chopstick goes for a sail
08-03-2014
, 10:32 AM
awesome responses, thanks.
it's odd, can anyone else see his full response on the iphone app? if I hit quote I can read it but otherwise it cuts off at his 2nd response. same thing happened to one of my posts last night. *shrug*
anyway, I assume I'm unfortunately past being able to drop everything and go. I'm married, and while wifer likes the water, there's like less than a 1% chance she'd want to live on a boat for a month.
the two things I do have going for me are that we are both teachers, so we would have the time to learn over a summer then spend a month or two the following year cruising around. also, I'm pretty good with money. I don't have many spending leaks, and I'm a hustler. I've probably found 15 different ways to make a buck this summer in addition to getting paid my salary.
I suppose in theory, by the time next year I could be telling stories about floating around the Caribbean, we'll just have to see how motivated I am to make that happen.
it's odd, can anyone else see his full response on the iphone app? if I hit quote I can read it but otherwise it cuts off at his 2nd response. same thing happened to one of my posts last night. *shrug*
anyway, I assume I'm unfortunately past being able to drop everything and go. I'm married, and while wifer likes the water, there's like less than a 1% chance she'd want to live on a boat for a month.
the two things I do have going for me are that we are both teachers, so we would have the time to learn over a summer then spend a month or two the following year cruising around. also, I'm pretty good with money. I don't have many spending leaks, and I'm a hustler. I've probably found 15 different ways to make a buck this summer in addition to getting paid my salary.
I suppose in theory, by the time next year I could be telling stories about floating around the Caribbean, we'll just have to see how motivated I am to make that happen.
Last edited by wiper; 08-03-2014 at 10:43 AM.
08-04-2014
, 03:42 AM
After we left Lagos, we had an uneventful trip down toward Gibraltar and through the Straigt of Gibraltar. Here's the actual Rock of Gibraltar as seen off the bow of the ship:
I climbed to the top of the rock about 15 years ago, it's a pretty impressive place to visit. Lots of wild monkeys everywhere. Lots of hidden caves everywhere. Standing on top and looking over to see Africa is a sick experience. This time all I did was sail past it, though.
Because the Straight is so narrow (8 miles at one point) there is a lot of nearby ship traffic whenever you go through it. Here's a look at our chart plotter when we went through in the afternoon:
All of those little triangles are other ships with their AIS turned on. AIS is a signalling system that works over VHF. It constantly broadcasts/receives some small information about the ships in the area using AIS. Not every ship has it, so you can't rely entirely on it for finding other ships. There were lots of ships in the area that either didn't have it, or didn't have it turned on. Generally the larger the ship, the more likely it will have AIS. Lots and lots of sailboats don't have it, and almost no fishing vessels do.
Speaking of ship stuff, here is a look at the control lines on the port side of the helm:
Each of those lines does something, and you pull or release tension on them in order to make them do their thing. The rear (aft) side of the ship is on the left, the front (fore) side of the ship is on the right. It's like looking out the left side of a car the way this photo is taken.
The lines (you call ropes on a boat "lines", and there are subcategories of lines as well), from left to right:
White line on far left: Tensions a minor backstay. The backstay helps keep the mast in place by pulling it down and back.
Green line on far left: Genoa port sheet (A sheet is a line that controls a sail). This sheet helps you pull the Genoa out. The genoa is a huge headsail, like a big jib.
Blue line tied to chair: That's just a line tied to the chair to keep it from falling over. I didn't like having that there.
Green line #1 in the middle : Jib port sheet. Same concept as the one for the genoa.
Red line in the middle: Jib furling line. You pull on this to roll the jib back up around the stay, putting it out of use.
Green line #2 in the middle: Genoa furling line. Same concept as the one for the jib.
Blue line on the right: Topping lift. This line goes all the way up the mast, then down to the rear of the boom, to help hold it up and keep it from falling on the deck. Helps shape the mainsail.
White line on the right: Main halyard. This one also goes all the way up the mast, and attaches to the top of the mainsail. This is what you use to raise or lower the mainsail. In this photo, the main is raised, so there's a lot of line there. If we dropped the main, there would be a lot less line, as it would be going all the way up the mast, then all the way down the mast.
After coming through Gibraltar, we stopped for the night at a small Spanish town named Santa Pola. Not much to report there, just a nice break in a country where I could actually read things and understand (mostly) the language. Also got a Spanish SIM for my cell, so had internet access again, which is always nice.
We headed north up the east coast of Spain after that. We caught the tuna I posted earlier about 25 miles northwest of the Ibiza/Mallorca island area. I already posted the tuna itself. Here's a photo of me landing it:
No sharks had shown up yet, so there wasn't as much pressure trying to land the thing. The sea was also relatively calm. I am standing on the steps that lead down to the bottom of the quarterdeck. Couldn't step on the lowest part of the quarterdeck as it is covered in seaweed, making it super slippery. The seaweed grows there because it's constantly underwater. USA#1!
I took this sunset photo about 5 minutes before the tuna hit our squid lure:
After catching the tuna (around 2130 or so) and cleaning/filleting it, I was so pumped that we finally landed one that I didn't take the nap I usually take before my 0200-0600 shift. Stayed up and went on shift early, then was still wide awake at sunrise toward the end of my shift. Here I am, still ecstatic about the tuna (and still full of tuna, I probably ate 2lbs of tuna by then) as the sun rises in the Med behind me:
I climbed to the top of the rock about 15 years ago, it's a pretty impressive place to visit. Lots of wild monkeys everywhere. Lots of hidden caves everywhere. Standing on top and looking over to see Africa is a sick experience. This time all I did was sail past it, though.
Because the Straight is so narrow (8 miles at one point) there is a lot of nearby ship traffic whenever you go through it. Here's a look at our chart plotter when we went through in the afternoon:
All of those little triangles are other ships with their AIS turned on. AIS is a signalling system that works over VHF. It constantly broadcasts/receives some small information about the ships in the area using AIS. Not every ship has it, so you can't rely entirely on it for finding other ships. There were lots of ships in the area that either didn't have it, or didn't have it turned on. Generally the larger the ship, the more likely it will have AIS. Lots and lots of sailboats don't have it, and almost no fishing vessels do.
Speaking of ship stuff, here is a look at the control lines on the port side of the helm:
Each of those lines does something, and you pull or release tension on them in order to make them do their thing. The rear (aft) side of the ship is on the left, the front (fore) side of the ship is on the right. It's like looking out the left side of a car the way this photo is taken.
The lines (you call ropes on a boat "lines", and there are subcategories of lines as well), from left to right:
White line on far left: Tensions a minor backstay. The backstay helps keep the mast in place by pulling it down and back.
Green line on far left: Genoa port sheet (A sheet is a line that controls a sail). This sheet helps you pull the Genoa out. The genoa is a huge headsail, like a big jib.
Blue line tied to chair: That's just a line tied to the chair to keep it from falling over. I didn't like having that there.
Green line #1 in the middle : Jib port sheet. Same concept as the one for the genoa.
Red line in the middle: Jib furling line. You pull on this to roll the jib back up around the stay, putting it out of use.
Green line #2 in the middle: Genoa furling line. Same concept as the one for the jib.
Blue line on the right: Topping lift. This line goes all the way up the mast, then down to the rear of the boom, to help hold it up and keep it from falling on the deck. Helps shape the mainsail.
White line on the right: Main halyard. This one also goes all the way up the mast, and attaches to the top of the mainsail. This is what you use to raise or lower the mainsail. In this photo, the main is raised, so there's a lot of line there. If we dropped the main, there would be a lot less line, as it would be going all the way up the mast, then all the way down the mast.
After coming through Gibraltar, we stopped for the night at a small Spanish town named Santa Pola. Not much to report there, just a nice break in a country where I could actually read things and understand (mostly) the language. Also got a Spanish SIM for my cell, so had internet access again, which is always nice.
We headed north up the east coast of Spain after that. We caught the tuna I posted earlier about 25 miles northwest of the Ibiza/Mallorca island area. I already posted the tuna itself. Here's a photo of me landing it:
No sharks had shown up yet, so there wasn't as much pressure trying to land the thing. The sea was also relatively calm. I am standing on the steps that lead down to the bottom of the quarterdeck. Couldn't step on the lowest part of the quarterdeck as it is covered in seaweed, making it super slippery. The seaweed grows there because it's constantly underwater. USA#1!
I took this sunset photo about 5 minutes before the tuna hit our squid lure:
After catching the tuna (around 2130 or so) and cleaning/filleting it, I was so pumped that we finally landed one that I didn't take the nap I usually take before my 0200-0600 shift. Stayed up and went on shift early, then was still wide awake at sunrise toward the end of my shift. Here I am, still ecstatic about the tuna (and still full of tuna, I probably ate 2lbs of tuna by then) as the sun rises in the Med behind me:
08-06-2014
, 04:37 PM
08-12-2014
, 06:59 AM
Not sure how much interest there is in this thread, but I'll keep it alive as long as it seems like you guys have some.
The 30lb tuna was probably around 75% meat. Tuna are super optimized thanks to evolution. They are basically one big muscle with a brain. Well, 4 big muscles, I suppose. Two upper and two lower steaks, and then maybe two small belly meats. We froze maybe a third of it. The rest we ate immediately or put in the fridge and ate over the next two days.
Got into sailing after reading de captain's awesome thread about sailing around the world, then doing some day sailing, then doing some short liveaboards in the Caribbean. I loved it immediately.
I'll see about making another update later today or tomorrow. Right now I'm super busy trying to figure out the Trans-Siberian Railway planning. Still going to do this, and currently in London to get the visas sorted out.
Probably leaving London in about two weeks for Moscow, then across Russia/Mongolia, over to China. At that point the plan gets fuzzy because of how China does their visas. You have to provide proof of accommodations and exit before you apply for the visa. Since I don't know how/when I'm leaving, that is tough.
Right now what I'm leaning toward doing is just spending a few days in Beijing, then down to Hong Kong, where I can chill for 90 days without a visa as a US resident. Enough cargo freighters leave from Hong Kong that I don't think I'll have trouble finding one there that is going to the west coast of the USA.
By doing it this way, I give myself more time to find a freighter, because I can submit the Chinese visa application now (since I'm then not waiting to find a freighter to list as proof of departure) and start the visa approval process now. The process will take about two weeks so I want to start it ASAP. The UK is nice but lolUKfood.
I'll make a real update when I have more time, but here's a teaser from the last week or so -
Enormous pans of octopus cooking at a street festival in St Louis Du Rhone, France:
An amazing headstone in the Cemetary Monumental in Milan, Italy:
Some flowers on the Isola Bella in northern Italy:
Chess with the huge chess sets in Bastions park in Geneva (I went 1-0-1 against the two strangers I played):
The 30lb tuna was probably around 75% meat. Tuna are super optimized thanks to evolution. They are basically one big muscle with a brain. Well, 4 big muscles, I suppose. Two upper and two lower steaks, and then maybe two small belly meats. We froze maybe a third of it. The rest we ate immediately or put in the fridge and ate over the next two days.
Got into sailing after reading de captain's awesome thread about sailing around the world, then doing some day sailing, then doing some short liveaboards in the Caribbean. I loved it immediately.
I'll see about making another update later today or tomorrow. Right now I'm super busy trying to figure out the Trans-Siberian Railway planning. Still going to do this, and currently in London to get the visas sorted out.
Probably leaving London in about two weeks for Moscow, then across Russia/Mongolia, over to China. At that point the plan gets fuzzy because of how China does their visas. You have to provide proof of accommodations and exit before you apply for the visa. Since I don't know how/when I'm leaving, that is tough.
Right now what I'm leaning toward doing is just spending a few days in Beijing, then down to Hong Kong, where I can chill for 90 days without a visa as a US resident. Enough cargo freighters leave from Hong Kong that I don't think I'll have trouble finding one there that is going to the west coast of the USA.
By doing it this way, I give myself more time to find a freighter, because I can submit the Chinese visa application now (since I'm then not waiting to find a freighter to list as proof of departure) and start the visa approval process now. The process will take about two weeks so I want to start it ASAP. The UK is nice but lolUKfood.
I'll make a real update when I have more time, but here's a teaser from the last week or so -
Enormous pans of octopus cooking at a street festival in St Louis Du Rhone, France:
An amazing headstone in the Cemetary Monumental in Milan, Italy:
Some flowers on the Isola Bella in northern Italy:
Chess with the huge chess sets in Bastions park in Geneva (I went 1-0-1 against the two strangers I played):
08-13-2014
, 10:10 AM
08-14-2014
, 07:59 AM
Lots of progress in the last couple days regarding the London -> Beijing train trip and the cargo freighter ride from somewhere in Asia to somewhere on the west coast of the USA.
It's now a London -> Hong Kong train trip. I've handed over my passport for visa applications at each of the Russia, Belarus, and China consulates. The major trains are all picked and being reserved today.
My route will look something like this:
London -> Moscow (via Cologne & Berlin)
Moscow -> Irkutsk (will go to Lake Baikal)
Irkutsk -> Ulan Bator (will go to Gobi Desert)
Ulan Bator -> Beijing
Beijing -> Hong Kong
Hong Kong -> Los Angeles (via cargo ship)
Los Angeles -> Annapolis
and voila, a planeless circumnavigation!
Leaving London on 01 September, arriving Los Angeles probably 22-24 October or thereabouts.
It turns out that almost no cargo freighters take on passengers in Pusan, so unfortunately that stopped being an option. There is a freighter that takes on passengers in Yokohama, but it goes to New York, and I want to land on the west coast, not the east coast. There are plenty of freighters that take passengers on in Hong Kong, and the entry/visa for US citizens is easy (90 days sans visa), so that decision ended up being simple.
I'm planning this out a lot more than I usually plan travel. Not because I want to, but because in order to apply for a Chinese visa, I need to supply the exact dates of entry/exit, as well as proof of accommodation for every night while in China.
Now it's time to see if I can rent a car with just a photocopy of my passport instead of the real thing.
Here are a few photos from London.
The only edible native UK food I know of.
I wonder what happens there.
That seems about right.
They sell cider in multi-liter jugs here. Also, I had no idea there was a Stella cider!
It's now a London -> Hong Kong train trip. I've handed over my passport for visa applications at each of the Russia, Belarus, and China consulates. The major trains are all picked and being reserved today.
My route will look something like this:
London -> Moscow (via Cologne & Berlin)
Moscow -> Irkutsk (will go to Lake Baikal)
Irkutsk -> Ulan Bator (will go to Gobi Desert)
Ulan Bator -> Beijing
Beijing -> Hong Kong
Hong Kong -> Los Angeles (via cargo ship)
Los Angeles -> Annapolis
and voila, a planeless circumnavigation!
Leaving London on 01 September, arriving Los Angeles probably 22-24 October or thereabouts.
It turns out that almost no cargo freighters take on passengers in Pusan, so unfortunately that stopped being an option. There is a freighter that takes on passengers in Yokohama, but it goes to New York, and I want to land on the west coast, not the east coast. There are plenty of freighters that take passengers on in Hong Kong, and the entry/visa for US citizens is easy (90 days sans visa), so that decision ended up being simple.
I'm planning this out a lot more than I usually plan travel. Not because I want to, but because in order to apply for a Chinese visa, I need to supply the exact dates of entry/exit, as well as proof of accommodation for every night while in China.
Now it's time to see if I can rent a car with just a photocopy of my passport instead of the real thing.
Here are a few photos from London.
The only edible native UK food I know of.
I wonder what happens there.
That seems about right.
They sell cider in multi-liter jugs here. Also, I had no idea there was a Stella cider!
08-18-2014
, 03:06 PM
jj - There are lots of countries that I don't mind skirting the edge, but China is not one of them. I have no interest in risking something going sideways there. Maybe I'll have a different opinion after I've experienced the country.
golddog - Just going through Berlin this time on the way to Moscow. I've spent time there before. Went to all the places you mentioned, but my favorite thing was probably just getting on the circle subway line that rings the city and just riding it in one big circle around the entire city. Also found the Holocaust Memorial to be very powerful.
Time for another installment. When we last left our hero, it was the morning after the tuna arrival.
It was a pretty bumpy night that night. Revenge of the tuna, perhaps. The day itself was uneventful other than almost but not quite catching a small fender with the boathook. There is a lot of stuff just floating around out there, sometimes useful stuff like fenders. We never deviated course to try to pick anything up, but now and then we'd be within a boat length or two of something like a fender and try to grab it. Not much effort put in, so we never ended up with anything. The most interesting thing I saw was a mostly inflated huge mylar balloon in the shape of a horse. I thought about trying to get it but figured I'd just destroy it trying to grab it with the boat hook.
We anchored in Cala de Sant Pol that night, and cooked some of the tuna:
We then headed across the Gulf of Lion the next day. This is the gulf between Spain & France. We were expecting decent winds at 25-30kts, and I was all about staying in Spain, but the owners decided to cross, so we crossed.
Or rather, we tried.
Around 1830, we lost the port engine. Probably due to hitting some partially submerged steel cable off a fishing net or something similar. Much like in Portsmouth, all of the connecting bolts on the drum between the prop shaft and crankshaft sheared completely off again, and the prop shaft was barely held in place with a piece of one of the bolts.
We switched over to the starboard engine and limped back to Spain. When we neared the coastline, it was just after sunset, and we didn't find a good place to anchor where we originally went, so we headed up the coast to anchor elsewhere.
That didn't work so well, either. The winds kicked up to 35+ knots, pushing us toward the coast. We headed back down the coast again to lighter weather, which we eventually found at the Bay of Roses. Instead of trying to anchor, we pretty much just drove in big circles around the Bay until first light:
after which we pulled into the marina and docked. We were all pretty exhausted at that point, so it was nice to stop at a dock. I found a bakery immediately and had a chocolate croissant.
At least we got a nice sunrise that morning:
One of my many supermercado photos:
Here's the marina at Roses:
That last one was taken from way up on a hill that I got to riding a little tourist train around the town.
golddog - Just going through Berlin this time on the way to Moscow. I've spent time there before. Went to all the places you mentioned, but my favorite thing was probably just getting on the circle subway line that rings the city and just riding it in one big circle around the entire city. Also found the Holocaust Memorial to be very powerful.
Time for another installment. When we last left our hero, it was the morning after the tuna arrival.
It was a pretty bumpy night that night. Revenge of the tuna, perhaps. The day itself was uneventful other than almost but not quite catching a small fender with the boathook. There is a lot of stuff just floating around out there, sometimes useful stuff like fenders. We never deviated course to try to pick anything up, but now and then we'd be within a boat length or two of something like a fender and try to grab it. Not much effort put in, so we never ended up with anything. The most interesting thing I saw was a mostly inflated huge mylar balloon in the shape of a horse. I thought about trying to get it but figured I'd just destroy it trying to grab it with the boat hook.
We anchored in Cala de Sant Pol that night, and cooked some of the tuna:
We then headed across the Gulf of Lion the next day. This is the gulf between Spain & France. We were expecting decent winds at 25-30kts, and I was all about staying in Spain, but the owners decided to cross, so we crossed.
Or rather, we tried.
Around 1830, we lost the port engine. Probably due to hitting some partially submerged steel cable off a fishing net or something similar. Much like in Portsmouth, all of the connecting bolts on the drum between the prop shaft and crankshaft sheared completely off again, and the prop shaft was barely held in place with a piece of one of the bolts.
We switched over to the starboard engine and limped back to Spain. When we neared the coastline, it was just after sunset, and we didn't find a good place to anchor where we originally went, so we headed up the coast to anchor elsewhere.
That didn't work so well, either. The winds kicked up to 35+ knots, pushing us toward the coast. We headed back down the coast again to lighter weather, which we eventually found at the Bay of Roses. Instead of trying to anchor, we pretty much just drove in big circles around the Bay until first light:
after which we pulled into the marina and docked. We were all pretty exhausted at that point, so it was nice to stop at a dock. I found a bakery immediately and had a chocolate croissant.
At least we got a nice sunrise that morning:
One of my many supermercado photos:
Here's the marina at Roses:
That last one was taken from way up on a hill that I got to riding a little tourist train around the town.
08-27-2014
, 08:48 AM
The engine repair in Roses took a few days. The mechanic had to take some of the pieces back to his shop to remachine them, as they were heavily damaged. Here's a photo of the engine in mid-repair:
That grey shaft in the upper right that is hanging in the air is the engine side of the propeller shaft. It's supposed to be connected to a shaft coming out of the engine. As the engine runs, it turns the crankshaft, which (when connected) turns the propeller shaft, which turns the propeller and lets you go go go.
On the plus side, this downtime gave us a little rest and relaxation. I took advantage of this by exploring the town. Here was one of my favorite shop names:
I didn't go inside but I think they sold swimwear.
Here's another shop that won the award for most colorful shop in Roses:
One of the things I find most interesting about these football shops is that the replica jerseys they sell often come with the sponsor logos printed on them as well. I've seen a lot of kids walking around with a shirt that says "Fly Emirates" on it, and it always took me a second to realize they were wearing football jerseys. Someone was sitting in that blue chair pretty much the entire time, so I ninja snapped this photo the second they left it to go do something.
I located one of the best restaurants in Roses for dinner one night. It's called Rafa's, and the guy who runs it (Rafa, of course) has a very simple menu and cooking style. It's seafood only. They cook planxa style, which means on a grill/hot plate. The only thing they add to the seafood is olive oil and salt. If Rafa doesn't see things he likes that morning on the docks, he doesn't buy anything and keeps his restaurant closed that day. Here's the display case a few minutes before ordering:
We had pretty much everything in there.
Roses was nice, and I'd definitely go back, but the mechanics repaired the engine and after a couple of nice restful days, we were on our way again across the Gulf of Lion:
If you look closely at the top of the fishing rod, you'll see that there is a second line tied to the one going into the water. That second line is a piece of thread that attaches to a soda can filled with some pieces of metal. This was the best alarm system we used. We needed an audio alarm because the rod was about 20-25 feet from the helm, and you could only see the tip of the rod from there. This way, when a fish hit, the soda can would immediately be yanked forward and make a nice loud noise. We also ran the thread through a small hole that the can couldn't fit through, which allowed the thread to break off and keep the can mostly in place. This meant we would never lose our alarm system, and the can wouldn't foul the line, allowing us to reel in the fish without any issues.
That grey shaft in the upper right that is hanging in the air is the engine side of the propeller shaft. It's supposed to be connected to a shaft coming out of the engine. As the engine runs, it turns the crankshaft, which (when connected) turns the propeller shaft, which turns the propeller and lets you go go go.
On the plus side, this downtime gave us a little rest and relaxation. I took advantage of this by exploring the town. Here was one of my favorite shop names:
I didn't go inside but I think they sold swimwear.
Here's another shop that won the award for most colorful shop in Roses:
One of the things I find most interesting about these football shops is that the replica jerseys they sell often come with the sponsor logos printed on them as well. I've seen a lot of kids walking around with a shirt that says "Fly Emirates" on it, and it always took me a second to realize they were wearing football jerseys. Someone was sitting in that blue chair pretty much the entire time, so I ninja snapped this photo the second they left it to go do something.
I located one of the best restaurants in Roses for dinner one night. It's called Rafa's, and the guy who runs it (Rafa, of course) has a very simple menu and cooking style. It's seafood only. They cook planxa style, which means on a grill/hot plate. The only thing they add to the seafood is olive oil and salt. If Rafa doesn't see things he likes that morning on the docks, he doesn't buy anything and keeps his restaurant closed that day. Here's the display case a few minutes before ordering:
We had pretty much everything in there.
Roses was nice, and I'd definitely go back, but the mechanics repaired the engine and after a couple of nice restful days, we were on our way again across the Gulf of Lion:
If you look closely at the top of the fishing rod, you'll see that there is a second line tied to the one going into the water. That second line is a piece of thread that attaches to a soda can filled with some pieces of metal. This was the best alarm system we used. We needed an audio alarm because the rod was about 20-25 feet from the helm, and you could only see the tip of the rod from there. This way, when a fish hit, the soda can would immediately be yanked forward and make a nice loud noise. We also ran the thread through a small hole that the can couldn't fit through, which allowed the thread to break off and keep the can mostly in place. This meant we would never lose our alarm system, and the can wouldn't foul the line, allowing us to reel in the fish without any issues.
08-27-2014
, 09:08 AM
I'd like to say that the second attempt to Antibes was uneventful, but that would be a lie. We made it across the Gulf of Lion without issue, but after we made it firmly into French waters and were passing near the island of Porquerolles, a French customs boat came up behind us and we were boarded by a half dozen French customs agents. This wasn't an issue as there was no contraband of any kind on board, but they did spend about 90 minutes searching the boat. They were polite and efficient the entire time, and they were also very, very thorough. They went through everything, and asked all the standard questions. They also kept asking if I was the skipper, which is not really standard. For some reason they seemed to think I was a professional sailor and the owners had hired me to skipper the boat. I decided to take that as a compliment.
After that, we continued on to Antibes without incident. Antibes is a very popular port, with many, many yachts. We pulled into a slip, and I took this photo of the bow of our neighbor vessel:
Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the effectiveness of that owl. Those owl statues are meant to keep birds off the boat, for those who aren't familiar with them. I guess that bird didn't get the memo.
Unfortunately, because Antibes is so popular, it is also jampacked with people. Here is the tiny beach next to the marina:
Instead of the beach, I went to the Picasso museum:
which I enjoyed. It's inside a 400+ years old castle and has a bunch of his drawings and ceramics. I had never seen a Picasso ceramic before and wasn't sure what to expect. They ended up being my favorite part.
We stayed in Antibes for a few days. I mostly spent the time wandering around the area taking photos of the town and its streets:
and eating French pastries:
I probably should have gotten one of those little pigs, but I think they were made out of marzipan, and I'm allergic to nuts. No problem, I can eat chocolate croissants all day long. I also got a cheese bread from that place, which was much different than the kind of cheese bread you get in the US. It was much firmer, with a lot less cheese. That's probably for the best.
After that, we continued on to Antibes without incident. Antibes is a very popular port, with many, many yachts. We pulled into a slip, and I took this photo of the bow of our neighbor vessel:
Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the effectiveness of that owl. Those owl statues are meant to keep birds off the boat, for those who aren't familiar with them. I guess that bird didn't get the memo.
Unfortunately, because Antibes is so popular, it is also jampacked with people. Here is the tiny beach next to the marina:
Instead of the beach, I went to the Picasso museum:
which I enjoyed. It's inside a 400+ years old castle and has a bunch of his drawings and ceramics. I had never seen a Picasso ceramic before and wasn't sure what to expect. They ended up being my favorite part.
We stayed in Antibes for a few days. I mostly spent the time wandering around the area taking photos of the town and its streets:
and eating French pastries:
I probably should have gotten one of those little pigs, but I think they were made out of marzipan, and I'm allergic to nuts. No problem, I can eat chocolate croissants all day long. I also got a cheese bread from that place, which was much different than the kind of cheese bread you get in the US. It was much firmer, with a lot less cheese. That's probably for the best.
08-27-2014
, 09:33 AM
Antibes was nice, but due to its popularity, it's also very expensive to keep a boat docked there. The owners decided to move the boat out of the slip and anchor out in the bay near the town. We did this without issue, and settled into the bay.
Well, for the first night, anyway.
What you are looking at there is a chart plotter image on the left, and a short distance radar image on the right. Overlaid on the chart plotter is a drawing (the squiggly black lines) of where the boat has moved over a period of time. This is used to track the movement of the boat after you drop an anchor, so you can verify that the boat is staying roughly in place and the anchor isn't slipping. The green target symbol is the place we dropped the anchor. The little black dot is the current location of the boat.
It's normal for the boat to swing around in the wind, so the squiggly line should usually end up looking like a squiggly crescent, which this one kind of does.
What was not good is that the anchorage got very rough the next morning. We had 4-5 foot swells, and 25-30kt winds. That's not what you look for in an anchorage. We decided to pull the anchor and head north to find a better sport.
We eventually found a place a little northeast of Nice named Villefranche-sur-Mer, which had a great little protected bay:
There were a bunch of other boats already there, and much of the bottom was grass, which made anchoring a bit difficult. We attempted to anchor 3-4 times unsuccessfully. Each time we ended up either dragging the anchor on the bottom or setting it but being too close to other boats. We eventually did find a spot over on the west side of the bay near a seawall. I took this after we had settled in:
pretty nice area!
We took the dinghy to shore to get a few provisions, and I got to take one of my favorite kinds of photos - renamed movies:
renaming a film in a different language makes sense to me. Renaming it in its original language for what I can only imagine is marketing purposes, I get a kick out of.
The produce here was much better in Antibes, probably because Antibes is such a popular port and all the yachties raid all of the local produce. Here were some sweet tomatoes I found:
I got the yellow/red one in the upper left, the yellow/green one next to it, and one of those really dark purple ones. Ate them just like you'd eat an apple. So good! It's hard to convey just how amazing good produce tastes when you've been at sea for a long time. I would have loved these even having not been at sea, but wow were they bonkers.
Well, for the first night, anyway.
What you are looking at there is a chart plotter image on the left, and a short distance radar image on the right. Overlaid on the chart plotter is a drawing (the squiggly black lines) of where the boat has moved over a period of time. This is used to track the movement of the boat after you drop an anchor, so you can verify that the boat is staying roughly in place and the anchor isn't slipping. The green target symbol is the place we dropped the anchor. The little black dot is the current location of the boat.
It's normal for the boat to swing around in the wind, so the squiggly line should usually end up looking like a squiggly crescent, which this one kind of does.
What was not good is that the anchorage got very rough the next morning. We had 4-5 foot swells, and 25-30kt winds. That's not what you look for in an anchorage. We decided to pull the anchor and head north to find a better sport.
We eventually found a place a little northeast of Nice named Villefranche-sur-Mer, which had a great little protected bay:
There were a bunch of other boats already there, and much of the bottom was grass, which made anchoring a bit difficult. We attempted to anchor 3-4 times unsuccessfully. Each time we ended up either dragging the anchor on the bottom or setting it but being too close to other boats. We eventually did find a spot over on the west side of the bay near a seawall. I took this after we had settled in:
pretty nice area!
We took the dinghy to shore to get a few provisions, and I got to take one of my favorite kinds of photos - renamed movies:
renaming a film in a different language makes sense to me. Renaming it in its original language for what I can only imagine is marketing purposes, I get a kick out of.
The produce here was much better in Antibes, probably because Antibes is such a popular port and all the yachties raid all of the local produce. Here were some sweet tomatoes I found:
I got the yellow/red one in the upper left, the yellow/green one next to it, and one of those really dark purple ones. Ate them just like you'd eat an apple. So good! It's hard to convey just how amazing good produce tastes when you've been at sea for a long time. I would have loved these even having not been at sea, but wow were they bonkers.
08-28-2014
, 05:22 PM
Thanks, nomad66. Glad you are enjoying it and even more glad to have provided inspiration. I view this thread as my attempt to pay it forward from the inspiration I got from de captain's sailing around the world thread. Hope to see you writing about your trip here on 2p2.
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a small place, but I still managed to find some decent street art:
That's Orpheus, who has a wonderful mythology associated with him if you are into that kind of stuff. The animals are all chilling out listening to him play some music here.
We rested a few days in VsM, not doing too much other than just anchoring and taking care of sundry stuff like laundry. I fit in a nice hike along the coastline:
which was pretty nice. The hike along the coastline around the bay was only a couple of miles, but exhausting because of all the constant up and down and super steep stairs. It was rocks/cliff on one side, and fence on the other, as the area is prime real estate territory given the views. Someone told me that there was a town nearby that had been essentially bought up entirely by Russian billionaires and was effectively a Russian hideaway in France. I can believe it, the area is beautiful.
On the way back I took a different route and a got a few great shots of the bay that we were anchored in:
which should give you an idea of what it's like to anchor in a little bay. Most of the boats in the foreground are moored off mooring balls, but pretty much everything toward the back of the bay is anchored. With the way the mountains rose up so quickly from the sea, the wind was wonky in there, and you could actually watch it running across the top of the water in multiple directions when the swell was calm.
Something new I discovered here is a store called Picard:
the interesting thing about this place, which is a chain in France, is that the only thing they sell is frozen items. You walk in, and it's just freezer coolers everywhere:
and that's it. I don't think I've ever been in a place like that before. Picked up some squid and croissants.
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a small place, but I still managed to find some decent street art:
That's Orpheus, who has a wonderful mythology associated with him if you are into that kind of stuff. The animals are all chilling out listening to him play some music here.
We rested a few days in VsM, not doing too much other than just anchoring and taking care of sundry stuff like laundry. I fit in a nice hike along the coastline:
which was pretty nice. The hike along the coastline around the bay was only a couple of miles, but exhausting because of all the constant up and down and super steep stairs. It was rocks/cliff on one side, and fence on the other, as the area is prime real estate territory given the views. Someone told me that there was a town nearby that had been essentially bought up entirely by Russian billionaires and was effectively a Russian hideaway in France. I can believe it, the area is beautiful.
On the way back I took a different route and a got a few great shots of the bay that we were anchored in:
which should give you an idea of what it's like to anchor in a little bay. Most of the boats in the foreground are moored off mooring balls, but pretty much everything toward the back of the bay is anchored. With the way the mountains rose up so quickly from the sea, the wind was wonky in there, and you could actually watch it running across the top of the water in multiple directions when the swell was calm.
Something new I discovered here is a store called Picard:
the interesting thing about this place, which is a chain in France, is that the only thing they sell is frozen items. You walk in, and it's just freezer coolers everywhere:
and that's it. I don't think I've ever been in a place like that before. Picked up some squid and croissants.
