Showing posts with label at. Show all posts
Showing posts with label at. Show all posts
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Sailing the Mediterranean at last
July 13 -15 2012
With Alcheringa fully provisioned with fuel, food, water and, of course, wine, we finally left the La Lonja Marina at Palma on the morning of Friday July 13 and headed out into Palma bay for the first time with just the three of us on board our boat. There was no containing the smiles all around as we all savoured the moment.
Now many superstitious people will say you should never start a voyage on a Friday and for some the very thought of Friday the 13th would of have them staying firmly tied to the dock. We however were very keen to get away from the marina before all the charter boats started arriving back in from about lunchtime. It may have been nice and quiet during the week but Friday and Saturdays are absolute bedlam.
Now many superstitious people will say you should never start a voyage on a Friday and for some the very thought of Friday the 13th would of have them staying firmly tied to the dock. We however were very keen to get away from the marina before all the charter boats started arriving back in from about lunchtime. It may have been nice and quiet during the week but Friday and Saturdays are absolute bedlam.
We decided we wouldn’t technically be starting a voyage on a Friday if all we did was move a short 14 nautical miles west along the coast to a little bay called Cala Portals or Porto Vels. For some reason nearly every anchorage on Mallorca listed in the cruising guide has two names. We’ve have no idea why. There’s even more than one way to spell the island itself with official paper work we saw going with Mallorca while many signs and books etc had it as Majorca. Either way it’s pronounced May-Yorker so go figure.
We did experience one small hiccup as we were making our way through the harbour and about to leave port when Rob turned on our chart plotter to enter the our short route into the system. It was a Raymarine brand which we were familiar with using on previous boats we'd crewed on so we hadn't paid it much attention until this point when we suddenly discovered its language was naturally set on Spanish. AGH!! As Rob's Spanish language skills don't stretch far beyond 'Dosvinos tintos por favor'(Two red wines please), there was a mad scramble to dig out the operating manual and find out where in the menu we could change the language settings to English.
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| Marc had the honour of helming us out of the harbour and into Palma Bay |
Conditions were perfect for our first time out with the breeze light but more than enough for us to sail along nicely downwind towards our first anchorage. We all took turns on the helm and revelled at simply being on the water in our own boat. Sailing peacefully past bays packed with big resorts and all the hurly burly that goes with them was a fantastic way to unwind after the past month’s dramas buying the boat.
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| Karen trimming the headsail |
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| Rob's turn at the wheel as we sail Alcheringa away for the first time |
We furled away the genoa and dropped the mainsail just outside the high cliff headlands that protect Cala Portals and motored in towards what was a fairly busy anchorage for a Friday. We were able to find a secure spot to drop the anchor in four metres of water with a nice sand bottom. We were a little close to a couple of small powerboats but we correctly assumed they would disappear by sunset leaving us with plenty of room to swing around during the night.
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| We were all enjoying the water pretty quickly after getting the anchor down |
Cala Portals is a small but very beautiful bay with nice clear water surrounded by high rock cliffs on all sides. Inside the headlands it splits into three fingers with great beaches at the end of each. A very small boat harbour was tucked into the Eastern side of the bay. It was backed by some apartments stretching up the hill and a row of luxury houses along the cliff top. The rest of the bay however featured no development other than small cafes behind each of the three beaches. It really was as nice a first anchorage as we could of possibly hoped for.
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| Early morning before the day tripper hordes arrived at Cala Portals |
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| The water at Cala Portals was beautiful |
One thing we noticed very quickly was that either Spain’s economic woes were worse than we thought and the majority of people can no longer afford bathing suits or sunlovers in the Med simply don’t bother with them. We learned that apparently the centre beach is a designated nudist beach but, to be honest, all of Cala Portals seemed to be very clothes optional. Karen was particularly bemused by the number of males that had proudly embraced the Brazilian trend while just the thought of back, sack and crack waxing had Rob and Marc wincing. While the boys clearly enjoyed some of the young female eye candy on offer, the old saying that many nudists are the last people on earth you really want to see nude also certainly came to mind.
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| Alcheringa at anchor in Cala Portals |
In July summer in the Balearic Islands is unquestionably superb with mostly clear, warm days and magnificent sunsets that light up the sky in an ever changing array of colour stretching into prolonged hours of twilight. With all but a few yachts and larger motorboats disappearing well before nightfall we were left to enjoy a magnificent, very peaceful evening with one of Karen’s great meals and a glass of wine or two. The very best of cruising life and really what we’d all been hanging out for.
The following day being Saturday we found out just how popular Cala Portals is with pleasure boats and hundreds of beach goers that descend down the cliff paths. By early afternoon new arrivals through the heads often found nowhere to anchor and simply turned around and went. The beaches and rocky ledges were covered in tanning bodies literally of all shapes and sizes while out on the water there was a vibrant atmosphere as hundreds more enjoyed themselves on the vast array of vessels from small speedboats to multi-million dollar super yachts.
After plenty of snorkelling in the crystal clear water, Karen and Rob went ashore for a while exploring some of the tracks and headlands and took the obligatory photos of Alcheringa resting peacefully in our first anchorage. Meanwhile Marc was content to sit back onboard, relaxing and taking in the atmosphere.
The bay pretty much emptied out again that evening and later during the night a small swell made its way around the headlands making things a little bit rolly onboard. However, we found the new rear cabin layout with its super-wide bunk perfectly suited to laying across the bed to minimise the effects of the roll and we were still able to enjoy a good sleep - with one interruption. Stirred from a deep slumber by a short period of more energetic rolling we heard a new noise on the boat coming from beyond our cabin and in our semi-somnolent state tried to place what it may be. Just as we both bolted upright having had the simultaneous realisation that what we were hearing was the sound of wine glasses sliding back and forth across the galley bench top and before we could actually get off the bunk, a larger swell hit the boat beam on. We rolled more savagely and all three glasses slid clean off the bench top and smashed into thousands of pieces on the deck with an almighty crash.
We spent the next half hour trying to sweep up every shard of glass that had spread the entire length of the salon. Next morning we resumed the hunt in the daylight and were warily crawling around the floor with dustpan and brushes as Marc emerged from his cabin with a bemused 'Whatare you chaps doing?' He had not heard a single sound during the night.
The episode provided us with a stark reminder that just because things are calm when you are heading to bed doesn't mean they'll stay that way so everything has to be secured away every night. It also resulted in us now drinking our wine from unbreakable plastic versions of our original glasses.
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| Ancient tombs at Cala Portals dating back to about 300BC |
Sunday morning was spent doing much the same as the previous day but in the afternoon we did take the opportunity to go ashore again. This time we explored caves cut into the western headland during the Phoenician occupation of the island around 300BC. They were ancient tombs that are huge and stretched well back into the solid rock. They contained some very elaborate rock carvings that we were surprised to find were not protected in any way from possible attack from vandals. Some of the cave roof has collapsed around one of the entrances during an earthquake but overall the whole system is in very good condition. We were amazed again at what ancient people had been able to achieve without any form of mechanisation at all. We really are soft these days.
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| The rock carvings were fantastic |
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| The tombs went a long way back into the solid stone |
Our other activity on Sunday was planning our first passage because the following morning we were going to really head to sea for the first time on Alcheringa and sail across to the western most of the Balearic Islands, Ibiza.
For more about our travels check out and 'like' our Dreamtimesail facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/DreamtimeSail?ref=hl
For more about our travels check out and 'like' our Dreamtimesail facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/DreamtimeSail?ref=hl
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| Looking out at Cala Portals from inside the Tombs |
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Lavranos Leisureliner 2 on display at the Cape Town Boat Show 2013
In the main hall there are no yachts on display really, just one very small one that's an unfinished product and the same one as displayed looking the same last year!
What is being promoted is the new version of an old favourite and with an upgrade by its designer Angelo Lavranos who tells me he will be trying the first LL 2 in Langebaan late December, after which he is sailing in the 2014 Cape to Rio yacht race.
CKD Boats cc will be introducing the new Deluxe Light Ply and Teak & Ash laminate flooring to Admiral Power Cats, the builders of the new Leisureliner 2.
Roy
The entry discount for yacht club members is 50%, so take your membership card!
What is being promoted is the new version of an old favourite and with an upgrade by its designer Angelo Lavranos who tells me he will be trying the first LL 2 in Langebaan late December, after which he is sailing in the 2014 Cape to Rio yacht race.
CKD Boats cc will be introducing the new Deluxe Light Ply and Teak & Ash laminate flooring to Admiral Power Cats, the builders of the new Leisureliner 2.
Roy
The entry discount for yacht club members is 50%, so take your membership card!
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
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Tuesday, November 8, 2016
To Bundaberg a Mayday and helping turtles nest at Mon Repos
6-7 December 2016
If time wasn’t an issue we could have stayed at beautiful Lady Musgrave Island for days if not weeks. However, the calendar was ticking down towards Christmas and we had to get to Brisbane where our special crew member, eight year old Grandson, young Master Kristian, would leave us and fly home to his Mum and Dad in time for the holidays. We were certainly going to miss him. It had been fantastic having him on board with us experiencing life afloat on the Great Barrier Reef. The adventure was still far from over though. Our next stop was to be at the Port of Bundaberg Marina for a side trip to get up close and personal with the nesting turtles at the world famous Mon Repos Beach.
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| Sunrise over the lagoon at Lady Musgrave as we prepare to raise the anchor. |
We raised anchor nice and early for our ten hour passage to the mouth of the Burnett River and exited the channel through the coral protecting the lagoon at first light. We had a minor moment when we came across two large turtles mating on the surface of the water right in the centre of the channel. Captain Poppy squeezed Our Dreamtime over as close to the coral as he dared trying not to interrupt their humpy rumpy and left Admiral Nanny to answer Master Kristian’s eager questions as to why one turtle was riding on the other’s back.
We motored west to clear the island and the fringing reefs before turning south. A modest NNE breeze was blowing which we anticipated would strengthen a little as the morning progressed. We rigged to run downwind wing on wing with the mainsail to port and the genoa to starboard. This necessitated running a bit to starboard of our desired course which we would have to make up for later but at least we could silence the engine and sail.
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| Sailing downwind towards Burnett Heads. |
Unfortunately there was a fare sized swell running from the nor east which saw the boat wallowing around as they rolled through under us from the stern quarter. We were hopeful that more power in the sails would improve the boat’s motion but unfortunately the wind wasn’t cooperating and remained at around 8-10 knots true which only pushed us along at around three and half to four knots. We persisted for a fair while waiting for it to strengthen but when Kristian became seasick for the first time ever on the boat we decided to start the engine and motor sail along the lay line on a port tack.
It did improve the motion of the boat and we were now making six knots and better towards our destination. Thankfully, Kristian also recovered his spirits pretty quickly helped by the steadier action and being distracted by a booby bird that landed on our dinghy and hitched a ride for quite a few hours. He was particularly amused by how much poop Captain Poppy was going to have to clean out of the inflatable when we reached the marina.
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| Kristian having a conversation with our hitch hiking booby bird. |
Chugging along on auto-pilot we were fairly relaxed while still maintaining a wary eye ahead in case anything untoward should happen to be around in the water but our casual day changed when we heard an all ships call from the Burnett Heads Volunteer Marine Rescue asking if anyone had just heard a Mayday transmission.
It transpired that he’d heard a feint call of ‘Mayday, mayday, mayday. Going down off Burnett Heads,’ but after repeated calls seeking details no further transmissions were received. He appeared to be starting to doubt his ears when Hervey Bay VMR came on confirming that they had also heard the short mayday call.
An all stations bulletin was then issued to be on the lookout for a vessel or persons in distress in the area and our casual watch became a very active search of the waters surrounding us as we made our way south. The VMR launched their boat to search and rescue helicopter arrived on site soon after and began a grid pattern search starting from the mouth of the river.
Many hours later, it was all still continuing as we arrived at the marina so we contacted the VMR and reported that we had kept a very active watch along our course from Lady Musgrave Island and not sighted anything. We were in two minds about the whole affair. The thought that it could be a hoax made us angry about the wasted resources but we almost hoped it was a prank as thinking an unknown number of persons could be in the water with a very slim chance of rescue was far worse. Next morning we heard a VMR broadcast for vessels to be on the lookout for an overdue six metre powerboat but never found out what the outcome of the whole affair was.
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| Lady Musgrave Island to Burnett Heads – 56.7 Nautical Miles – 10 Hours 5 Minutes Average Speed 5.6 Knots Max Speed &.7 Knots To see zoomable version of track with full details CLICK HERE |
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| Sunset over Port of Bundaberg Marina |
Next day after giving the topsides a nice bath of freshwater we made use of the marina’s cheap hire car service and headed off to top up our provisions and give Kristian a look at Bundaberg. He was very keen to buy his Dad a Christmas present at the Bundaberg Rum Distillery as Daniel is a keen consumer of the product.
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| Kristian at the counter using some of his holiday money to buy Dad a special Christmas present. |
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| Another job done - Postcards home mailed. |
We arrived early for a 7pm start, and were placed in our turtle encounter group for the night. Only tour participants are allowed on the beach after 6pm so things can be controlled to protect the turtles. The rangers and volunteers patrol the beach looking for turtles coming ashore and once they arrive, call your group and guide you onto the beach. We were able enjoy the displays and videos presented in the amphitheatre while we were waiting.
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| The Turtle Centre is very informative. |
It wasn’t long until we were called but before being escorted to the beach the group received its instructions. Nesting turtles are easily disturbed by artificial light and movement especially when leaving the water, crossing the beach and digging their nests.
•To protect nesting and hatching turtles, keep all lights off including mobile phone screens, avoid unnecessary movements and remain with your allocated group.
•Rangers let you know when you can take advantage of the limited opportunities to use cameras. All other times it’s a strict no photos policy
As our group made its way along the beach in the darkness towards our allocated turtle we had to wait as another began emerging from the water just in front of us. We were told to stay absolutely still so as not to spook it back into the water. The turtles have no hearing and poor eyesight once out of the water but can detect movement which they regard as a threat. It was odd to be able to carry on a normal conversation as we watched the very heavy creature drag itself up towards the dunes just a few metres in front of us. As long as we didn’t move, it had no idea we were there.
Once the turtle settled on a spot and began digging its nest in the sand we were guided up and formed a semi-circle behind and out of its sight. It was very well organised and everyone was able to see the incredibly dextrous action of the rear flippers removing sand from the hole then the eggs themselves being laid. Once the turtles begin laying they go into a virtual trance and nothing will interrupt them from the task at hand. It’s at that stage that we were invited to move around to the front and take photos.
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| K-Man front and centre shooting video on his IPad At Mon Repos Beach. |
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| The turtle midway through laying her eggs in the 600mm deep hole she dug in the Mon Repos sand. |
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| Kristian's Mon Repos Turtle Experience was one he won't forget in a hurry. |
Kristian was enthralled by the whole process and clicked away taking photos and video on his IPad. Once all the eggs are laid the turtle refills the nest with sand and tries to disguise the surface so as not to attract predators. Then it’s another long drag down across the beach to the water.
In the case of our turtle, she had laid her clutch of eggs slightly below the high water mark so the rangers elected to dig them out and relocate the lot to a new hole higher in the dunes. Members of the group were invited to help carry the eggs and of course Kristian was one of the first in line.
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| The nest was below the high water mark so rangers delicately extracted the eggs from the nest, |
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| Moving eggs higher up the dunes to keep them safe. |
It was quite a late night by the time we returned to the boat and we were all more than ready to hit the sack, particularly with another early start waiting for us in the morning. Witnessing such an amazing piece of the cycle of life had been more than worth any lost sleep though. It was amazing.
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| Our only regret was that we couldn't wait around the few weeks until these guys started hatching. (Image from web) |
Providing our grandson with unique experiences such as our night on Mon Repos Beach, snorkelling with sharks, turtles and stingrays etc and visiting far flung islands and lagoons of the outer Great Barrier Reef has been one of the most rewarding aspects of our cruising. We really admire people who have made the decision to home school and cruise fulltime when their children are young. The huge range of experiences these kids have in their early years more than make up for anything they miss from more formal education. More power to all those families scattered around the world’s oceans.
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We love to receive comments on our blog from readers. If you do leave a comment and you also have a blog, please leave a link as well. We'd like to click over for a visit and leave you a comment too.To stay right up to date with what we’re up to and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at DreamtimeSail
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Zeeslang up close at the Dusseldorf 2014 boat show
My thanks to Michael again for supplying the picture which he told me was taken by a professional .
The picture Michael mentions is my own taken at the RCYC Small Craft Basin in 1977, scroll down to find it and the same Zeeslang on moorings.
Check the link for some history on Zeeslang:
Roy
Dear Roy,
Click on the picture to open it up.
The Fotografer was Klaus Andrews. www.KlausAndrews.com
The plans no longer exist, as the original owner refused to sell the plans with the boat.
The picture Michael mentions is my own taken at the RCYC Small Craft Basin in 1977, scroll down to find it and the same Zeeslang on moorings.
Check the link for some history on Zeeslang:
http://www.boat-duesseldorf.com/cipp/md_boot/custom/pub/content,oid,44692/lang,2/ticket,g_u_e_s_t/local_lang,2
Roy
Dear Roy,
thank you very much for that picture - it looks like as if the deckhouse had a very different shape back then. Is it correct that the picture was taken in 1977?
Attached please find a few pics taken at the Dusseldor boat show. On one of the pictures you can see a small red sailing boat model. By sheer coincidence this happened to be a model of Zeevalk - the predecessor of Zeeslang :) Quite interesting that the hull shape had a number features of Zeeslang already, so from Bruynzeels's point of view, Zeeslang clearly was an evolution.
regards
Michael
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Just a one night stand at Vlasoff Cay
17 September 2016
After five fun filled days at Green Island it was time for some reef hopping as we made the short jump over to Vlasoff Cay, a short seven miles away. With very little wind blowing the trip was an uneventful couple of hours under motor.
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| Vlasoff Cay at low tide. |
The passage through between Upolu Reef and the western end of Arlington Reef is shallow and a little tight but it is well marked with buoys all the way through so no real problem. We approached Vlasoff near high tide and were surprised how small the patch of sand was visible above the waves. We anchored in about eight metres over good sand with swing room to the coral heads all around us. There was more swell rolling through the anchorage than we expected given the extensive horseshoe shape of Arlington Reef the raps around Vlasoff. It was enough to be mildly annoying and eased as the tide dropped.
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| Green Island to Vlasoff Cay - 7.2 Nautical Miles - 1 Hour 53 Minutes - Average Speed 3.9 Knots - Max Speed 7.2 Knots |
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| The winding passage between Upolu Reef and the western end of Arlington Reef is well marked. |
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| Vlasoff Reef and Cay sits inside the large horseshoe shaped Arlington Reef. |
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| There are plenty of sand patches to choose from when anchoring at Vlasoff Cay. |
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| Not much to see near high tide. |
There was only one other boat anchored nearby so we expected a quiet time. Wrong!!!!! A constant stream of helicopters flew low overhead circling the reef and often landing on the sand of the cay for a touch and go. There was literally less time without a chopper overhead than with as we reluctantly became part of the show with cameras pointed at Our Dreamtime seemingly on every pass.
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| Sight seeing helicopter traffic over Vlasoff Cay was constant. |
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| Helicopter skid tracks from where they descend, blow sand everywhere scaring the birdlife away, sit on the sand for 30 seconds, then take off again. We have no idea why. |
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| Vlasoff Cay grows significantly at low tide. |
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| Rob on Vlasoff Cay |
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| Our Dreamtime anchored off Vlasoff Cay |
The full extent of the cay revealed itself as the tide dropped mid afternoon and we went ashore to explore. Much of the reef on the southern side was exposed on the low with a number of giant clams sitting well clear of the water.
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| Giant clams sitting out of the water at low tide on Vlasoff cay |
After our walk around the sand we headed out to snorkel on some of the coral bombies that surrounded the boat. After the prolific fish life and vibrant coral we had spent the last four days marvelling at on Green Island, the snorkelling here was quite disappointing. The coral was largely bleached colourless or dead and fish of any size were few and far between. That was enough to convince us that Vlasoff Cay would be a one night stay for us.
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| After spectacular Green Island the snorkelling at Vlasoff Cay was a little underwhelming. |
Back on the boat we settled back to enjoy our sundowners while we plotted a course to skip over to our next tourist hot spot of Michaelmas Cay in the morning.
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| Good night from Vlasoff Cay - Australia's Great Barrier Reef. |
We love to receive comments on our blog from readers. If you do leave a comment and you also have a blog, please leave a link as well. We'd like to click over for a visit and leave you a comment too.
To stay right up to date with what we’re up to and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at DreamtimeSail
To stay right up to date with what we’re up to and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at DreamtimeSail
If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.
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