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Jamestown is located in a deep volcanic valley on the remote English Island of Saint Helena.  The 1500 mile passage from Saldanha Bay took 12 days.  The first four, we experienced 25-30 knots of wind with 12 foot seas.  It is very difficult to photograph large seas, which I tried to above left.  The toe rail would dip underwater causing large amounts to flood the decks, we even took a large wave on the stern of the boat.  Thankfully Blue Sky has a large freeboard, and with the center cockpit and fully enclosed dodger we stayed high and dry.  The winds finally abated and we had two days with no wind so had to motor.  Our tanks hold 1000 litres of fuel, which would be enough to motor for over six full days.  Fortunately we only motored the two, as Diesel is very expensive on a remote island.  Everyday we tried to catch a fish for dinner to no avail. The anchorage was deep, dropping the hook 40 feet down into the clear warm water of the Atlantic.  A nice change from the cold temperature of the ocean in South Africa.

Joa da Nova sailed passed the uninhabited island in 1502, having a fresh water supply and protected anchorage, it was a perfect stop between Europe and South Africa. The British took possession in 1659, as a  replenishment station for the ships of the East India Company.

The fortress extends the entire length of the valley along the water front.  One must walk through the main gate in order to enter Jamestown, which is like stepping back in time. Following the footsteps of Captain Cook, Blythe, Charles Darwin, the astronomer Arthur Halley and Napoleon.  After the Suez Canal was opened in 1869, few ships stopped here and the economy collapsed.  As there is no airport, the tourism industry is solely dependant on yachts and cruise ships.

Jacobs Ladder, with 699 steep steps, was built in 1829 as an inclined plane.  It was used to haul manure and trash up the hill, to stop the villagers littering the harbor, and to bring goods down.  Wagons were pulled up the inclined plane by a capstan at the top which was powered by mules.  The view at the top is amazing.  Blue sky is anchored to the right in the center of the fleet, we are the white ketch.

The Consulate Hotel, a mid-18th century building,located in the center of town, was one of our favorite spots to relax after exploring.  Hazel, the owner is restoring the property to it´s grand splendor.  The restaurant below features artifacts from the old sailing vessel, Fairport,with the masts´ as pillars and the floor as the ceiling.

Another local hang out is Anne´s place, pictured to the right.  The cheeseburger´s were great.  The owners have a teenage daughter, who babysat Phoebe and Drake for us one night.  Taking advantage of this, we enjoyed a first class meal at the consulate hotel with our host Hazel and Lynn, from South Africa.  During our stay we met many families who chose to move to Saint Helena for work, most of which were on two year contracts.  To the left is Jaimie and Amy, who have two boys, from the UK, he is in charge of the National Trust.  This is an independent non-profit organization launched in 2002.  It aims to promote awareness and protect and enhance St. Helena´s environmental and architectural heritage. Everyone was very friendly and helpful during our stay.  It is definitely somewhere we could go back to.

To the left is a photo of ´The Run´, this walled channel flows on the line of the original stream which watered Jamestown.  It was paved in stone in 1857 and built as a dual purpose, as a sewer for the town and to accommodate the water course.

To the right, Johnie, a local Saint, who owns a pub in town and the swimming pool, graciously drove us around the island one day. He is pictured with Jim and Jonah and one of the famous tortoises. The first stop was the plantation house, built in 1792 by the East India Company and is the current residence of the Governor.  The land around the house is home to the oldest inhabitant of the island, a giant tortoise named Johnathan.  He was brought to the island as a mature adult,  which is said to be 50 years old.  Presented as a gift from the Seychelles in 1882, making him approximately 178 years young.  Being the oldest living animal on the island and thought to be the oldest living example of his breed.  There are six giant tortoise´s enjoying the lush surroundings.

The second stop we drove down the steep, winding road to Sandy Bay, through the lush tropic grass land into the stark barren cliffs of the ancient crater of the volcano.  Situated along the cliffs are the remnants of an old fort, with canons lining the hill side.  Jim hides another bottle of wine inside one of the canon´s, once again, for coordinates email us.

The Queen Mary II arrived for one day while we were anchored in Jamestown.  It took them three days from Cape Town, after which they were off to Rio.  Everyone ashore was very excited and hopeful that the guests of this large ship would be able to disembark and come ashore to spend money.  So many times in the passed a cruise ship has arrived, only to discover that it is too rough to get the passengers ashore.  This is the tallest ship in the world and has over 5000 passengers and crew, there are only 3500 inhabitants on the island.  The weather was perfect and over 2000 guests went ashore to explore the island in the eight hours they were allocated.  Taking the dinghy up close, we could not believe the size of this massive ship.  Unfortunately they would not allow us on board for a tour, the Captain, mentioning he would, only if his passengers could have a tour of Blue Sky. The whole town was very excited to have such a successful day.

In the harbor we had the pleasure of snorkeling off the wreck of the SS Papanui, this ship caught on fire and sank one hundred years ago. The steering gear can be seen above the water.  The wreck stretched 100 feet along the sea bottom.  372 people were rescued and remained stranded on the island until another transport ship arrived.

One day we decided to hire a car and explore the island on our own.  Our American friends Jonah off s/v Brillig and John off s/v Dancyn joined us.  The first stop was The Briars Pavillion, this was the first home for Napoleon when he was exiled to the island after his defeat at Waterloo in 1815.  His permanent home was not completed, so he stayed in this one room cottage, while his entourage stayed in make shift tents.  They had a view of the heart shaped waterfall, above.  Once Longwood House, top right, was completed he moved in and remained there until his death in 1821.

After our Napoleonic tour, it was time for Jim and Jonah to play golf at the Saint Helena Golf Club.  This is the remotest golf course in the world, where there are 9 holes and 18 tee boxes.

The endemic Wirebird lives on the golf course and in the Millenium Forrest.  This is the world´s rarest bird, with only 500 native surviving.  They are a small plover and the last survivor of a number of bird species unique to St. Helena.  We were all fortunate enough to get more than one glimpse of this special bird.

The last stop was the Prince´s Lodge, a private home, owned by Robin Castell.  While in Simonstown we had the privilege of meeting him, where he told us about his home on Saint Helena.  The home displays many paintings of the islands proud and illustrious heritage.  He is a published author and poet and has written a few books on the history of the island.  On sight is a guest cottage called Drake´s cottage to commemoratete the landing of Sir Francis Drake.

After ten relaxing and memorable days on Saint Helena, we were ready to depart for our 1900 nautical mile trip to Salvador, Brazil.

To see more of Blue Sky’s adventures go to http://www.thevoyageofbluesky.com

The day Ruth and Ed were leaving we visited the Spier Cheetah Outreach program. We had the opportunity to get up and personal with these beautiful beasts.  They ensure the safety of free range cheetah’s, by educating the public.  Cheetah’s tend to kill the live stock on farms, so the outreach program will rescue them.  They also breed Turkish Anatolian Shepherd dogs to protect the live stock, thus scaring the cheetah’s away.  There are approximately 1000 Cheetah’s left in South Africa.  Next to the outreach program is the Eagle Encounter, a bird of prey rehabilitation and education facility.  Arriving just in time to see the falconer feed a secretary bird, photo right.  They like snakes, so he ties food to the end of a plastic snake and teases the bird.  Using his legs and talons, the secretary bird kicks and stomps on the snake until it is dead.  Another treat was watching him train and feed the Harris hawks, mentioning they are one of the smartest birds and he can train them in less than a week.  The children had the opportunity to pet a barn owl, top right and huddled in a protective crate were four baby barn owls.  After our encounters we headed to Moyo for a refreshing drink and the children were excited to get their faces painted.  Before dropping granny and grandpa off at the airport, we stopped for some tea at Vredenheim winery, where they had the Cape Town Lion encounter, featuring white lions.  In one day the children had the opportunity to pet a cheetah, lion and owl, not to bad

Granny and Grandpa had a long and safe trip home.  Phoebe and Drake recovered after only a few hours of tears.  Now it was time for us to leave Hout Bay.  Prior to our departure we enjoyed a Sunday afternoon at the Groot Constantia winery, the oldest one in South Africa.  My cousin Liz, her husband Paul and their children Jess and Alex, joined us for a relaxing afternoon tasting delicious wines.  After sampling the wines we made sure to buy a few cases of the delectable wine to fill our bilges.  We have heard wine is expensive and average in Brazil.

Before casting off, the time had come to cut off Drake’s cast.  Choosing to do it ourselves, it was more difficult than we thought, but we eventually succeeded.  Planning our departure to coincide with the Royal Cape Yacht Club to Mykonos marquee yacht race.  Leaving a day before we sailed passed Table Mountain and Cape Town and anchored off Dassen Island for the night, the light house is pictured above.

Our friend Erik Bjerring crewed on Alexs’ yacht, Addis in Cape.  A 35 standard french design, built by Archambault with a rating of 1.036.  Rob, Erik and Joe enjoy a cold Heinekein after a successful and fast race from Table Bay.  The crew pose for a post race photo.  Drake supports the team wearing a Addis in Cape t-shirt, the boat is proudly sponsored by the restaurant.

The following day was the pursuit race, where we anchored off the start line, displaying all the burgees for the yacht clubs we visited in South Africa.  We also flew  a Bavaria Yachts Flag to support Erik and an Intasure Insurance flag.   As we had so many flags flying some boats thought we were the committee boat  Because the skipper failed to read the race notes, they were called back, after they started next to us.  After several boats made the same mistake, we decided to pull up anchor and move so as not to confuse anyone else.  Two boats even used us as the start line as we were pulling anchor.  Addis in the Cape flying a spinnaker below, placed second overall in this race. Well all said and done a fabulous weekend was had by all.  I can’t remember the last time we stayed up until mid-night two nights in a row!  Erik’s wife Colleen and daughter Tanille also joined in the festivities.

Blue Sky is now anchored off Saldanha Bay Yacht Club, which is managed by Paul and Mike.  From a cruiser stand point, this yacht club is one of the best we have been to around the world.  A self serve kitchen and Braai area, where we can cook and prepare our own meals.  A large fridge and freezer, I love to cook large meals and then freeze them before a long passage.  A washing machine and clean hot showers.  The members and managers are welcoming and the weather is lovely.

The casual landscape of the front garden and incredible view made for a very relaxing weekend!

Our friends Hans and Liz from Rev de Lune, whom you probably remember us mentioning from Chagos, all the way back to Tonga, came to visit us.  They gave us the good news that they sold their boat in Cape Town, but the sad news is  we would not be cruising with them again.  Guess we will just have to visit them in Switzerland.

We were fortunate to have Erik, Colleen and Tanille take us to lunch in a lovely fishing village called Paternosta for a farewell lunch together. After which, the following weekend, we were invited by Liz and Paul to stay at one a converted fisherman’s cottage for the weekend.  It was a beautiful place to say good-bye to our good friends and family.  We will miss South Africa a good deal.  Baie Dankie!  Lekker!  (Thank you very much!  It was all great!)

To see more of Blue Sky’s adventures go to http://www.thevoyageofbluesky.com

Now that Blue Sky is back in the water at Hout Bay it was time to get play tourist and relax. Granny and Grandpa B-Q booked a great two bedroom apartment in The Lagune resort that overlooked Table Bay with a view of Table Mountain and Cape Town.  The hotel had three swimming pools and was located right on the beach.  Having sundowners on the balcony a whale treated us to a show, watching him breech just off the beach, top right. When the wind blows in Cape Town, it blows, it was spectacular watching the water blow off the tops of the waves, thankful we were not out at sea.

Previously I wrote about rounding the Cape of Good Hope seaward of Bellows Rock.  Here is a picture (left) from land that shows the boil coming off the rock.  Driving around Chapman’s Peak Road, we experienced beautiful views of Hout Bay, below.  Ruth, Drake, Emma, Phoebe and Ed are pictured at Cape Point with a view of False Bay behind them.  The family poses in front of the Cape of Good Hope sign proclaiming the longitude and latitude.

To the left is a photo of Nelson Mandela’s cell located on Robben Island, where he served 27 years in confinement, starting in 1964.  We took a ferry to this austere island, which was once connected to the mainland many years ago.  Since the Dutch settled at the Cape the island has primarily been used as a prison.  It was also used as a hospital and leprosy colony, where the graves are pictured above.   All the guides are ex-prisoners and ours, Sipho, above left, served five years. The photo behind him is the last boat leaving Robben island with the last of the freed prisoners.  The political and common law prisoners were put to hard labor in the rock quarries surrounding the island, with no protection from the elements.  Causing long term eye, lung and skin problems.  The gloomy surrounding of the island brought on a feeling of despair for the past inhabitants.  The present day residents, a nesting penguin, can live in peace and tranquility, with no knowledge of the cheerless past.

Approximately ten kilometers down the road from our hotel, lives my cousin, Liz and her family.  The last time I saw her was in England when we were children.  She moved to South Africa with her family soon after, her father was my mom’s brother.  Enjoying the sunset on the beach, the children play with their dog Lily.  Relaxing at their home, we were treated to potjiekes pot, a South African type of dutch oven, where you slow cook a stew like meal over the fire.  The photo below shows the finished meal.

Above Phoebe and Drake pose with Table Mountain behind them on a spectacular calm day.  Touring the old fort or Castle of Good Hope, which was built by the Dutch East India Company between 1666 and 1679 to defend the city and as a maritime replenishment station.  It is the oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa. The octagonal shaped building is home to museums explaining the history of Cape Town.

To celebrate Ruth’s birthday Paul and Liz suggested we experience dinner at Moyo. Located at the winery Spier, Bedouin tents and gazebos are placed around the gardens to create an atmosphere of an African village. Waterfalls are created like art work and marshmallows are ready for the taking.   Treated to a vast amount of African food while being entertained by performers on stage playing cultural music.  Members of the staff paint your face with artistic symbols of local villages.  Liz had arranged a babysitter for the children so we could all enjoy the late evening with no distractions.

Our friend Erik races on a yacht called Addis in Cape owned by his friend Alex.  Alexs’ partner is the founder of Ethiopean restaurant, Addis in Cape, in the heart of Cape Town. Senait Mekonnen, pictured above with Phoebe and Tenille, prides herself with the authentic atmosphere and genuine Ethiopean furniture.  The meal was truely a culinary experience, with rich flavors using a variety of herbs and spices.  The food is served on a unique woven basket, which is shared communally.  All the different dishes are placed on top of a type of sour dough pancake.  Using your hands as utensils, the injera, or sour dough, is used to scoop up the flavorful stews.  Colleen, Erik’s wife, Emma and Shelia, Colleen’s mom, are pictured above.  This was truely a memorable evening in such a unique and peaceful location, with friends and family.

Every morning we would wake up and look at Table Mountain to see if there was a table cloth on it.  We were eager to go up the cable car, but if the clouds covered the mountain, the cable car would be closed.  Finally our day arrived.  The views from the top are stunning.  There are trails winding around the top, and as it is flat it is easy to navigate.  For the adventurous you can hike up the mountain, if you do this, a common practice is to hop over the turn-stile for a free ride down.  The parks floral biodiversity is only found in this region, consisting of fynbos, meaning fine bush.  Fynbos have four plant groups and on table mountain some may be endemic to an area of only a few kilometers.

Ruth and Edwards South Africa visit was nearing the end.  We packed in busy days of sight seeing and fantastic evening meals.  With the last few days of their visit we slowed our pace down and used our time together to relax and prepare for both their huge plane flight home and our impending departure from the Cape Town area.

To see more of Blue Sky’s adventures go to http://www.thevoyageofbluesky.com

Our “free time” had expired in Simons Town and we were scheduled to be hauled out in Hout Bay on January 4th.  That morning of the third the weather was fair and the seas were settling so we ran out of False Bay and rounded The Cape of Good Hope.  On land it is known as Cape Point. The photograph above left is The Cape of Good Hope.  We rounded it south of Bellows Rock while a local catamaran took the short cut inside and very near the Cape.  The commercial shipping was another couple of miles beyond us to sea, giving the Cape an even wider berth.

When we were in Redondo Beach our good friend Chad Thomas was always willing to let me tag along.  Chad has been involved in the commercial shipping business nearly all his life.  He has been the Captain of survey vessels, tugs that tow huge ocean going barges & crew vessels that support the light oil tankers that moor off the Chevron refinery in El Segundo.  Chad always opted for sea room and saftey rather than taking the short cut.  I think he burned this into my mind!  I always think of Chad and his responsible seamanship whenever we get near a hard spot.

Clearing the Cape of Good Hope and now adding north to our way we bounced along the South Atlantic to scenic Hout Bay.  Hout Bay is home to a huge commercial fishing fleet.  We were somewhat surprised to see all the fisherman out in such “uncomfortable” conditions.  It was a with great relief to enter Hout Bay. (photograph above, center)
The photograph above right is Blue Sky in the shipways.  Arriving in the late afternoon on a Sunday, we were able to side tie to a fishing boat in front of the slipway.   The fishing fleet on the dock in front is mainly after tuna and as the tuna were not running the fleet was busy making repairs and preparing for the fish.  In the morning with the help of the fisherman and the Hout Bay Boat Yard we turned Blue Sky around and backed her through the tightly parked fishing boats and into the ways.

All good plans…  Well you know the rest.  Attempting to haul on our expected day, Blue Sky was just coming out of the water only to have one of the hydrolic winches loose its clutch.  Thus two days spent in the ways either pulling in on the mooring lines or letting them out as the tide flooded and ebed. It was fourty-eight hours of limited sleep as every two hours we would need to adjust the lines.  Wednesday morning the winch was replaced and we were ready to try again.

Blue Sky was safely out of the water and now, after a year of playing it was time to get to work.  Drake and Phoebe enjoyed exploring the boat yard and found an old wooden rocking horse to play on.

The same storm that damaged our bollard and toe rail in Mossel Bay blew through Hout Bay and they experienced 80 knots from the east.  Three boats sank, and one is pictured above in front of Blue Sky.

While in the boat yard, the children were playing on an empty trailer, Drake fell and quess what?  He broke his arm.  We took a taxi to the Constansiaberg emergency room, where Drake was wheeled around, in luxury, on a guerny to get x-rayed. Confirming it was broken, we then returned for the cast.  It was only a green stick fracture and the “water-proof” blue cast went up to his elbow.  Knowing it would happen one day, we were glad to be in civilization when it did.  The whole cost was approximately $400.00.  The work in the yard progressed smoothly as we had hired two men to help. They were loyal and hard working.  We provided a mid-day meal and all the Coke’s they could drink.  In the yard we replaced the cutlass bearing, polished the prop, checked the thru holes and stuffing box.

After scraping the bottom in the Maldives, we anticipated that the bottom would need some epoxy filling and faring.  When you look at the damage with a mask on everything looks twice the size.  Fortunately, the damage was minimal,  after some epoxy and sanding it was time to prime and anti-foul. She looked great, anticipating that we could splash her by the following Tuesday.  This would work out perfect as, Granny and Grandpa Byrne-Quinn were arriving on Monday.  Well as we have discovered that most good plans in the boating world always change.  A yacht that we had made the aquiantance with in Richards Bay arrived in the Marina.  They saw us in the yard and were curious about our experience, as they had some minor repairs to do.  Kindly we assured them the yard was professional and we have had a positive experience.  Next thing we know, they cried wolf to the manager, saying they had to haul out or they would sink, and that it would only take twelve hours.  (Don’t ever believe some one if they think that they could haul out and be done in twelve hours!)  Six days later, we were finally able to get Blue Sky back in the water.  When we were scheduled to haul out, the anti-foul had been applied and was dry.  Anti-foul does not like the air so because these (insert bad name) delayed us the paint failed in spots.  Thus, we had to find a ride into Cape Town and purchase more anti-foul, which is not cheap. We paid $850.00 for 20 litres for Intersmooth 360. (Great Stuff.)  Needless to say Granny and Grandpa arrived and we were ready for a holiday, but had to still work on the boat.  Hopefully the Karma fairies will find that yacht.  The positive side to this story is the children had a wonderful hotel to stay in, instead of the yard, while we were finishing up the work.

Back in 2005 just prior to our departure from Redondo Beach, we received and email from Erik Bjerring, his mother lived in the South Bay and she read about us in the Daily Breeze.  He informed us that he used to be a member of King Harbor Yacht Club and now currently lives in Cape Town.  After four years of keeping in touch it was wonderful to finally meet him.  Conveniently he lived in Hout Bay and has a daughter, Tanille, who got along famously with Phoebe and Drake.  While we were in the yard he was a great source of information as well as an enormous support.  Meeting his extended family and enjoying braai’s at his in-laws house, above left are his step daughter Keri, Jim, Keith and Sheila.  Then taking the children on the weekends to swim and play putt putt, getting them out of the yard while we worked.

While in Hout Bay we met us with the families whom we had met in Madagascar.  They met us for lunch one day, pictured right are Jobre, Roddy, Louis, Dawn and Adi.  During our stay we had the pleasure to go to Roddy and Adi’s house in Contansia and enjoyed the local wine and company.

The Hout Bay yacht club was a relaxing place to go after all the hard work we did in the yard.  Having hot showers and cold beers.  Jim trades a Latitudes and Attitudes flag for a HBYC burgee.  The staff pictured below, always made us feel welcome.

Duncan, Emma, Jim, Roddy, Alasdair and Irene, at Roddy’s home, where we celebrated Irene’s birthday.  Duncan and Irene are on s/v Moose who we spent five months traveling through the Indian Ocean together.  They are currently staying and exploring Africa for a year. You might be interested in Duncan’s book, which was recently published and dedicated to Irene, “Never a Dull Moment”, recounting their first three years of sailing.

Baie Dankie South Africa!

To see more of Blue Sky’s adventures go to http://www.thevoyageofbluesky.com

Part 3. Lake Champlain Anchorages – Kingsland to Valcor

KINGSLAND BAY is about 8 miles north of Westport and because Kingsland State Park is a popular summer destination, both the park facilities and bay can be congested during the day, especially when one of the many special events is underway. No pets are allowed ashore at the park.

Kingsland is an excellent south wind anchorage, if the wind shifts, an alternative anchorage can be found 3 miles north in Converse Bay, which has the added protection of two small islands.

BURLINGTON, the largest city in Vermont, with a long maritime history, is situated 18 miles north of Kingsland Bay. You can’t visit Burlington without being captivated by its livability and essence of uniqueness and originality. The shoreline and downtown are well designed and pedestrian/pet friendly, with an extensive network of waterfront pathways and central business district vehicle-free zones. The vibrant downtown area and several universities and colleges add to the cosmopolitan flavor. A good starting point when arriving in the harbor is the Community Boathouse, which acts as a visitor center for newly arrived sailors. Boathouse employees also manage the harbor facilities and transient moorings/slips.

Burlington is best enjoyed in measured doses. Lake Champlain sailors can return several times during a cruising season to fully experience the rich offering of cultural and recreational delights. When things become too hectic, retreat can be found 4 miles to the North Bay by anchoring off Bernard Leddy Park and from there, a pleasant diversion to Valcor Island, which is located 15 miles north, just south of the City of Plattsburgh, New York.

VALCOR ISLAND is just the opposite of Burlington. There are still traces of human settlement on the island, but it is now a nature preserve and thus, inhabited only by wildlife. Decisive naval battles occurred at Valcor Island during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. There are well-marked hiking trails on the southern end of the island, and for budding paleontologists, there are fossils waiting to be discovered. No matter which way the wind blows, it is rare that a safe anchorage can’t be found within the undulating shorelines around the island.

Cruising Lake Champlain could be a lifetime pursuit or a once in a lifetime experience. The itinerary highlighted in this three-part series could be accomplished in a week or a month, yet even these selected anchorages and harbor-towns only touch the surface of the numerous possibilities on this captivating and unforgettable Lake. If you can, take the time to explore this very special cruising ground!

Gracie Emmett DE 32 is  for sale. Price Reduced: $27,600(follow link below for additional information and photos.)

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