The KISS torsion spring did not arrive by early afternoon Friday, despite being expected two days before. Having been busy up to then, making use of the chance to get some useful things done which would otherwise have been done when under way, I decided to have a meal onshore, finish with the Internet (for 6mths or more!) and get some solid sleep for a few hours before setting off around dawn.

So I motored 'Nereida' over to the fuel dock, to top up with diesel. Being pinned by the wind to the dock, I enjoyed the chance to 'spring' her off, using the motor in astern - necessary to get away at all and even more so in view of the angle needed to avoid an enormous catamaran ahead at the same dock. I then went over to an opposite dock ready for leaving under sail early the next morning & Paul & Sally came over to say farewell. I had my last steak and chips for at least 6 months, followed by my last ice cream, in company with Suzanne, Peter and Norman - and was presented with a big carton of UHT cream to go with the Xmas puddings I have on board - a lovely leaving present from the kind waitress at McSorley's, who raided the locked kitchen for me!!

That plan also meant that I avoided leaving on a Friday - not that I'm superstitious ... but you never know!! In the grey pre-dawn light, I raised the mainsail and sailed away from the dock - with a wave from Suzanne who'd surprised me by getting up early to see me off and take photos.

Today has been a very pleasant sail, gentle at first with increasing wind over the afternoon, and we're now making excellent speed of over 7 kn having gybed earlier to get away from the African coast - we were just 30 miles off, I suddenly realized, and meeting frequent shipping.

(Later) The idea of having a remote screen so as to keep the laptop tucked well out of the way is good when it works - but I'm constantly having to get the laptop out to re-set the remote screen because the system doesn't seem to like going to sleep - Vista again? I've had to learn more about my PC.

Winds definitely picked up overnight - I put a reef in & we still regularly made well over 7 knots with seas having built from the 2m of earlier to about 3m, somtimes 4m - not too bad.

I met up with a particularly obnoxious Captain (of 'Jigawa II') whom I'd tried to contact when he was well off because his closest distance was showing as just over a mile. It's always nice to confirm the big ships know I'm there to make sure we keep well clear of each other & that usually takes only a brief contact. I had a big problem for some time hearing him at all on the VHF radio, his transmission was so broken, and when we finally made contact, he clearly did not know I where I was, despite my transmitting on AIS, & said he couldn't see me on his radar (at which point he was 4mls off & his lights were clearly visible to me) so I turned on my deck light to light up my sails. All his responses were very uncooperative and dismissive and it was a most unpleasant experience, unlike similar occasions in the past when captains have been perfectly pleasant, professional and helpful. He clearly disliked sailing boats....and maybe hearing a female voice didn't help either.... So often, ships I meet up with not only have helpful, polite crew but very friendly ones - often only too happy to have a chat to break up the boredom of their long passages.

I'll sign off now and see if I can send this via radio well before midday when it gets less easy.... (Detailed position & weather reports are being posted every day, independent of any log report, like this one, being made)

Jeanne
'Nereida'
27N, 015W

Wed 7th Oct '09

For several days, the winds have been non-existent - just a short time of onshore breeze mid-afternoon dying away to nothing until the next mid-afternoon.  The result - a delayed departure - presently  projected toThursday early evening - IF the wind doesn't die away.... I can't sail anywhere without wind ... not even away from the marina!  Motoring isn't an option - a) I don't want to, b) I haven't enough fuel for anything except occasional use of my little diesel generator over the next 6-7 months when my solar &/or wind input is too low... so unless there's decent wind tomorrow, I may have to delay  yet again to Friday - but hopefully not.

I seem to have got myself a great team of supportive helpers here in Puerto Calero .... Peter (from Holland) has put me in touch with many useful people to resolve whatever my current problem happened to be, Suzanne (from Michigan) has done brilliant work helping to organize my provisioning/stowing/listing (I've never been so well organized!!) and any other job I threw at her, Sally (from UK) has cheerfully ferried me around from place to place for shopping and trying to solve my ongoing gas bottle problem as well as helping with laundry, her husband Paul has spent a lot of time helping me with several boat jobs - including dealing with Kiss generator, re-stowing anchor rodes, fixing closures on lazarette lids, replacing metal washer(s) on loose rodkicker-to-mast joint with larger nylon washer (manufactured several times over in minutely varying thicknesses by Wes from San Diego), Jan (from UK) who has spent several hours sorting out  the electrics, watermaker wiring & instruments (although even he couldn't fix my Furuno weather fax problem - doesn't look as though it's receiving via its own preamp & aerial  - so one or t'other is faulty possibly), Norman (from UK) who supplied 10 dozen fresh eggs, cleaned the hull and changed the prop zinc, Walter (from Germany) who gave me a lot of music for my time offshore and Mel Symes, Daniel Calero and others at Pto. Calero Marina who tried to help me resolve problems whilst here.  Many grateful thanks to all of them!

I've spent more time clearing away & fixing items in place, with lots of lacing eyes, string and bungy being used up!  The diesel leak was finally dealt with by the yard here and several shackles spliced onto ends of lines by Olivier (from France) - he's done a far better job than I could have done!

Lots of time has been wasted on trying to sort out a regularly-malfunctioning Iridium connection to my laptops.  Whilst here,  the XP laptop has occasionally connected, the Vista one never... computers!!  Today, the serial/USB adaptor completely gave up the ghost -  so we've been chasing aound trying to find a new one - found tonight and about to be tested.  I hope it works and keeps on working - otherwise I'll have no data transfer for emails and weather info when out of SSB radio range....  Unfortunately, the shop only had one - it would have been nice to have been able to buy a back-up.

So tonight I had a farewell 'tapas' meal with my new-found friends under a waning moon beside the flat calm water.... coming back to the boat to write this long-overdue update before getting to sleep...  We'll see what tomorrow brings.... and whether or not I manage to sail away....  I'll keep you posted!

Thurs 8th Oct '09

With no wind still, departure delayed yet again to Friday - but then I MUST leave!!

Good news on several fronts today - with one of the most important being that the new serial/USB adaptor I bought yesterday seems to have solved the problem of the useless laptop-to-Iridium (satellite telephone) connection - both laptops (including the **!@** Vista one) immediately 'saw' the modem connection to Iridium with no hint of hassle - brilliant news, but highly annoying - I've wasted so much time and effort over the last two months - seemingly because of a faulty adaptor from the Iridium telephone supplier (being replaced, with apologies, under warranty - but no substitute for so much hassle and lost time)   Sally picked up a spare one for me tonight....   George (from Bavaria)  from the diveshop also came along and checked over my Vista laptop settings.  He found & fixed a few small problems and then we got the remote screen, mouse and keyboard configured (- I'd pretty well abandoned all thought of sorting that out, with so many other distractions up to now) - another good job done since my laptop can now be stowed away securely out of harm's way in big seas, but still in use remotely - we're getting really 'techie'!!.

Peter spent a long time emptying & totally cleaning out the gas locker of acccumulated rust & then cleaning and greasing the bases of all the gas bottles in an effort to prevent future rusting.   Paul popped by and pointed out an easier change-over of the in-line butane bottles - useful! (But still no sign of the elusive Kiss wind-generator torsion spring...)  Suzanne spent several hours equipping me with fishing rod and lures - she's determined that this useless fisherwoman will manage to catch fish very soon as she sails around!!

Evening was mainly spent relaxing and chatting - I won't be able to do that for some time!!  This should be my last shoreside night for a long time - so I'm going to enjoy sleeping in my spacious aft cabin tonight.  In future, it'll be my passagemaking bunk in the saloon or huddled in the cockpit.

Photo of new asymmetric - unfurled a bit too soon -  as we were hoisting it!! And, of course, a strong gust came along just then....  Nice view of shoreline of Lanzarote ( no, it's not the Sahara .. although you'd be forgiven for thinking so!)

Lesson learned!! 

I can't believe well over a week has gone by - I seem to have been so busy since arriving here but it's only tonight (Sunday) that I feel as though I've made real progress toward being ready to leave by the end of the week.

Before Tony left for B.C. last Sunday, he helped take down the KISS wind generator to see why it was not turning freely, as it normally does.  That problem turned out to be simple to deal with - the base of the collar that holds it onto the pole just needed loosening a touch.  But I'd also wanted to check that the steel & aluminium surfaces were properly protected from corrosion with grease or silicon sealant, not really trusting the job done by the guys who'd last 'helped' me.... Sure enough, although that aspect was fine, another problem reared its head in that they'd not properly dealt with a torsion spring whose job is to stop the generator from over-rotating  (It has no brushes or commutator ring, being very simple in design) 

I spoke to Doug Billings in Trinidad, who designed it & manufactures them there. (What a fabulous thing Skype is when you've good wifi to the boat! )  Doug informed me that a short straight wire I could see should have been over twice the length - at 4" - in order to position it easily when the generator was replaced on the pole.  He had no problem sending me the item - but receiving it without trouble here in the Canaries  just wasn't going to happen!   After lots of discussion of available options, I heard  that there were visitors were coming out from England this weekend - problem solved.... Quicker and far simpler to get the spring sent to England & they bring it to me - guaranteed quick delivery ...!  It left Doug in Trinidad Wed 1pm, was in Stansted by 7pm Thursday (via depot in USA!) & delivered to Wisbech, UK, before 6pm Friday...!     Monday update:  Well, that's what should have happened - but Fedex completely messed up - so no delivery as promised.. so spring NOT received here.  I'll have to try to use damaged item - unless neighbour can send to Canaries in time to reach me before I leave - We'll try that but unlikely to happen... Pity...! Of course, I now have to fit it somehow ... Another job on the list.... The KISS did a superb job on the way here, in supplying lots of battery power - quietly!!

Did a 'dummy' run wih my weather routers to check on our communications - and also so I could see what info they were proposing to send me & how... That was a useful exercise, so that's now set up.

Updated all my weatherfax radio frequencies and timetables (took ages chasing around the Internet with an unusually erratic connection...) - but believe my Fax408 isn't behaving properly - I suspect that the boatyard omitted to set a small switch correctly behind the fascia - so another job for tomorrow is to disconnect the unit, remove it and check the switch setting....

I had two days with interviews over the week (local LanzaroteInformation website and German magazine 'Yacht') - that took quite a time away from my jobs.... and I'm finding that relaxing in the warm evenings to chat with people here and have a meal, nice though that is, is also eating into my time badly...  I think the thought of being away from people for 6-7 months solidly is affecting me in that I'm enjoying their company (being the highly sociable being that I am!) and I'm unwilling to forgo it .... OK, so I'll leave a day or two later.... Not the end of the world!!

On Friday, I took 'Nereida' out motoring with Paul of 'Atlantic Islands Sailing' (www.saillanzarote.com - he and Sally have been amazingly helpful and kind since my arrival - thank you!) and also Suzanne and Walter of 'Double Moon'.  I wanted to calibrate the log (which has clearly been madly under-reading!), try to locate the ongoing diesel leak source and try out my furling asymmetric spinnaker...  It was lovely to get away from the dock, even motoring...  The calibration involved a whole series of runs, starting around slack water - but the S-going Canaries current was present to complicate matters, and even going over to inshore of the nearby fish farm wasn't so very useful since it showed a counter-current there!  Seems to me that the calibration factor should be around 1.56 so all my previous log readings and speeds need to be multiplied up by that amount since the default log factor was 1.00!  Unfortunately the unit doesn't seem to want to allow me to set the factor manually - keeps beeping at me irritably when I try - I'll try disconnecting the yellow data (GPS/Seatalk) wire to see if I can fool it!

The fuel leak was going great guns - but we did eventually find the source - the on/off valve on the engine supply pipe leaks fuel from its threaded connection to the tank - another job now scheduled for Monday (the yard here will do that for me).  My gas alarm keeps going off- presumably due to the fumes from the bilge.... another job is to clean that out....

We had sudden activity trying out the furling cruising chute - I didn't think to tie down the furling line - so no sooner had we hoisted it than it began to unfurl at great speed .... and, of course, then a gust came through... A good lesson learned - I was pleased to have two other people with me helping to tame it and get it down on deck safely....!!  But my 'sailbin-in-the-forepeak-below-the-forehatch' system looks good...

Propane - took time chasing after possibilities but as yet still no sign of a positive outcome - although it might be possible on Gran Canaria, I was told.  It would be nice to have my US bottles filled before leaving.  The US (propane) system is so much more easy and sensible to deal with compared with the stupid European (butane) system...  The thought of trying to change over Camping Gaz bottles in the stern lazarette in big seas, by rotating the bottles themselves in order to disconnect & re-connect to a fixed supply pipe to the galley, does not thrill me!  It never occurred to me that I'd have so much trouble in Europe filling my US bottles.

Ran two new preventer lines separate from the pole after (lazy) guy - decided trying to combine the two functions was not OK.   Sometimes you want to gybe the main and leave the pole out where it was, with the genoa taken over to the other side, off the pole...

Checked out lines & sheets in general - and shackles, blocks etc..All looking fine, except for the topping lift shackle - pin keeps coming undone so may have to 'mouse' it.  Twice found the topping lift swinging around wildly on my way here.

Suzanne was very helpful and kindly did a few useful jobs for me yesterday while I got on with checking over spares and tools and their organizing, stowing & listing ... and then finally got around to fixing all loose items in place.  My electric drill has been well used this weekend and I only have a couple of minor outstanding items to fix now in the forepeak.

Weather has been good - warm, but not too hot, and no rain, but it often gusts up strongly and then dies away- I hear that's typical around here - keeps sailors on their toes when out sailing!

I'm working towards leaving next weekend - hopefully that will work out - I suddenly realized last week (with a strong feeling of panic at all still left to do!) that 1st October is Thursday..  But I shan't leave without feeling comfortable that my preparations are complete - I'm not in a race (except against my own 'clock')!!

Wed-Fri 16-18 Sept 09 - Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, Islas Canarias

A big-eyed squid (one of two found on deck, one day out from Lanzarote):
 

Stern steelwork  for solar panels, wind generator., antennae, GPS and radar ..... with Hydrovane windsteering doing a good job at dawn:

One rocky islet to avoid!    .... A bird sanctuary....

Lanzarote - old volcanic slopes:

It's nice to be somewhere warm!  Although there's been quite lot of grey cloud and wind, I'm in shorts and vest and enjoying the excuse to play with water as I clean Nereida's decks and cockpit after her journey.

Arrival here was 7pm Wed evening, after tacking the last section in flukey winds, which often suddenly gusted strongly (I actually had to reef both sails quickly at one point coming down the coast!) & often swung all over the place,.... and then finding myself becalmed in lovely clear water, I was very tempted to jump in for a swim! But eventually, I made for the marina entrance, downed sail and headed in as darkness was falling.... to be greeted by a smart 'marinero' with check-in papers he wanted completed... a chance to polish up my Spanish again....?  No, the forms were bilingual!

Having had little chance to sleep Tuesday night, since we were so close to land, I nearly went straight to bed .... but that just didn't feel right - you don't make landfall after 12 days' passage and ignore the fact that you're in a foreign country.... even if it did mean what seemed like a half-mile hike around the enormously long, protective, high seawall from my 'check-in' berth to where I could see the bright lights of restaurants and bars, with people moving about... just across the water if I could only have jumped that far!

Of course, I had no idea of the local time and had no Euros on me ... and I was famished!  I approached one place & was told their kitchen had just closed (9 o'clock, I was told) - but next door was open...  What lovely people they were... In my bad Spanish, I pointed over to my boat, explained I'd just got in after 12 days from England - and please could they let me have some food - no, I had no 'dinero' to pay just now - but would have tomorrow...  "I'll lend you from my own pocket," the chief waiter said with a smile - "Have what you want...!"   They were all so nice and came over to chat while I waited for my meal (steak with mushrooms!) - what a lovely introduction to the Canaries!!

Thursday morning, both friend Tony Gooch and helpful, welcoming, marina manager Mel Symes came over to greet me and help with lines while I took the chance to top up with diesel before moving over to my berth - where I slept some more!

There are several cruising boats here and Tony made sure I met up with quite a few cruisers at the 'sundowner' get-together outside a nearby bar, later having a meal together - & I made sure I repaid Mohammed with interest for his kindness of the evening before.  I'm still hopeful of getting propane - although not officially...

I've quite a long joblist, as you'd expect, but hope to get all done within a fortnight or so, ready to leave around the end of the month.  No cruising of the Canaries, as I'd originally hoped - too much to be done.  One thing I have managed is to get my XP laptop to 'talk' to the satphone -  that's quite a relief but it would be great if I could persuade my 'Vista' laptop to do the same.  That's proved impossible so far.. I need a computer 'whizz-kid' to help sort that out, if it's possible...

BBC Radio Guernsey called me up on my satphone for a 'live' update Thursday morning, which was nice of them.  But they moved the time forward to 10 minutes before 9am instead of 10mins after - so friends in Guernsey will almost certainly have missed it - pity!

The excellent news of today (Friday) is that Weather Routing Inc, based in NY state, have agreed to help me with weather info over the critical parts of my journey - getting through the Doldrums with the least hassle (insofar as is possible, given they often jump several hundred miles unpredictably in no time at all!), both heading south and, finally, back north; Southern Ocean from Cape of Good Hope onward and  around Cape Horn, with a 'heads up' any time really bad weather is heading my way.

This weekend I'll continue the boatjobs - the sooner I can get everything done, the more chance there'll be to relax for a few days before starting off.

Tuesday 15th Sept '09

I plotted our daily noon positions to check on the actual daily 24hr distances run ('distance made good' - DMG - in a straight line from one noon position to the next day's noon position, that is). From Tues 8th Sept, when I was able finally to stop tacking against a SSW-SW3 and the wind veered to N5-6 & then to NNE 6-7, so I could make the rhumbline course to well off Finisterre and then on south, our 24hr noon-to-noon distances up to today have been: 132, 170, 123, 136, 150, 157, 161 mls. Seeing as I've been sailing rather conservatively, and the seas got up quite a lot over several days, and even allowing for what I'm sure must be a south-going current (although I hear it might only be half a knot or so), I'm not too displeased with the figures! Today's won't be at all good because the wind has died this afternoon, as forecast, there have been a few showers around and we're slopping about in the left-over swell. So it could well be a slow finish to my passage to the Canaries - pity!! (Later - We got up nicely to 6knots for a time, but are back down to 5knots now - 11.30pm - 50 mls from the northern island of Graciosa in the Canaries)

I've been 'talking' to Bob McDavitt, a well-known 'weather guru' in New Zealand, about passing through the Cook Strait. It would be good if there were a possibility of finding a 'weather window' for getting safely through the Cook Strait after reaching Farewell Spit (NW point of South Island) after crossing from Tasmania. My idea is to divert initially into Nelson Bay (to wave at my aunt and other relatives there, if they can get there and if it's reasonably calm!), ready to head straight on back N to sail on east through the Cook Strait if the weather is good to do so... But if the choice is between catching a weather window to get through safely or waving at relatives .... I'm afraid safety would have to come first....!! Cook Strait seems to have almost the same fearsome reputation as Cape Horn - due to its underwater topography, I'm hearing from a good cruiser friend. I must read up about it in the British Admiralty New Zealand Pilot that I have on board.

Spent some time today, reading the manuals & playing with the buttons on my new SSB radio (Icom M801) and Fax408 - it's nice to get to know how to work the new instruments properly!!

Just wish my laptops were talking to the satphone - spent quite a time today trying to get a shoreside radio connection for sending/receiving emails whereas data transfer via the satphone would have been so much quicker. I'll definitely be needing it over the next few months, since I could well find it impossible at times to make radio contact, so I must try to get that sorted in Lanzarote.

A Canadian friend who arrived ahead of me in Lanzarote is looking into propane availability - looks bad! But I bought extra butane bottles back in Guernsey for that reason.

Today's noon position report:

31d 12'N, 013d 22'W; course(COG) 178T; speed(SOG) 5.7kn; wind NNW4 (13kn) (down from overnight 18knots); baro 1020; air 25C; sea 26C; swell NNW 3m 7s; cloud 60%

Sun/Mon 13/14 Sept 09 - No complaints... fabulous Tradewind sailing!!

13th Sept sunset:

Broken vang shackle found lying on deck beside the block - clearly a metal defect - a time when a good spares kit comes in useful!

Well, the wind might not be from the NE - but this is definitely very enjoyable, brisk 'Tradewind sailing' to the east of the Azores High. For several days now, we've been mainly under full canvas, but tonight we're reefed down (one reef) because the winds started building just before sunset - as did the seas... We're rolling about quite a lot fairly frequently - and cooking my evening meal got pretty 'interesting' several times with the galley 'bumstrap' proving how useful it could be!

The Hydrovane is coping well, although when the wind got up, it definitely preferred a reef in the mains'l to avoid us rounding up so much in the gusts. The genoa is poled out and we're on a very broad reach, but occasionally a big wave comes along together with a gust, knocking us about, making us round up badly & the wind has got ahead of the genoa. Then I've had to intervene to get us back on course.

Weather has been superb - lots of sunny blue skies and warmth, although just as an enormous tanker (making for Lagos, Nigeria) had finished crossing our stern before midday, it actually rained quite heavily ... but, half an hour later, we were back to blue skies and sunshine again!

Last night and tonight, the stars have been out in their millions - along with hundreds of twinkling diamonds in our wake - lot of lovely phosphorescence in the waters here. I was delighted to see, almost straight up, my favourite little constellation of 'Delphinus' - the dolphin in the sky, which keeps the Swan company. Lovely to see all the familiar figures - with Orion striding majestically the right way up - not on his head, as he is in the Southern hemisphere!!

A real worry tonight was catching sight of red and white strobe lights not that far from our port side - perhaps only a mile away. I'd come up fairly regularly to check whilst preparing my meal and writing up my log and emails because I'd earlier seen a bright light over the horizon which didn't come up on AIS - so presumably a smaller fishing boat or a yacht. I had vivid recollections of stories of bad encounters with over 1 mile-long unmarked tunny-fishing nets off the coast of Morocco - which is exactly where I am now.... What was I supposed to make of the strobe lights?? They were presumably marking nets of some kind or
other.... A happy thought was that they were not dead ahead and seemed to be out of my way... what luck! I think the fishing boat was nearby just over the horizon ... but I have no idea really what system of nets they use - or what exactly the lights (seemingly in just the one spot) were warning of... what a nightmare! Somehow, that scares me! The other happy thought was that I'm sailing and not running my engine & prop - but who knows what might happen if I were to run over a cable holding large nets in my path....

Noon position report today: 33d 53' N, 013d 21' W; COG 180T; SOG 6.5kn; Wind NNW4-5 (14kn); Swell NNW 2m 6s ; Clouds 12% ; Baro 1022; Air temp 25 C ; Sea temp 26 C

309mls to go (ETA: Wed). Plenty of ships around. Wrong (previous day's) latitude given yesterday!!

Sat 12Sept09: Day 8 of passage to Canaries - Just like Tradewinds sailing - but wind is NW, not NE! Fluffy little white clouds in lines along the wind direction.... Gentle sailing, poled out ....

Noon (BST) position report: 39 00'N, 013 21'W; course(COG): 180T; speed (SOG): 5.6kn; wind: NW4 (10kn); barometer: 1022; air/sea temp: 24C!!; swell: N 3m 8s; cloud: 10%;

606 ml to go (DTG) to destination (equidistant between Azores and Canaries!), 200 ml due W of Lisbon. Warm, bright sunshine, ambling along....

Last night I had no problem whatsoever using Bluetooth to connect into the Pactor modem for my emailing and weather info via Airmail using my SSB radio ..... Now, when I just tried to connect - I found my computer (which ran out of battery power on standby overnight) seems to have no Bluetooth enabled and isn't 'seeing' the modem... Why not??
(One hour later!!)... Finally got it going again - after a lot of cursing and effort.... !

Yesterday's hiatus was finding the Iridium (satellite) phone had switched itself off - for no apparent reason. Later, I noticed it switching itself on again completely of its own accord as I was seated nearby writing up the log.... and then soon afterwards, I noticed it was off again... Overnight, it came on yet again and has, so far today, stayed on... "Not guilty!" I plead - I was touching nothing when all that happened!! Presume it's a faulty handset, base unit or connection - although, having checked them, all connections look absolutely fine, as is the 12V power supply so I strongly suspect a faulty unit.

The wind swung to NNW from NE soon after midnight Thursday and then died, only picking up near midday - but that gave me an ideal chance to get to know the Hydrovane windsteering gear. Really easy and straightforward, so that's now in use - at least some of the time. My wind power input to the batteries, plus some solar power, is working really well, so using the electronic/hydraulic autopilot doesn't seem to be pulling down the batteries hardly, if at all. I'm sure the use everywhere (cabin & nav lights) of LED lighting must also be helping. Overnight, the wind picked up to around 15 knots, rather than the fairly consistent 10 knots we've been having during the day both yesterday and today.

Other problems: The shackle holding down the block at the mastfoot which leads the boom downhaul aft broke into two halves - clearly a major metal defect... Fortunately I was able to replace the shackle from my spares kit, so all is now well - I'd wondered, before I found the block and broken shackle lying on the deck, how the main had suddenly become 'scandalized'!! A possibly associated problem is that the boom regularly jerks up with a bang - the vang/mast connection is a tad loose and needs an additional washer to fill the slight space allowing movement - that pin will wear quite quickly later if not dealt with when I arrive.

A lovely sight was a bright silver Venus hanging high in the East before dawn this morning - and last night, I enjoyed an excellent meal by starlight in the cockpit of the 'Chez Nereida' restaurant....

Thursday 9th Sept 09

Today and yesterday have been excellent for speedy sailing - in NE winds up to 30 knots!! Should keep NE wind now all the way - effectively the start of the NE Trades.. Downside was the big swell that often made us crash about, making it difficult to move about . and not much sun either... but good progress made finally, after a series of long tacks against the previous SW wind... This afternoon, having finished crossing the Bay of Biscay, I was able to gybe onto a southerly course, headed from well off Finisterre (~100 ml) towards the Canaries - hopefully in one last long leg, arriving 15/16th Sept, depending on whether winds pick up or not...! Again, we're running with a poled-out genoa but now I've let out both reefs in the mains'l so we've full canvas in increasingly light winds. I let out the reefs not long ago in the dark - it always seems a bit weird to be out in the middle of a pitch black ocean rushing along with overcast blanketing out the stars - and NO phosphorescence in the disturbed water - most unusual...

Today was notable for an effort to get radio communications back again - it's been an ongoing problem and has kept me busy on and off since I left Guernsey... Today, I actually soldered the ultra-fine wires of a USB cable together, thinking it would help - but not so... Amazingly though, I finally figured out how to get my laptop to talk 'Bluetooth' to the Pactor modem between it and the radio ... so here we are!! Whilst doing that, I disturbed my chart-plotter - to my horror it ended up with a blue screen and no chart displayed but lots of incomprehensible messages - major disaster, I thought... unable to sort it out... but later, whilst fiddling with the Pactor modem and radio connections below it, suddenly, there it all was again ... right as rain! ... What a relief!... I thought I was headed into more soldering of fine data wires in the Raymarine seabus connection... Now I can sleep well - my AIS alarm is working well and I'm well offshore, away from the shipping and fishing along the Portuguese coast.

Look on 'Travels' page for my noon position report...

Bye for now....

Jeanne
"Nereida"
42N, 013W

Previous reports I couldn't send at the time....

Monday 7Sept09

Ahoy there from "Nereida" in a fog-ridden, relatively calm, Bay of Biscay - we thought we were back in touch again... but not so... have had a major, ongoing struggle trying to make a connection - or the lack of...! Now that it's calmed down from the rough seas of Sat & Sun, I was able to get some jobs done... fix the catch on an annoying, swinging-freely, galley locker door (TG for electric drills... even so, it took an hour), domestic duties: clearing up in galley and also in saloon (loose papers I'd overlooked soon ended up all over cabin sole as we moved about in the seas!!) and finally, but most importantly, removing chart-plotter, radio & Pactor modem from instrument panel to locate serial number of the modem - vital info to enable it to 'talk' to my laptop via Bluetooth so I can send/receive emails and weather info via my SSB (high-frequency) radio.... That turned out to be a lot less hassle than I expected, having tried to avoid the issue by searching through paperwork - but no sign of info there... I'm hoping to be able to send this report later today OK (but I couldn't ... not until Thursday...!) ... The outstanding problem I can't really deal with now is a diesel leak, which I'd thought was fixed before leaving. Because we were moving about so much yesterday, a lot ended up in the bilges - a horrible smell!

Neither of my laptops is talking to the Iridium satellite telephone just now, so that way of emailing is closed until I reach shore... The XP laptop was doing so fine just before I left.. so why has it stopped now...? And the Bluetooth connection was also fine the last time I tested using my SSB radio for emailing.... so frustrating and time-consuming...! But the phone itself is working fairly well - I had a welcome SMS message from a friend (free from www.iridium.com!) and a call this morning from the presenter of 'Five Live' - but unfortunately reception was too poor for the hoped-for live transmission on the Breakfast Show.

At noon today: Posn: 48 17'N, 008 06'W Course: 207T Speed: 6.8kt Wind: SSE F1-2 (6-7kt) Air: 20C Sea: 16.6C Baro: 1022 Swell: WNW 2m 4s Cloud 100%

I'd had to motor since 0540 when I found us drifting E at 1.5 knots. We had been sailing SSW nicely - at 5 knots in fairly calm seas - since 0200 when the wind shifted as drizzle came in. Prior to that, since early Sunday, I'd been headed due W in good sunshine through the heavy shipping just north of the Ushant shipping lanes and then on, unable to turn SW due to the southerly wind direction. I had a nice chat on the VHF radio with the Aussie Capt of the 'Eileen C' after he gave way to me just before noon while I was reefing down in stronger winds (18knots). Whatever happens, I want to avoid sailing well into the Bay itself, for fear of getting 'embayed' (getting trapped in the Bay by the prevailing SW winds) - I'm trying to keep well out, off the continental shelf, in deep water..

Sunday's noon position report: 49 02'N, 005 44'W SOG: 8.4kt (nice tide!!) COG: 270T Wind: S 4-5(~18kt)

12 noon (BST) position: 49 25'N, 002 54'W

Left St Peterport Victoria marina last night after last fish and chips - courtesy of friendly 'Ship and Crown'! Had a cranberry juice rather than their 'Special'. Sat with friend Liz, who'd kindly ferried me around earlier in the day for last minute visits, and ITN TV crew who've been with me a lot of the day. Amusing being filmed (I gather item was later put out on 6 o'clock news, repeated at ten o'clock) but it definitely didn't help me keep to my schedule - too many jobs still to do plus unexpected extras - like the Hydrovane rudder... I fixed it in place - beautifully easy....but then putting in the pin to hold it there, it got jammed and was impossible to release (not helped when I forced it!)... Two Dutch cruisers close by put down their glasses of wine to help me - and eventually sorted it out. Before that, I'd just finished drilling and fixing the remaining two brackets for the under-floor reinforcing strut - which job, when started, caused me to spot water in the bilges - lots!! I'd topped up the water-tank and the overflow into the sink had obviously run in water faster than it could exit. It must have overflowed as I went to close the tap.... Time had to be spent mopping it all up, and more time was wasted trying to set up a 12V power supply to a small pump which would have speeded the job up, but changing a cigar plug from German to British got too convoluted & was taking up too much time so I abandoned it & went back to a floorcloth on the end of a long 'grabber'! (At least that helped get rid of the remnants of the diesel leak in the same place I'd had to clear up two days earlier!)

I had to leave the marina around high water to get over the 'sill' which keeps boats inside afloat when the tide goes out - so after my supper, I went back to 'Nereida' and motored out to a pontoon outside in the main harbour to finish tidying and organizing - so the start of my long passage was delayed until I felt comfortable that I was prepared for putting to sea safely...

I then found the wind still not quite as the weather forecast predicted and decided to get a few hours sleep to wait for a favourable tide around dawn - at least I could make use of that help when I sailed away from St Peterport.

So here we are finally sailing nicely in a WNW F4-5 at around 6 knots but having to head rather more inshore than I wanted in order not to get headed I expect to have to tack out shortly to keep well offshore when rounding Ushant to begin the Biscay crossing - I'm not looking forward to that, since SW winds are expected by tomorrow and Monday. I may have to head well out, not to get 'embayed'. We'll see how that pans out - weather forecasts are rarely correct in detail...

I found very rough water around Guernsey even though I tried to stay in deeper water - a strong 'Spring' tide and lots of rocks around...!! But it's nice to be sailing and on passage finally. ...

Later(7pm): We're really struggling to make headway against the tide... having to tack and making very little real progress ... Speed is 3.5-4 knots over the ground with full canvas and tide is likely to get up to 2 knots against (HW was at 5.30pm) - stronger more inshore so a good reason to try to stay well out - except must try to avoid shipping in lanes to north of here.... It's going to be a frustrating several days, since crossing Biscay is likely to be similar... Oh well,..... at least the threatening rain of mid-afternoon came to nothing and the sky is only lightly clouded and I'm getting frequent 20 minute sleeps to catch up.

7.18pm: Speed (SOG) 2.1 kn, course over ground (COG): 170T - I'm going backwards!!! Wind has dropped to around F2-3 (7 knots or less) so the tide is taking me east.... grrr!!!

8pm: Sun just set. Decided to use the 'iron horse', heading due west to make for waypoint north of Ushant, just outside shipping lanes (busy area)- time to slack water is at least another hour - I'll see what happens then and if there's wind enough to sail... at least on this leg I have this option - not so, once I leave the Canaries. Present position: 48 24'N, 002 10'W

Thurs/Fri 3/4th Sept 09

"Nereida" preparing to start passage to Canaries Friday evening... under a full moon...! HW is just before 7pm so I hope to leave around then. I'm hoping for fair winds initially to head for Ushant, maybe light, but hoping for mainly favourable winds as I continue down across the Bay of Biscay, keeping well off, if possible, to avoid the heavy traffic between Cape Finisterre and Ushant
Log is now reading correctly and fuel tanks and chain locker(& food lockers) are full!!
I've been busy clearing up and stowing away - with lots of interruptions from well-wishers - but many thanks to them!!

Regards,

Jeanne

Anchor chain arrived last week ..and then had to wait while I had  a shelf glassed in to the chain locker.  Wed's task was biking to DSV freight terminal with an angle grinder to cut the chain into 3 pieces - 100m for main anchor, 25m for secondary (plus 100 m multiplait) and 5m, which I worked out weighed just over 7kg or 15lbs, for the end of the Jordan series drogue to keep it well below the sea surface when deployed.   It was quite difficult getting the chain off the pieces of thick wire it had been looped onto for the galvanizing process but helpful guys at DSV took time out to extricate the chain to measure it and then insisted on cutting it  for me - not easy. Talk about fireworks!! Being high tensile chain meant it was more difficult to cut than ordinary chain but my kind helper made short work of the four cuts - I was amazed he didn't end up with his jeans on fire but he seemed oblivious to the stream of hot sparks landing on him.... I was quite pleased to be well out of the line of fire!  

Plan then was to deliver it to nearby fuel dock Fri morning where I'd come to fuel up at high water around midday and get help to load the chain onto 'Nereida' ... which is more-or-less what happened, except that the replacement floorboarding had arrived in the meantime - more problems.... I had hoped it would be a simple matter of making two long cuts to trim it to size, and had already been investigating where I could do that, but found that more intricate cutting was needed than I could manage.    At one point it seemed everyone was looking out for good 'chippies' to help me at short notice... ! (It's the long August Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK so timing for work to be done has been getting difficult).  Mike, one of the Guernsey Harbour Dockmasters, very kindly came to the rescue, offering me the use of the Harbour facilities, & by late Fri morning, Neil, the Harbour 'chippie', had cut the board beautifully, along with a replacement headlining board and an aluminium strut .

   By the time that was done, we were OK to get out over the sill at the marina entrance but not to get back in after the refuelling and chain manoeuvres- which took 4 of us: two lads high up on the pier above the fuel dock, myself receiving the chain as it was fed down & helper Nicholas flaking the chain onto the deck...!!  (It still has to be marked and attached to the anchors)   So I stayed at the fuel dock overnight and then moved onto a waiting pontoon until high water near 2pm Saturday - when I gingerly crept over the sill, half expecting to touch... relieved to say, I didn't, although I should have done!

Early Friday morning, I removed the speed transducer - the impellor was badly fouled with weed and eggs!

You can just make out the position of the marina sill in the foreground and up on the right is a (red) light indicating it's unsafe to try to enter!!

When leaving DSV earlier in the week, I found a group of people in a shed nearby decorating a flower float, ready for the flower festival the next day:

Maybe this coming week, I'll be sailing away from this lovely old harbour-front church!

    "Nereida" in Victoria Marina, St Peterport, 17th August 2009 - no problem celebrating a birthday with flowers here in Guernsey!!

Sunday 16th August 2009

I'm told I should see my anchor chain on Monday (that would be a good birthday present!)... then I'll have  associated problems to deal with, but since I'm now waiting for a replacement main cabin floor section to be sent from Sweden it looks as though I've a week in hand to resolve them.

Spent most of yesterday fitting the port settee leecloth (my passagemaking berth) in the main cabin - difficult getting  one of the fixings in the right place without destroying the saloon/forepeak bulkhead.  It's a problem being single-handed at times - I needed to be in two places simultaneously!!

Have been busy most of today (Sunday) whipping bungy connections to secure gas tanks and flares canisters in place - but gave me an opportunity to work outside for a time in pleasant weather.  Then I got down to clearing up in the saloon before finally getting to the forepeak to sort out the gear there - my next major project (in between dealing with anchor chain) ... I've several items I need to stow there securely (my folding bike among other things) and it's my spares' stowage/sail-bin/general store/'garage' ... so plenty to sort out and organize ready for sailing.

If flooring section arrives by Monday week, hopefully I can 'escape' from here by the midweek, weather permitting.  I need to get going down to the Canaries to see how 'Nereida' sails and check all systems out on a good long passage (about 12 days, I reckon).  I need to leave from the Canaries after final checks and preparations by end September to make Cape Horn mid-January - time is slipping by fast...

Mon 17th August
A lovely sunny day... Started with a visit from Andre to instal my bilge alarm - yet another kind soul being really helpful and friendly in giving me freely of his precious time to help me with my problems.  We also had a useful discussion about organizing the chain locker and how to have the 2nd anchor (20kg Delta) ready to deploy overboard in an emergency - so much important detail to consider...!  Ideally, I should get a partition glassed into place in the locker, and maybe a high shelf to take the 2ndary rope rode so it's in place ready to go...
I relaxed quite a bit today, visiting the Dockmaster here for a long chat (he keeps an eye on all ferries, freighters, fishing boats and small boat movements in & out of the Harbour - it's a busy place!) and then later got on my bike to go to Fermain Bay.  "Nearby," I'd been told... not so near!    Up a LONG steep hill and quite a distance away.  I walked up most of the hill and then had a great freewheel down a steep path to the shore of lovely Fermain Bay - beautiful scenery  and views on the way and thick, mature woods down to the beach - but the highly-recommended 'Beach Cafe', where I was hoping to have a good meal, was closed, it being Monday - no-one had mentioned that.... oh well!.. Back to town, where I ended up at 'Le Petit Bistro' - and had a very nice French meal - no complaints!
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** Digital selective calling (DSC), allows mariners instantly to send an automatically formatted distress alert to the Coast Guard or other rescue authority anywhere in the world. Digital selective calling also allows mariners to initiate or receive distress, urgency, safety and routine radio calls to or from any similarly equipped vessel or shore station, without requiring either party to be near a radio loudspeaker. DSC acts like the dial and bell of a telephone, allowing you to "direct dial" and "ring" other radios, or allow others to "ring" you, without having to listen to a speaker. All new VHF radios have DSC capability.

My efforts at re-positioning the fluxgate compass took a time, as expected, with having to get behind panels & woodwork in order to re-route the wire, but it is now behaving reasonably well in its new position. I presume I'll have to re-calibrate the compass once I get out of here but that's a simple matter of turning the boat slowly through a couple of 360 degrees - no big deal!

I received a couple of parcels, one with warm base- & mid- clothing layers and one with fax paper rolls for my weather fax machine. The Harbourmaster's Office are very kindly forwarding post to the marina office and they bring my post directly to the boat in a dory ... I'm really impressed by how very helpful they're all being!

The week seems to have gone by without my joblist getting noticeably shorter, although I did spend two days cutting a small hole in quite a few loose panels & fixing a locking device and 'lip' on each of them so that they can be prevented from flying about if we should broach (or worse..!). I went up the mast to re-tie some twine that had come adrift between steps and shrouds & fixed some hooks and other items in place in the cabins - minor, but important for living on board.

The latest problems to raise their heads have been a flooring problem (I'm having to repair the floor just ahead of the companionway steps until a new flooring section reaches me - probably in the Canaries),  a charging problem (having checked voltages with a multi-meter, it looks as though the chart table display unit is showing the wrong information on state of charge of my domestic and start batteries, possibly leading to over-charging of the domestic bank), making sure I've sufficient cooking gas to last for several months (I'm trying to fill two empty US tanks tomorrow, with propane if possible), and realizing that with all this time I've been tied to the dock here, sorting out the boat down below (we've had some rain of late!), I've not been paying enough attention to checking on the sailing side of things.  I suddenly realized that I need to deal with a few shackles, eye splices & lines ,..  I had thought all that side of things had been sorted out a long time ago... It's top of the list now!

I was delighted to get an email from the Quartermaster on board the 'Queen of Oak Bay' (a B.C. ferry that runs between Horseshoe Bay, N. Vancouver, and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island) who had very kindly spent quite a time with me last October showing me over the bridge when I was on my way to visit friends in Parksville.  He emailed me because they were wondering how things are going with the new boat and when I was planning to take off. Questions I've had from quite a few people - it's difficult to explain just how many different things I'm having to think about, get organized and then achieve, what with it being a new boat with new instruments etc and also because I expect some difficult conditions while I'm on passage - I'm trying to be prepared for all eventualities!! My latest project is trying to sort out how to get good weather info when I'm in the Southern Hemisphere and far from land - with the patchy, unreliable Internet connection I have here, it becomes really time-consuming trying to sort out the various options or even just to send important emails.

  

I've been meaning to post this photo dating from June when I stayed over in Cowes, at UKSA, before leaving England to come here.  It shows 'Nereida' rafted up alongside the famous 'Gipsy Moth IV'!!

Tuesday 4th Aug '09

Great fun and games this evening at high water with so many boats moving around. Normal to be in a raft of four these days - makes for excellent tea-time spectator enjoyment as people try to move out from within the rafts and others try to come alongside too early...!  The marina staff in their dories often use the dory as a 'pusher' to help people get into position....  All good fun to watch!  And I'm having a great time practising my French there being so many French boats around with the French coast so very close by.  I keep feeling I should be keeping to the right on the road....!

Total waste of time yesterday afternoon - got on my bike with two US propane tanks and went a long way uphill to a local garage who'd said that maybe they could fill them for me - nada!!  Quite apart from fittings giving a problem without a suitable adaptor, I'd already heard that "we only fill our tanks, no-one else's" from the Guernsey Gas company and from another source, "It's against EC regulations to fill ANY aluminium tank anywhere in Europe"....!!   Oh well... at least I had a brilliant fast ride down the hill back to the marina!!

Gave gas locker a thorough clean afterwards, added another lacing eye for secure bungy fixing of tanks and will need to buy two new butane tanks since heard via email that same filling problem for US propane bottles exists in the Canaries.  I don't want to run out of cooking gas whilst still on passage early next year.

Spoke to Simrad about problem with AIS not 'talking to' VHF radio for DSC communication ... useful ... Turned out that I'm missing a power lead which should have been installed in Sweden and the lack of it should have been spotted by the electronics guy working on board at Hamble Point in June.... Nothing like checking out things yourself to get things working properly...! Cable now ordered and should arrive Thursday - easy item to instal.

Spending time on computer & Internet, looking into weather/routeing options - also finding out about 'polars' (useful articles by Stan Honey), although possible that none exist for N380.

This morning had a useful visit from Andre Ferbrache who'd been recommended by Mastervolt UK to sort out my wiring/charging problem.  Have now had everything checked out and wrong wiring (as I'd suspected!) put right - I'm feeling much happier that at least one thing is dealt with OK now!  He suggested installing an audible  alarm on the automatic bilge pump circuit for safety, so I am warned in good time should it start up - they take almost no power and it looks like an easy thing to do, assuming the boat wiring diagram will  show me in which circuit to place the alarm.

Payment organized to Italy - should mean anchor chain starts its journey here by Thursday or Friday - then lots of fun & games dealing with it after it arrives next week.. "Watch this space!!" 

No wonder my autopilot reading was 100 degrees off...!  I was chatting late last night to my boater neighbours, rafted up beside me here in the St Peterport Victoria marina, about needing to dive on a firmly-stuck anchor to retrieve it some years back in a bay off Isla Graciosa, north of Lanzarote in the Canaries... and suddenly realized that my new dive tank had been positioned right beside the fluxgate compass with only a wooden wall dividing them.  No wonder my autopilot tried to make a violent turn on the way here from the Queen Elizabeth marina not so long ago when I activated it so I could organize fenders and mooring lines....   I moved the tank away today to check my theory - and sure enough, the AP reading was promptly in agreement with the ship's compass.  So now I have to move the fluxgate compass from its well-tucked-away position to somewhere else - another job to be added to my already long list....grr! 

Trouble is - I opened up the compass thinking maybe I could undo the wires from inside it, to avoid problems in re-locating it (It's way too big to pass through the holes the wire passes through).  But that was clearly not a good idea, so I quickly put it back together again - cursing as I did so, because that means now that I have the job of tracing the wire back (and releasing it as I do so) to where it's connected to the course computer (- I hope!   Otherwise I have to trace it to the chart table area which is even further away).  Then I'll have to disconnect it and pull all the wire through to re-locate the compass in a new position - yet to be decided on....  I found that the minimum distance needed from the steel dive tank so as not to affect the autopilot heading reading was 0.5 metre - not that much but a lot of work and time will be needed to sort the problem out.

At least today the sun is shining brightly again after a week of overcast, strong winds and frequent rain.  The not-so-good news is I think I may have broken (or at least badly bruised) a little toe when I knocked it some days ago .... it may be 'little' but it can definitely hurt...!  And I'm having to get a tooth problem seen to also!  At least that's happening now when I can get it sorted - better than when I'm mid-passage with no way of getting it looked at!!  (Very nice to have a son who's both an excellent dentist & not too far away.) Fortunately, I'm so busy I don't have time to notice a bit  of pain too much!  

Present preoccupations include completing my dry provisioning for an assumed 7-month non-stop passage - that's a lot of food!!  I've been making lists galore, including sticking them behind locker doors, etc, several revisions & updatings, re-thinking about the best, safe way to stow it all... it's been going on for many days ... but is virtually complete now.  I've been lucky in getting help from people here with cars who have taken me to major supermarkets this week - including a run to the local hospice bookshelves to get some light reading matter in case I find I can relax occasionally over the next few months!  My grateful thanks to Liz and Lucy for their help!

Other concerns have been :
looking over my foul- and cold-weather gear (especially base and mid-layers), finding out what's available and making sure I top up with what I might need in the Southern Ocean, on the assumption that I'll get doused occasionally and then will maybe find I can't dry the clothing out;  
checking on my paper charts and organizing stowage of them - realizing I have gaps & need a few more, at least for passage-making, in case my electronic ones become unavailable for whatever reason - so I have had to find out what's available & then arrange for the ones I need to be sent out.  Kelvin Hughes have been really helpful over the supply of charts & books;
organizing getting lots of fax paper rolls for my Furuno weatherfax - thanks to Furuno UK for discounting them & sending to me;
acquisition of a new 'back-up' laptop - and setting it up with all necessary software to duplicate what's on my main laptop .... what a lot of time that has taken - and is still taking up!
......and everyday living.... with little time to relax!
All not helped by the need to make occasional quick (2-day) trips back up to London to deal with an ongoing concern there!

The high-tensile anchor chain is continuing through its two-week-or-more production process by Maggi Catene in Italy - might be ready to send out within a week, with any luck.

Wi-fi Internet access on board is really frustrating - often unreliable, so another regular time-waster...  I have to make frequent trips to the Visitor Centre or to the nearby friendly 'Ship and Crown' for reliable access, restricted to their opening times.

A regular amusement here is the to-ing and fro-ing of boats at high water when they can get over the entrance sill into the marina from the waiting pontoons outside in the harbour.  Mostly people get it absolutely right when coming alongside but there's the occasional panic!  And I've been surprised to see the nearly horizontal ramp to the dock from the Albert Pier at high water - it's 'spring' tides now & so the water level is particularly high.  (I hear that the water often rises to above the road level.)   But at low water, the same ramp is really steep - not a good time to bring heavy shopping to the dockside.

This week, several boats have dried out over LW on the nearby ledge to look at prop or shaft problems - two had lines to remove from around their prop and another had a major propshaft leak to be dealt with.  It's handy to have the drying ledge there to be used so easily and safely.

Looking at the weather, as I continually do these days, I'm wondering how much of a problem I'll face getting away from here once I'm finally ready - the winds seem to be almost constantly from the SW quadrant - exactly the direction I'll be wanting to make....

Guernsey report 2 - enjoyed 'Björn Again'... Maggi Catene in Italy sort out the anchor chain problem....

I enjoyed the 'Björn Again' concert at the Beausejour Centre Friday fortnight ago (26th June) - lots of familiar Abba songs!  Made me think back to my three months in Sweden early this year & all the many really nice people I met whilst there.  So many, both in Stenungsund and in  who were  so very hospitable and kind to me while I was overseeing the boat being built & fitted out, with so many changes I'd asked for, at Najadvarvet in Henån. ....and such lovely scenery...  I found myself missing all of it and them!  I hope I get back there one day.

At high water one Saturday, the Guernsey Lifeboat came by....

Time seems to be passing by and I'm busy with boat work/projects almost all the time - but my list of jobs doesn't seem to be getting much shorter & I still need to finish so many things on board before moving away from here.

I've been particularly concerned about my lack of anchor chain - I really don't want to go for the sail trials around here that I'd been wanting to get out on without chain in my locker for safety reasons.  The Swedish importer in Ellös, not far from the yard at Henån, had  quoted an unacceptably long delivery time back in Feb/March and I saw no reason why it shouldn't  be sent to the Hamble instead, to arrive after the boat was delivered there mid-April .... "No problem", I was assured back in Feb/March .. 

I'd been wanting calibrated, galvanized, 8mm (1.40kg/m), high tensile (HT) chain (G70) to fit my windlass gipsy, in order to avoid carrying the weight of the same length of ordinary (medium tensile, G40) galvanized, 10mm (2.35 kg/m)  chain (confusingly called 'high test' in the US!).   (Then there's also low tensile chain (G30), commonly labeled as 'BBB' or 'proof coil' - I've learned a lot about chain recently!!)  High Tensile (G70) 8mm chain is actually stronger than the G40 10mm chain (7000kgf as compared with 5096 kgf breaking load) - a definite bonus!  A friend had suggested maybe getting 75m of 10mm G40 chain plus lots of rope if I wasn't able to resolve the problem soon, as a reasonably practical compromise - a very sensible thought which hadn't occurred to me.   This week, I spoke to Maggi Catene in Italy, (who are the highly reputable European chain manufacturers with whom I'd been originally talking) to find out what was happening  - and it turned out that there had been unfortunate wording of the order (I shan't go into the convoluted details!)  ....

To cut a very long story short, Maggi Catene were most concerned when they understood my situation and  are now working hard on the production of my chain (as a prioritized  'special' order for theIr 'Aqua7' - calibrated, short-link, high tensile, galvanized anchor chain) to be sent now, of course, to Guernsey, not the Hamble....  A smaller detail (!) is the logistical problem of getting it into my chain locker from a ship, somehow.... The local chandler, Chris of Boatworks, has sounded very helpful on that score - we'll wait for high water and then make use of his fuel dock inside the harbour entrance.  Seems I'll have to wait over two weeks before I can go for extended sail trials.....

In the meantime, I'll finish checking over (and learning to use!) all my equipment and instruments to see that they are OK, finish the long-term provisioning I want to get done here and try to get the boat ship-shape and tidy.  (I'm still busy with fixing and stowing things)  I noticed when changing marinas, that my compass heading seemed to be out  by 100 degrees (!) and my log impellor still needs cleaning from when I was sitting in the muddy Hamble waters for six weeks - so I've plenty to keep me occupied...!

The good news is the excellent summer that England (and W. Europe in general) seems to be having  - lovely weather, with hot sun at times, and hardly any rain to make doing things difficult on board.  I've got my folding bike out now so have been able to get about more easily, although one day I did relax and take the lengthy 'round-the-island, local-bus-tour' for all of 60 pence.  Guernsey is a lovely island, with lots of mature, unpruned trees, beautiful long white beaches, surfing for those interested and lots of anchorages within easy reach (for those lucky people with chain!) - including the little islands of Herm and Sark a short distance away.  It also has lots of rocks, shallows and big tides to make sailing and navigation interesting.... At Springs recently, HW was 9.5m and LW was 0.9m above chart datum - giving a range of 8.6m (over 27ft).  Not exactly the 11m range of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia - but not far short!!  "Nereida' was definitely sitting in the mud at the marina dockside at Springs LW, with actual water depth (measured by lead line to calibrate my depth instrument) being 1.9m!!   It's a very steep walk down the ramp to the dock from the roadway of the Albert Pier at low water!   The marina has a 'sill' at the entrance to keep boats inside afloat at LW and movement in and out can only occur for about two hours either side of HW -so they have several 'waiting pontoons' in deeper water just outside the marina entrance (but still well within the protected main St Peterport harbour) for new arrivals to tie up to.

It has been quite sociable here also - two boats (one Canadian!), with friends on board, sailed in unexpectedly last week and other boaters moored up close by have been very welcoming.  There are lots of French, some Dutch and Belgian and lots of British boats coming to Guernsey, usually just  for a few days, some as part of their cruising in the Brittany/Normandy area and others on their way south to the Med.  Things are set to get even busier, now we're into July - I hear that the rafting-up alongside the pontoons here in Victoria Marina will be getting 'interesting' later this month as numbers increase dramatically with kids off school!

I appeared in last Wednesday's 'Guernsey Press' (local newspaper) and my story about losing the previous boat in Mexico has also just been published (in detail & with lots of photos!) in the August edition of 'Yachting Monthly'.

Wed 24th June '09

Thought I'd post photos shown on Mexican TV that I received from Jose and Rocio in Tecpan (they helped me a lot this time last year).    It seems unbelievable that 'Nereida I' has sunk (or become buried) so deep below the wet sand due to the surge from the nearby surf - only her mast top is now visible... the genoa furling forestay is clearly still there, as are the upper shrouds and mast steps.

That compares to the view this time last year.....  So very sad - not to be dwelt on for too long - too painful still.

Back to today's news:  I moved marina! ...From Qu. Elizabeth to Victoria - much more convenient (for a start, I've Internet access on board - that will save me time).  Only problem is I seem to have lost THREE mooring lines since leaving the Hamble - how can that be??  I've searched - but nada!!  (Thursday:  Found two... and then remembered that a crew member dropped the third one overboard as we were leavng River Hamble for sail trials before I left for Guernsey - shan't embarrass him by naming him...!  It sank too fast even to practise 'man overboard' drill!)

The good news is how well the boat is responding under power.  I'd noticed that when first arriving here when I had a nightmare mooring up - stepped off from a stationary boat onto the dock, holding bow & stern lines, only to find 'Nereida' moving gently but irretrievably down the dockside .. I'd seen there was quite a current, as well as wind, affecting her .. but wasn't expecting this much movement... but it was all I could do to tie the end of one line down - not enough...! She ended up around the end of the dock and over the other side... Help..!!  I luckily saved major damage to a finger and thumb in tying the end of the line I did manage to secure (no proper cleats here ... grr!!)  In retrospect, I think I must have left her slightly in astern gear - embarrassing to have to admit to that, but I'm still not familiar enough with the new Yanmar engine and controls (had a Volvo-Penta before) .... & that certainly explains the problem I was confronted with.  But in the manoeuvring in tight spaces both before and then after that event - she responded so well.  I think the Brunton's Autoprop is a great help and certainly I was delighted with the control I seem to have in going astern.  At any rate, so far, I've not hit anything (and I'm determinedly NOT using the bow thruster I ended up with!! To my mind, using it would be a matter of 'chickening out'  .... I should be able to control the boat without it....)
Today, in moving from my berth rafted-up alongside a gaff-rigged boat, my  interest centred on an unexpected tidal effect.  I'd let the stern line slip first (with difficulty, since the line was led to the other boat through a fairlead and then around a post), leaving slipping the bow to later since I expected the bow to blow off in the slight wind.... but in the time it took to try to slip the bow line I found us swinging around in a strong current.  Fortunately, there was room enough - so I tightened up on the line again to let the current do the job of swinging us around most of the way and then let go & went astern, avoiding a boat opposite - whose owner was clearly relieved to see me controlling the boat - almost as much as I was!!

Sat 20th June '09

It's just over a year (Thurs 19th June '08) since losing 'Nereida I' - and here I am, having sailed from England to Guernsey on her lovely new  'big sister' - or, at least, that's how I feel about her.   It's a good feeling and I'm really looking forward to getting to know how the new 'Nereida' sails - faster, that's for sure!!  But a lot of sorting out of gear and stowing/fixing before I go sailing - and lots more provisioning before I leave here in July.  Got a good Winlink email connection last night - but no Sailmail..... that's radio for you!!

Photos of leaving England near sunset through the Needles Channel (Isle of Wight), showing Needles and distinctive Needles LH, and the approach to Guernsey next morning, with entrance to St Peterport harbour:

Thursday 18th June '09

Think I may have finally made up on sleep missed out on 18hr Channel crossing from Cowes the other night - took occasional 15-20 min. timed naps when the many ships crossing my NE-SW path were not threatening, AIS yet again proving its worth. Only felt need to speak on VHF to one ship looking as though it was on collision course to confirm it knew I was there - no problem, he reassured me! I was transmitting on AIS, as well as receiving, so they should all have seen me on their screens - I'm sure that must have helped collision avoidance.
Testing out email/weather transmit/receive on SSB radio from depths of Qu.Elizabeth marina here in Guernsey - absolutely no go on Winlink (Ham) frequencies. Did make contact on one Sailmail frequency last night but not this morning... Hoping that's just the result of being surrounded by other boats/masts... Gas alarm sounds when I transmit on 10MHz or above - may have to disconnect it.

            
Difficult to know where to start - so much has happened on board, and off, over the last month.... and so many people have been so very kind and helpful.... but I'm finally about to leave England for Guernsey (anchor chain problems permitting..)
Some days 'i've felt as though I've been lurching from one problem to another - as fast as one thing has been sorted, another (sometimes consequential)  problem has arisen...  But my helper Nick of 'Yachting Sports' has always come up with great solutions - although we had to admit defeat over the secondary  anchor - intended as a 25kg Rocna, I've twice had to make the journey to Poole to exchange it for another, firstly downsizing to a 20kg Rocna and finally having to get a 20kg Delta.  The problem was the shape of the Rocna - which is precisely what makes it behave so well, reputedly reliably re-setting itself with a change of tide.  Even the smaller Rocna would not stow anywhere on deck without blocking access to cleats or lazarettes and it also could not  stow below deck.
My main aim has been to make the boat and all gear safe in rough seas.  So lots of fixing in place, in addition to finalizing instrument installation, wiring, rigging, sheet leads, etc, etc, etc....
Paul Lawson, an electrical engineer at Raymarine who has been so helpful when I've had instrument problems over the last few years, kindly came out on "Nereida" with friend Julie one Saturday afternoon to calibrate my instruments and check out the installation.  Raymarine are kindly loaning me extra autopilot items free of charge so I will have a complete secondary system - drive unit in place already, course computer and rudder reference unit easily put in place and second control unit available.  Of course, a lot of the time I expect to use my windsteering (Hydrovane) which requires no battery power but I'm sure there will be times when I'll be pleased to have the electronic autopilot reliably available.
Paul and Lorna, from the Customs office based in Portsmouth, have been incredibly helpful over VAT paperwork, making several visits to 'Nereida', even out of office hours, and bringing forms to me - thank you for that!  They've certainly boosted the image of Customs officials at Hamble Point!! 
Susannah, of IMP, has been her usual very friendly & supportive self, and organized sending a dimmer switch at short notice, with Darren, also of IMP, being very helpful over the telephone with advice on the installation  - so my dimmable saloon LED lighting is now working fine! 

Mandy, of Ocean Safety , has been very helpful on safety gear and I was delighted when ACR offered to donate an EPIRB and floating  strobe/'torch light.  Andy (and Craig) of Andark Diving at Swanwick were very welcoming and cheerfully supplied new dive gear, giving me excellent help on pricing!
Pauline, of Force 4 Chandlery, has been really great and arranged for Gill to donate warm base and mid layer items - they'll be much appreciated when I'm down in the Southern Ocean...!!  She has also donated various other chandlery items for the boat.... there's been so much to think about on the equipment side whilst commissioning 'Nereida' - it's certainly kept me very busy for several weeks now, often into the small hours, keeping tabs on everything.  Even this 'blog' is being typed in the early hours..... no other time to do it!!
I've been visiting local supermarkets, trying to provision in advance on certain dried and tinned items - both Waitrose and Tesco have helped with gift vouchers to offset a little of the cost .. 6-7 months of supplies is a lot of food...but I don't fancy getting cockroach eggs mixed in with my flour and rice, hence the provisioning here in England!    (The Canaries are notorious for cockroaches  - I just hope I can keep them from visiting me!)
I had a visit from BBC Radio Solent and also from the Southampton 'Daily Echo', both of whom intend putting their radio/video interviews on their websites this Friday (tomorrow).  They'll be publishing the Justgiving weblink (soon to be added on my 'Links' page) for donations to be made to Marie Curie Cancer Care charity which provides nurses (free of charge)  for terminally ill people to live their last days at home with their family instead of in hospital... a worthwhile cause, I believe.
If all goes well, I'll be in Guernsey next week.  There, I'll stop for several weeks while I check eveything out,  learn to use my new instruments and go sailing regularly to see how the new 'Nereida' behaves.

Postscript Friday 12th June:  Thought I'd lost all this last night - but just found it in draft form .... (sigh of relief!!)  Today, received post from Raymarine with back-up parts loaned for the circumnavigation - very kind - thank you, Derek!  Spent a time chasing around for hydraulic fluid for autopilot - difficult to find but eventually manufacturer of motor unit in Devon helped out so eventually I got suitable fluid.  Also received New Zealand chart cards from Navionics  for chart plotter, sent at short notice. I'm trying to be ready for unexpected landfall needed in case of problems as I sail around ... strong weather makes breakages more likely, even with a new boat...  
New mainsail cover doesn't fit properly and bimini not OK either - not happy about either so will have to deal with them both in Guernsey...  Also, anchor chain just turned up ungalvanised ... major problem to be resolved still but I have 100m of multiplait rope to use in meantime, if needed .  So much still to deal with..... 
Went for a short sail in Solent with Nick and James in the late afternoon to check rig and sheetleads etc -  all looks fine and it was so very pleasant actually to be out  sailing on the water, rather than tied up at the dock.....  Derek of 'Yachting Sports' took photos of the boat as we came back up the river Hamble towards the marina (see top of page).

Home is where Nereida is.......!   Main cabin..... before (temporary) chaos of final wiring of instruments took over! 
                    

Celebrating the naming of Nereida on Sat 18th April '09 at Hamble Point .......
                                                       
                                                                             

".... wonder what Neptune thinks of this 'bubbly'...?"

 Nereida was in chaos today (Friday) with work on deck and down below (instruments, solar panels, wind generator, mast steps - all being seen to) but she looked beautiful  and peaceful last week, having just been named.....!

More photos to come..... Windsteering (Hydrovane) was fitted last Monday and it's nice to see a mast and sails...!   More work to do this coming week, bu the major items should soon be finished .... maybe I'll get sailing soon, but lots of 'toys' to play with, & figure out how they work, in the meantime!

Happy Easter!

It's been an exciting time for me with the new "Nereida" nearing completion.....

First time afloat...!!                  

                                                                       And then she gets a mast...                  

Time to test the engine and prop...                                     

and then go for a lovely test-sail .....in bright sunshine and good wind.... at last.... gorgeous!!

"Nereida" is on her way to England as you read this (today is Maundy Thursday, 9th April)...all very exciting, especially since things got rather hectic (read 'stressful'. ..??!) at the very end ... but all's well and I'm looking forward to meeting up with her and being on the water with her early next week.

It's been difficult saying 'Goodbye' to so many people here in Sweden, from the Najad yard, the Stenungsund Y.C. hotel and others I've met during my time here - they've been so very kind, friendly and helpful and I'd almost taken up residence here since mid-January - even getting a little Swedish going...!

It's been a pleasure working with the guys & gals at Najad in Henån - they clearly take a pride in their workmanship and I think (and hope!) they've enjoyed the challenge of working on my boat. She's rather special and very different from the standard N380 - as they kept telling me! I know they are looking forward to reading of her sailing the oceans - as she was designed to do.

Life has been just a little bit hectic of late, tryng to keep on top of everything going on, as the end came in sight and we tried to keep to a deadline for delivery to England before Easter...!!  I'm catching my breath and trying to relax now that she's en route to the Hamble, between Southampton and Portsmouth... later than hoped but it's been good to have had some extra days this last week since they were needed to sort out a few hiccups!    

All being well, I'll be on board her at Hamble Point Marina straight after Easter weekend.  If you're nearby, come and visit!  Then there'll be the last few things to get done before she's totally ready to go sailing .... I'm so much looking forward to that...

More photos posted on Flickr....   click on this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nereida/sets/    I'm hoping to post new info on the website 'Boat Details' and other pages a.s.a.p.  - I'm very conscious of the fact that the updating there  is well overdue.....  but in the meantime:

New Boat Details

The new 'Nereida' is a Najad 380, hull number 82, built in 2009 by Najadvarvet at Henån on the island of Orust in Sweden, just north of Göteborg. She is named after the 'nereids' of ancient Greek mythology who were the 'handmaidens of Poseidon' (or Neptune, as the Romans called him) - so she is a 'sea nymph'! On the sea-front at Puerto Vallarta in Mexico is a lovely bronze of Nereida and Poseidon - shown as mermaid and merman.  (I found a smaller version of the same bronze on the seafront at Barra de Navidad.)

LOA = 11.55m (38')  LWL = 9.9m (32'6") Beam = 3.65m (12') Draft = 2.02m (6'7½")
Displacement (empty!) = 9.1 ton (9100 kg/20060 lb) Bolted lead keel = 3.1 ton (3100 kg /6834 lb)
Hull speed - 8.9 kts Mast height 15.63m (50'2") Mast height above waterline - 17.68m (58')

Sail plan
Cutter rig with furling genoa and staysail     P = 14.18m   E = 5.0m   I = 15.3m   I2 = 9.71m   J = 4.25m   J2 = 2.25m

Sails (sq m /sq ft)
Main (fully battened) 41.8/450; Furling Genoa 42/452; Furling staysail 16.5/178; Asymmetric spinnakers 90.6/975; Code zero 65.0/700; Storm jib 12/129;  Trysail --/--

Engine: Yanmar 4JH4AE, 54hp (39.6 kW)

Ground Tackle
2 Rocna25  anchors (25kg/55lb)  - one in bow with chain, one as spare (below)
Anchor Buddy CAB30
Kedge anchor :12kg grapnel, with chain & rope
Chain  100m 8mm HT on main anchor. Also 30m 8mm HT with 100m nylon multiplait
Windlass - Lofrans Project 1500 (electric) taking chain and/or rope rode

Water tanks: 400 ltrs (88 Imp.gall/ 105 US gall) in 3 tanks
Water maker (desalination) - Spectra 12v Cape Horn system with 2 pumps
Diesel tank: 325 l (72 Imp. gall/ 86 US gall)

Solar panels - 2x55W and 2x80W  12V Shell (Siemens)
Wind generator - KISS (Trinidad)
Electrical supplies - 12v DC: 12v 4kVA DC Fischer-Panda diesel generator
Secondary alternator on engine, Mastervolt 130A, with regulator
Shore charger/inverter - Mastervolt Mass Combi 12/2500-100 (230V/50Hz)
230/110V transformer for isolated shore input
5 x 130Ah AGM glass mat batteries (domestic) + 55Ah start battery

HF/SSB radio - ICOM M801 with ATU 141 & line isolator
SCS Pactor modem PTC-IIusb (for e-mail, weatherfax) for Airmail 2000 software (Winlink) 
Furuno FAX408 Weatherfax, also HF radio to computer software
NASA Marine Navtex
VHF radios - Simrad RS82 2-position (25/1W masthead aerial); ICOM ICM71 (handheld) 
A.I.S. - Simrad A150 'Class B' transceiver
Radar - Raymarine 18" radome scanner
Autopilot - Raymarine hydraulic Drive T3 acting on quadrant, S3G course computer with ST6002 control head
Instruments - Raymarine ST60+ wind, speed/log, depth.
GPS - Raymarine Raystar125 dGPS sensor
EPIRB - ACR ...
Charting - Nobeltec Admiral Max Pro version 10.0 using C-Map electronic world charts;
Raymarine E80 and E120 combined radar/plotter with Navionics Gold cards
Garmin handheld GPS 60CSx with Bluechart cards.
Also backup paper charts.  Sextant & tables.

Andersen winches: 2x52ST, 2x40ST, 2x28ST in cockpit; 2 28ST & reefing winch on mast
Wind Steering - Hydrovane, windvane driving auxiliary rudder
Propeller - 3-bladed, automatic variable pitch - Autoprop (Bruntons UK)
Ropestripper (Ambassador Marine) - rope cutter forward of propeller on propshaft

Heating - Eberspacher 8 kW (diesel) circulated hot air; Mojave 3-speed fan heater using engine cooling water; Sigmar 120 cabin diesel heater
Refrigerator - Danfoss compressor - 110 ltrs capacity
Kenwood CD player/Radio (LW/MW/AF) with iPod connection
Liferaft - Avon Modula (4 man)
Tender - Zodiac CR260 (inflatable floor)
Outboard - Mercury 3.5 h.p.

Interior layout of standard N380:

(Note the port settee on "Nereida" has no 'return' since that is where the Sigmar 120 heater is now placed)

Support for the new "Nereida" (Najad 380, hull number 82) in 2009:
 
Sponsors donating equipment:

  Jeppesen (Nobeltec) (USA)
  Cantalupi lighting (Italy)
  Sealevel systems (USA)
  Garmin Europe 
  Dubarry  (Ireland)
  Whale pumps (Sweden/UK)
  Denrex ApS (Denmark)

Support also from:

  Raymarine (UK)
  Andersen (Denmark)
  UK-Syversen (Sweden)
  Brunton's (UK)
  Lopolight (Denmark)
  Dickinson Marine (B.C., Canada)
  Kelvin Hughes (UK)
  ICOM UK
  Selden UK
  Nasa Marine (UK)
  Scanstrut (UK)
  Ambassador Marine (UK)
  Musto UK
   
   
 Many firms, some of whose products I had already been using over the last few years, have very kindly agreed to help me with my new boat, after the loss of my old one, by donating or discounting equipment or spares.  In the present difficult economic climate, it has often been difficult for companies to provide this help - so what has been provided is that much more appreciated!

I have used the Nobeltec electronic charting system since October 2000. I find it really user-friendly and it makes it so easy to plot new passages, with the bonus of good tide & current information for the US and Canada.  As of this year, 2009, I shall be using their excellent new C-Map Max Pro cartography, available in version 10.  I am very grateful for the ongoing support I have received from Jeppesen Marine throughout my recent travels & into the next passagemaking.

Cantalupi Lighting  generously provided dimmable LED overhead lighting throughout the new boat - thanks to IMP Ltd for initiating that!

Sealevel are providing me with the USB hubs and USB-to-serial communications hardware that I will need to connect boat equipment to my laptop - their products are well-known for being very reliable..

I am delighted that Garmin have again provided a hand-held GPS unit.  Their GPS units are so reliable and make a superb emergency back-up - the 60CSx takes Bluechart chips and so is very useful in everyday use, not just for emergencies, with its built-in electronic compass and barometer.

Dubarry boots - are lovely! ... so many people have noticed and commented favourably on seeing me wearing them!!  My old ones saw good use over several years and I'm very happy they're being replaced!

Whale pumps have provided their reliable freshwater footpump and manual seawater pump for the new boat - I expect many years of trouble-free use, as on my last boat. Thank you, Brian.

Denrex ApS  in Denmark kindly sent the Propspeed coating system I wanted for the Autoprop.  I had applied Propspeed when hauled out in Cairns during my first circumnavigation and found it worked well - it's not a toxic antifouling, relying solely on a very smooth plastic finish containing silicon. 

........................................................
 
Raymarine have frequently been very helpful, both in the past and with the new boat, on instrumentation and equipment issues.  They are continuing to be very supportive and are also giving me whatever technical help I need.

Andersen winches are a delight to use and they have several times sent spares & items from Denmark for my winches - servicing them is a job I actually enjoy doing, the winches are so beautifully engineered.

My Brunton's Autoprop, a self-adjusting propeller, is also a lovely bit of engineering & the last one performed impressively, requiring noticeably fewer engine revs for a given speed through the water than the previous fixed prop.

Lopolight kindly sent me heavily discounted LED navigation lights in stainless steel - I'm looking forward to the resulting energy saving on overnight passages. 

Dickinson Marine in Coquitlam, B.C. (Canada) were extremely helpful in the pricing and freighting of their beautifully-designed Sigmar 120 cabin heater which I'm looking forward to using if & when I find myself in colder climes...!

Kelvin Hughes are very kindly helping with replacing books and charts I lost - thank you, Terry!

Icom UK have again been helpful and kindly donated a spare microphone along with a discounted Icom M801 SSB radio & ATU.  I'm hoping the new SSB radio installation will work really well - it will see a lot of use for speaking to other boats and 'ham' radio users, as well as for emailing and weather information.

Selden - both in Sweden and in the US - gave me excellent support in the past and Selden UK are being very supportive this year.

Musto, who very generously agreed to keep me warm and dry on my previous circumnavigation, are still helping, albeit to a lesser extent, this time around - I shall be  using their well-designed clothing again.

Scanstrut design excellent instrument supports - I particularly like their self-levelling radar mount on my stern steelwork. 
 
Nasa Marine have helped with the discounted purchase of their Navtex and their AIS stand-alone units.  AIS is really useful in collision avoidance both inshore and when on long ocean passages - and keeps working in storms when radar is sometimes not!

Navionics UK - their Navionics Gold+ chart cards are used in the Raymarine chartplotters.

Ambassador Marine - their Ropestripper tis placed on my propshaft to protect against lines & thin wire tangling the prop.

Finally, I must say a big "Tack så mycket!" ("Thank you very much") to everyone at Najadvarvet for all their friendly help in the boat construction and fitting out.   So many people have been involved and they all seemed to take pleasure in working on the additions and modifications I brought to 'Nereida II', invariably showing great care and pride in their workmanship. It has been a delight to work with them and I hope they will (vicariously through my website) enjoy my sailing in the new 'Nereida' for many years to come!!