8
1289 NM from Walvis Bay at noon. Anchor down 12:30P 1292NM, 6.1 knots average
With good wind all night we arrived at St. Helena in early afternoon, dropping the hook in 70 feet of water. There was a strong south setting current as we traversed the last 200NM and the swell built considerably the closer we approached land. The rolling we've enjoyed the last week as we sailed dead down wind has prepared us for the anchorage. We're told it's unusually bouncy today but it seems peaceful to us! Due to the swine flu we are quarantined on the boat until a doctor can come to take our temperatures and examine us. We wonder what the incubation period for the flu is as we've been in quarantine for the last 9 days already! We're hoping to get cleared in today so we can eat dinner ashore with our friends from "Waikaya" before they leave tomorrow morning.

Out of Africa (Finally!)

2009-05-11T03:15:00.002-07:00

As we bobbed at anchor in Walvis Bay preparing to cross the Atlantic, we explored what we could of the area. Our home base was the Yacht Club, a friendly, neat and tidy place.

The bird life was prolific: we saw beautiful flamingos, all types of beach wading birds, and sometimes the semi tame pelicans greeted us as we did our shore chores.

The long sand spit was home to thousands of seals. On windy days flies that live with the seals were blown down to Marcy. We learned that thankfully they are not human biters.

The longer we stayed in Walvis Bay, the more our first impressions of fog and sand were verified. Back at Marcy, we encountered – more fog! The tin dinghy is working very well for us.

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Transportation is important in this town as it can be a very hot long walk from the residential neighborhoods to downtown. As we admired the local “Challenger” bicycles one man told us it is the “Namibian Lamborghini”

Taxi's here are like mini bus services. People share taxis and the drivers are always on the lookout for new passengers. One afternoon our taxi driver took some other customers home before delivering us to the yacht club. On the taxi ride to the suburbs we saw – more sand!

SWAPO flags were flying everywhere. The houses were small but interesting. Soccer fans declare their allegience on the outsides of their houses.

The neighborhood bar was doing well.

The houses closer to town seemed very upscale in comparison.

After admitting defeat with our broken radio it was time to go. We completed the important shopping. We need to have food onboard to last well over a month, the next major shopping will be in Brazil.

Last trip ashore to customs got all the paperwork in order, so we hoisted the dinghy, lashed everything down, and sailed out to sea. St. Helena, last home of Napoleon, here we come!

Marcy anchored St. Helena

2009-05-09T03:47:00.001-07:00

Marcy and crew are at historic Jamestown, St. Helena.

Getting under way

2009-04-29T03:42:00.004-07:00

We are thrilled to say that we are cleared out and heading to sea today. It's time for an ocean passage to a new continent. Much as we've enjoyed Africa we're looking forward to new adventures and hoping they don't involve quite as much boat work. St. Helena is our next stop and after a rest of a few days, weather permitting, we'll continue on to Brazil. The first passage of 1200 miles should take just over a week. We hope to update our progress when we arrive in St. Helena. To everyone at home, we're glad to hear that spring has finally arrived.

Marcy scores 2 wins and 1 loss in Namibia

2009-04-26T03:04:00.002-07:00

The last two weeks the Marcy crew has been kicking around Walvis Bay looking for spare parts and working on boat stuff. The yacht club is friendly, the town is nice and the weather has mostly been in the low 70s during the day. When we arrived we were both fighting sinus infections so we've also had some down time recuperating and just enjoying being at anchor again after so much marina time in South Africa. We had 3 items to fix in preparation for crossing the Atlantic, the leak, the wind/water generator and the HF radio.

We arrived in Walvis on Easter Sunday at around 6P and though customs is open 24 hours; holidays, Sundays and evenings are no time to bother customs. Fortunately our VHF radio was still working so we chatted with our neighbors on an American ketch called Westwind and they offered to call a cab for us Monday morning. We launched the “Wee Beastie” (our new dinghy) and were pleased to find a dinghy dock at the yacht club. It turns out that the Monday after Easter is also a holiday here so town was very quiet. The customs officer handled all of our clearing in formalities and we were on our way within 15 minutes. We stopped at a grocery store and purchased a Namibian sim card for the cell phone. Oddly, no beer for sale on holidays here!

Day two ashore and the first business day in Namibia for Marcy was busy. After the relative easy access to parts and expertise in Cape Town, Namibia is a desert, figuratively as well as literally. The town of Walvis Bay is small but since it is the only sea port for Namibia and they have a fishing fleet here too, it's the best place in this country to work on the boat. We felt fortunate to find an HF radio shop and downright lucky to get underwater epoxy putty in a home builders store. Communication is a priority and we headed straight for the phone company where they manually set up cell phones for internet access on their phone network. With only a couple of calls to customer service we were happily up and running with our cell phone internet service. Our first email was an update to the blog to let friends and family know that the leak had not gotten the better of Marcy and crew. Alas, we had some calls to make to the US and couldn't figure out how to make that work! Skype is out of the question here, no-one sells the phone cards necessary for the phone at the yacht club, international calling cards and 800 numbers are not allowed on the Namibian phone system and we couldn't get our cell phone to work for international calls. That became a mission over the next week and a half but we had other pressing matters on Marcy as well.

We took the radio antenna tuner off the boat and into the repair shop. They do fast work and had new wires soldered on to replace the corroded wires within a couple of hours. Back at the boat the tuner was reinstalled with no luck. Arrgh! Our radio and tuner are made by ICOM and the closest dealer is of course in Cape Town. The local shop could test our system but they would need for us to pull the tuner, radio, radio controller and all the cables. Even then, if they found a problem they'd probably have to send the whole thing to Cape Town for repair. BUT, we already talked with the repair shop in Cape Town and they're not familiar with the American version of the radio. Ironically, Seattle (home of ICOM America repair center) is really the only option for a complicated repair to our radio. We decided on a compromise solution. We ordered a new tuner to be shipped from Cape Town as it's the most likely problem due to some salt water damage and corrosion. We installed the new tuner, but bad news, the new tuner did not solve the problem. We had the radio serviced in February in Seattle so we are suspicious that it has something to do with that modification to help with clipping. We've sent an email to ICOM to see if this sometimes happens after they do the mod, but not heard back yet. We're running out of time, our expensive Brazil visas will expire soon, so we've decided that we have to go to sea without a radio that will transmit. We'll still be able to hear broadcasts and to get weather faxes but that's it. No email at sea. We will have to resolve this problem in Brazil. We struck out and have to admit defeat on this one for now.

With the radio problem on hold it was time to once again turn our attention to the leak. Yes, we're hoping that the 3rd time's a charm because we'd like to have a dry trip across the Atlantic. We (read Peter) disconnected the steering and it was obvious that our Dassen patch job had failed. We were glad to see that it wasn't something else. We moved some heavy items from the stern into the bow and then piled Red Dogfish (the kayak), full water and diesel jugs and spare sails on deck at the bow to get the stern out of the water. We applied a bit more epoxy putty where the water was coming in let the area dry overnight and then Peter prepped and sanded. We applied fiberglass in two layups. The first was a single layer of fiberglass mat. to cover the crack area and make a good bond for the top layer. We found that the original boat layup was resin heavy in that area and to further compromise things when installing the steering sheaves, long ago, the glass had been ground away to make room. The mat application went well and after 24 hours to cure we applied the glass cloth. We blew up Red Dogfish and checked the outside of the boat. There was a small hole next to the lower bearing that appeared after all the work done in the last few months. Peter was able to pack some epoxy putty in that hole without getting too wet. It's good to stay dry because the water here is as cold as Puget Sound right now. With no more water coming in we are satisfied that we've done as much as possible in Walvis Bay on that project.

The third boat project was our wind/water generator. We had some problems with it in the Mozambique Channel and had not gotten it working after a rebuild in Richard's Bay. After another thorough cleaning to improve contact under the brushes the test still came up unsuccessful. We finally tracked the problem to the plug, cleaned the wires and contacts and success! Two out of three successful jobs is a pretty good score for working with limited resources.

A note about our Comar AIS and Raymarine C80 chartplotter - we still love them BUT we sent an email to Raymarine asking why the TCPA (Time to Closest Point of Approach) is always miscalculated on our chartplotter. We were pleased to get a quick response, but surprised and very disappointed to learn that the although the problem has already been reported, there will be no fix. “Raymarine is not planning any future C-Series Classic MFD updates.” We are inferring that Raymarine is abandoning their classic version to focus on their newer chartplotters. Our five year old system, one that is still being sold in stores new, seems to already be an orphan system.

Being tourists by boat it isn't always easy to get all the local information. We taxi show up an hour late and a couple of other confusing arrangements with shops closing later than expected for lunch before we found out that Namibia has daylight savings time for winter and we missed a time change. It turns out, here in Namibia, people are generally on time but they're definitely NOT an hour early for anything!

After working on our issues, we had some time to think about checking out the area and socializing. There is a lagoon with flamingos and pelicans nearby with a walking path along the shore. On the lagoon, built on stilts, is a well recommended restaurant a short walk from the yacht club where we had a perfect dinner at excellent Namibian prices. (Dinner for two, w/drinks & tip, $35 US.) About 20 miles away is the tourist town of Swakopmund. We took a day trip there with the Chilean crew from a neighbor boat. The natural history museum was good but the rest of the town was typical tourist fare. We checked in the largest bookshop for magazines. We're not picky, “The Economist”, “Time” or any other source for world news would be better than “Cosmo” so we'd have some current reading for our passage, but they don't sell those here. Oh sure, if you want to know what Oprah thinks you can get that. Also if you're interested in knitting or hunting they have that too. But, one must go to the capital of Windhoek for such literary fare as world news. The day in Swakop' was redeemed by our discoveries as we waited for our ride back to Walvis Bay. Our friend Luis found a sewing shop to repair his Chilean flag and we found a fresh fish shop next door with unusually fresh local seafood and beautiful heads of leaf lettuce. The low evening light on the return drive to Walvis Bay was beautiful on the sand dunes.

Ups and Downs Departing South Africa

2009-04-16T11:21:00.002-07:00

As we set sail and departed Cape Town, our thoughts and conversations were all about the recurring leak. We dropped the hook at scenic Dassen Eiland to see what we could do about it. Marcy and a small crayfish boat were tucked in behind a shoal with a wave break.

It's a very pretty spot, but our spirits were low as we realized that we had spent thousands of rand, had two haulouts, but had missed repairing the major leak. We did our best exposing a gap and pushing waterproof epoxy putty into it. It's never easy trying to stop a leak from the inside, but we did our best.

We set sail again and headed for Namibia. Our HF radio failed, depressing us further. It is much loved for safety, weather, email, and chatting with friends. We listened as our friends on Nomad just 100 miles away called us for our morning check in but we could not reply. Marcy leaked with a vengeance in the brisk quartering waves. We pumped every two hours, day and night, and kept the bilge water at a reasonable level. The southern fall is well under way and the days were chilly. The nights were downright cold! Peter was bundled up as he tightened the wind vane control lines.

Ginger was bundled up, too.

The cabin has never looked so warm and inviting.

Just hours before leaving Cape Town, we had installed an electronic black box called AIS. It reads, decodes, and plots VHF signals that are broadcast from commercial ships – giving us their position, heading, speed, name and other good information. Our route took us near busy shipping lanes, and the AIS proved to be useful and entertaining. The black boat shape on the screen is Marcy's position, and the triangles are all ships. They are not close (the screen is on the 300 mile scale in this image) but we can watch and spot potential problems much earlier than we can see the ships on the horizon. Some of these ships are so fast (up to 20 knots) that once they are in sight we only have a couple of minutes to react to a possible collision course.

The wind was good and the passage was fast, so soon we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. The air became a bit warmer – but not as warm as we thought it should be in the “tropics.” We turned into Walvis Bay and dropped the hook in calm, shallow water. We had views of beautiful sandy desert to one side, and a busy container port to the other. Marcy looked good with her new paint.

The water was so calm we could look over the side at our reflection to verify the name and homeport were still stuck on.

Our first local visitor came onboard and perched on the mainsheet.

We know the drill by now. Visit customs, dismantle steering, and repair radio and leak. It could be worse – the location seems to be perfect for the work at hand, and if we can complete our duties soon, the desert calls for exploration.

Saturday Day 4 to Namibia

2009-04-14T06:24:00.001-07:00

After 36 hours of cloudy skies the haze burned off to make a beautiful sunset and moon rise last night. The stars were out in a clear sky and the wind has continued to push us steadily toward our destination. The temperatures seem very cold to us with a low of 58 degrees and wind chill reminding us that we've stayed well into fall but also making us assess our clothes and heat for our trip south later this season. Though 58 doesn't sound cold it is difficult to stay warm after 4 hours on watch in the cockpit at night.

The seas are just unpredictable enough to send the odd wave into the cockpit and to throw us around the boat ensuring that we're getting all the involuntary exercise possible. The boat is regularly rolling so far that traction on the cockpit floor is impossible. With a cockpit slightly too wide for Ginger to sit and reach the far side with a foot it's always a test of reflexes to react to a tossing wave before being tossed too far. The bilge pump continues to do it's job well and due to the wind strength we've spent most of the last 36 hours under jib alone which seems to slow the flow of water anyway. We have less than 200 miles as a crow flies to Walvis Bay (translated "Whale-fish Bay") and expect to arrive some time tomorrow.

We've spent the entire trip accompanied by albatrosses, petrels and terns. We have also seen whales and seals and are amazed by how much wildlife lives off shore of this coast. We were sad to leave the shy penguins behind not long after Dassen. So far no flying fish to scrape off the deck - yay!

Our AIS is showing us that there are more than 50 ships within a 300 mile radius - when propagation is good at night - and has also shown us that we are currently in the middle of a parade of about 20 ships heading north and south around us. Though we've only actually seen 6 ships since leaving Dassen Eiland we know that we've been passed by about 25 ships a day within 20 miles of us. Incredible! It's showing us how crowded these waters are and how close we have to be to see a ship. Last night we passed within 2 miles of the first ship we've seen this trip not transmitting an AIS signal - a large fishing boat - and so we're still vigilant with our watches. Thanks Adam for mentioning AIS with time to get one in Seattle.

We're looking forward to the sun recharging the batteries and warming us up with a sunny day today.

Heading North to Namibia

2009-04-08T23:32:00.001-07:00

We left Cape Town on Monday afternoon. The boat was put away again and ready for sea, food cooked and in the fridge, everything stowed. A few miles north of Cape Town we checked in the bilge and were dismayed to see water still pouring in from the stern, as much as ever. We emptied the lazarette and checked the new stuffing box. It was doing it's job, no water was coming in above the bearing. We decided to continue on to Dassen Eiland. No turning back this time. We anchored at Dassen in the dark and resolved to work on the problem in the morning. It was a chilly fall morning when we got to work disassembling the steering to have complete access to the bearing box. We found that while the bearing has been sealed at the top there is a crack at the front edge of the box housing it. It was so rough with large swell rolling in that we had no problem seeing the leak because every wave submerged the stern and brought a fresh supply of salt water to the area. Peter chipped away the rotten glass and we used our JB Weld Waterweld epoxy putty to plug the crack until no more water was coming in. It wasn't a big enough hole for caulk. As there is apparently a bit of pressure on the area we could have then spent another day or two to glass over the freshly puttied crack but the waves were big and we decided to move on. We didn't want to spend too much time in a rough anchorage with the steering disconnected. There is now some water coming in but nothing the bilge pump can't keep up with. We're making good time on our way to Namibia and looking forward to a quiet anchorage and quality time in the lazarette with some fiberglass and epoxy. Of course, we'll also try to work on where the water is coming in from outside if we can get the stern out of the water enough.
Water in the bilge issues aside - really we're quite used to those by now - the trip is going well. We're enjoying our AIS for watching all the big ships transmitting their positions, we have a fine following wind and the seas aren't too bad. We're averaging over 7 knots and hoping we arrive in Namibia at a time that we won't have to pay overtime and holiday fees for clearing in! With the fall temperatures in Cape Town we're looking forward to crossing Tropic of Capricorn line into the tropics again.

Marcy's Penny Pinching Strategies

2009-04-04T11:39:00.002-07:00

We watch our budget very carefully. We've heard money referred to by sailors as “freedom chips” - the longer the money can last, the longer the sailing can last. We've also heard boats referred to as “a hole in the water into which you must pour money” and we try hard to disprove that saying.

So we sail conservatively – new sails or even repairs are expensive. We reef early and always look up to check for chafe or hang ups in the rig. We use the sail cover religiously to protect the expensive mainsail from UV rays. Also we make sure the jib is completely rolled up to ensure the sacrificial cover strip actually fully covers the sail. We sail a lot and motor a little because of course, diesel fuel isn't cheap.

There is a wonderful money saving synergy possible with plywood, seine twine, tools and paint, combined with a knowledge of knots and lashings. We carry a small AC jigsaw and drill motor that we can use on board and off grid with inverter power. Many small repairs and modifications can be accomplished inexpensively with these tools and scraps of plywood. For example, our whip antenna needed a support, so we made a bracket and lashed it in place. Otherwise, a welder would have been hired to do the job.....

One of our solar panel mounts broke and plywood and twine came to the rescue.

Bashing upwind while leaving New Zealand last year, a joint in the v berth started to separate. Simple lashings replace or at least delay a more elaborate repair.

Of course, we did not invent this type of repair – Wharram boats are built this way. Also years ago, Peter worked for and learned from Dick Wagner (of the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle) how to keep a fleet sailing with seine twine.

We decided that a proper seat at the chart table would be nice for talking on the radio nets. With some plywood, paint and the handy jig saw we had a serviceable sit down nav desk.

And of course we had to make a deck box for the giant African propane cylinder. We've had many struggles but always eventual success to get our US bottles filled in various countries until we were stumped in South Africa – and so we had to buy the local standard. We hope it will be acceptable in South America!

In addition to spending as little as possible on repairs and modifications we practice inexpensive tourism. We walk everywhere – only very rarely do we take a taxi. As a bonus, we see interesting sights not in the tour books. On the way to the grocery store, we pass a site where fishing boats are being cut apart for scrap metal.

With our Austrian friends Doris and Wolfe of Nomad we climbed Lion's Head to enjoy the view of Cape Town. We loved this “fire extinguisher” mounted on a tree at the trailhead.

There were sections with small rocks conveniently glued (glued rocks?! TIA – This Is Africa) on the route for hand and footholds.

Back at the boat, Ginger cooked up a nice braii for the four us. As we ate, drank, and discussed the weather, we agreed that life was good, even on a strict budget!

Back in the Yard

2009-04-02T11:15:00.002-07:00

As Marcy was lifted out of the water – again – to repair the leak in the rudder bearing – again – we noticed that the old girl was looking a bid dingy in the topsides. She was showing the marks of months of docks in windy Africa and a difficult cross current landing at the fuel dock.

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Since we were in the yard for a certain amount of time in any case, we asked for a quote to paint. With the help of a favorable exchange rate, the yard would paint Marcy's topsides for about $2600 US, which is a fraction of the prices we'd been quoted in the US, Mexico, NZ, and Fiji. So we said yes, please! In no time at all, the sanding commenced.

Marcy was taped and screened.

A stuffing box was installed to take care of the leak.

We dreaded the trip up the ladder.

But the trip down was much worse.

The paint job looked good. We decided to move the name and home port to the sides, considering Marcy's transom is small and obscured by the wind vane. When the Australian patrol aircraft flew over us last year, sometimes they had a hard time reading our name. Once they got it very wrong and called us “Money!” So we had the name and home port made in vinyl and applied it port and starboard to the new paint.

We enjoyed one last beautiful sunset in the yard, and were launched the next day. The grime and soot from a big wildfire at the edge of town had made the yard even dirtier than ever, but the sunsets were spectacular.

We will head north after washing the decks, re-rigging and checking out with the authorities. We've already begun the paperwork, including the all important sketch of Marcy required by South African search and rescue.

Not so fast...

2009-03-21T07:11:00.001-07:00

We tried to leave, we really wanted to go. Sad as we were to leave Cape Town, IT WAS TIME. We cleared out and went to sea. As the waves grew the water level in the bilge rose. Ginger said "What Now?!" Peter said "It's got to be the rudder again." He was right, Marcy wasn't as ready to leave Cape Town as we were. One more trip to the yard was in order. Water was pouring in the top of the lower rudder bearing as before. So, back to the yard, fabricate a lower bearing and then we'll be on our way. We hope the delay will be no longer than a week. As we write this Marcy is sitting on the concrete at RCYC again, having survived another crane lift. We are at the bar recovering....

Last days in Cape Town

2009-03-15T23:20:00.004-07:00

We're getting serious on Marcy now! The jib is on, the new African propane tank has a new box to protect it from seas, the engine oil and filter have been changed, and most importantly the canned goods and staples are bought and stored. But, this is Africa, and as with everything else the way some of those things got done wasn't easy.

Take for example the propane box. The plywood needed to be painted. We heard about a hardware store a mile away so we walked over there the other morning to get some paint. It was a pretty good hardware store, decent stock and fairly busy. That's good news when you're buying paint because it means the paint isn't old. But, there's always a catch. They only had one liter of base paint left on the shelf. The rest was due any minute - they were just waiting for the delivery truck. So, we got the one liter and decided to walk back there another day for another liter if we really need it. We've learned new supplies can be 10 minutes away or 10 days away. On can never be sure.

Then there was the big grocery shopping day. It's a short walk to the closest store but too far with a month's supply of cans and staples. We called the customer service manager who we'd met at the Royal Cape Yacht Club delivering food for Mike the sindlehander. Several messages were sent by email and left by phone - with real people. Finally we went in person and learned that the customers service manager we'd been trying to reach had been out of the store for the last 5 days. So, we arranged with the store manager that we would come in on Thursday morning a van would be available to deliver our groceries in the morning. Before leaving we asked if she would be in on Thursday. She realized that, in fact, that would be her day off, but she would let the manager on duty Thursday know the plan. Thursday morning at store opening (8AM) we arrived to start our shopping. We stopped by the manager's office to make sure there was a driver available. Of course, they knew nothing of this plan and no there was no van or driver immediately available. We finished our shopping by 10A and were assured that they would deliver the groceries before noon. These purchased groceries were left sitting in two shopping carts outside the managers office and we crossed our fingers that we'd actually see all of our groceries again at the boat. We rushed back to the boat to meet some friends who were due to arrive at 10:30 and the waiting game began. As it turned out our friends were delayed and arrived at 6P. The groceries were a bit more troublesome. There were several phone calls placed to the manager who was apologetic but unable to get the drivers to deliver. Finally just after 4P the groceries arrived.

The soft fuel bladder that we got in Australia was another story altogether. We will need it in Chile and thought this could be a good place to get hoses for it. We dropped it off at a shop and after a week, 3 visits and numerous phone calls we finally were able to pick it up with all the parts. For a mere 700 rand or $70USD they provided us with food grade hose (which could disintegrate when in contact with diesel), hose clamps that are too big and won't close enough to clamp the hose and a deck fill fitting as a fuel cap. Rather than argue that a child could do better Peter paid the bill, added the hose to our assortment of hoses and we'll try again in Brazil. Maybe we'll have better luck communicating our needs in Portuguese.

Ginger's birthday day at the spa (the first of our voyage) was a similar disaster. It started with her standing on the sidewalk for ages waiting for the "complimentary shuttle" that never seemed to show up despite several phone calls assuring her that it would arrive "just now." It ended as badly as it began with a "shame - we so wanted to make sure you got that massage" and she won't attempt this "advanced tourism" move again soon.

Despite minor frustrations, we love South Africa and hope to return. The every day challenges with getting things done are just part of life here and aren't really a bother until time gets short and things have to be done before departure. So, our last two days in Cape Town find us caulking the toe rail to hopefully keep out the salt water, shopping for fresh produce and clearing out with the officials. We're not going to try for any more fancy appointments or arrangements!

Fitting Out and Having Fun

2009-03-06T21:48:00.001-08:00

When we depart Cape Town, we will head north to the coastal desert of Namibia. Then we cross the Atlantic to Brazil, turn left and head down the coast of South America. Marcy needs to be fit and ready for a lot of miles, so we are working long days to prepare.

Our inflatable, Sniffy, died the death of a thousand leaks, the fate of many inflatables that spend too much time in the tropics. The PVC became porous. We traded outboards also, leaving the 15hp here in Africa and moving on with a nice little light 5hp Yamaha. The tinnie will live on top of the aft cabin, and we've had a cover made so we can carry it upright.

The outboard will fit inside the tinnie (along with fuel) as well as a few fenders or whatever. The outboard can either run from an integral tank for short trips (most of our usage) or draw from a remote outboard tank. Peter enjoyed one of our test runs in the dinghy.

We've found that for our type of tender use, a big fast rig doesn't make sense. We tend to stay quite close to Marcy. After all, everywhere we go is new to us! Also, in deserted anchorages, there is a safety factor - never go further than you would want to row. And the tinnie rows much better than Sniffy did. We like to fish, and a rigid dinghy is the best way to handle that action. Sniffy was so big that we needed to deflate it and stow it down below, sometimes an unwelcome job. Beaching an inflatable is a delicate exercise to avoid punctures on some nasty beaches and we could barely lift the rig to move it up the beach. This rig is light and we can drag it if we need to! Ginger enjoyed yet another test run, a sunset cruise really.

Of course one negative to a rigid tender might be swimming - it won't be as easy to board the tinnie from the water. We'll have to figure something out, maybe a rope ladder. Also, we still have Red Dogfish, the inflatable kayak that is a dream to board from the water. We first came to appreciate tinnies in OZ. There rubber duckies were scorned as croc toys - literally. We envied the dinghies that were rated as safe to explore upriver.

Peter continued with various projects. No, this is not a toilet seat. It's a holder for the pressure cooker as it cools....

Peter worked on a box for the propane tank as a lifeboat drill goes on behind him. We are moored next to a Maritime Academy.

In the still mornings, Ginger worked on her yoga.

Our cushion lady, Jo Fensham, came through in the nick of time with a beautiful set of cushions for Marcy.

Now we can retreat down below and lounge in luxury in Marcy's saloon. Our salt soaked ratty old cushions are history.

This area in Marcy is called the saloon, in spite of general usage today calling it the salon. An interesting little bit of history is that “wild west” saloons were called so in a bid to invoke the ambiance (varnished paneling and brass) and class of a ship's saloon of that era. Yacht ad writers and brokers today call it a salon to get away from the wild west connotation...and bring to mind, at least to us, of some sort of gathering of artists in Paris. So saloon it is on Marcy. But no spitting on the floor allowed!

Also completed in time is a new dodger. The canvas guy, Adrian, fitted Marcy with a dodger complete with an awning that extends from the aft edge. The favorable exchange rate of US dollars to SA rand has been a blessing, allowing us to replace this key part of the boat. Years of harsh sun and a big hit from a wave in the Indian Ocean had all but destroyed the original.

Our last days in Cape Town were not all spent working on Marcy. New Cape Townian friends Kate, Patrick, and Hei Won took us out to a delicious lunch at a wine county restaurant.

Then we went on a tour of one of the wineries.

We were impressed with the tasty products of the Cape. Back onboard Marcy we resolved to sip a glass every evening.

Tomorrow we'll work on that furler, tonight we enjoy the wine!

Have cushions will travel

2009-03-02T22:14:00.002-08:00

Life is good here on Marcy. Our last big contracted project was boat cushions and we got our new cushions yesterday (Monday) so as soon as we have food on board and our Brazil visas we'll be ready to travel. It's always exciting to untie the dock lines and head to sea and we're getting excited to go.

There was no rest for Ginger when she returned from Seattle because we had to complete some projects and get the boat moved from the Royal Cape Yacht Club. We pulled our spare chain out of the bilge and marked and stowed it in the chain locker. Though Peter had finished most of the woodwork projects in the cabin there were still tools out for the jobs to be completed and with most of the cushions thrown away in preparation for the new ones things were pretty rough for a while. The windlass had to be bolted on to the repaired foredeck, the propane solenoid had to be replaced (that spare came just in time from Seattle!), the stove battery holder had to be replaced and bolted in... the list was long but it's hard to remember all the jobs now. We moved the boat on Friday, Feb 20, to Granger Bay where we'll be able to finish a few jobs and get ready to leave the country. We tied up just in time to leave the boat and hike across town to the dentist. It's a great country for reasonable medical care.

We also had a busy social schedule. A plane passenger, Wendy, from Ginger's trip came by to visit and brought her friends Beverly and Georgina and we had a nice evening with them at the RCYC. Beverly was kind enough to offer to help out with errands and she also happens to sell wine! Beverly dropped off a case of wine for us and took Ginger on her first round of boat errands. What a help!
We first met Kate at the immigration office and she and her family took us on a fantastic afternoon to a fruit farm, lunch and a very personal tour of the Stellenzicht winery. Thursday Viqui, a friend from the RCYC took Ginger on another round of boat errands. Friday Ginger had to get her hair cut again - making up for all those missed hair cuts between OZ and SA. We've been very comfortable in South Africa!

The boat projects continue. We're struggling to get parts for the roller furler. We thought we could replace the bearings but it turns out that's not true. After spending a full day pulling the furler apart it became apparent that a sub-assembly would be destroyed taking it apart. We contacted Schaefer and they told us to order a replacement assembly from their supplier here. We found out yesterday that the $100 part plus the $100 shipping fees were assessed $200 in import fees to come into the country! We're still waiting to hear if those fees can be negotiated as we're a yacht in transit and shouldn't pay any import fees. Whatever the result we can't go to sea without our furler so we're anxious to get it installed and re-hoist the jib.

The hot fall weather has brought out the mozzies and we've had our share on board every night. The mosquitoes here are smaller and faster than the variety in Seattle. They are very hard to hunt down. We've been alternating between getting no sleep while we hunt skeeters and spraying the whole boat with bug killer to steal some sleep in a poison induced haze. OK, it's not quite that bad but our boat is not very mosquito proof and here in the marina they're tenacious bugs.

It's another beautiful morning, time for yoga on deck and then back to work.

Solo sailors in Cape Town

2009-02-22T02:28:00.002-08:00

Here at the waterfront Cape Town, it's all about the singlehanders. A pack of them are in town, vying for various records and refitting and reprovisioning for the next leg. The two youngest duke it out for the "youngest circumnavigator" title. Zac, who we met in Durban, is sailing in a laid back SoCal style family run effort.

Mike, sailing the racing machine “Totally Money.Com,” has the support (and pressure) of a corporate campaign effort behind him.

Mike versus Zac is a classic tortoise/hare race – will the weather hold for Mike's route, and will his speedster stay in one piece long enough to win, or will Zac slowly pull ahead with shorter pit stops despite a longer route and slower boat?

Saito, has no competition is his bid to be the oldest circumnavigator at 75 years old. This is his eighth trip around. He's even done a solo non-stop! His “fish boat tough” steel cutter is as different as can be from Mike's light flyer.

In the middle, age wise, is this boat from the Azores, heading out on the last leg of his second solo trip around. We first met Genuino of Hemingway at Mauritius.

Of course, there is a Polish woman solo sailor here, Natasza, who is in competition with the other Polish woman, Marta. Marta, if you remember from an earlier blog, is the singlehander who was rescued in the surf near Port Elizabeth with a surprise guest on board. Marta elected to sail back to Durban, where the guest had joined her, and retrace her route south, this time actually alone. Sort of a “do – over.” Natasza understandably disapproves of the whole thing.

While Ginger was away visiting Seattle, Peter felt like a solo sailor. He worked on “the list” of repairs and modifications. After being alone for ages (actually less than two weeks) he met Ginger at the airport. In the luggage were good boat parts – including the boxes to set up an AIS system. When we depart South Africa, we will cross waters crowded with commercial shipping, and it will be good to automatically receive position and speed information for these ships.

Our old camera was malfunctioning and made Ginger's trip to Seattle look like one wild party after another.

but the rare city snow and glimpses of Mount Rainier are icons from Seattle that even the spare camera couldn't ruin.

Ginger was glad to be back home ..

Our new “tinnie” needed bailing, so Ginger went straight to work.

Also recently arrived are Americans Stephen and Kathleen on Tawodi. They are making a fast dash around the world east bound. After losing a sea anchor and suffering some damage on the approach to Africa, they have much respect (like us) for the amazing chaotic sea state generated in this part of the world.

Marcy had to leave the Royal Cape – things are hectic with visiting yachts and marina modifications. We found a very temporary spot nearby in a quiet cove, but it is clear that we need to make Marcy seaworthy and head out of town soon.

Cape Town

2009-01-31T03:34:00.002-08:00

Marcy rounded the Cape of Storms on a breezy, but thankfully not stormy afternoon. Ginger, ever happy with cold weather, was bundled up and all smiles in the chilly breeze.

The moon rose over Africa as Marcy plunged down the Atlantic swells.

As we arrived in Cape Town in the wee hours of the morning, gusts of 40 and 50 knots blasted us. We were prepared for this because we had read about the famous wind called the Cape Doctor that rules this area. The wind is named so because is sweeps all of the bad air out of town and keeps everyone healthy, and it's signature is the white cloud on Table Mountain – the tablecloth.

We tied up at the Royal Cape Yacht Club as the wind, unusually cooperative, died completely for a few hours. The next morning, after admiring the stunning view of Table Mountain and tablecloth, we arranged to have Marcy hauled out.

In addition to bottom paint and new zincs, we took the rudder off to fix the long time problems with worn bearings and a nasty leak.

A crew working under the instruction of the very competent foreman made short work of our problems.

Ginger wisely left the boatyard grime for a few hours and returned from a visit to the V & A Waterfront mall (retail therapy?) looking fresh and wonderful.

The tablecloth remained set, however, and every night we wondered if would tip over in a gust. It never happened, of course, and we found a few windless hours just before relaunching to rebuild the trusty wind vane.

The yard manager himself manned the crane to relaunch Marcy.

The yard guys were as happy as we were to see Marcy safely back in the water.

After missing seeing penguins in New Zealand, we vowed to make an effort to see them up close here. Louis, an African friend and fellow sailor we first met in Darwin, offered to drive us to the nearby rookery.

We saw plenty of the little buggers, first in ones and twos, then in the dozens.

It was good to get away from the boat and be sightseeing tourists for a while.

After the wonderful time sightseeing,

we went back to our routine refreshed. As Ginger prepares for a short visit to Seattle, she cooks a few meals ahead for Peter. He will stay behind to work on the “list.”