The passage has started okay, even though it’s a bit cool and rainy. Pitufa’s wings (2 headsails boomed out on the left and right) pull us steadily over the grey wave mountains. To make up for the weather we can celebrate the coming of the new year twice: we simply turn back the clock one hour (an adjustment to the time zones was due anyway).… Continue reading »
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2011
31
Dec
2011
29
Dec
Crossing the Atlantic
The weather forecast looks good, the trade wind is stable, all lockers are de-rattled, everything on the boat checked twice and we’re mentally prepared for our first really big jump: Atlantic we’re coming!
2011
19
Dec
Photo Gallery of Brava
We’re still anchored in the same bay, all kinds of algae and barnacles are even starting to grow on the line ashore , but somehow we cannot find a reason to leave a place where turtles paddle around the boat, seabirds fish 5 metres away, the local fishermen offer the daily catch, more hiking trails wait to be discovered, etc. Here you can see yourself,… Continue reading »
2011
12
Dec
Cape Verdes: Another photo gallery uploaded
We have uploaded yet another photo gallery of the Cape Verdes. This one shows the islands of Santa Luzia, Sao Vicente and Santo Antao. Photos of Brava will come soon.
2011
06
Dec
Brava, a hiker’s delight
Brava is a tiny island on a map. When hiking up the mountains, it suddenly seems higher than wide Yesterday we walked up the valley from Faja d’Agua to the mountainous interior. There are no dedicated hiking trails, rather partially cobbled foot/donkey paths connecting villages. So it’s quite usual when walking in the middle of nowhere to meet children on their way to school, housewives… Continue reading »
2011
04
Dec
Lazy Sunday
We had a lazy day at home, enjoyed the clear water (particularly after being in Mindelo’s Porto Grande…) for snorkeling and the hot temperature. Last week we already complained about the chilly evenings (chilly meaning that we had to wear jackets in the evening
2011
03
Dec
Faja de Agua, Ilha Brava
We’ve arrived on the most remote island of the Cape Verdes yesterday after yet another rough passage. It took us one and a half days with 25 knots of winds on the beam (instead of the comfy 15-20 knots from astern as we had expected…). Little Brava is located in the very west of the southern chain of islands and it is the least visited… Continue reading »
2011
02
Dec
Article on Ustica in Ocean7 magazine
Birgit Hackl, Christian Feldbauer: Ustica — Smaragd im Tyrrhenischen Meer, OCEAN7 06 2011. Read article (in German only)
2011
30
Nov
Santo Antao
Yesterday we took a ferry over the narrow channel to the neighbour island Santo Antao, one of the biggest and most fertile islands of the Cape Verdes. After leaving the ferry tourguides try rather aggressively to get hold of tourists, but we avoided them and simply took an Aluguer up into the mountains. We then hiked through a fertile crater with old stonehouses, fields, trees… Continue reading »
2011
28
Nov
Repairs done
After 3 days of high-speed working in the marina Pitufa is now entirely clean and saltfree, has new lower shrouds, the autopilot works again, the tanks are full, the lockers are fully provisioned, etc. and we’ve decided to stay a few more days in the anchorage of Mindelo. We like this town, the street vendors and the mercado municipal offer the best veggies we’ve seen… Continue reading »
2011
23
Nov
Mindelo, Sao Vicente
We arrived in Mindelo, one of the bigger towns in the Cape Verde, on Saturday. After being anchored in the bay outside the marina for a couple of days, we moved into the marina yesterday in order to repair our standing rigging (we discovered a broken wire strand in one of the lower shrouds, so some of our standing rigging needs replacement). Mindelo’s got a… Continue reading »
2011
18
Nov
Santa Luzia
It’s good that each of the Cape Verdean islands is unique in its beauty, otherwise the rough passages between them wouldn’t be worth it Today’s bumpy ride with quite an acceleration zone NW of Sao Nicolao (up to 35 knots) brought us to the uninhabited, ragged island of Santa Luzia, whose slopes remind of the scenery of The Lord of the Rings. Only one other… Continue reading »
2011
15
Nov
New Photo Galleries!!!
We’ve finally found a WiFi spot where we are able to upload overdue pics of the Canaries and the Cape Verdes. However, the upload takes ages… Enjoy!
2011
15
Nov
Two days for maintenance
With all the round trips and hiking excursion during the last week we neglected Pitufa a bit. During the last two days we’ve taken advantage of the calm anchorage of Tarrafal for some maintenance and repair work. The hydraulic autopilot will hopefully work again, the water level in the batteries is adequate and the kitchen sink now lies in a yummy wooden frame instead of… Continue reading »
2011
15
Nov