by David and Liz Jolliff
(Click on any picture for an enlarged view)
Early summer 2005 and I’ve spent a lazy day
pottering around on our Maxi 33 ‘Kjempekjekk’. Just two years ago Liz and I had
been doing much the same sort of thing, completing preparations for some
extended sailing
and we were almost ready to go. Although we’d signed up for the Atlantic Rally
for Cruisers (ARC) we still harboured the thought that in due course we might
prefer to head towards the Mediterranean. Then our son Mike phoned to tell us
that he’d just booked flights to St. Lucia for himself and partner Hannah and
they would see us there at Christmas!
August 5th 2003 was a bright and blustery day and we
left to a wonderful send-off from family and friends; within an hour we were
overtaken by a black thunderstorm and with lightning striking the sea no more
than 25 metres from KJ’s starboard quarter we wondered what other new
experiences our journey would bring!
This first leg of our voyage took us across Biscay to the
Rias of NW Spain. We decided to get south of Finisterre in
one hop and five
days later, having narrowly missed a large whale and undergone a night-time
invasion by a swarm of moths, we made a dawn landfall off Ria Muros, Galicia.
Berthing at Portosin marina was easy, the staff were friendly and the facilities
very good. We soon found out that the top floor of the local library was fitted
out with a dozen internet terminals and the service was free, including on-hand
expert help. The town is a short walk from the marina and we used the local bus
service to visit Santiago de Compostella; services were clean, punctual and
reasonably priced.
After a few days we continued slowly southwards to Ria
Arosa. We stayed
several days here
at a lovely anchorage on the NW side of Ile Arosa, in 4 metres just off a quiet
beach and a short walk from the small town of St Julien. Our visit coincided
with a local festival; sardines straight off local boats and onto beachside
grills, fresh-baked bread and good wine. We loved it.
Ria Pontevedra was our next stop and a breezy
anchorage off the quaint but touristy village of Cambarro. Excellent holding
here and when we left it took quite an effort to get our anchor out of the
sticky grey mud. Sailing down to the Iles de Cies we encountering thick fog for
most of the way, but GPS and radar enhanced our confidence and by the time we
anchored conditions had cleared. It was very windy in the anchorage off the
east coast so the following morning we went around to the south side and
anchored close in to an excellent secluded beach; this was much better. We
enjoyed Cies; ferries bring day trippers from the mainland but there are good
walks, lovely views and safe swimming.
Bayona was just a few hours sail to the SSE of Cies
and we arrived in good, sunny weather. We took a bow-to berth in the excellent
marina; facilities were good and the smart yacht club
was very welcoming. The town was pleasant with a good beach, reasonable prices
and an ambience not at all like the Costas in the south; we liked it! After a
few days we continued southwards towards the coast of Portugal and the Algarve.
At Viana de Costello, the first town on the northern border, it was fiesta time
and crowded. There were all sorts of markets, parades, bullfights, and
magnificent fireworks to round it all off.
We then stayed six days at Liexoes, near Porto, while some
adverse weather sorted itself out. The marina is in a corner of the commercial
dock area and despite the best efforts of the marina staff it seems to attract a
lot of floating debris; we found that the centre row of pontoons was not nearly
so badly affected. Again, we found that local transport was efficient and
clean.
It’s around a hundred miles southwards from Leixoes to Nazare and
we arrived in the dark. Armed police suggested that we checked in with them
immediately and told us that the marina manager (British) was out for the
evening and that we should check in with him in the morning. Bad weather in the
night, very heavy rain. Just after 0730 there was a loud banging on our
coach-roof and the voice of the marina manager shouting orders that we were to
report to him in his office in ten minutes and that we were to re-moor our boat
as he didn’t like the way it was done - and he was a Yachtmaster and knew what
he was talking about! His approach to yachtsmen appeared to range from
occasionally patronising to offensive and we didn’t stay long.
However there is
an excellent fuel berth at the north end of the harbour and the port is
relatively safe to enter in bad weather. Friends of ours were directed to moor
on the fishing boat wall and the following day found a stowaway mouse!
We were pleased to leave Nazare and enjoyed a great sail
down past Berlinga and around Cabo Roca to Cascais, just west of Lisbon. In a
vigorous breeze, Kjempekjekk sailed fast around the cape, holding around 8 knots
through the water until we tacked for the marina entrance. We LIKED it here.
It’s a lovely town, with a good beach; there is plenty to explore and many good
restaurants. The rail service into Lisbon is excellent and we stayed more than
a week until Liz felt the dew on deck one morning and proclaimed that it was
time to carry on south.
Sines next, just for a night before continuing round
Cape St Vincent. But we liked it here too - another very pleasant town, not too
touristy, proper local restaurants with good wine and friendly people.
The beach is well
looked after – swept every morning and very safe, so we stayed a few more days.
It’s over seventy miles from Sines around to Lagos so we
made an early start. By lunchtime the wind had died away completely and we
found ourselves donking along under a very large cloud of smoke coming off the
land. Later we found the cause was a forest fire in the Monchique hills, inland
from the western Algarve. We rounded Cape St Vincent under clear skies but
still no wind to speak of. An hour later we had a sudden change of engine sound
and vibration; it cleared just as suddenly so we think it was probably our rope
cutter doing its job! We checked into Lagos at dusk.
Going east from
Lagos a few days later, we looked into Alvor but the anchorage off the town
looked overcrowded and the very shallow water and surrounding sandbanks rather
intimidating (no chart!), so we continued to Portimao. The marina here is very
good. Secure finger berths and just about every facility; but we preferred the
anchorage across the river. Good holding, handy for an excellent, uncrowded
beach, nobody chasing euros; and wonderful sunsets.
A few days later we went back to Lagos for a while to top
up before heading out on Sep 20th for the three day passage to Porto Santo.
This was yet
another short stop that turned into a ten-day holiday! Very limited facilities
but the place and the people more than made up for it – and we were there for
yet another festival, this time commemorating the departure of Columbus for the
New World. Enthusiastic locals encouraged us to join in the occasion and we had
a delightful, memorable evening.
We blew down to Madeira on a bright, blustery F7, rounding
up into a new (uncharted!) marina, Quinto do Lorde, at the eastern end of the
island. Unfinished, so there was plenty of room but temporary showers and heads
in small portacabins. There was a friendly bar and restaurant nearby and just
up the road a bus stop with a service into Funchal. Times were somewhat
limiting however; on a day trip, time in the city was just a couple of hours
before the last bus back to QDL. We wanted to see more, so after a few days we
headed down the coast to Funchal and managed to get a berth alongside the wall
in the crowded marina – an advantage of having a relatively small boat. We
enjoyed the metropolitan bustle and the wonderful gardens here and made good use
of the local buses to get around the sights. To go further afield we hired a
car for a day; well worth it.
Our departure
for Lanzarote was marked by a sky filling with hooked cirrus so we decided
to forgo our permit to visit the Salvegen Islands and sail direct. Dolphins
escorted us for some of the way and on day three we found our way into the brand
new Rubicon Marina at the south end of the island. Excellent facilities here,
with good safe beaches and a very pleasant stroll along the coastal path to the
restaurants and shops of Playa Blanca.
Too soon it was time to move on and KJ took us southwards
once more. One night at Puerto Castillo on the east side of Fuertaventura was
all we could take; shower/heads facilities were available but filthy and it
proved almost impossible to recover the key deposit (€24) before our departure.
Eventually
our
persistence prevailed and it was returned with a scowl; we sailed fifteen
minutes later. Another great sail down the E coast of Fuertaventura and around
the southern end; during the evening we used the SSB for the first time to speak
to a UK station – quite a triumph after a number of problems with our set so we
were quite happy and slowed KJ down to ensure we arrived at Las Palmas in
daylight.
Las Palmas in Gran Canaria is where we joined the
World Cruising Club`s ARC Rally for the Atlantic crossing to Rodney Bay, St.
Lucia. We spent around three weeks here, mending, making, preparing, storing,
partying, meeting old friends and making new ones. Great support from the WCC
ARC Team and local sailmakers, chandlers, engineers etc, as well as visits from
UK/Europe based equipment suppliers.
We took up
opportunities to attend more preparatory seminars, underwent safety checks and
of course dropped in on many a happy-hour. We also seem to recall a superb
fancy-dress extravaganza and several pontoon parties!
Start day was wonderful, a fantastic atmosphere and
good weather. The racing division went off first and twenty minutes later we
cruisers headed off – most of us looking very much like we were racing! On the
first night out there were lights everywhere; on night two just a few dozen and
after that mostly none. Passage plans varied from a rhum line to St Lucia to
the traditional waypoint NW of Cape Verdes then west.
We took the rhum line
for a few days until a forecast warning of squalls with potential gusts of 60 to
80 knots persuaded us to make a bit more southing. We still met some squalls
but with gusts of around 35/40 knots. However, the trade winds were elusive and
we were becalmed for several days in mid Atlantic; it was a great relief when
the breeze came back and we could roll on westwards.
The down-wind sail-plan we used most was twin genoas
set on our two-groove foil, sheeted through poles guyed out to port and
starboard. Thus reefing was very simple and we later rigged lazy sheets so that
if it became necessary to come up to the wind, the weather genoa could simply go
across and lie inside the other. This was an important factor in our sleeping
arrangements as it rarely required assistance from the off-watch crew to reef.
Occasionally we hoisted the cruising chute and on one occasion during our
becalmed period we pulled everything up the mast. Even ran the storm jib out
below one of the poles – it didn’t make any discernible difference, but it was
colourful and fun trying.
We tried fishing on our way across but were unable to match
the spectacular success reported by a number of other boats; a lot of the gear
we deployed is probably still being dragged around the ocean, unnoticed by the
pelagic monsters that ripped it off the reel!
With just the two of us onboard, ensuring adequate
sleep was one of the most important factors in our crossing. We started out
with a three-hour system, but went quickly to four. Several days later Liz
suggested that we should try five-hour watches at night and this really worked
for us as it allowed time for some proper joined-up sleep. Our system was: EJ
2000 – 0100; DJ 0100 – 0600; EJ 0600 – 1000; DJ 1000 – 1400; EJ 1400 – 1700; DJ
1700 – 2000 (1400 to 2000: Flexible, to allow for radio schedule & ad hoc
relaxation, depending on need).
Like
many others, we usually run a dry boat at sea. However, for the Atlantic
crossing we took several half-bottles of champagne to celebrate significant
waypoints, for example, the first 1000 miles, halfway, my birthday etc. Also,
before leaving Fowey a good friend gave us some tins of liqueur cake and we
opened one each Sunday afternoon. Today we recall these little celebrations
with great fondness; they certainly enhanced our quality of life on passage and
provided that delicious sense of anticipation that’s all too rare ashore.
We had our share of incidents on passage and I’m
pleased to say that I learned a lot about life at sea in a small boat from each
of them!
The most
alarming and potentially disastrous occurrence was when I was nearly lost
overboard when working on the foredeck whilst stupidly not wearing a life jacket
or harness. In fine weather and not much wind, I’d been attending to the genoa
tack and had just turned to make my way back aft when a sudden puff of breeze
caught the erstwhile gently flapping genoa which then pushed me off balance from
behind and over the side I went. Somehow one leg caught in the lower guard wire
and while I was hanging upside down below the starboard bow, slowly slipping
into the sea, Liz was able to come quickly forward and help me get back on
board. There is no way I could have done it on my own and the crush wound
caused by the wire lasted for many months.
Dawn on the 23rd day out from Las Palmas and the high
ground of St Lucia was there on the port bow, just where it should be. We had
15 to 18 knots of ENE trade behind us and we made it into Rodney bay by
lunchtime to the most magnificent reception.
As we motored in
through the cut, diners in waterside restaurants and bars stood and applauded
us, lots of people helped us to tie up, there were gifts of fruit and rum punch
and friends we hadn’t seen for weeks. Truly wonderful!
St Lucia, December 20th and true to their word Mike
and Hannah flew in from UK via somewhere in Canada to join us for two weeks.
We’d transformed the aft cabin from its role as a general store, chandlery and
workshop to a cosy place to sleep and they settled in like veterans. We toured
St Lucia, enjoyed a great beach BBQ on Christmas Day and took KJ over to
Martinique for a few days. Back at Rodney Bay, we had a super New Year party on
the beach; a couple of minutes before midnight Mike & Hannah surprised us by
announcing their engagement and right on cue, fireworks
from nearby hotels lit up the sky! It was a really great time for us all and we
were truly sad when they had to return home to the English winter. They had
much to do having just moved house and Mike had a new job to get stuck into.
Jan 4 2004: Kjempekjekk headed south, taking us
first to Petit Piton on the south-western coast of St Lucia. A lovely
anchorage, although it was a bit rolly in the gentle northerly swell. We stayed
three days, swimming and strolling ashore in this beautiful, peaceful place.
Had a very sociable dinner ashore one evening in ‘The Bang’, Lord Glenconnor’s
restaurant. There were ten of us from three boats and Lord G turned up to chat
to us; a most interesting character in his towelling dressing gown and
wide-brimmed hat!
On Liz’s birthday, as a special treat we were up at
0600 and away
towards
the south before sunrise. Brisk sailing saw us into Admiralty Bay, Bequia by
1530 where we intended to stay for no more than two days. However, we met
several boats that we knew from our Atlantic crossing so we stayed more than a
week before setting off on the short crossing to Mustique. Here, while trying
to moor to a buoy in gusty conditions. I damaged my ribs. Quite painful so we
chilled out for three days doing very little then returned to Bequia for a while
to let things settle. By Jan 21st things were much better so we continued south
to the Tobago Cays, a group of small, uninhabited islands protected from the
full force of the Atlantic by Horseshoe Reef. As soon as we anchored Liz was in
the crystal-clear water trying to chase a turtle that came along to inspect us.
That set the scene
for the next few days; snorkelling on the reef, visiting nearby islands in the
dinghy, sundowners and lobster suppers!
Union Island is little more than an hours sail from the
Cays and we visited the capital, Clifton, for a couple of days - quite a busy
little port with a good range of facilities from groceries to hardware stores,
restaurants, and an internet cafe. After replenishing our stores, checking the
weather and sending messages we went back to the Tobago Cays for a few days
before creeping around the coast to Saltwhistle Bay on Mayreau. Didn’t stay
there long – after three attempts getting the anchor to hold we went ashore to
explore but soon noticed the boat moving off without us! We quickly got back
aboard and headed north to Charlestown on Canouan; again, we didn’t like the
look of the rolly anchorage so went back to Clifton.
This time we stayed
five days and took the opportunity to visit nearby Palm Island. This is a
privately owned holiday resort and the manager was pleased to arrange a guided
tour for us; it looked delightful but very expensive!
Bad news on the HF radio net – during our last
visits to Clifton and the Cays we anchored on both occasions near a catamaran
called Joes Dog. We met the crew of three one evening – they were from Italy on
a two-week holiday, going across to the island of Margarita off the Venezuelan
coast. The day after leaving on their trip it was reported that they had been
boarded by pirates who killed Bruno, the skipper, and ransacked the boat.
The last day of January and another early start
southwards, to Prickly Bay at the southern end of Grenada. After an uneventful
trip we arrived at around 1600 and anchored off the yacht club. A very pleasant
place where we found a number of boats that we’d met before; some were taking
part in Grenada Sailing Week and we became their cheer-leaders! During the next
two days we had the good fortune to find True Blue Bay, just around the corner!
There is a small marina here run by Horizon Yacht Charters and we arranged to
bring Kjempekjekk around the following day. Facilities were excellent and as a
surprise bonus we had access to the swimming pools that belong to the co-located
small holiday hotel! HYC is run by Jacqui and James and we soon found out that
Jacqui knows Fowey well – she did a sailing course with Fowey Cruising School
and stayed on for a couple of years before heading off to the Caribbean.
We
enjoyed True Blue – no hassle, friendly people, good facilities, relaxing,
but after nine days it was time to move on, so early in the morning of Thursday
12 February we reluctantly crept out of the bay. This was as far south as we’d
go on this voyage and with very mixed feelings we headed northwards, first stop
Tyrrel Bay in Carriacou. We sailed up the west coast of Grenada, skirted the
exclusion zone around the live underwater volcano ‘Kick ‘em Jenny’ and entered
Tyrrel Bay to anchor around 1600. Another coincidence here – during the evening
we visited a floating bar in the bay and during conversation discovered that the
lady running it knows Polruan well having once lived in a cottage there.
We might have stayed longer in laid back, tranquil
Carriacou but the weather forecast didn’t look too promising – NE winds
increasing with gusts to 40kts - so we moved on quickly to Bequia. Here we
secured to a buoy close
in by one of our favourite restaurants just hours before the squalls blew in.
Bequia was a great place to visit, even for a third
time, however when the squally winds abated in mid-February we were more or less
ready to continue our journey northwards. The day before we left we were
treated to a ring-side seat of the sail training ship Stavros Niarchos arriving
for a 24-hour visit. She looked most impressive alongside the small dock at the
head of Admiralty Bay, with a BIG red ensign streaming in the very fresh breeze
and the presence of her many young people certainly helped bring down the
average age of we itinerant sailors!
Luckily for us the wind had by now veered to the east so we
enjoyed a fast reach in bright weather across the Bequia Channel up to St
Vincent. We had planned to spend the night anchored off Chateaubelair, near the
north of the island, but persistent hassle from so-called ‘boat boys’ persuaded
us to leave before sunset for an overnight sail to St Lucia. In the event this
turned out to be a good decision as we had a glorious sail over a large but easy
sea in bright starlight; it was also the first night sail since our Atlantic
crossing and a good opportunity to exercise our watch system.
To help celebrate St Lucia’s 25th year of
independence, the marina at Rodney Bay offered two nights free berthing and
although it was very
warm, we went in, stuck it out and did our bit! It was great to see the Royal
Navy in the area – HMS Monmouth was just around the corner in Castries and RFA
Wave Knight anchored just offshore in Rodney Bay. We replenished both the boat
and ourselves to capacity and on Monday 23 February cleared customs and headed
up to Martinique. Just before sunset we dropped anchor in Trois Ilets, just
across the bay from Fort de France. This is a sheltered, very calm and peaceful
haven, just yards offshore from a manicured golf course. However, we soon found
out it was Mardi Gras time and were able to share the music for a couple of
nights, well into the small hours. We just had to go ashore to see the carnival
– a colourful, vigorous event with many aspects reminiscent of Fowey regatta
week!
Our one-night stop stretched out to four days and with some
reluctance we heaved our anchor out of the thick grey mud and eased away towards
the town of St Pierre at the NW end of Martinique. We arrived the same evening
and by dusk
we were
settled having taken the best part of an hour to get the anchor to hold in the
hard-bottomed bay. The volcano behind the town last erupted in 1902, killing
many thousands of people and sinking several ships at anchor in the bay. One of
the two survivors was a convicted murderer and his cell is still there in the
corner of the ruined prison. We spent a hot day here looking around the sights,
visiting the museum and other places of interest. We would have stayed longer
but the forecast wasn’t too good and when the wind started blowing onshore we
decided to put to sea and sail overnight to Guadeloupe. Again, we were
fortunate to enjoy a superb night sail and we got into Pointe a Pitre by noon
the next day.
The forecast strong winds didn’t come up for another two
days; during this time our marina berth was hot and airless and the little
12-volt fan that we’d fitted in Grenada came into it’s own. After completing
some routine engine maintenance we hired a car for a few days and became
tourists! Away from the heat and bustle of the main towns the island was
fascinating with glorious coastal viewpoints, one of the best botanical gardens
we’ve seen and a zoological park with forest canopy walkways.
By 6 March the strong, squally winds had moderated
so we checked out of our marina berth and headed down to the Saints, a small
group of islands to the south of Guadeloupe. We anchored in the lee of Ile
Cabrit where it was quiet but prone to squally downdraughts; there was room for
us to swing 360deg so there was no problem. In fact the only problem
encountered here was when I speared my right eye on a wire stub-aerial. This
happened on another boat at night and the
aerial was fixed low
down on the pushpit, just above where our hosts had tied our dinghy painter! By
the following morning we could see the eye was already infected and the gouged
area was clearly visible so we motored across to the main island where we
visited the pharmacy. From there we were directed to the nearby local doctor
who promptly examined and treated the injury, prescribed medication and gave
instruction on application. This wonderful doctor also arranged for the local
fire brigade to take us to a retired eye surgeon living on the island in the
event of any further problem. A most impressive service, especially on such a
small island and we’re pleased to say the treatment was entirely successful.
After five days in the Saints it was time to head north
once more, this time to Deshaies at the NW tip of Martinique. Just one night
here as we’d already seen some of the small town during our three-day tourist
period and the forecast was again talking about increasing winds and a
developing northerly swell. So the following morning we stuck our bows round
the north corner of the bay into a bright and blustery E5 – 6 and started out
well reefed on another fine reach up to Antigua. We arrived in Jolly Harbour at
1630 to find customs and immigration closed so we tied up to their dock and
enjoyed a free night alongside until they turned up at around 0930 next
morning. Formalities were thorough but friendly and we were soon alongside a
berth in the marina.
The following day we were pleasantly surprised to be
visited by a couple who had just arrived on a week’s holiday. They were walking
by and were surprised to see ‘Fowey’ on KJs stern; they
soon recognised us –
their boat is kept just two places astern of our mooring in Fowey!
Several days later we had moved around to Falmouth Harbour,
on the south coast of Antigua, again waiting for blustery, squally weather to
blow over. Plenty to see and do here, just a short walk from English Harbour
and Nelson’s Dockyard and there is a good bus service. The anchorages that we
planned to visit on the east side of the island are much easier and safer in
settled weather so for the time being we were content to wait a while.
We enjoyed Antigua; while we were based in Falmouth
we got a spectacular
close-up view of the classic sailing fleet at sea, including three J-boats.
There are many superb anchorages out around the reefs and we had ample
opportunity to develop our pilotage skills. A favourite place was Barbuda,
around 27 miles north; the anchorage at the south end of the island was in the
clearest water we’ve ever seen, but we had to work our way in carefully through
a reef and numerous coral heads; for a while we even had daily visits from a
mother and baby dolphin.
Back in Antigua in early May we splashed out and
took a helicopter tour over to Monserrat to see the volcano and surrounding
area. Fortunately the weather stayed fair so we got superb views of the massive
devastation.
The
week before we sailed to Bermuda, Kjempekjekk was hauled out for a couple of
days to allow us to clean the bottom, renew the anti-fouling and generally check
beneath the water line. All was well and two days later we were back in the
water. The weather during this period (late April/early May) was more like the
West Country in March (but warmer), with strong winds and torrential rain.
Fortunately the forecast indicated some moderation so we were confident that we
could clear away to the north without too much trouble.
The 980-mile run up to Bermuda was uneventful;
we beat into a brisk
NE breeze for most of the trip, which in our heavily laden state kept our port
rail under water for much of the first six days. A minor down-side of this was
that the heads (on the starboard side) had to be tended manually with salt water
– rather a hit or miss event at night! Five days in Bermuda is not enough
really. It’s a beautiful place and between preparing ourselves and the boat for
the Atlantic, we managed to see enough to tempt us back one day. Too soon the
day came to leave St Georges and we headed out through the cut, eastwards to the
Azores.
Our passage from Bermuda to Horta took just on 14
days; it’s around 1800 miles so that’s not bad for a 33-foot boat. The first
few days were virtually calm so we motored, however the wind then filled in
steadily, until 28/29 May when we encountered gale conditions, gusting to over
48 knots. It didn’t last too long though, so by the following day we were
sailing well under a triple-reefed main and in due course, a full genoa. For
four of the last five days to Horta, conditions were superb; we enjoyed
uninterrupted beam-reach sailing and a relatively steady sea, achieving an
average 24-hour run-rate (for the four days) of 157 miles.
The Azores proved
to be a most interesting group of islands. We very much liked Horta, on Faial,
but Terceira, 70 miles to the ESE, was a delight. They had recently completed a
new marina (uncharted!) so there was plenty of space, the staff were helpful and
friendly and the facilities were excellent. By contrast our arrival in Ponta
Delgada came as a bit of a surprise. The non-uniformed people here are without
doubt as friendly and helpful as anyone we’ve met, however the various maritime
departments, in particular the police, made things heavy going at times and the
bureaucracy was the worst we’d encountered in the whole trip. We had to visit
many offices, including a trip to the other end of town to pay our ‘Light Tax’
(€2.40!)
‘We’re now preparing ourselves and the boat for departure
and our plan is to head northeast to Plymouth where ARC Europe finishes
in Mayflower Marina. We expect to arrive there around 1 July. Seven other
boats are headed the same way so we’ll probably spend a couple of days there
saying farewells etc before heading around to Polruan and the end of this
cruise.’
We sent this message to family and friends on 18 June
2004.
Two
days later Liz fell awkwardly on the steps of the market at Punta Delgada,
dislocating her ankle and breaking both tibia and fibula. A day later, after
she had been prepared by the local hospital, we flew back home, courtesy of our
insurers, where she was immediately taken into hospital at Plymouth. After a
year she is now fully recovered, however if you are interested and she lets you
get close enough you can still see the scar and screws holding things in place.
This ended Kjempekjekk’s 2003/2004 voyage as far as
we were concerned. Luckily for us, friends flew out later to bring the boat
back to Fowey. Today we are getting ready to sail to France and/or Spain this
summer before completing preparations during the coming winter for what we hope
will be another extended trip ……
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