NEW CREW ARRIVE IN GIBRALTAR - 11/10/2005
Welcome aboard
It is now 2000 hours; all the crew have arrived and we are having a coffee. Just as the fellows arrived the heavens have opened and it is raining it again. Thanks Sir Francis. It looks like we will be going to a place for some food and possibly watch the England Poland game. This should provide a good opportunity for us all to get to know one another.
The morning was interesting. Simon and Richard were running around to finish those last minute tasks that never quite get done. They left the yacht at 9.30 this morning. I would like to thank Richard and Simon for helping me over the last couple of days.
After they had left I put the kettle on and sat in the cockpit thinking, “I have the yacht to myself”. That for me has a big significance. With this thought lead the next thought; “better get the jobs done”.
Mike King from the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership arrived at about 1130. So another cup of coffee and an introduction. We then had a spot of lunch then back to the yacht to continue with the job list. I think Mike has enjoyed his first day on the vessel, he certainly has taken to talking to the public, which is good for me.
Mike and I worked on the job list that consisted of airing all the cushions and getting them dry, removed electrical tape from the rigging screws, polished them and checked for any wear. All looks good. We also fixed a couple of loose hinges with epoxy. I also went through the yacht with Mike so that he now knows were all the important things live,
We then made the yacht ready to receive the guys. During this period of time we had a lot of people taking a large interest in Gipsy Moth. Mike heard a cracking little story, which he will relate in the next paragraph. They guys arrived at 19.30, we brought then onboard, gave them tea and coffee and we are about to go. I will hand over to Mike and talk to you later. Cheers for now. Ray.
One of the many people who have come to speak to us had an interesting tale of when he went to Plymouth to see Sir Francis come home. He and his brother travelled all the way down from Yorkshire, his brother going AWOL from the army, to witness the event. With the delay in arriving they decided to see a film. Unfortunately when the film was over the quayside was awash with well-wishers so they couldn’t get near the front to see anything. Not to be beaten, they spotted a BBC truck with wires trailing all over the floor, quick as a flash they grabbed the cable and asked people to give way as they were from the BBC. Within seconds they were on the quay just as Sir Francis came alongside. It seems everyone has a tail to tell about this amazing boat.
SHOPPING DONE, PREPAING FOR FUN - 12/10/2005
 Moon and the rock
What a fantastic day today has been. We got up at 0700 and promptly put the kettle on to engage our selves for the busy day ahead. Antonia started the day by giving the crew a safety brief that consisted of how the heads work, fire procedure, power consumption on the yacht and a general walk through the yacht as well as a brief on the Primus stove.
Meanwhile I was in the dingy filling and sanding a patch on the bow. It is a small scrape caused by an object in the water. A very common thing to happen to a wooden yacht.
The crew then went through all the food lockers, wrote on the tins and made a menu plan for the following week as well as a shopping list. They then got involved in maintenance on the yacht and have reduced my job list very nicely. Then they practised using the video camera by interviewing each other as well as us and got involved with the public as they walked by. We had a Spanish lunch (1500) but somehow missed out on the siesta! We had a go at Richards’s potatoes i.e. in the oven and after toping up the paraffin they were marvellous
I sent they crew off with Mike to purchase some more fresh food for the yacht and to also purchase a couple of items for the yacht. They are also going to have a general wonder around whilst Antonia and I look through the charts and almanac to come up with a cunning plan for the next five days. Our first port of call will be Ceuta……..
We have just had a fantastic chicken dinner which the lads have cooked, so we ate in the cockpit and watched the sun go down while the moon came up. We have had a long day so it is time to tidy up and go for a walk.
See you tomorrow.
WAITING TO DEPART - 13/10/2005
 Whats he going on about?
The morning started well, we had a plan, coffee, tea and breakfast. We started to prepare the yacht for sea whilst giving the lads time to get there heads around the various bits and pieces. The safety brief was started by Antonia and incporarated how to use the winches safely, how to move around the yacht when under sail, which moving parts should be avoided and a number of other items.
I went through how the sheets lead from the edge of the sail, what the sails are called and answered a multitude of diverse questions, all of which were fantastic. Then my personal nightmare began. Last night I prepared a couple of the video clips to be sent back to UKSA headquarters. I thought everything was fine, only to get a call from the UKSA stating that the quality was horrible.
After nearly four hours today of trying various ways of getting the clips downloaded I finally got it all sorted. I normal get on okay with computers, however using the gear on the vessel takes a little getting used to. I would love to be able to say that the computer and its parts are all horrible to use, but I cannot. Most of the problems were down to my own error and just finding out how it all works. Like most things in life it’s really easy to use, when you know how. Today has been the most challenging day for me so far, and that includes working on the refit.
The voyage participants (all of us) cannot wait to set sail, we are a little delayed, but that is normal on yachts however we will be going out.
Slight change of plan, it took a little longer to get the yacht ready and to sort out the computer bits and pieces so I decided to leave tomorrow instead. I also did not warm to the idea of going out night sailing with a crew that do not know the yacht. So to finish the day we completed a couple more maintenance tasks and had a fantastic chilli cooked by Mike.
SAILING FROM GIBRALTAR - 15/10/2005
 Is that sail trimmed?
At last we have left Gibraltar. I am now very happy with how the computer systems work; however I am sure that it will get its own back on me at some time. Everybody onboard is on a high, now that we have cast the lines off. The lads on board are fantastic. They all understand and appreciate what Gipsy Moth is about.
The wind is light and it is forecast to stay light for the next couple of days. A contrast to the weather conditions experienced on the previous leg. Maybe Sir Francis is warming to me. Not that I am superstitious, but I must say this is the first time I have sailed on the yacht and the weather conditions are nice.
We are heading for Cadiz, which is about 60 miles from Gibraltar and should take us 12 to 14 hours. The wind is light at the moment, but is staring to pick up a little. We are going to have a bit of lunch then go sailing.
We have just had a fantastic first day sailing. We have seen a small whale, tried to get a picture, however it only surfaced once. We did all see it for at least 5 or six seconds. Amazing!
The weather has been mixed, started off with only 6 – 7 knots but did increase for a time to 20 – 25 knots, so the lads have had an exciting day. It has been beautiful weather. We have just rounded Cape Trafalgar, and should arrive in Cadiz at about 0100. Signing off now.
FOUR PORTS TO ROTA - 16/10/2005
Alongside at last!
Well as usual, things in the sailing world have a way of confounding you. We had a wicked sail up to Cadiz, until we got turned away from Puerto America. We motored into the basin to find out that there was no room at the inn. Not a problem, so we decided to go across the Bay of Cadiz to Puerto Sherry. Antonia had talked to a friend of hers in Gibraltar that recommended this port as it had an alongside visitors berth.
We arrived at Puerto Sherry at 0400, however once tied up the swell was just too much and Gipsy was lurching back and forth about 2 metres. The fenders and lines would not have lasted the duration so we crept onto the fuel berth , which was further inside. Seeing as it was now 0500, we were all really looking forward to a well deserved sleep. But, it was not our morning, at 0900 the fuel berth attendant gave us a knock on the hull and told us that we had to move. He obviously didn’t know who we were!! With the smell of eggy bread wafting through the companionway, and lots of tea and coffee, we motored around to a port called Puerto Santa Maria. On the way out an Oyster yacht was picking up its anchor and after some waving and general greetings we followed it to the marina. The Oyster tied up and due to lack of pontoon space, they kindly let us moor alongside. After a little chat and a tour of Gipsy Moth, myself and the Oyster skipper went to the marina office, only to be told that they did not want two yachts to raft on a hammerhead berth!! However we managed to sqeeze a few eager visitors on to have a look at her. One of them mentioned that he had seen a Gipsy Moth in Sydney and was dumbfounded when I told him that this was the same boat.
Time to move again, but at least the guys are getting familiar with the mooring lines. Luckily a fellow on the Oyster yacht spoke fluent Spanish so he arranged a berth for us in Puerto Rota. So at last we tied up, nearly ten hours since our first arrival in the Bay. We promptly cleared in paid the fees and plugged into the shore power. We have had a fantastic day all in all, having walked along a sandy beach, eating ice cream and then discovering a typical Spanish town. It is amazing to get the same welcoming response and interest to the yacht from the local sailors.
I think that today I have berthed the boat more times in one day than Sir Francis did during his two-year voyage!
ITS NOT JUST SUNNY SAILING - 17/10/2005
A shocking experience!
We seem to have lost the sunshine that we had for our first few days here and have been in oilskins all day. The boys are learning to get the sails up and down on their own and have had loads of practice today as we have had fickle winds and motored all day. They were very keen to get the sails up this morning, as this was only their second day of sailing on Gipsy.
The main theme today was coastal navigation, learning how Sir Francis would have done it. As we are coastal sailing we are not doing any celestial navigation, although we will get the sextant out if we have time and show the crew how to use it. The boys were very impressed with a doubling the angle on the bow exercise, which wasn’t far out. These methods really made them admire our hero and comprehend the scale of his task.
Meanwhile Ray spent the morning taking the Primus apart because only one burner worked. It turned out the cleaning needle had seized in its housing. Mike also did a great job cleaning all the parts and assisting Ray. We did wonder how many times Sir Francis would have had to do this on his voyage.
Our average speed was only 4 1/2 knots until we reached Gib Straits, where we were flying along at up to 10 knots at times, that’s up to 6 knots of tide. Kal and Shaun got the fishing line out but nothing was caught. Our plan for this evening was to spend a night on anchor. However having arrived in Tarifa, the thought of hauling out all the anchor chain from the bow locker was just not appealing. Much to our delight we saw a catamaran tied up on the wall and hastily got our lines ready to tie alongside it. There was a little Beneteau tied up on the wall whose stern line had snapped free – so Gipsy Moth crew paid back some goodwill and managed to rescue her from further damage.
We talked about going ashore for a stroll but by half ten, half of us were dropping off to sleep – only to be disturbed by the owner of the catamaran!! ………so we moved again but just to the wall behind. Although we are not sailing 24 hours a day, we seem to have an endless list of jobs to do and very long days.
GM TOUCHES A NEW CONTINENT - 18/10/2005
Heading to a new continent
It’s just as well we are not celebrating Ramadan, otherwise the boys would be starving! The reason I mention Ramadan is because Gipsy Moth is in African waters for the first time. We are actually in Ceuta which is a small place next to Morocco.
Gipsy Moth reached 7 knots today which was fantastic, we had the big running sail up for the first time. She was sailing beautifully with 20 knots on the beam, she felt so smooth , cutting through the slight chop, the crew’s faces lit up as we heeled over to 30 degrees with full sail. The guys were leaping around to get their cameras and to enjoy the ride on the rail as we were heading towards the coast of Morocco. Suddenly the dolphins came to join in! A school of about twenty common dolphins stayed with us for a good half hour, as we sailed on they dispersed so we tacked back and they found us again. It was a fantastic hour and to see five men thrilled with the magical moment of sailing with dolphins will be one of my GM memories. There was a baby copying its mum leaping out but it had not quite got the right technique yet! I have never seen such a small dolphin and of course it looked very sweet.
It was quite exciting coming into Ceuta, another new place to ad to the GM experience. Although it belongs to the Spanish, there is a different air about the place. At first we tied up on a tatty wall surrounded by large industrial units, watched upon by local fishermen and kids sorting their nets. It was a bit disappointing and an anti climax to such an awesome afternoon. However a Port policeman came and told us we could tie up on the wall by the marina (we have had to avoid most marinas because of our draught and the vessels lack of manoeuvrability in small places). So we are now safely tied up on a huge granite wall but can’t get off so Ray has made a real rope ladder. Now we are on the other side it is a great looking town, with a fortress up on the hill, which is currently lit up by the moonlight.
* *
Having just returned from a walk around the town, it was immaculate, not only in cleanliness but also the layout and design. There were a few coloured water fountains on a parade lined with palms and overlooked by some majestic colonial style buildings. Apparently the Portuguese had some influence back in the 16th Century. The most striking bit was the road that joined the old and new part together because it was lined with granite flower pots and large granite balls, this was also the curb!
We are pleased that this is our last port of call because it is the most impressive and quite a contrast to the other ports. It was well worth a visit. Back to Gibraltar tomorrow for a clean up and to continue with maintenance.
LAST DAY OF LEG 2 - 19/10/2005
Ceuta Marina
Gipsy Moth has had a thorough clean below decks and above, and so have we! We had all the bunk cushions, waterproofs, lifejackets, safety gear, spare lines etc lined up on the dock to dry and check over. Someone actually asked if we were having a jumble sale. Today is the last day of leg 2, so after motoring back from Ceuta we arrived in beautiful sunshine under the rock again. The minute we tied up after clearing customs of course, we had the boys emptying the lockers etc.
This week has been a great experience for our crew, they joined the boat as 3 individuals and will be departing as a team and hopefully will keep in touch. We haven’t had any tough sailing conditions but they have worked really hard. They have learnt how to be competent crew and have also learnt other elements from this trip. It has been great listening to them ask each other questions about the places that they live in and what colloquial words they use.
We have been to a few new places, and even just arriving in Spain was a novelty.
Seeing the wildlife and participating in the oceanographic survey has been an interesting experience too and I feel that they now really appreciate what is out there.
They were quite intrigued with the simple navigation that Chichester would have used and would appreciated the Celestial navigation but unfortunately we didn’t do any. The bit that they appeared to least enjoy was the washing up and general mother duties but towards the end of the week it wasn’t so much of a chore!
This afternoon they have been cleaning the bilges and all the sole boards which was not the best thing they had done all week but this evening, I think they could see the difference and realised its importance. We had a Marina Bay welcome party to attend and we actually had to call time because they were so intense on polishing the deck. I think they were actually enjoying making Gipsy Moth look her best and had some pride in their work. We were talking about their experiences this evening and chatting to fellow Blue Water Rally participants, who are really interested to hear their stories. I believe now that they understand Chichester’s saying “it intensifies life…” .
All in all it’s been a fantastic seven days and we shall be sad to see them go tomorrow.
TRAFALGAR COMMEMORATIONS OFF CAPE TRAFALGAR - 21/10/2005
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Oysters- but not for lunch!
265 degrees true, 12 miles from Cape Trafalgar was our rendezvous with the Oyster fleet today to join for the Trafalgar commemorations. We arrived at half twelve after punching some tide, just in time to join the Oysters motor along in front of the training vessel Lord Nelson who was acting as Victory. We had a beautiful sunrise which started the day off well. There must have been about 25-30 yachts and we received a huge welcome, we became an honorary Oyster for the occasion. There were a few readings over the VHF at appropriate intervals and of course the prayer that Nelson wrote was read out. It was rather an emotional two hours. Not only to be able to be there on a boat, but to be on one of our most treasured maritime vessels. We had a few quiet moments on the boat as the joint MD of Oyster Marine reminded us of the great battle and its following events. We were also emotionally touched at the sight of wreaths and flowers in the water.
Gipsy Moth was greatly admired as she always is and were asked to do a lap of honour around the Oyster fleet. Once the event was over we all departed after a few rounds of applauses. We arrived back in Gibraltar at half eleven this evening to clear in. So the round trip has been over 24hrs but well worth it. Another boat has taken our berth by mistake so we are rafted up alongside a brand new Hallberg Rassy 62 that is taking part in the Blue Water Rally. It is quite a contrast looking at the two.
We are all really tired having not had much sleep over the last 24 hours and will need to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to catch the right tides to get to Smir in Morocco. We motored most of the way home which took us nine hours but did manage to hoist the running sail for an hour. It was great to get rid of the engine noise and drone for the hour. We were also able to appreciate the stars as they rose and identify some more constellations. We have also had the company of John J who flew out yesterday to join us for the sail to Trafalgar. He has been training the new crew back in the UK, unfortunately he cant stay with us for the weekend because he has some training to do on Sunday. It has been great having him on board and he can now return with lots of stories too.
John identified Venus early on and it was amazing to see how bright it really is. Last night we saw Mars.
It was an amazing day and we were very honoured to be able to show off our present piece of maritime history at such a historical occasion. There just couldn’t have been a better boat to be on – well perhaps just the one but she wont ever make it back to Cape Trafalgar! I am going to leave this now as I’ll have to be up in a few hours to leave for Smir with the Blue Water Rally.
PS. Richard – we are still eating the potatoes, onions, cheese and fruit that you brought across with you!
A TRIP TO MOROCCO - 22/10/2005
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 Inside the city walls
What a fascinating day. Tony and Christine (from the Blue Water Rally), arrived at the yacht at 0630. We slipped lines at 0700 and headed to Smir in Morocco. As we left the wind was light to non-existent so we motored following two other Blue Water Rally yachts. Astern of us were a further seventeen yachts. It was a fantastic feeling to be part of the start of the whole around the world event.
We left Gibraltar in the dark and witnessed a fantastic sunset. As the sun rose so did the wind, from the starboard beam. We set the main, mizzen, staysail and the running sail and sailed away at six knots. Half way across the Straits we spotted three or four dolphins, however they were too busy to play in out bow wave for more than five minutes.
After rounding the headland we headed further South down the African coast, however the wind decreased from 15 knots to 10. I decided it was time to play, so we got out the Isle of Wight cruising chute and the mizzen staysail. This brought our boat speed from three knots back to about five to six knots. All the yachts converged in Smir and at about 1200 we tied bows to the dock, with a line out astern.
A coach trip had been organised, visiting the city of Tetuan. We had a fantastic tour through the old keep, through the markets and saw many amazing sights. I decided not to take the video camera as it would have been fairly easy to steel and we had been warned about pickpockets.
We visited a carpet sales room, with some beautiful carpets, a spice sellers, which was more of an apothecary and also a large local restraunt with some entertainment, all of which was fantastic. It would have taken much to visit the area thoroughly, however it was amazing. Words cannot describe the sights and smells. Other areas we visited included a tannery, which had been operating for hundreds of years, wood working shops, blacksmiths and a number of other shops were the old skills are still used. It really was a time warp.
The food at the restraunt was fantastic and consisted of soup, kebab, chicken, cous cous, fruit and mint tea. After this we all joined the coach and arrived back at the marina at 10 o’clock. The strange thing about visiting this place is the two-hour time difference. Morocco is two hours behind.
We are know back at the yacht and looking forward to a little lay in, which we have not had in two weeks.
ANOTHER STONKING SAIL - 23/10/2005
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Part of the fleet
Another stonking sail. We cleared at Smir customs at 10 o’clock and headed back to Gibraltar. The wind was a bit stronger than the previous day, about twenty knots. The wind was on the beam and we managed about six to seven knots. It was great to see other yachts ahead of us and we over took three!
However the wind picked up a little and veered round which meant we were not far from sailing close hauled. We gradually had to reduce sail, first the running head sail was replaced by the no 2 jib, a reef was put in the main, then the staysail came down and finally the mizzen was taken down.
With this yacht you really get a feeling for sailing a ketch, firstly it is so nice to have a variety of sails to suit all conditions. It does mean a lot of time on the foredeck and flaking lots of sails but the feeling of working the yacht is indescribable. I have learned a lot about how she sails the last couple of days, it’s nice to have a smooth sea and a variety of wind directions and speeds. On reflection as soon as the wind veered round I should have dropped the mizzen sail first, there are probably lots of you out their muttering to yourselves “of course”, however I have not sailed a ketch for a long time and it takes a couple of weeks to find out what works.
All the other Blue water rally yachts looked great. All the yachts we sailed by took photos of us and again it is one of the great shames of sailing that you hardly ever see your own yacht under sail. What a sight it must have been.
Down below is not the nicest place to be. We did not bother making tea or coffee! We tied along side out berth in Gibraltar at 1700 and started to de-rig the yacht, get the sponsors flags up and have a little tidy up. We feel like a real part of the rally now. Sailing in the fleet and being on excursions with the other yachts feels magic and I think the crews of the other yachts are more intrigued now because they have seen us sailing. Tomorrow we have Gibraltar TV down to have a look at they yacht so I will sign off now and continue to get the yacht back to looking her best.
AN INTERESTING DAY - 24/10/2005
Another interesting day. We had a journalist coming down for 11 o’clock to interview me so Mike and I cleaned the boat whilst Antonia went off to the morning Blue water rally meeting. Again the number of people that have come to look at the yacht is great and we have had a few stories too.
The journalist turned up and I took her for a tour around the yacht. She then interviewed me and I think it is going out on Gibraltar television tomorrow lunch time. The rest of the day was spent generally messing about on the yacht, my job list doesn’t seem to get any smaller. We dressed the yacht overall, as have a lot of the other Blue water rally yachts because it is departure week.
At 6 o’clock all the crews from the rally were invited for a reception at the Governors residence. This used to be the Convent and was a beautiful building. It was another good chance to talk to the other crews and find out a little bit more about them which is always interesting. There is a very strong feeling building up now as everybody is getting ready for the start.
NEARLY TIME TO GO - 25/10/2005
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A fine poem
It’s horrible having only a couple of days to go. I have talked to a lot of people who are sailing with the rally and they all seem a little sad that I will not be doing the next leg. We have all made a number of good friends, for instance a lady is going to cook the crew a meal on Saturday because she knows how busy everybody is going to be. I have been visiting a couple of yachts to get bits and pieces and nothing has been too much trouble.
Today Mike wondered off and did his own thing as I have kept him very busy the last couple of weeks. Antonia did a little admin work and sorted out some paper work. I did an oil change on the engine, ready for the next skipper.
Antonia and I wondered into town and did some browsing. On the way back we talked to Dot, who is a caricature artist. She is doing a montage of all the yachts as well as individual yachts. She asked us questions and I think the work she will produce will be amusing.
We were invited aboard a yacht for dinner which was fantastic. Whilst on the yacht they gave us a poem to take with us around the world. The sense of community is building to something very special and it will be a shame to have to move away from it, however it is nice knowing that I will be rejoining the yacht at a later stage.
That is me done for the day and I will talk to you tomorrow.
SAILING WITH VIPS - 26/10/2005
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The Governer of Gibraltar
I do not want to leave Gipsy Moth tomorrow. However at least I will be back onboard in a month or so. Mike is leaving today and it is sad to see him leave go. He has been fantastic on the yacht and a lot of fun. I hope I will be able to sail with him in the future.
We have had a superb day. The Governor and his wife came down to the yacht for an informal visit, so we made him and his wife a cup of tea and had a chat. They only stayed for half an hour, but it was an honour and privilege to be able to show them our mobile home.
Also we were asked if we could take the Commodore of the British navy in Gibraltar out for a sail with his wife and son. The wind was about 20 knots; however there were some larger gusts. We went out under mizzen sail, working jib and staysail and had a very good hour. Three young sailors (fifteen years old) from the Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club came out with their instructor for an hour and a half.
It is so good to be able to take out some local people on our special yacht. The young fellows were very keen and I think they enjoyed the sail. The instructor also enjoyed himself and I think they have had an experience that will last a long time. They appreciated what a hard and monumental task it was for Sir Francis when he went around the world.
The day was finished of with a party organised and hosted by Christoph Rassy which was very enjoyable and it was nice to say goodbye to some of our new friends. I look forward to coming back and hopefully take some of them sailing on Gipsy Moth. |
