Welcome Aboard! •
Welkom Aan Boord! •
¡Bienvenido Abordo!
This article by Roxanne appeared in somewhat abridged form in the RSBP’s junior magazine, Birdlife, last year. I was born on a boat, and ever since I was a baby we have lived aboard the boat and sailed wherever we want to go. I have never lived in a house, although I have occasionally lived in a caravan or a camper van, in different parts of the world. I wonder if it is to this gipsy lifestyle that I owe…
As his wife, Catalina would tell you, Marius Albu is a very special man. Born and bred in the mountains of Romania, his burning ambition was to escape from the oppressive regime which ruled his country and sail around the world. “We all thought that it was a great joke,” says Catalina. Besides the fact that he would never be given permission to leave the country, he had no boat. “And even supposing that he managed to build a boat,…
The flag of Bermuda features a big red monster attacking a ship… or, at least, that’s what it seems to show at first glance. “I s’pose it’s something to do with the Bermuda triangle,” said I to myself. “All those boats and planes disappearing out here… P’raps there’s a legend about a sea monster.” The Isles of Bermuda The last time we crossed from the Caribbean to Europe we passed within fifty miles of Bermuda. Near enough to excite such…
Last week’s article saw your intrepid travellers obstructed by obdurate officialdom. Would we ever be able to step ashore again onto the pristine sandy islets which fringe the north coast, or would the Cuban government’s paranoia keep us at bay?
Cuba was great. After just one day of partying with the people we were Cuba-philes. Castro was a wonderful guy. “Well, he must be, to supply all that cut-price beer and rum to the people!” Then we set off to cruise the north coast of the country – and that was where things started to go wrong.
All cruising boats must be self-sufficient in terms of electricity, and so the less of it which they have to use, the better. Lighting is a major part of the electrical consumption of many boats – but this consumption can be vastly reduced by using efficient lighting such as LEDs. In a previous article we discussed an excellent anchor light produced by a small company in Fiji called Bebi Electronics. This light is at least as bright as a conventional…
Having given Puerto de Vita and its environs a fairly bad press I am now going to tip the scales the other way, because when we think back to our fortnight in Cuba it is this particular place that we remember with the most affection. Puerto Vita is a bit of a non event – unless you happen to be there in time for the country’s biggest party. And when would that be? Would it be the day that Castro…
When we first arrived in the Caribbean and planned our itinerary amongst the islands Cuba was envisaged as the highlight of the whistle-stop tour; thus we had allowed ourselves four weeks in its waters. But by the time we left Luperon it was the 25th of April and only two weeks remained before the date when we must flee away from this region. “Two weeks…” moaned Your Correspondent. “It’s not enough.” “Well, it’s all we’ve got,” said the skipper firmly.…
The northern winter was trickling past like sand through an hour glass. Already we were eating into the second week of April. “June soon” says the weather rhyme; “July nigh”. But the fact of the matter is that by June the Caribbean hurricane season has often already begun. It is true that the “biggies” don’t tend to hit the place until August or September, but for a yacht at sea even a little, gale force Tropical Depression is a major…
Having planned to spend only three days in Nevis, we eventually tore ourselves away after a week. Our next stop was Saba, which is only a day-sail away, beyond St Kitts and just beyond Sint Eustatius. When the seeing is good, as astronomers would say, ‘Statia and Saba are both visible from the anchorage off Pinney’s Beach.