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Nereida's Travels

My second solo circumnavigation: 9th March 2010 - 11th May 2011

........... I actually succeeded in completing a single-handed circumnavigation when I 'closed the circle' on 6th May 2011 as I approached Cape Town - when I crossed my 2009 path S to Cape Town from the Canaries - having left Cape Town in March 2010 to sail eastabout (with stops) via N.Z., US, Canada and Cape Horn.

This was almost a 'circumnavigation by default' since my main aim, since 2009, had been to circumnavigate single-handed nonstop..... In fact, I've made two nonstop attempts so far...

My first attempt started on 10th October 2009 when I sailed off the dock at Puerto Calero in Lanzarote (Canaries) to head to the S. Atlantic. I had expected it to be totally different from my first circumnavigation since it was to be in the new "Nereida" (Najad 380) going the opposite way around the globe, leaving the Canaries as the Southern winter was finishing. I expected to be sailing non-stop for about 7 months, my journey taking me around the Five Great Capes - which, of course, included Cape Horn!

It was expected to be quite a challenge - but with so many unexpected repairs needed as I approached S. Africa, over and above those I'd already dealt with while underway, I had to make the difficult decision to stop (after 61 days under sail alone) in Cape Town to get repairs done, before continuing on further in the Southern Ocean. The hoped-for 2-3 day stop became three months when a replacement engine became necessary - and that put paid to my hopes of continuing on to Cape Horn since it would have been mid-winter as I was rounding the Cape, so the 'season' had closed.

Finally getting away on 9th March 2010, I continued on nonstop to Nelson in S. Island, New Zealand (62 days), with some stormy weather S of Australia on the approach to the Bass Strait and then more stormy weather when I left New Zealand early in June (winter!) to head north nonstop (36 days) for Hawaii (which I only just made, due to the strong west-flowing Equatorial Current and finding myself not as far enough to the east as I would have liked so as to be ready for the NE Trades south of Hawaii). I paused on Kauai, before heading north (with difficulty!) - the N.Pacific High was very extensive and moved north with me as I tried to sail north...

I finally made Port Townsend in the 'Pacific NorthWest' (of the U.S.) and British Columbia (Canada) where my plan was to deal with all outstanding repairs and make final preparations before re-starting my RTW nonstop attempt from Victoria, B.C. - which I did on 25th October 2010.

I headed out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to find myself a day later struggling with little wind, strong tides and plenty of shipping.... with no motor permitted! When I eventually got offshore from Cape Flattery, I was met by strong winds - for several days,we had headwinds from the SW, making for a slow, rough passage south. I was lucky when negotiating the ITCZ, managing to avoid the worst of the bad convection and on heading south from there, the sailing was often very pleasant, with the main problem being a lack of wind at times and the S. Pacific High being west of its usual position, requiring my route to be less direct towards the Horn than expected.

The challenge of sailing in the Southern Ocean to S. Africa and on to Tasmania and New Zealand turned out to be a useful preparation for my second RTW nonstop attempt - it's so very much tougher, and the weather patterns are so totally different, from downwind sailing in the Tropics with just the occasional squall as the main challenge there. I had hoped to achieve my goal the second time around, but I was knocked down on 5th January 2011, while lying hove-to well west of Cape Horn, waiting for some bad weather to pass before reaching the continental shelf on which the Cape lies - so that put paid to my 2nd nonstop attempt.

I was quite devastated but, by a stroke of luck, personally uninjured although the boat suffered major damage: broken boom,sprayhood torn away, windscreen windows smashed, seawater ingress & general chaos down below, washboard broken in half, carbon pole broken, staysail furler broken (I had to lower the sail to the deck and tie it down in the stormy conditions to avoid losing the rig, it was flogging so badly in the strong wind...) The good news was that most of my instruments, HF radio, laptop and motor were still working and the genoa was intact, so I was eventually able to sail around Cape Horn and motor on to Ushuaia.

After a bit of a nightmare time in Ushuaia, trying to figure out how to repair/replace things in a cold, very windy place, totally lacking in yachting facilities, I was finally ready to sail away on 13th March with a new boom, sprayhood, staysail furler etc, all of which had to be sent in with great difficulty. But the weather was deteriorating further, so I headed NE to the Falklands (very British!), where my departure was delayed several days due to strong winds, and then on NE, trying to avoid the frequent deep depressions coming off the S.American coast giving strong weather which made me heave to a couple of times and lie to the Jordan series drogue for several days. After that I was able to head east towards Cape Town but was headed by SE winds as I got close, causing further delay - just as had happened on my approach just over a year earlier!

Landfall on Wednesday 11th May was duly celebrated...!!!

(Sailing from 2004 to 2008 was on board my first "Nereida", a Najad 361, which I was incredibly unlucky to lose on 19th June '08 - full details are to be found in the 'Latitude 38' and 'Yachting Monthly' stories in the 'Articles and Interviews' section)

My First Solo Circumnavigation from 26th March 2007 to 19th June 2008

One major reason for wanting to do a solo circumnavigation was definitely the challenge of all that it involves. I enjoy being at sea, as well as meeting people & seeing places on shore, but time doesn't stand still (& bodies don't get younger!) so I felt that it was the right time for me to 'sail around the world' in a reasonably short time, as a sailing challenge, rather as the sailors of olden times did, rather than continuing my previous slow cruising & taking a lot more years to get around (that could always come later). I became quite excited at the prospect of it all ... In the back of my mind also was the thought of several good friends who had recently either succumbed to cancer or been diagnosed with it.... Maybe they'd be able to see through my eyes and enjoy the sailing through me?

Preparing "Nereida" in San Diego early in 2007 took quite a time, but I finally sailed down to Ensenada mid-February to complete Mexican check-in formalities and then headed towards Zihuatanejo - where their Guitar Festival finished 18th March. By the end of March, I was well on my way to the Marquesas after fresh food provisioning from the local market.

In planning my route, I had to avoid the cyclone season in the southern hemisphere - November/December to March/April - so arrival in S.Africa by mid-November became paramount. Clearly, weather is always a major concern and any planning has to be flexible - but with good weather information (via SSB & VHF radio and onboard barometer), I expected to have sufficient advance warning of possible problems to stay safe.

Having left Zihuatanejo on Monday 26th March 2007, my route took me through the S. Pacific: Marquesas (arrived April 19th) - Rangiroa (Tuamotus) - Tahiti - Moorea - Bora Bora - Niue - Tonga - Fiji - Vanuatu - Cairns (arrived 11th July) - Darwin (left 1st September) to Indonesia (Bali) then across the southern Indian Ocean (Christmas Island - Cocos Keeling - Rodrigues - Mauritius - Reunion), reaching Richards Bay, near Durban (S. Africa), on 16th November 2007. I left Cape Town for Namibia in February 2008, then sailed across the S. Atlantic (to St Helena, Fernando de Noronha & on to Trinidad), into the Caribbean, across to Panama & back into the Pacific. Delayed by unavoidable repairs in Trinidad and a long wait in Colon to transit the Canal, I was leaving Acapulco around sunset on 18th June 2008 for the short passage to Zihuatanejo..... but we grounded on a beach in surf before first light on 19th June..... just 60mls short of completing my circumnavigation!!

I report my current position regularly as I sail from place to place.

Click on the link "Where is Nereida?" to see a map display of my latest travels, as reported to the Winlink 2000 system.

Click on "Past Travels" to link to ShipTrak - which gives an overview of all my travels from 2004 on!

See my complete Web Log here!