The purpose of antifouling is to prevent marine plants and animals from colonising the hull, and the easiest way to do this is by killing them. The ocean is brim full of planktonic larvae and planktonic algal spores whose further development depends on their finding a suitable surface whereon to rest their travel-weary selves and develop into something more adult. Flotsam, and most kinds of jetsam, are surfaces quite suitable enough. Ultra-slippery fast moving things escape the grasp of the…

Having cleared into the island, in Palmeira, where should the visitor to Sal go next? Well, some people would say that he might as well move on, straight away – to Boa Vista, or to Sao Nicolau and then Sao Vicente… There is a certain amount to be said for this philosophy. However, Sal does have a little bit more to offer. If you want to get to know the place a little better then you need to move on…

Palmeira is the port of entry for the island of Sal and is also one of only three places where yachtsmen can clear in and out of the country. It is situated on the west coast and, being the only settlement in the vicinity, is easily spotted in reasonable visibility. This article begins with a discussion of the place and its history. For information relating to navigation and anchoring, scroll towards the bottom of the page. First Impressions Most people…

From the point of view of its topography and scenery, Sal is one of the two least impressive islands in the Cape Verde archipelago (the other being Maio). Sal is low and flat, and if the rest of the group are arid Sal is simply a desert. In the whole island there is only one spring and one small oasis. The monotony of Sal’s dreary wind-swept plain is disturbed only by half a dozen naked brown hills – and each…

We hesitate to list the rules and regulations for yachtsmen visiting the Republic of Cape Verde because, depending on which official you speak to and in which island, you will be given a different set; so we suggest that you consider these brief notes to be an approximation and nothing more.

One of the saddest things about humanity is the way that one bad apple can spoil the reputation of a whole bunch. When it comes to cruising the world there are times, indeed, when one unsavoury character really can ruin a place – because one thief, or one small gang of thieves, can easily make a good anchorage unsafe – but on the other hand, just because one anchorage is unsafe it does not mean that the whole country is…

See the previous articles in this series: Part I – Wishing You a Green Christmas and Part II – Confessions of a Vegetarian. People are funny about meat eating. Six year olds are not the only ones to find the sight of a pig’s head upsetting, and yet those same people who cry, “Yuk! how could they do that?” will happily tuck into pork pie. Just recently I was shopping with a French friend in a Brazilian market when we came upon a…

See the previous article in this series: Part I – Wishing You a Green Christmas, and the next article: Part III – Killers with a Conscience. I’ve never much liked meat. As a child I used to find it tough and chewy. Pork sausages smelled nice but they were full of nasty gristly bits, and bacon was only edible if the fat had been fried to a crisp. Chicken was fine provided I got the breast; I wasn’t keen on gnawing a bone.…

As I write, Mollymawk is anchored off the little scenic town of Paraty, (just down from Rio de Janeiro) but on the festive day we will probably be at sea, making our way down the coast towards Uruguay. As you sit there, tucking into your turkey, we might be lazing along in the sunshine and having a lovely time… but on the other hand we might be slamming into a south-easterly gale with waves smashing into the topsides and sweeping…