[:en] What a contrast between the heat and 85% humidity of sea-level Panama and the cold dryness of the Andes at the 2,800m of Quito where we landed. We had decided to travel throughout Ecuador and Peru using local buses and staying in B&Bs or small guest houses to be with the locals as much…
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[:en] After so long living on the boat it seemed strange to pack a bag, take a flight, stay in hotels and experience flushing toilets, the convenience of bathrooms, no cooking nor making water and no DIY! Our week’s tour, organised via an agency, started with the Carara National Park on the north Pacific coast…
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[:en] A predicted 9 day crossing of 1180 nautical miles from the British Virgin Islands to Bocas del Toro in west Panama turned into 12 days due to the lack of wind and an adverse Gulf Stream. André gave up fishing because of the many algae, made bread and turned to the never-ending maintenance of…
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[:en] Sailing from Santa Lucia to the British Vigin Islands we visited numerous islands all different with the influence of their colonisation pasts but all, whether flat, mountains or volcanoes, with crystal clear blue seas home to colourful coral, exotic fish, dolphins and turtles and beaches with palm trees and brightly coloured vegetation. Too much…
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[:en]On February 18th 2019, Etienne and I left Mindelo, Ilha de São Vicente with a good northeasterly wind, fair seas and sunny skies. Unfortunately, it didn’t last for very long and as we passed south of the next island – Santo Antão the wind dropped quite a lot and it took us a few days…
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[:en] We left Gibraltar with a favorable weather forecast for a 6-day crossing, downwind and with moderate seas most of the time. Passing the Strait of Gibraltar took rather long due to a fairly strong adverse current but overall it was an uneventful navigation punctuated by watch changes every 3 hours. We stayed a while at…
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[:en]After leaving Port-Saint-Louis du Rhône we spent the first night anchored at Isles du Frioul in front of Marseille. Next at calanque de Morgiou near Cassis and then we sailed during the night to the Isle of Porquerolles near Hyères. In the morning as we were mooring in one of the island coves we discovered…
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[:en] Final checks before going East along the Côte d’Azur and then across to Corsica and Sardigna ” The wind is changing, it is time to go ” – Mary Poppins [:fr] Dernières vérifications avant de partir le long de la Côte d’Azur puis traverser vers la Corse et la Sardaigne ” Le vent tourne, il…
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[:en]Preparing and fitting Moondance for her next voyages with Solar panels, hydrogenerator and a thorough maintenance . . . from May to end of August ! [:fr]Preparation et ajouts de panneaux solaires, hydrogénérateur et un entretien approfondi . . . de début mai à fin août ! [:]
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[:en] Our first sailing on Moondance at the end of May: 3 days and nights between Puerto Andratx, Mallorca Balearic Islands and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône near Marseille to put Moondance on dry dock to prepare her to her next travels. Beautiful sunny weather but unfortunately not much wind. [:fr] Notre première navigation sur Moondance à fin mai:…
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