bigbadblog

As we traverse the oceans we try not to leave too much of an environmental impact from the waste we generate aboard. There are some types of waste we cannot keep on board for any length of time, black water being the most obvious, although we do have a limited holding capacity for when we are in port or areas where it is against the law to dispose of human waste direct to sea. Out on the deep ocean we have no qualms of disposing of our sewage straight to the sea. The same is true of our vegetable and food waste, which we dispose of over the side in the hope that it will degrade without any measurable impact on sea life. As a crew we are all agreed that all plastic waste should be kept aboard but what has split the crew straight down the middle is what to do with metal waste? One view is that as long as you ensure that the tin can is guaranteed to sink, and that the sea bed deep enough, then we should go ahead and throw them overboard. This half of the crew feel that the steel or alumin...

You can't go to the Galapagos without seeing a few of the giant tortoises.. Some are more genuine than others though!

Here are 3 more birds I've managed to photograph... A finch, a canary and a flycatcher.

Here are four different birds spotted today on our walk (in tropical rain for much of it) At least one of these is not a native ofthe Galapagos probably having been introduced by ranchers in 1962 to eat ticks on cattle... Answers on a postcard addressed to... Or leave your answers in he comment box for this post.

Well, after almost two days of slow motoring through glassy seas, it's seven in the morning and we have the Galapagos within a few miles as we make our way down to our anchorage in the Port of Entrance, Puerto Barquerizo Moreno. Yesterday we crossed the equator and Neptune and his attendant made an appearance to quiz the two new line crossers, Emily and me.

I'm pretty sure you are a bit tired of seeing photos of us sitting in front of sunsets, lounging on white, palm fringed beaches and supping on exoticly named cocktails while we top up our tans.... and probably a bit sick of hearing how pretty, amazing, stunning, and all the other superlatives used in the various blogs being written from aboard Tin Tin , although I have to admit to not having read a single one of them (bar this one of course). Well as the title of this post suggests I'm trying to redress the balance (just a little bit...) by showing you that there are down sides to this life cruising the tropics. I've included a photo to illustrate the point (and solicit sympathy from all of you reading this!). A quick recap on my previous posting is in order as it is is linked to what I am reporting in this posting... ie. Pain! Justin and I decided that rather than sit on the beach in a pool of sweat we would do something productive and make a raft from material sca...

Following our visit to Mogo Mogo island where the Bear Grylls Survivor programme is filmed, we thought about how we would manage in the same situation. Today, we all went ashore to explore the beach we are anchored off, on the island of Casaya in the Las Perlas archipelago. Our thoughts so turned to survival (and escape!). We started to search the debris line for suitable materials to construct a raft from which we could fish, or journey to neighbouring islands. It wasn't long before I found a large log and gave it a hearty kick to get it rolling down the beach.... It turned out to be a log of balsa so extremely light weight and with great buoyancy! We quickly sourced a long bamboo for an outrigger and two other shorter lengths of branch for stretchers whilst Emily returned with the perfect rope to allow us to make good strong lashings.. So within two hours of landing we had a working raft which Justin and I then paddled out to Tin Tin to fetch a hook and line for a bit of fish...

New photos album..... Panama to the Galapagos I am now officially in the Pacific after crossing through the Panama canal. I thought you might like to look at my latest photo album/blog. https://goo.gl/photos/FNKNRL7es7CZEUbY9 is the link to it. I will be adding more to the album as and when I can get access to the internet. If you sign up as a follower of the album you will be notified when it is updated.

Use the following link to go to the Panama to Tahiti album ...  As with the previous albums if you use the option to follow you will get updates when new content is added.  There may be a large gap after we leave Panama as we don't know what internet access we will get in the Galapagos, and then there will be a 3+ week gap when we sail from the Galapagos to our land fall on French Polynesia, Hiva Oa.

If you have checked our position using this website page, http://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/TinTin you might already have seen that we negotiated our way through some fairly narrow channels in the coral surrounding a set of islands just off the coast of Panama and anchored in calm waters just a mile or so away from the boiling cauldron and roar emanating from the reef where the waves come to an abrupt halt as they end their journey across the Caribbean Sea. Driven by the trade winds..... We anchored in what has been dubbed the 'swimming pool' just off 'BBQ island'.. Dubbed by the yachties who frequent this rather idyllic spot. We dropped anchor in 4m of water onto a pure white sand bottom and I could actually see the anchor dig in, the water was so clear. There were two other yachts already anchored here and we have since been joined by two catamarans. There is a 1.5 knts current flowing and the wind has abated to 30 knts! The current is caused by the v...

Tin Tin has anchored off a small town close to Cabo de Vehlo (Cape of the sail) in Columbia. Clocks now set to GMT -5hrs. It's windy.. and 8 kite boarders are making fill use of it! We will stay here for a few hours before continuing towards Cartagena.

My photo album Antigua to Panama

For photos relevant to this section of the adventure please look at the blog entry posted previously with a link to my online album Antigua and Guadeloupe. It was with a little trepidation that we approached the transition from having four to eight people aboard, three of whom are under ten. After the initial settling in of the new crew and as one or two small teething troubles ('I want to go home' being one!) were overcome, every one has enjoyed the sun sand and swimming we have found on our sojourn around Antigua and then back to Guadeloupe and specifically the Ille-des -Saintes which you may have gathered,if you follow my Twitter account (@Ampthillmark), I regard as the closest thing to heaven on earth! We made a few exploratory sails between Falmouth bay and English harbour, including visits to Pigeon beach and a sail round to a reef to snorkel during which some crew members found that they had yet to find their sea legs and others saw spotted eagle Rays! Antigua, or at lea...

Here is a link to photos from our Cape Verde week  Cape Verde

Use this link to see my photos of. Guadeloupe and Antigua ...  I'll add more in here as and when I can!  

Having decided, at Kyle and Niall's suggestion, to divert from an Antiguan landfall and head for a few days of exploring around Guadeloupe, we arrived in Pointe-a-Pitre and anchored mat midnight of the 2nd Jan. We celebrated with a shot of 'Paul's Punch' and the 1st mate presented medals all round to mark the completion of the Atlantic crossing, 1st time for 3 of us and the 2nd for Paul. The stats for the crossing were as follows, 2252 nm, in 13 days 11 hrs giving an average speed through the water of 6.97knts. We woke on the 3rd to find a mangrove fringed island behind us, 3 wrecked yachts and about 10 other yachts at anchor around us. After our first steady breakfast for two weeks we set off in the tender to complete customs and immigration formalities at the marina office opposite our anchorage before motoring round the bay to the centre of town. We tied up the tender next to a vegetable market crammed with colourful produce, and then went for a wander in search of ...

I'm on watch from 8 till midnight tonight so will hand over to Niall next year. It's been an great few days out here in the tropical Atlantic. I'm sitting behind Tin Tin's wheel in shorts, tee shirt and life jacket. We are rocking along on a heading of 290 Deg on relatively calm sea at 7-8 knts with 25-30 knts of wind over our starboard quarter. We have a reefed mainsail for the night allowing one person to handle most eventualities by reefing the Genoa using the roller system. There is no moon so the stars are particularly bright when they appear from behind the low clouds. I don't think I reported our three whale day in the blog, so better relate a most extraordinary day. It began when w hale was spotted following us in the waves behind us. They surf the waves just below the surface so that when the sun is at the right angle you get a great view of them, gliding along at 7- 8 knts, apparently effortlessly. Then we spotted a second and soon afterwards a third....

Hope you have all had an enjoyable Christmas with friends and family. We celebrated with a large chicken and mushroom pie (In the freezer since Tenerife!) and Cape Verdian potatoes and carrots, washed down with some bubbly. Santa hats were worn, presents opened and even 4 small stockings had made their way on board and we're hanging above the companionway, not forgetting the Christmas tree (see photo posted previously). All in all a memorable day! It is now dark, windy and wet outside at the end of Day Nine.... Niall is on watch, Kyle in his bunk, Paul editing video in the saloon while I write. Today has been an amazing day of whale watching and filming. We have seen a Minke whale the last 2 or 3 days, following us then accelerating past us so it wasn't too much of a surprise when we spotted another one surfing the swell just behind us. What was a surprise was to se a second and then a third! Cameras, iPhones and GoPro were deployed in a major photographic operation... th...

A whale of a day! Today is our 7th day of sailing since leaving Mindelo on the 20th Dec. Today Kyle & Niall have been taking video of the boat.. from underwater as we speed along at 7knts, with Paul's GoPro, resulting in some amazing footage of Tin Tin's underside and waves. Niall also stuck his head under for the thrill! Soon afterwards they were watching the footage below and I was contemplating how to land a drone on the Bimini.. when a 7-8m long whale popped out of a wave right beside us and zoomed past our bow leaving me shouting WHALE! repeatedly causing a sudden dash up the companionway by the others... but sadly this whale was on a mission which didn't include engaging us in conversation!