tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77978052286049463822012-02-27T06:26:17.203-08:00NAVEGAR É PRECISOS/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.comBlogger1001100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-75327622502887205492012-02-25T20:25:00.001-08:002012-02-27T06:26:17.385-08:00

Posted 26 February 2012, Lord Howe Island Tomorrow, Monday, 27 Feb. Vida Nova will be sailing to New Zealand and I would like to share with you the way I go about preparing her and myself for the passage. From my perspective, the most important is the weather window and the forecast for the next 5 to 7 days,which at this stage predicts strong winds towards the end of the week, but as I progress

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-72856932337038101562012-02-21T18:37:00.003-08:002012-02-22T06:01:53.140-08:00

Posted Wednesday 22 February 2012   31 31.43S by 159 03.06E After an uneventful passage, which means a good one, I arrived in lord Howe, Tuesday 21 Feb. at about 0300 am local time and heave to 12 nm off the island waiting for day light to go through the pass. When I woke up, I was greeted with strong NE winds, clocking 26 kn, so I had no choice but to beat to windward on a short but steep seas

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-83099876570463128152012-02-18T20:25:00.002-08:002012-02-22T06:02:26.274-08:00

Posted 19 Sunday 2012   30 57 S by 155 31 E I am at the present moment motor sailing towards Lord Howe, where I should arrive some time on Tuesday. I would rather be sailing, but at the same time I do not mind the motor as it gives me a chance to do emails, weather, position reports and basically getting use sailing alone. So far it has been good, but off course I did not payed my school fees to

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-51267622412855947202012-01-17T17:00:00.000-08:002012-01-18T08:00:25.565-08:00

Posted 17 January 2012 I'm very happy now that I decided to do a over nigth passage from Tweed River to Coffs Harbor because the weather in the space of a day changed for the worst. It was a good trip with NEasterlys 10 to 15 knots and small seas, but very tiresome for me because I only could sleep 10 minutes at the time. The next day, January,15th was spend resting and on the following day, I

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-91190974613417622512012-01-11T13:26:00.000-08:002012-01-12T14:00:43.914-08:00

Posted 11 January 2012 Shorncliffe is a beautiful seaside village at the mouth of Cabbage Tree creek just north of Brisbane. It his a well located marina, close by shops and trains and safe to leave the boat to go exploring. The 1st time we met Steve was in Niue aboard Heat Wave and again in Musket Cove, Fiji with his partner Nicky. We sail together from Cabbage Tree to Tangalooma on Morton

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-16759724185408733302011-12-22T14:51:00.001-08:002011-12-22T15:03:05.398-08:00

Posted 23 December 2011 Australia is such a beautiful country and the people so friendly. We sailed from Bundaberg to a small town called Shorncliffe about 5 nm north of Brisbane. We enjoy our time with Morgan although we had some bad weather.We love it here, but we also had to make some of our hardest decisions here. Since the year 2000 I enjoyed the liveaboard lifestyle and coastal cruising,

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-2467336856682205432011-11-17T16:24:00.001-08:002011-11-17T16:24:20.536-08:00

Posted 18 November 2011Our arrival in Bundaberg was a very positive experience. The Port2Port Yacht rally co-ordinates with the Australian authorities so that they know exactly when you will arrive in port. This service speeds up the clearing into the country. We had no problems and everything went smoothly. We were also welcomed by a Port2Port Yacht Rally representative with all kinds of

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-58613153135172136462011-10-26T04:43:00.000-07:002011-10-26T04:46:20.287-07:00

Posted 26 October 2011We are in Australia !!! We arrived in Bundaberg this morning after sailing for 4 days from Chesterfield reef. The trip was quite rolly for the first 2 days and then we had light winds. The boat needs to be lifted out of the water for bottom paint and lots of other little maintenance jobs. We will look into that for next week. For now we will do some exploring and get our

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-92114168367136207652011-10-17T15:06:00.000-07:002011-10-17T15:07:23.592-07:00

Posted 18 October 2011We all had a wonderful time at Huon, exploring the island. Huon is just a strip of sand with some grass and reefs, the bird life is great, we saw lots of birds and turtles. Steve, Wayne and Dean from s/v Mamalu had a great time spear fishing and gave us some lovely coral trout fillets. Jeff, Sue and Amanda from s/v Xyra invited us all for supper and we enjoyed the evening

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-40650886752665630122011-10-13T19:24:00.000-07:002011-10-13T19:35:55.576-07:00

Posted 14 October 2011We left midnight Tuesday 11 October for Atoll de Huon which is 286 nm from Espiritu Santo Island. This is the most northern island of New Caledonia. We figured that is would take us 2 and a half days to arrive Friday morning during day time. We had great sailing conditions the swell was small and the wind range from 12 to 18 knots on the beam and later on a broad run. This

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-38301396559240645012011-10-07T15:30:00.000-07:002011-10-07T15:33:49.775-07:00

Posted 8 October 2011We left Fiji with s/v Heat Wave on 21 September, after spending some time together sailing to the Blue Lagoon after we cleared out. Heat Wave was heading towards New Caledonia and ourselves towards Port Vila in Vanuatu. We started with very little wind and motored for about 6 hours before the wind settled in for a very comfortable sailing on beam reach between 10 and 15 knots

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-9837703673441803882011-09-26T13:50:00.000-07:002011-09-26T14:38:40.545-07:00

Posted 26 September 2011One of the activities was a race from Musket Cove to the Beachcombers Resort on another island for the pirates day lunch and festivities. Joao, Dinis and myself were invited aboard Seafarer 4 for the race. We were so bad dressing up as pirates, but Diane came to our rescue. This race has no rules, so a lot of fun stuff is planned for the race. We did not have balloons so

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-52725989694525744322011-09-26T13:36:00.000-07:002011-09-26T13:38:57.931-07:00

Posted 25 September 2011Fiji was magic, after our clearing in we made our way to Musket Cove Yacht club and Marina. It is on Malolo Island and is the only resort that is geared up for the yachts. This is excellent as all the yachties can enjoy the facilities of the resort and the resort guests love visiting the boats and talk to all the sailors.Our arrival coincide with the 28 th annual Fiji

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-22305121136874988652011-09-02T18:53:00.000-07:002011-09-02T19:08:01.644-07:00

Posted 3 September 2011We were watching the weather closely for a opening to go to Fiji. We had rather strong SE winds blowing for about 8 days. We did not have much time to see all the lovely islands in Tonga, but spend some time with our friends Chantal and Fredy (s/v Micromegas) and Jean-Marc and Odile (s/v Lifou) in Hunga Island.Our weather opening came and we left for Fiji on Monday

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-91121253147147174452011-09-02T17:23:00.000-07:002011-09-02T18:51:13.542-07:00

Posted 2 September 2011On Sunday morning 21 August Larry and Kim (s/v Magenta), Steve (s/v Heat Wave) and ourselves were picked up by our host. When we arrived at his residence we were just in time to see the opening of the underground oven. The oven is about 2x2x2 meters and at the bottom is a layer of hot stones. Breadfruit, yams, sweet potato and green papaya were packed in two layers above

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-86581337076145644492011-08-19T17:43:00.000-07:002011-08-19T17:42:46.900-07:00

Posted 20 August 2011The weather between Bora-Bora and Tonga seems to be quite unpredictable, with frequent squalls and rain. We had a pleasant passage until a big squall hit us. We furled the genoa and had 3 reefs in the main sail and this was done very fast. We were lucky as the amount of rain that was dumped on us was the most I have seen up to now. The winds was blowing 35 knots for about 3

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-62780571715404834222011-08-17T05:26:00.001-07:002011-08-17T05:26:09.093-07:00

Posted 15 August 2011Our passage to Niue was uneventful except for 1 night where the wind picked up to about 28 knots. Not to put too much pressure on the wind vane we reduced the genoa to quite small. We arrived in Niue at 03:00 am on Monday morning 8 th August. The bay was totally calm and with the light from the moon we had no problem seeing the mooring buoys. Our friends from Cool Cat and

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-78148672394051708452011-08-12T19:16:00.000-07:002011-08-12T22:07:14.887-07:00

Posted 8 August 2011We were 3 boats that arrived on Sunday 31 July at Palmerston Atoll, Chantal and Fredy from Micromegas and Hanuku and Darrel from Cool Cat. Our hosts Edward and Simon brought the officials aboard on Monday morning. No problems clearing into the South Cook Islands, although quite expensive, cost us $105.00 NZD. After clearing in, we all went ashore where the hosts organized a

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-11439740154483517002011-07-31T19:16:00.000-07:002011-07-31T19:19:57.150-07:00

Posted 31 July 2011On our second day out we discovered the watermaker electric motor is not working. We suspect the brushes as with a previous inspection of the motor we noted that the brushes were nearly gone. Lesson to ourselves 'make sure the tanks are full before leaving'. We had enough water for this trip and we will be able to get water in Palmerston, but we will not do that again.We had

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-51652690796255170912011-07-27T19:16:00.000-07:002011-07-27T19:18:12.337-07:00

Posted 26 July 2011We had the great fortune in meeting a Canadian family from Toronto area in Bora-Bora. Cornelia and Michael with their three children Zoe (13), Maia (11) and Liam (9) on s/v Gromit. Both Dinis and myself love children and had a great time interacting with the children and their parents. I think it is a great experience for these children learning and experiencing different

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-6474128046541750442011-07-17T18:28:00.000-07:002011-07-17T18:33:40.048-07:00

Posted 15 July 2011Early Friday morning we went to the outside reef to snorkel and we were lucky to see some lemon sharks although they were deeper. Afterwards we went with our dinghy to swim with the sting rays and the experience was just great. I was a bit scared as these sting rays are quite big about 3 to 4 feet in width. A tourist boat was already there and they came prepared with food to

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-71463910729642547352011-07-14T19:36:00.000-07:002011-07-14T19:38:38.595-07:00

Posted 14 July 2011We made our way from Tahiti to Bora-Bora by stopping at Moorea, Raiatea and Tahaa Islands. It is really beautiful and much easier to navigate. The coral reefs are very well marked and it is a pleasure to sail around the islands where possible as the reefs around the islands sufficiently stop the sea swells.There are much more fresh produce around and we did a big shopping in

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-34753242178205148342011-07-02T10:48:00.000-07:002011-07-02T18:50:12.775-07:00

Posted 2 July 2011We had an uneventful trip to Papeete. The first day we had light winds and the following day we had no wind at all. Dinis was very sad for leaving the Tuamotu archipelago, but I was ready for a big city. We arrived Thursday 30 June in a beautiful but very busy harbour. We are med moored at Quai Bir-Hakeim downtown Papeete. Was quite a process to get ourselves settle at the quay

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-89501409080274654592011-06-27T18:41:00.000-07:002011-06-27T18:44:24.119-07:00

Posted 27 June 2010We spend 4 days getting all the little boat chores done and then made our way to the south of the Atoll. We were quite a few boats at anchor and met a lovely South African family traveling on a catamaran called Malakite. We spend some time having a proper 'braai' on the beach and catching up on news from home. Fakarava so far was the best place for snorkeling, we saw hundreds

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-26250032852318203432011-06-18T20:35:00.000-07:002011-06-18T20:46:44.952-07:00

Posted 18 June 2011It is always difficult to say good bye when you are having fun in a fantastic place surrounded by fantastic people. We left early Tuesday morning 14 June from the north pass in Apataki Atoll for an overnight sail to Fakarava Atoll. The winds were light between 7 and 12 knots which was great as we were sailing close haul. Later during the night the wind direction changed and we

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-68854187344663999262011-06-18T20:26:00.000-07:002011-06-18T20:35:17.249-07:00

Posted 17 June 2011Tamaro is a motu in Apataki Atoll, it is also the name of a pet nurse shark from Mr. Assan who is the patriarch of the Lau family. They own a pearl farm business and a boat dry storage up to 20 tonne and any width run by his son Alfred and his wife Pauline, with the help of Alfred's son Tony and his fiance Caroline.The amazing thing about the shark is that at 2 to 3 o'clock in

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-45251919335956281352011-06-02T18:56:00.000-07:002011-06-02T18:58:04.114-07:00

Posted 2 June 2011We just drop anchor in an absolutely beautiful bay in Apataki Atoll. We left Manihi Atoll yesterday around 4:45 pm local time for our overnight trip to Apataki Atoll. We had a fantastic sail all the way with calm seas and 10 to 13 knots of wind on the beam. We did well, made the 78 nm within 12 hours. A strong current was against us as we entered the pass to the Atoll, so we

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-78245698825506592212011-05-29T21:24:00.000-07:002011-05-29T21:25:10.022-07:00

Posted 29 May 2011This week that we spend in Manihi Atoll flew by so fast. It is so beautiful here. We spend the week exploring the Atoll, snorkeling to look at the coral and fishes with our friends Ib and Yadranka from s/v Aeolus. We were invited for a Tuamotuan picnic on the beach at the blue lagoon by Fernando and his friends. The blue lagoon is on the eastern side of the Atoll about 15 nm

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-48145580886173857042011-05-24T00:48:00.000-07:002011-05-24T00:49:35.622-07:00

Posted 23 May 2011We left early Wednesday morning 18 May for the 480 nm to Manihi Atoll. It just happened that six of the boats that left that morning formed a little net between each other, checking in once per day on the SSB radio. We had perfect sailing conditions all the way, the wind was blowing between 10 and 15 knots with calm seas. It took us 4 days to reached the Atoll, but we had to

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-672578121748540382011-05-23T10:22:00.000-07:002011-05-23T10:24:59.889-07:00

Posted 22 May 2011As we approached Ua-Pou Island we noticed several pinnacles on the mountains and also a more dry vegetation. A beautiful island. We were later told that this island is one of the driest islands in Marquises and that the water supply is shutdown 3 times during the day at times. We found the people the most friendly here, for example, Dinis asked a lady where we can find a

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-25332213513410679392011-05-20T17:28:00.000-07:002011-05-20T17:34:14.819-07:00

Posted 19 May 2011Baie de Taiohae is a big bay and we had no problems finding a spot to anchor. We were glad to see our friends Ib and Yadranka from s/v Aeolus at anchor in the bay. We last saw them in Hiva-Oa. We spend a few days exploring the beautiful village, done some provisioning and trying to sort out the internet and our gmail account problems. Unfortunately singing on to our gmail in

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-37221441765680493982011-05-16T00:17:00.000-07:002011-05-16T00:19:24.597-07:00

Posted 15 May 2011We had a boisterous sail from Tahuata Island to Fatu-Hiva Island with head winds 15 to 22 knots, which caused us to sail slightly south east of the island, took us 11 hours to finally reached the island. This was well worth it, as the anchorage was the most spectacular and beautiful. The following day we met up with Mary and John from s/v Kittywake and Gary and Sue from s/v

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-69605693137074838012011-05-03T18:59:00.000-07:002011-05-03T19:02:02.031-07:00

Posted 3 May 2011We arrived on a overcast and rainy day at the beautiful Hiva-Oa island. The bay was packed with 19 sailing boats all anchored with bow and stern anchors. We were lucky that one boat left just before we arrived and had a spot to drop the anchor.We pumped the dinghy the next day and headed into town to check-in. Dinis used his Portuguese passport and required no bond, so off to the

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-20411392561201020412011-04-26T20:43:00.001-07:002011-05-02T16:20:06.572-07:00

Posted 26 April 2011 We finally arrived after 23 days. The passage was fast with the help of the current that pushed us along. We dropped anchor at 14:00 hours local time. The weather was overcast and rainy, so we decided to take the afternoon and just relax watching a movie and then going to bed to catch up all the lost sleep. We will pump up the dinghy and check in tomorrow morning. More on

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-80660573879812006332011-04-22T17:31:00.000-07:002011-05-02T16:21:34.812-07:00

Posted 22 April 2011 We are still doing fine, just a very long passage. Dinis enjoys the solitude and the tranquility of the passage much more than me. I much prefer coastal cruising and shorter passages. This is our longest passage in our planned circumnavigation. We saw dolphins twice, saw lots of flying fish, some birds and 1 fishing vessel, other than that a pretty quite and uneventful trip.

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-25924696913498428762011-04-16T00:47:00.000-07:002011-05-02T16:22:50.131-07:00

Posted 16 April 2010 Our position is 08 degrees 20 minutes south and 113 degrees 57 minutes west, we are halfway !! Took us 12 and a half days to reached the halfway point, 1500 nm to go. For a couple of days after we left Galapagos on Sunday April 3, we had to motor to get through the doldrums. There was no wind, the seas calm with the daily squall or sometimes a series of squalls. We did not

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-87313882780771199512011-04-15T08:42:00.000-07:002011-04-15T08:59:10.403-07:00

Posted 14 April 2010We were very sad when we raised anchor on Sunday 3 April for our long passage to the Marquesas. Galapagos was the one place that we both loved. Wildlife, nature and its people live in harmony and this piecefullness engulfs a person. We say farewell with the fondest memories.We would like to say thank you to our agent Bolivar Pesantes Palma and his family. Bolivar did not only

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-70105552262360076572011-04-14T14:20:00.000-07:002011-04-14T14:22:43.396-07:00

Posted 13 April 2010DinisIn the Galapagos we met Don Guido Rossio and I believe the only Ham (HC8GR) in the archipelago at the moment. Four American aficionados supplied the materials and the towers were build in Finca Chelito II, El Junco, Don Guido's farm.The antenna farm consists of four towers of 50 meters high each, installed in a square of 60 meters by 60 meters, orientated in a north east

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-4456243585329364172011-04-02T07:57:00.001-07:002011-04-02T07:57:15.589-07:00

Posted 31 March 2011, written by Dinis'Isla Puna', I believe is a medium size tanker, 1,000,000 gallons of fuel, captained by Alejandro Soto, that services the fuel needs of Galapagos Islands. We had the opportunity to meet him and enjoy his company for half a day. Captain Alejandro is one of those people that one likes at first glance, warm, polite, well receiving and a proud Ecuadorian. Before

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-63346078581535732862011-03-30T16:45:00.000-07:002011-03-30T16:46:08.476-07:00

Posted 30 March 2011Friday morning 25 March we took a taxi to Playa Loberia to do some snorkeling with turtles and sea lions and also to see the marine iguanas. This is a beautiful beach with great surf. We arrived early in the morning at high tide and many surfers were already surfing. The water was quite refreshing, colder than in Central America, but still nice to snorkel. We saw our first

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-16637916507558688012011-03-28T05:15:00.000-07:002011-03-28T05:24:43.309-07:00

Posted 25 March 2011Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the capital of the province of Galapagos, it is characterized by its devoted people and it is mainly fishing and tourism activities that have come to develop, in a sustainable way, the environment. The highlands of San Cristobal have many farms and cattle ranches.On this island there was a fishing company called 'The Land' which had its flowering for

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-79072923861109866482011-03-23T11:04:00.000-07:002011-03-23T13:32:45.320-07:00

Posted 23 March 2011 We visited the Interpretation Center of Galapagos National Park yesterday. It is located at the northern edge of town. It is composed of three independent buildings connected by walk ways. Presents exhibition halls and conference rooms, natural history that explains the origin of the islands, human history that describes the presence of man since the discovery of the

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-13701766019748726002011-03-21T18:55:00.000-07:002011-03-23T13:32:05.289-07:00

Posted 21 March 2011 We arrived !! We made it in 5 and half days. We had a great day sailing and also had a small celebration crossing the equator. I had the camera ready to capture the changing from North to South, but was too slow and only manage to capture 00 degrees 00.0018 minutes South. So we are officially in the southern hemisphere. Dinis was on the ham radio talking to our friend

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-45625574710504239942011-03-21T05:20:00.000-07:002011-03-23T13:31:35.557-07:00

Posted 21 March 2011 Sunday 20 March was a continuation from the previous day, the same weather conditions. At least yesterday both Dinis and myself were feeling more energetic. Beating into the weather, although the seas are not big (about 3 feet swell) is very tiring. The wind changed during the night to a SE direction. This was exactly what we were waiting for, as we were about 10 degrees off

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-25340555513651506952011-03-20T04:54:00.000-07:002011-03-23T13:10:02.744-07:00

Posted 20 March 2011 Today, Saturday 19 March was one of the best sailing days so far. The wind changed blowing from the South 10 to 14 knots. This is great and we also have at least 1 knot of current with us. We did a 115 nm in the last 24 hours, still 220 nm left to Isla San Cristobal. We saw no traffic all day and night, making for a long and boring 24 hours. We did pass the halfway point

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-81681171953302193522011-03-19T05:38:00.000-07:002011-03-23T13:06:25.101-07:00

Posted 19 March 2011 The third day was full of surprises. Our stowaway juvenile booby bird left early this morning, I assume that Isla Del Coco was close enough to fly to. At that time we were about 130 nm south east of the island. We are still steaming along under engine, but had at least a few hours of sailing. We saw lots of dolphins today, they swam around us for at least an hour. I took

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-11653581633596332362011-03-18T04:53:00.000-07:002011-03-23T13:30:56.233-07:00

Posted 18 March 2011 The second day was uneventful except that we still have our hitch hiker on board. It is amazing that the bird sits on the pulpit all this time, without moving. During the day it is very hot inside, maximum temperature reached was 35 degrees Celsius. Luckily we run the water maker at least every other day, as nothing cools you down like a cold, or rather warmish shower. The

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-49177365783081210672011-03-17T12:29:00.000-07:002011-03-23T13:07:44.733-07:00

Posted 17 March 2011 At 07:30 am this morning were our first 24 hours. We did 116 nm on a very pleasant trip. The wind is from SW between 7 to 10 with the occasional 12 knots. Although we are on the beat the sailing is great, not much heel. We are able to sail a straight course to Galapagos 215 degrees true with our speed over ground 4 to 5 knots. We have another 570 nm to go and if the wind

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-8541942366854872552011-03-16T09:55:00.000-07:002011-03-16T10:12:18.125-07:00

Posted 16 March 2011We had an absolute fantastic time at Fishhook Marina. Management at the marina is doing a great job, friendly staff are always willing to lent a hand. The food are very good, every meal on the menu tasted great. We worked very hard getting the boat ready for our trip to Galapagos. All the standing rig was washed and inspected, the bilges washed and tested, Dinis fixed the

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-4802433200209667332011-03-11T19:28:00.000-08:002011-03-11T19:28:40.956-08:00

Posted 11 March 2011 Just to let everyone know that Golfito was not impacted by the Tsunami at all. Everyone at the marina were monitoring the situation very closely, but we did not have any swell or sign of any abnormal tides.

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-18959737345428108772011-03-10T16:51:00.000-08:002011-03-15T05:39:46.097-07:00

Posted 10 March 2011 We left Isla Del Cano at 02:45 am and had no wind, so motoring it was. We had the current against us for about 3 hours and then it improved. We got wind when we were turning into Dulce Golf and were sailing nicely downwind. We arrived just after 4 pm in the afternoon in a beautiful Golfito.  We had our first rain since we left Vancouver just after we anchored. This was great

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-32022303507695975252011-03-07T13:31:00.000-08:002011-03-07T13:39:11.291-08:00

Posted 7 March 2011Costa Rica has a much more beautiful coastline so far. It is more rugged and lots of reefs. More of a lush vegetation. We stayed an extra day in Bahia Tamarindo. Our friends from s/v Wanderlust arrived on Thursday and drop anchor close by. We were both heading out the next day, Wanderlust to Bahia Samara and us to Bahia Carrillo, which is the next bay.We left Friday morning 4

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-17433302085301485922011-03-02T16:45:00.000-08:002011-03-10T10:47:20.947-08:00

Posted 2 March 2011 We left San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, early Friday morning 25 February. This was the first break in the Papagayo winds and we wanted to make the 60 nm miles to Costa Rica as soon as possible. We motored all the way with 4 to 6 knots of wind from the back. We dropped anchor around 4:30 pm on Friday afternoon. We tried to contact the Port Captain to check into the country, but

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-87735640804035666222011-02-23T09:48:00.001-08:002011-02-23T09:48:50.127-08:00

Posted 23 February 2011This time of year the papagayos blow constantly. Very seldom we see winds less than 20 knots. We wanted to get going so we decided that we will leave as soon as the winds drop in a 20 to 25 knot range. This will still be a fast and into the wind sail, but much better than dealing with a 30 knot wind range.On Saturday morning 19 February the winds were more favourable and we

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-81212336354009982102011-02-20T15:02:00.000-08:002011-02-20T15:03:04.362-08:00

Posted 20 February 2011We left Barillas Marina on Wednesday morning 9 February with S/V Maja following the pilot boat. We had one of our best sailing days when we left. Our initial plan was to anchor off the bay in Golf of Fonseca, but with the good winds we decided to continue on towards Corinto in Nicaragua. We arrived at 4 am the next morning and drop anchor in the bay next to the harbour

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-1689961940091669132011-02-20T06:41:00.001-08:002011-02-20T15:28:51.355-08:00

Posted 20 February 2011 Apologies to all our friends and family as the blog is not up to date as yet, I do keep 'Our Current Position' up to date by doing a position report as soon as we drop the anchor or every 24 hours if on a longer sail. We are currently in San Juan Del Sur in Nicaragua, arrived yesterday afternoon 19 February. That trip will be another posting. I would just like to

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-24642287278236115472011-02-18T16:13:00.000-08:002011-02-20T05:49:05.803-08:00

Posted 17 February 2010 We arrived late in the evening in Antigua and the first 2 hotels that we wanted to check in, were fully booked. We did find a spot at Hotel Casa Rustica. This Hotel turned out to be pretty good for a very reasonable price. It is 1 block from the centre of town and have great facilities. It caters more for the budget conscience traveler which were great with us. The hotel

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-53780586254356219352011-02-17T04:58:00.000-08:002011-02-17T05:00:31.548-08:00

Posted 15 February 2011We took a double deck bus to Guatemala city and it proved to be a good choice of transport, as it was very comfortable and because we occupied the front seats on top, it was very scenic as well. As we traveled, it was shocking to see the amount of garbage disposed on both sides of the road on both sides of the border. Arriving in Guatemala City from the mountains, the view

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-24155782239154513972011-02-08T19:28:00.001-08:002011-02-19T18:15:43.809-08:00

Posted 7 February 2011 We decided against renting a car. It was recommended by ham friends from the Spider Web Net that we take public transport. There are some pretty good luxury bus services from San Salvador to Guatemala and in Guatemala there are lots of mini vans transporting people between cities at very good prices. We also discovered that a rental car needs a permit outside the country.

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-39525682290626402242011-01-29T07:30:00.001-08:002011-01-31T16:10:04.601-08:00

Posted 29 January 2011 Our 5 day trip from Huatulco, Mexico to Barillas, El Salvador was good. It is very difficult to predict the weather and you always second guessing yourself. We want to say a very big THANK YOU to Peter (W6DEI) from San Fransico as he sent us the buoy weather reports each day as we moved along the coastline. We also had ham stations from the Maritime net checking on the

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-28660309178191683912011-01-26T11:48:00.000-08:002011-01-28T11:14:27.892-08:00

Posted 26 January 2011 We cleared customs on Sunday 23 January at around midday and was ready to go. We had a weather window for 2 to 3 days to cross the Golf of Tehuantepec. Although the weather called for light winds we decided that we will keep close to the shoreline around 10 to 20 nm offshore. We had very little wind and only manage to sail for 3 hours on Sunday. Monday was another motoring

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-17224362666584176752011-01-26T10:46:00.000-08:002011-01-31T16:01:58.801-08:00

Posted 26 January 2011 Oaxaca city is the capital of Oaxaca state. We arrived at 06:30 am on Wednesday morning 19 January after a very exhausting trip. The bus was very comfortable, but the roads had so many curves upon curves and speed bumps that it made sleeping impossible. We booked ourselves into a very nice hotel across the street from the bus station, had a shower, a hour or two sleep,

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-2627071742756524782011-01-24T10:38:00.000-08:002011-01-24T10:39:14.804-08:00

Posted 23 January 2011Huatulco town is the most beautiful coastal town that we visited, with buildings and roads very well maintained, and lots of gardens and grass. Prices for taxis anywhere in town is 20 pesos. The grocery store is nearby and trouble free. Restaurants are also reasonably priced. We walked around town away from the touristy spots and all very clean, no garbage and no smell.We

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-88588776839899472472011-01-17T21:07:00.000-08:002011-01-17T21:07:21.846-08:00

Posted 17 January 2011 We arrived in Huatulco this afternoon. We are currently moored at Marina Chahue, the first time we are back in a marina since Ensenada. We gave the boat a good wash, actually we washed the boat twice. Lots of salt and sand had accumulated. We are planning a trip to Oaxaca to see the Monte Alban Ruins. We are taking the overnight bus tomorrow and will return on Thursday 20

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-40749930156243525742011-01-16T15:29:00.000-08:002011-01-16T15:31:27.353-08:00

Posted 16 January 2011This little bay is by far the most beautiful bay we saw. We anchored for 2 days waiting for the winds to drop a little. The anchorage is expose to the south and the west, which cause it to be a bit rolly. It is protected from the north and the east where most of the bad weather comes from. During the nights the winds shift offshore so that the rolling is more of a up and

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-91365649528926497282011-01-13T18:24:00.000-08:002011-01-17T20:26:03.128-08:00

Posted 13 January 2011 It is hot, hot !! We have all the fans going and only moderate relieve. We have an extra fan that Dinis wants to put in our V-berth. That will definitely be great. Our sail from Acapulco was great, beam reach half of the way before the wind dropped. Bahia Dulce is a bay just north of Acamama Point. This bay reminded us of Isabela Island, lots of birds and fish. There is a

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-65982166472894976292011-01-13T10:19:00.000-08:002011-01-15T08:25:24.827-08:00

Posted 11 January 2011 Acapulco was the least favorite city so far. We went ashore once to do provisioning and the rest of the time we spend getting the boat ready for the Golf of Tehuantepec. The Golf of Tehuantepec can be very treacherous and you have to get a good weather window for crossing, especially this time of the year. If there is a high pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico then this

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-46607809845366259772011-01-08T20:19:00.000-08:002011-01-08T20:19:46.195-08:00

Posted 8 January 2011 We had a good rest and the weather forecast predicted good winds only for one day and then a couple of days with no wind. So we left around 11:00 am on a beam reach with 10 to 14 knots of wind. The seas were calm and we had an enjoyable sail. As predicted the wind dropped and we motored the rest of the way (20 hours). It was hot and all the fans were going to keep the boat

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-38906164139141955622011-01-05T17:58:00.000-08:002011-01-08T19:58:31.805-08:00

Posted 5 January 2011 We left Barra de Navidad around 9:00 am on Tuesday 4 January 2011 for Acapulco which is 320 nm south east. We had a beautiful downwind sailing day until 1:00 am on Wednesday morning when the wind dropped. From this time until we dropped anchor at Puerto Lazaro Cardenas, we had just about everything against us. Dinis says that a bad day sailing is still better than a good

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-4996785871315476572010-12-31T15:40:00.000-08:002011-01-03T07:14:38.411-08:00

Posted 31 December 2010 We left La Cruz Tuesday morning 28 December for Barra de Navidad, which is about 130 nm south. Banderas Bay is a huge bay, it took us 5 hours motoring to reach the end of the bay and start heading south. We had light winds (8 to 10 knots) and decided that we will hoist the drifter. Dinis has been telling me for ages that sailing downwind with the drifter or the spinnaker

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-57920471833814848672010-12-24T15:50:00.000-08:002010-12-24T15:54:33.137-08:00

Posted 24 December 2010 We left Isabela Island on Saturday morning 18 December, had a good sail for about 2 hours when the wind dropped. We motor-sail the rest of the way. We noticed that the landscape is becoming sub-tropical, greener and more flowers. We drop our anchor in a beautiful bay called Matanchen, just south of San Blas. Our friends from S/V Maloose join us the next day to do some

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-88045218664039798512010-12-15T17:33:00.000-08:002010-12-22T20:57:32.014-08:00

Posted 15 December 2010 We were suppose to leave Mazatlan on Saturday afternoon, but after filling the diesel tanks in El Cid marina we decided to spend the night in front of Isla Pajaros. While we were anchoring we heard our friends Ian and Ellen from Kasasa on route to Mazatlan. We contacted them via VHF and they drop their anchor close by just before sunset. We spend the evening catching up

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-8891470880067546182010-12-08T09:08:00.000-08:002010-12-10T09:58:00.088-08:00

Posted 8 December 2010 Mazatlan is great, we are having so much fun that I do not know where to start. OK... from the beginning, we left Los Frailes on Thursday morning 2 December and sailed on a beam reach most of the way. It was blowing 15 to 16 knots constant with gusts of 18/20 at times. We manage to sail about ¾ of the way before the wind died and we went the rest of the way under motor. We

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-68491121152606011942010-12-08T08:45:00.000-08:002010-12-08T08:50:53.054-08:00

Posted 7 December 2010We wanted to sail more north into the Sea of Cortes, but change our plan as we have misjudged the winter northern winds. It blows for about 3 to 4 days and then you have a weather window for about 3 to 4 days. With the delay in Cabo San Lucas and the northern winds we decided to head to Mazatlan instead and make our way south from there. We are looking into sailing to

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-1438844219790665452010-11-29T10:12:00.000-08:002010-12-10T09:58:57.312-08:00

Posted 29 November 2010 We left Cabo San Lucas at 7 am on Friday morning 26 November and had quite a tough sail with the wind on the nose to Bahia Los Frailes. The boat had a hard time punching trough the waves and at times the waves stop the boat to an almost standstill with a speed of about 0.5 knots. We decided to turn around and run downwind for about 3 miles and anchor at Point Gorda for

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-51581060402440480172010-11-23T12:13:00.000-08:002010-11-24T08:37:56.158-08:00

Posted 23 November 2010 We moved the boat to Ballena Point to avoid paying for anchoring. Ballena Point is just out of the bay with more of a rocky shoreline. This works great for snorkelling, much more fish to see. The port authority (API) charge 130 pesos a day for anchoring and 30 pesos per day to leave your dinghy at the dingy dock. With us having to wait for the Solar Boost unit this adds

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-61057008273001952762010-11-20T19:12:00.000-08:002010-11-20T19:12:09.535-08:00

Posted 20 November 2010 Good news the solar boost unit arrived in California USA and was fixed. They will send it back on Monday morning so hopefully we should have it before the end of the week. In the mean time Dinis tried the hooka diving gear and it works great. He dived and spend quite some time exploring the area around the boat. He took a few pictures of the boat’s underwater profile

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-26166808756298143222010-11-13T23:43:00.000-08:002010-11-14T07:41:00.185-08:00

Posted 14 November 2010 Luckily for us the weather gave us good wind for the first 20 hours. We had a great sail from Magdalena Bay to Cabo San Lucas. The wind blew a constant 12 to 17 knots. We had just the genoa up and was doing a good speed. We did a 139 nm in 24 hours which were good. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon 10 November in Cabo San Lucas. We anchored in the bay. During the

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-1321702466427649552010-11-08T14:14:00.000-08:002010-11-11T08:40:46.907-08:00

Posted 8 November 2010 We arrived in Magdalena Bay on Thursday 4 November in the afternoon. There was very little wind most of the way and we only managed to sail for about 5 hours. We saw lots of fishermen buoys for lobster all the way. This was quite stressful as they tied a line between 2 buoys, which can get stuck around the propeller. At night time this was even more of a pain as it is very

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-24385213786101166382010-11-01T13:01:00.000-07:002010-11-01T13:02:43.936-07:00

Posted 1 November 2010Life aboard has fallen into a rhythm now. While at anchor we wake up when the sun shines through our skylight (hatch), have a cup of coffee and breakfast cereal. There is usually something that needs fixing and/or cleaning. By mid morning we should have the chores done and can relax. The rest of the day is taken up by reading, planning the next route, getting the weather

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-90664477254515321422010-10-28T19:58:00.000-07:002010-11-10T21:29:01.065-08:00

Posted 28 October 2010 The sail to San Benito Islands started with great wind, then no wind and then too much wind. We were surfing down the waves at times at 9.44 knots with only the staysail and 3 reefs in the main. We were doing a constant speed of about 7 to 8 knots. This lasted for about 2 hours and then we took the main down as the waves were too big and push the boat too much on the side

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-3498036334915277172010-10-27T08:44:00.000-07:002010-10-27T08:45:40.102-07:00

Posted 25 October 2010We decided to sail to Guadalupe Island first (166 nm south west of San Quintin bay) then we will make our way to San Benito and Cedros Islands. We left on Saturday 23 October morning at 10:00 and had nice sailing on a close reach all the way. The wind picked up (18 to 20 knots) towards late afternoon and we had 2 reefs in the main and the genoa furled to only 90%. We were

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-74516025439783423842010-10-21T09:36:00.000-07:002010-10-21T09:38:30.936-07:00

Posted 21 October 2010We left Ensenada on Monday morning heading for the Islas De Todos Santos. The wind was blowing a nice breeze and we decided to get ourselves back into the sailing habit and hoist the sails for a nice little sail to the islands. Dinis new mission is to try and make as many contacts as he can with other ham radio stations from the islands in Mexico. So we drop anchor for the

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-72552596959280570062010-10-14T18:29:00.000-07:002010-10-17T11:17:38.541-07:00

Posted 14 October 2010 We had a lovely sail from San Diego to Los Coronados Islands, Mexico. Dinis made quite a few QSO from there while we were waiting for night fall. We decided to sail during the night so that we can arrive during day time in Ensenada. In the end this strategy did not work that good as again we arrived under fog. During our trip to Ensenada we noticed that the oil that

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-21725756930058052292010-10-01T13:28:00.000-07:002010-10-01T13:29:40.783-07:00

Posted 1 October 2010 San Diego’s weather has changed. It is hot and we love it. We had some rain, lightning and thunder yesterday. This year’s weather has been really foggy and cold all the way from Vancouver, BC. Finally we sleep with the hatches open during night time to allow airflow. Glorietta Bay, this is the first anchorage after La Playa that we both enjoyed. It is next to a golf

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-83732995169447473502010-09-24T12:52:00.001-07:002010-09-24T12:53:34.662-07:00

Posted 24 September 2010 San Diego is very beautiful. We love the different flowers, trees and architecture. Although we encounter lower temperatures than normal, the sun shone everyday and we are wearing shorts and t-shirts most of the time. There is a big military influence in San Diego, with big navy and air force fleets. We went to the Maritime Museum, all the historic ships and the USS

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-81241161237565259802010-09-15T09:06:00.000-07:002010-09-23T21:37:20.895-07:00

Posted 15 September 2010 The anchoring at Santa Catalina Island was great. We made up the lost sleep, had a shower, cooked a nice supper and was ready for the overnight trip to San Diego. Dinis was full of beans and did a 5 hour watch, which was great for me. There was not much wind so we hook up our little automatic tiller pilot. During Dinis second watch he noticed that the boat was heading

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-21481292786720937762010-09-15T09:02:00.000-07:002010-09-15T09:14:36.341-07:00

Posted 10 September 2010 The trip started early Wednesday morning. We are currently in Santa Cruz Basin near San Diego. Our ETA (estimated time of arrival) is Saturday night, but we will anchor at Santa Catalina Island during the day on Saturday and continue to San Diego on Saturday night so that we will arrive during daylight on Sunday. I had to go beyond my comfort level in many aspects of

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-10855333451369565172010-09-05T12:49:00.000-07:002010-09-05T14:52:37.633-07:00

Posted 5 September 2010 We are currently anchored in beautiful Sausalito bay. It is very picturesque and have a European feeling to it. We are waiting for the weather to be more favourable and in the mean time doing some sightseeing and spending time with our friends Ellen and Ian. They also sailed from Vancouver on S/V Kasasa and arrived a day before us in San Francisco. Ellen took the photo of

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-5312721092478460142010-09-02T00:23:00.000-07:002010-09-02T09:09:37.821-07:00

Posted 2 September 2010 We left Crescent City at 05:00 am on Saturday morning 28 Aug. We had a beautiful sailing day and night, doing boat speeds 6 to 7 knots and with the currents and some surfing doing 8 to 9 knots. We did a fantastic 140 nm in 24 hours. On Sunday the winds picked up a bit, blowing a constant 18 to 23 knots, gusting at times 28 to 30. This tremendously increased the sea swells

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-91151181668102241982010-08-19T12:36:00.000-07:002010-09-02T09:12:51.662-07:00

Posted 19 August 2010 We arrived Wednesday 18 Aug. in Crescent City, Northern California. Although this trip was mostly motoring due to the lack of wind, we are happy with our progress. We had the current helping us along as well and we made good time. On Tuesday about 150 nm offshore Oregon coast, we had dolphins swimming with us and gave us a nice show. They rode the boat’s bow wave and

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-47885392479892387462010-08-17T12:12:00.000-07:002010-09-02T09:13:32.220-07:00

Posted 17 August 2010 After all our little tasks were done during our week stay in Tofino, we got all our weather faxes and text weather forecasts. We noticed that Friday's 48 and 96 hour weather faxes show good conditions and that the text weather forecast is calling 10 to 20 knots of wind in a N and NW direction for the 4 days. We decided that according to our route planning this was perfect

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-9685520884481789472010-08-02T20:13:00.000-07:002010-09-02T09:14:02.126-07:00

Posted 2 August 2010 We left Winter Harbour in the morning for our first sea trial. The wind was in our favour blowing between 10 and 15 knots. Great we can test the windvane in lighter winds as we had trouble before setting it in lighter winds. With just the genoa we manage to test the windvane. The wind increased and we decided to keep just the genoa flying. 'Morgs' was doing a good job

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-88864671333177359992010-07-24T21:26:00.000-07:002010-09-02T09:14:38.363-07:00

Posted 24 July 2010 For the last week we were just amaze with the wildlife. We saw a grizzly and a black bear, lots of birds and dolphins. The scenery is just breath taking. We were at anchor in Port Neville for 2 days waiting for the gale force winds to subside. We were able to test our riding sail during this time. Vida Nova tend to 'sail' at anchor and the riding sail cut that by half,

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-24636065563178206632010-07-21T11:00:00.001-07:002010-07-24T20:49:14.387-07:00

The decision the come north first turned out to be great. We are testing all the boat systems and at the same time getting our sea legs. We had head winds and waves all the way, which is quite tiresome. We had our first gale in Johnstone Strait with gusts of wind of 32 knots. The boat did well. We are getting better everyday and what a great help the 'biltong' was especially the first day. We

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-45311838141916218022010-07-02T17:04:00.000-07:002010-07-02T17:05:28.108-07:00

On Saturday 26 June, after a wonderful afternoon with the boys and Gary it was time to cast off the lines and leave our moorage at Shelter Island. This was our home port for the last 10 years. On Monday morning, after a relaxing weekend the boat was hauled out at Granville Island boatyard for the final survey, some little jobs and bottom paint. On Wednesday morning, with our nerves at end we

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-67575522807699292402010-06-20T20:55:00.000-07:002010-06-20T20:55:08.272-07:00

First we would like to say thanks to Morgan and Aaron for letting us use their house and for been such good hosts. We would also like to say thanks to all our friends who were able to join us on such sort notice. We had a great day with great food and great weather.

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-84996658743651102422010-01-03T19:57:00.000-08:002010-05-04T20:29:15.549-07:00

We left Shelter Island on Thursday 24 December, very cold, no wind but sunny. An uneventful trip down the river and across the Strait of Georgia. We were playing around with our new camera, trying out the different settings. Dinis made his first ham QSO while we were motoring. We anchored in Clam bay for the night. On Christmas morning after breakfast we left for Cowichan bay on Vancouver Island

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-91215248083973167472009-10-15T19:38:00.000-07:002010-04-15T21:27:04.135-07:00

July 15, 2010 is fast approaching and we are nearly ready. Only a few things on the to-do list. Dinis got his Ham license and has spoken to quite a few people, both locally and international. He is very proud of the new chart table as we added some more electronics. We successfully downloaded weather charts that were clear and readable. We were very excited. I am busy looking into setting up

S/V Vida Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03137879164767010068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7797805228604946382.post-62568619354377137442007-10-06T17:23:00.000-07:002007-10-06T19:15:32.707-07:00

We spend the Thanksgiving weekend at Telegraph Harbour with our friends from Blue Water Cruising Association. After a wonderfull weekend, the Monday was a perfect day for sailing back to Shelter Island. The wind was blowing about 12 - 15 knots, lots of little whitecaps on the water. We put a reef in the main and all was fine. You can still see some snow on the Northshore mountains and a thick fog

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