For all of you interested in our adventures and whom do not read/understand cloggy language I will do my best to jot down a few words now and then during our trip in the Queen's language.

First some details on what is behind all them buttons on the left. Home shows a wee chart with our planned route. Port of departure was Scheveningen, the Netherlands. Then Belgium, South coast UK, Spain, Portugal, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, Caribbean (depending on the availability of time maybe we will sail South and visit Trinidad & Tobago, maybe even Suriname). From the Caribbean it's back across the Atlantic to the Azores and from there on to Spain, the English Channel, maybe France finally ending up back in Scheveningen.

The button KLEF opens up the world of KLEF, our boat. It shows a list of technical details on type of boat, her designer, her length, draught, engine, navigation equipment, etc. and some pictures of her in- and exterior. CREW & Contact shows you who we are, KLEF's crew. Marieke en myself including pictures of both of us at the wheel of KLEF. On the bottom of the page is our email address (we do not have some fancy direct link with internet on board except when we berth in a marina with wireless, so we can only respond to emails once we visit a marina or an internet cafe) and our Iridium phone number (you can send free SMS' from the Iridium site, we can't reply!). This phone is primarily on board for use in case of emergency so we will not have it switched on very often.

The LOG button shows our 'dairy' including dates, places visited and some specific pictures. Most of the pictures we shoot can be found under Foto's and are sorted per month. The Filmpje vd maand button will contain a link to a different movie each month which should give the viewer a better idea of what it is like to live on board a boat, while sailing or during one of our tourist-tours etc. As we are both very fond of lighthouses we have added a page (Vuurtorens) which will be showing all the lighthouses we pass during our voyage. Finally, the last button, Leven aan boord, captures 'life on board' including an explanation on how we deal with having 'only' 360 ltr of water, limited electricity, no 220V and a list of things to fix, change, upgrade, break down etc.

I will, from here on downwards, try to summarize everything that is mentioned on the other pages but without pictures.

We left Scheveningen on July 28th after both quitting our jobs (Edo in Feb, Marieke in Jun), selling the house, 5 months of hard labour on KLEF, stocking up the boat with drinks & food and last but not least throwing a party to say goodbye to our family and friends (see Foto's, July). The last couple of weeks were used to finalize the 'can't leave without' items on our 'to do' list. A new and more powerful alternator had to be installed onto the engine and connected to the three stage Alpha Pro charging regulator (for pics see Leven aan boord), new batteries were ordered and had to be put in place etc etc. Somehow you always run into some kind of problem while trying to complete these tasks. E.g. there was about 1 mm too little space for the new alternator so I had a plate of steel made of 12 mm thick which I bolted in-between the engine crankcase and the alternator-support. Then the engine would not start as the warning light on the control panel was no longer connected to the alternator (as was the case with the old alternator but as the new alternator has an external regulator this was no longer required) so I had to fabricate another relay). Enough technical stuff.

We left early in the morning and as we headed out onto the Northsea it became clear this was not the best day to leave as there was no wind. The sea as flat as a mirror and the sun slowly rising above Scheveningen as we motored out and headed South-West past the busy entrance to Rotterdam harbour towards Belgium. Later in the afternoon as we cruised along the coast of Zeeland the wind started to pick up and we rolled out/hoisted our sail (High Aspect jib and mainsail). Our first port of call was to be Blankenberge just south of Zeebrugge on the Belgian coast, a nasty looking town from the seaside but a nice and quiet harbour where we moored next to another Dutch sailing yacht. Our first day of our trip couldn't be better (although the engine rev counter did not work, had I done something wrong in connecting the alternator?). Two more towns were visited on the Belgian coast, Oostende (not planned but due to mucho wind we popped in and stayed a night) and Nieuwpoort where we had to hide for a couple of days as force 7-8 was beating down on the coast. We rented a couple of bicycles, visited the town. met other Dutch sailors and asked ourselves why the Belgians close their shops at midday just as we were dying for a French fries with mayonnaise after being complete soaked on our bicycles. After 4 days the weather forecast cleared up and we made our plan to cross the channel and try to end up in Ramsgate, a trip of 50 Nm across the worlds busiest shipping lanes. By 7 o'clock PM we were having our first curry in the UK with a view of Ramsgate harbor after a smooth trip, crossing three TSS (Traffic Separation Scheme) lanes and not having to alter our course once for the big boys of the seas steaming along at 20+ knots. We moored alongside a Dutch yacht (again) and went for a walk into town, got some GBP's and sat down for a nice tandoori with a cold beer. Not much to say about Ramsgate, nice town, nice marina (although it can be a bit uncomfortable with the wind coming from the wrong direction) and huge fish & chips portions. We took the bus to Canterbury to see and visit the Cathedral, had a pint on the terrace of the Royal Temple Yacht club and had a terrible last night with the boat on leeward side and 20 knts of wind pushing her against the pontoon. Time to go.

Only 18 miles had to be covered as Dover was going to be our next port, taking the channel in between the infamous Goodwill Knoll banks and shore. Had a bit of a rough exit of the harbor of Ramsgate as tide was against wind creating pretty big and chaotic waves. Made it through, headed for the East Brake buoy and went 90 degrees to starboard heading for Dover. As this was only going to be a short stop and we wanted to test our anchor setup (and save some money of course) we entered Dover Harbor at full speed through the Eastern entrance in between two ferries (sailing yacht KLEF, this is Port Control, please make your best speed........) and dropped anchor just off the Prince of Wales pier (just to ensure we would not run into trouble I asked port control for permission). What started as a very quiet and nice night became a nightmare as the wind picked up during the night and the GPS started beeping (we had the anchor alarm set). Got up, checked, all ok.

Early the next morning we hoisted the anchor (stupid anchor winch relay, it ain't working as it should, need to take it apart sometime) and the main sail, asked port control permission to leave the harbor and made a quick exit out of the Western exit and set sail for Dungeness. Plan was to make it to Eastbourne (Sovereign Marina) approx. 45 miles down the coast.

Had a great day with a good breeze although it's direction meant we had to tack our way to Eastbourne. In Dover we changed the jib, which we were using since leaving Scheveningen, for our genoa as we anticipated less wind. Klef came into the groove beating towards Eastbourne in a calm sea with a 16 knot breeze. The entrance to Sovereign Marina (East of Eastbourne) takes you through a short buoyed channel which, at low water, has only 2 mtr depth and into a lock taking you back up to marina level. We arrived a hour or so after low water so entering the channel with its bare banks made our hearts beat a little faster. Once through the lock you enter a very well setup marina with the best showers of the South Coast! Besides that it's a bit of a posh holiday resort with street names like: Little Venice..... We did meet a Dutch couple onboard a Najad 490 named Lahaina whom have the same plans as us (we had all attended a informative meeting organized by the 'Zeilen' magazine back in April in Enkhuizen, the Netherlands). Also had a chat with the crew of Will You while helping each other berth/leave (at that time we did not know their names but we soon found an email from Pam and Dave in our inbox and would meet them again later in Weymouth). They are heading for Greece.

Marieke visited Eastbourne a long time ago for an English course with EF (Educational Foundation) and still loads of foreign kids meet outside the McDonalds as she did 20 years ago. We had a fish & chips on the pier of which the last bite, just before it entered my mouth, was rudely stolen by a seagull during a low fly-by. Of course Beachy Head was visited, 1001 pictures taken and a long walk along the magnificent cliffs. Another day was spend on some DIY (Navtex had not given us any messages since leaving Belgium, re-adjust tension of alternator belt and checking the wire for the rev counter as it had suddenly died) and some cleaning etc. The next day we had our mind set on getting us and the boat 75 miles further down the coast to Portsmouth (if we were unable to make it there we had Brighton as alternative). First I made a rather unpleasant short flight through the cockpit during a unforeseen gibe causing a huge black and blue bum then as we rounded Beachy Head with a double reefed main and staysail the wind slowly increased to force 7-8 from the south-west. This combined with a rough chaotic sea made us turn around after trying to fight our way against it for a while. Back into Sovereign Marina for two nights and out again for another try. This time we had a rainy but nice day sailing towards the Solent where we passed Nab Tower (entrance to the East Solent) as darkness was creeping in. This would be our first arrival at night! We sailed on into the Solent keeping a close eye on bouys, light houses and huge ferries passing us at full speed and dropped our sails close to Horse Sand Fort. At 2300 hrs we berthed Klef along a pontoon of Haslar Marina, Portsmouth. Two days were spent in Portsmouth including a visit to the HMS Victory and the Naval Museum (we skipped the Spinnaker Tower as there was a 45 min queue). We finally managed to buy a 12 to 19 V adapter for our laptop, bought some goodies from a chandlery with a sell out and did some laundry on the ex-lightship which now serves as Haslar Marina pub, club, launderette and shower facility! Our next port of call was to be Cowes on the Isle of Wight so we left Portsmouth late in the afternoon and had a quick crossing of the Solent and berthed the boat in Cowes Yacht Haven. First thing the next morning I went to look for someone whom could have a look at our GPS as it would no longer give us an updated position. I was given a new antenna and headed off back to the boat to connect it to see what the GPS would do. Soon after connecting it the little traffic light went from red to yellow/green so the old antenna had indeed died. We spent three days in Cowes, made a picture of the Royal Yacht Squadron mooring pile with the golden knob, had another curry in a pub, went for a day tour to the Needles incl. the Old Battery and a round trip in an open-top bus. When we went to pay for another night in the marina and were presented with the weekend charge (ie. 35 pound) we decided we needed some time somewhere quiet, somewhere cheap so we left Cowes the next morning and headed for Beaulieu River, all the pilots we have are very positive about this river. The entrance is tricky but once you cross the bar you enter a beautiful tranquil river which runs into the New Forest (this is where Nelson's ships were built). We picked up a mooring just beyond Buckler's Hard and thought we were in paradise until we were presented with the bill the next day: 17 pound per night for a mooring which you have to leave if the owner returns (we read this on the receipt after we returned from a 10 km walk into Beaulieu incl. high tea......). Crazy. Anyway, I promised myself not to b*tch about these prices as we knew the UK was going to be expensive. We enjoyed the views, the sounds of birds, a cold swim and being alone.

Our next stop was either going to be Lulworth Cove or Studland Bay depending on what the wind would do during the day. Lulworth Cove is not a place to be with a south/south-westerly wind and of course; we motored out of Beaulieu River, hoisted our main and unfurled the genoa once we got to the Solent and the closer we got to the Needles the more wind was served. Finally we ended up with only our main and staysail up heading close-hauled for Studland Bay with force 6. Anchoring was smooth except for the fact that something stops the chain from coming out of the chain locker in one continuous motion so we ended up a little close to an English boat. As the wind was still blowing from the south-west the next day we opted for Weymouth as our next port of call. As per the pilots, we gave the race of St. Alban's Head a wide berth but still experienced a very rough sea with the wind blowing against the tide as we passed it. This tide makes your SOG (Speed Over Ground, calculated by the GPS) look great (9-10 knots) but it creates very short and steep waves so by the time we entered Weymouth Hbr late that afternoon the anchor chain locker (most forward compartment of the boat) was half filled with water. Weymouth's outer harbour is rather small so rafting (berthing boats next to each other) is a must and this left us with only a spot next to a smaller boat which was already number 6 in the row of rafted boats. A larger boat in front of this row had a sign on the side saying: Do not berth alongside (this is done by the harbour master to ensure large(r) yachts arriving late can still find a spot). Once the owner of the first boat (which is tied to the jetty/pontoon/pier/whatever) realized a beautiful but big'ish Dutch vessel was coming alongside his row he involved the harbour master and we were allowed to move next to the single large yacht. This of course meant we ended up with a 53 ft Oyster next to us that evening. To make a long story short, we had a move KLEF a couple of times to create a berth for larger yachts but our stay in Weymouth was nice and we met up with Pam and Dave again (s/y Will You). They had some more work to do on the boat/systems before they headed off South. Hope everything is ocean proof by now! In Weymouth it happened to us that we were referred to as being French by an English chap as our ensign is red-white-blue................

Another race at Bill of Portland (the most notorious one but relatively calm during this day as the tide had not turned to the west yet and there was hardly any wind in the morning), 50 miles of relative calm seas, good steady wind during the afternoon and the sun meant we had a very nice trip to Brixham. We even had a go at trying to catch something fishy but besides a couple of low passes made by a Gannet (a bird!) to have a close look at our spinning little fake fish we caught nada/nothing. Funny thing we noticed in Brixham is that there is so many seagulls, their shit is even stuck to the vertical walls of the buildings along the harbour. They also have a  bit of a nasty attitude down here so there are signs everywhere telling people not to feed them etc. We did some laundry, surfed the Wifi web for free, charged the battery for our digital camera (this is the only thing we use in our day to day life for which we still need 220 V) and prepared for our trip the next day down to Cawsand Bay (a bay in Plymouth Sound) and a pretty violent day it would be.

It all started pretty good although the wind was very gusty coming off the cliffs between Berry Head and Start Point, the last race we would have to deal with. But once out in the open, past Start Point, the elements would really come into action. Wind blowing, again, from our destination and waves making it a roller-coaster ride and as we left pretty late it was going to be a night entry into Plymouth Sound. By 10 o'clock that evening we had anchored in Cawsand Bay, in between a couple of other yachts with a slight swell rolling into the bay but after a day like this both of us had a great night sleep. I woke up at 06:30 and had a quick look outside to see the surroundings and our location relative to the others and all was ok. As it was the weekend the bay filled up with loads of boats during the day so we spend most of the day sitting in the cockpit watching them.

The anchor was hoisted after three nights to start our last daytrip on the South coast towards Falmouth, our final UK port before crossing the Bay of Biscay. This is where we are currently, moored alongside a pontoon of the Visitor's Yacht Haven finalizing the most important things on our to-do list and buying some last items we were still missing. E.g. a net in the saloon in which we can keep our fruit and veg, an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, a GME MT400) and a couple of water jerry cans (one (25 ltr) will be kept on deck so we can take it with us in case.... you know). We have also had our rigging checked and shrouds brought up to tension as the leeward lower shroud was kinda soggy in heavy weather. Before we leave I need to climb (ie. be hoisted by Marieke) the mast to check all fittings etc. and do my monthly check of the engine. Then have a nice weather window, buy some groceries, fill up our tanks and off we are. La Coruna.

 ------------------------------------------------ updated 01-October-2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------

Four days minus two hours after leaving Falmouth we berthed in La Coruna, Darsena Deportiva Marina both exhausted as Biscay served us with some interesting weather and both of us had a hard time to get some sleep. We left Falmouth in the afternoon after taking on 134 liters of fuel and as we motored past the Manacles we were faced with zero wind so continued to use our engine to go South. I went below decks to cook some supper and I think this, with the heavy motion of the boat and the smell of exhaust fumes, was the cause of 2 days sea-sickness and not even showing any sign of interest in our first confrontation with dolphins. Marieke was all excited while I tried to enjoy a dry cream-cracker! Later in the evening the wind slowly started to blow but from the South so we had to tack our way towards La Coruna. This lasted 1.5 day when the wind completely disappeared and we motored for a day with our mainsail up trying to control the rolling of the boat. During the day Marieke spotted a white hump floating by and as we circled it it turned out to be some kind of whale, approx. 4.5 meters in length, partially eaten, partially rotten and spreading a terrible smell.

The wind returned in the evening from the North-East and soon we were doing 5 knots in the right direction with only our main up. A little bird made a rather sloppy touchdown on our foredeck clearly completely exhausted and lost. We managed to get some water to it and soon it was hopping around our decks and even made a short flight through our saloon but as we were not keen on having bird shit all over the place we grabbed it and placed it in a protected spot in the cockpit. This is where it sat for some time until it got frightened of me pulling the main sheet and took off.

During the night we would have a 3 hrs on, 3 hrs off watch system but getting some sleep during these three hours was nearly impossible for us due to all the different noises and the heavy motion of the boat. Maybe something that takes a couple of days to get used to. During the early morning the wind increased to a healthy force 6 and with still only our main up we made good progress crossing the busy shipping lane between Finisterre and Ushant without any problems. We both got a bit of a shock as in the afternoon, without any warning, we were suddenly facing a 37 knot gust which lasted a quarter of an hour. We managed to motor into the wind and waves and drop the main before any damage could be done. Lesson learned: we should have reefed early in the morning......... This is also when we found the little bird again but sadly it had died. The next day we entered the bay of La Coruna and we motored past the shoals and into the marina where we tied up next to Lahaina (Dutch Najad 490 we met in the UK). Other Dutch vessels with long term cruising plans: Dingo, Lientoo, Hafskip and Margalitti.

We spent 6 days in La Coruna during which we relaxed on board, did all the necessary domestic cleaning up, laundry etc, had wonderful tapas, did some sightseeing of town incl. the old town, a museum on Maria Pita (she became famous after stabbing some English flag bearer as he tried to climb the wall of the old town resulting in them retreating), Torre de Hercules (eldest working lighthouse of Europe) and spend a very rainy day in Santiago de Compostela (one hour bus ride from La Coruna). Our neighbors during most of our stay in La Coruna were a Dutch couple, Jaap and Laura, on board the Margalliti with whom we spend a couple of evenings having drinks and tapas. We were also invited to the Hafskip one evening with the 4 other Dutch couples and had a great time talking about our experiences and plans. As the bowthruster of the Lahaina had ceased I spend some time with Eric (Lahaina) and Jaap (Margallitti) finding the cause and helping installing a new control switch which was DHL-ed to La Coruna.

On the seventh day, after a long discussion with the harbor master due to incorrect charges, we left the marina, motored accross the Ria de la Coruna and dropped our anchor in a bay near the town of Ensenada da Mera. We were the third Dutch yacht as the Dingo and the Hafskip had already moved here a couple of days ago. The bay is only open to the South West but the Atlantic swell did find it's way around Pta Mera so our first two nights were not the most comfortable we have had with the boat rolling violently. We inflated the dinghy, went ashore to do some shopping, had the crew of Hafskip over for some drinks, went to the Dingo for some drinks, pulled apart a forward hatch to find some leaks and wet wood, had a swim and cleaned the barnacles of our prop and propshaft. Days pass very quickly..........

Time to move on, our next destination, Ria de Corme, a nice day trip of 35 miles which started with very little wind but sunny. Somehow most of the other Dutch yachts had the same schedule that day and so we met Lahaina, Hafskip and Dingo as we sailed past Islas Sisargas and onto Ria de Corme under full sail. Finally an opportunity to have some pictures made of Klef in action (thanks to the crew of Lahaina). We were also visited by a group of dolphins but as our speed was pretty low they soon moved on. Due to the direction of the swell we followed Lahaina into Laxe (opposite Corme, same ria) and dropped anchor behind the mole and some distance off the beach. Soon Dingo and Hafskip did the same. We spent two quiet nights behind our anchor in Laxe, visited the town and Marieke went for a swim (too cold for me). By this time it became clear that some bad weather was coming our way so we needed to find a hiding place, Camarinas.

A day of no wind, so we motored to Camarinas which is only 15 miles away and moored Klef alongside the end of a pontoon of the Club Nautico Camarinas. Soon we had the Dalliance (American Tayana 42 with Marco (Dutch origin) and Holly on board) next to us and they had a very clear idea of the weather we were about to get. Did I hear you correctly...... force 11, here, in Spain................. &*(^%*&^$#*. The first day we went for a long walk towards Cabo Villano, which is covered in huge windturbines. First we got lost in the little town of Camarinas but we finally found the road leading over the hill and towards the lighthouse on the Cabo. Had a little friendly meeting with a pitbull, nice dog, go back to your boss but she could only wiggle her tail and gave me a soft friendly nibble in my knee. Big men get scared as well, get lost dog. Before reaching the cape we took a shortcut towards a path along the shore and followed this back to Camarinas. For diner we had tapas on the Camarinas 'boulevard' followed by a drink aboard the Dalliance. Marco and Holly shared their weather forecast with us and it was simple: what is left of hurricane Gordon is coming this way and will just touch the most North-Western tip of Spain ie. us so we followed their example and spend the next day removing the sails and other loose items from Klef, storing the dinghy and using every single piece of rope we could find to tie her to the pontoon. The Hafskip and Dingo made a wise decision and hoisted their anchor and joined us in the marina. Another Dutch yacht (Sepia) arrived just in time after crossing the Bay of Biscay and also found a spot inside the marina.

According to the forecast the wind should have come from the South/South-West but as we went to bed that night it started to blow, soon reaching 30 knots and from the South-East. Not good, not good at all. By six o-clock the next morning our wind speedometer was reading 60 knots (apparently this is where it stops) and Marieke had been spending most of night finding more fenders to protect the boat as it was being pushed against the pontoon while I added more lines from the boat to the pontoon. Between 6 and 8'ish the maximum wind speed measured by one of our neighbors was 79 knots as it slowly shifted towards the South-West finally pushing our boat off the pontoon. Moments passed where we both thought we were going to lose Klef but as daylight started to show itself we checked the hull and all was ok. Not much damage was done to any of the boats next to us and we spend the morning cleaning up (all boats were covered in with, what looked like, soot). Even a piece of dog shit found it's way onto the pontoon! That evening we were all invited on board the Dalliance for drinks, snacks, iPod music and above all a good laugh after this terrible night.

Due to persistent bad weather we remained in Camarinas till the 24th of September. During the few dry periods we re-installed the sails (High Aspect jib instead of our genoa (which we found has a cut and needs to be fixed)) and also found a problem with the furling system. After ascending the mast I found a small pin at one of the connections in the furling tube which had come loose and due to which we could not hoist the furling spindle and sail. Late the 24th we moved 1.5 mile to Muxia and dropped anchor inside the little harbor very close to the Dalliance, Hafskip and Dingo for an early departure in the morning towards to South and around Cape Finisterre.

Nothing new the next day, first no wind, then wind from the wrong direction then no wind again, but we managed to sail 10 out of the 35 miles to Muros where we dropped our anchor just of the boulevard. The lighthouse on Cape Finisterre was covered in clouds and this produced a very funny but extremely loud fog horn (see movie). We took the dinghy out to have a closer look at one of the 'viveros' (large wooden structures floating almost everywhere along the Galician ria's which are used to grow mussels) and a large group of people on the coastline during ebb using special rakes in search of shellfish.

As we have an appointment in Vigo on Oct 7th with an old friend from our days in Delft, we are taking it easy and as we want to explore the numerous quiet anchorages along the ria's our next stop would be a place NE of Isla de Creba, further up into the Ria de Muros. We found a good spot, in between the island and some 'viveros' and dropped the 25 kg Delta anchor. What followed was a rough night without any sleep as we found ourselves in the middle of mayor fishing activities as soon as the sun disappeared. Boats circling us all night, gathering and setting crabpots and by very early morning we were accompanied by some 60 little boats with men in search of shellfish shouting at each other. Time to lift the anchor again and head out for the next ria.

After a sunny day with a bit of wind, a large group of dolphins and nothing taking a bite of the fake fish-thingy with hooks we trawl along, we anchored off Playa del Castillo on Isla Salvore (at the entrance of Ria de Arousa) for another rough night but this time due to the Atlantic swell curling around and Klef floating beam on to it and an increase in wind.

We are getting well trained in anchoring by now. Marieke behind the wheel, me out front wearing yellow gloves and preparing the anchor + trip line/buoy. As soon as we agree on the spot Marieke stops the boat and I drop the anchor while the engine is put in reverse. We don't have distance marks on our chain yet so letting out enough chain is still a wild guess. The engine is reversed until the chain is under an as low angle as possible with the water and the anchor therefore dug well into whatever the bottom consists off. We managed to stay put in gusts of 30 knots!

The next morning Marieke went for another swim (water temperature by now is 19 ˚C) and I, after spotting the Dalliance thru binoculars, had a VHF chat with Holly before we headed off further up the Ria under jib only, anchoring off a beach on the NW side of Isla de Arousa. Finally, no swell and well protected (let me not be predictable and complain about too much wind during the night, God bless the GPS anchor and shallow water alarm). As our Navtex still refuses to give us a regular weather print out (I did a bit of DIY with a fishing rod and some wire creating a 'taller and vertical' antenna but all we get is information on drifting logs, buoys without a light near Dover and research vessels in the vicinity of blah blah) the only weather forecast we have at the moment (ie. being away from the internet) is what we receive by VHF from the Spanish coastal stations. And as we had heard a gale warning expected to hit the Finisterre area during the night from Saturday to Sunday we decided to head for a sheltered marina the next day ( a good opportunity to have a shower as well).

According to the pilot the construction of Vilanova Marina was well under way in August 2005 and as we motored into the marina all seemed to be in place so we berthed alongside a pontoon and Marieke went in search of the marina office. Nothing, no harbor master, no marina office, no facilities, no water, no electricity and therefore completely free of charge. The town was completely deserted but we did find a supermarket and a place to have a cortado (coffee) and some tapas. The next morning, after a night with force 6-7, we left and headed back to the same bay NW of Isla de Arousa for a swim, a walk along the beach and above all a sheltered quiet night.

------------------------------------------------ updated 24-October-2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------

We are currently waiting for an acceptable weather window to get out of Figueira da Foz harbor and head down South towards Cascais, close to Lisbon. We spent another week in Spain before heading South to Portugal. From Vilanova we headed back to the little bay NW of Isla de Arousa as we enjoyed our previous stay there. The next day, during heavy showers, we received a short message via our Navtex talking of cyclonic wind in the Finisterre area. We now know what this means: 35 knots of wind from one direction for an hour, then no wind, then 20 knots of wind from the opposite direction. Our 25 kg Delta anchor was doing it's job very well but just in case we added our 20 kg CQR anchor as well. From here we moved on to Portonovo one ria south (Ria de Pontevedra) where we spent two days in a quiet marina with a not so quiet fishing harbor next to it. Before heading to Vigo to meet a good friend we spent a very sunny afternoon, a quiet night and a very windy morning anchored of a beach on Isla del Faro (Islas Cies). Not sure what is wrong with Spanish fishermen but in the morning, with a fresh Force 7 gusting at us and the boat swinging behind the anchor, one of them decided to drop his net in front of us and as he was about to haul it aboard again he fouled his prop with his own anchor line.......  The wind soon decreased and we set off for a short trip under engine to Vigo where we berthed in a brand new marina where we agreed to meet Edgar the next day. Edgar, whom we both know from our years in Delft and whom moved to Spain 6 years ago, arrived from Madrid and spend a day with us. Good to see each other again and catch up on developments and plans.

After Edgar had left we quickly filled Klef up with diesel and headed back out of the ria to spend one more night off a beach on Islas Cies in order to leave Spain as early as possible and either sail to Viana do Castelo or Povoa de Varzim in Portugal. We managed to hoist our anchor while it was still dark and with a light breeze from the South we started on port tack towards Portugal. As we made enough progress during the day we decided to head for Povoa de Varzim. It was a nice relaxed day of sailing with loads of dolphins playing around our boat. We spent two nights in Povoa before heading further south to Leixoes, a large commercial/fishing harbor close to Porto. We took the bus to Porto on a nice and sunny day, walked around town, had lunch along the river Douro with it's dozen Barcos Rabelos (tradition boats used to carry port down river), crossed the beautiful bridge 'Ponte de Dom Luis I' and completed a tour of the Graham's port lodge including a taste of three different types of port. We left with a bottle of Late Bottled Vintage. Upon our return to the marina in Leixoes we noticed a familiar yacht next to the Klef: the Will You had arrived and the next morning Pam and Dave came on board and we shared our experiences of crossing Biscay etc. As we would meet Marieke's mother in Figueira da Foz, 60 mile south, and we wanted to enter this harbor during daylight, we decided to leave late that afternoon and sail during the night. Good wind, a clear sky, calm seas, invisible fish/crab/lobsterpot buoys (one bounced along the hull, good thing they're made of styrofoam!) and we entered Figueira da Foz marina early the next morning and this is where we still are, today.

Bad weather, huge seas across the harbor entrance (breaking waves) and wind from the South have kept us here even during the visit of Marieke's mother. She spent a week with us and instead of sailing down to Lisbon with us as per our plan she visited Porto with Marieke by car and we drove down to Lisbon. One day the weather seemed to calm down a bit and according to the forecasts the wind would veer to the west during the night so we decided to give it a try and we left the marina. Fighting our way through the harbor entrance with Klef's bow disappearing into a wave pretty often we continued heading west until we would get into calmer seas, ie not disturbed by the Figueira bay and Cabo Mondego, but this did not happen. We decided to head back into Figueira as we were not looking forward to beat our way against this wind (from the South again), these waves and also as Marieke's mother was slowly turning green.

------------------------------------------------ updated 2-November-2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------

After two weeks Figueira da Foz the weather finally showed it's sunny side and we managed to leave although the waves at the harbor entrance were still pretty rough. As soon as we could we hoisted our sails leaving FigFoz behind us and heading for Cabo Carvoeiro and Cascais 100 miles south. A nice and sunny day with variable wind direction and speed. We even hoisted the gennaker for the first time during a period of light winds. Early the next morning we moored alongside the reception pontoon in Cascais marina for a few hours sleep before the reception would open. We used a very accurate waypoint and our radar to spot the breakwater and the entrance of the marina as all the lights in town made it hard to differentiate between them and navigational aids and one buoy at the tip of the breakwater was not lit, apparently. We were allocated berth L09, moved Klef there and ended up next to Dalliance. So good to see Marco and Holly again after more then a month. Hamburgers from their BBQ for diner!

Compared to the other towns along the coast Cascais is very posh. The marina is nice and very complete with shops, bars and restaurants along the waterside, loads of expensive clothing and bling-bling shops in town, nice fancy cars everywhere, a shopping mall and a Jumbo. Time to get rid of our pile of laundry (we were saving it up as we thought all previous marina's and launderettes in town were too expensive (6 euro for one cylce in a machine at the marina or 3.50 Euro/kg at a launderette) but it's only getting more expensive the further we get south) and get some groceries. Our plan was to leave for Madeira (480 miles) on Tuesday Oct 31st after a neighbor told us the following 7 days would be good but by the time we checked the weather forecast it had changed. Two depressions moving in, we stay.

------------------------------------------------ updated 2-February-2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been a  while since I last updated this part and by now we have reached the other side of the Atlantic Ocean so I will keep it short and to the point.

We finally departed from Cascais on November 5th together with Dalliance and heading for Porto Santo (Madeira). As we both set sail the wind was light enough (13 knots) for us to hoist our gennaker and we both made pictures of the other boat. It took us four days to reach Porto Santo including a couple of great sailing days and a very rainy day with thunderclouds and lightning during the night. Pretty scary. Soon after our arrival Margalliti entered the harbor as well (they had sailed from Lagos), followed by Dalliance and we spent a great week together with lots of alcohol, great food and two days on which we toured the island on small mopeds (see movie on Filmpje vd maand). From there we sailed to Madeira where we spent only one day for a quick sightseeing walk of Funchal and the harbor before heading South towards the Canary Islands. We had exactly two days before my mother would arrive on Fuerteventura where my sister Saskia lives. The crossing was rough with again no sleep for both of us so we decided to head for Marina Rubicon on the southern tip of Lanzarote for a good night sleep and clean up before heading to Corralejo where we were met on the pier by my mother and sister. A very special moment. We spent a week in Corralejo with my mother and sister and then sailed down to Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) with my sister whom flew back the next day. Las Palmas is a great place to prepare for the Atlantic crossing, especially if you arrive just after the ARC (Altantic Rally for Cruisers) has left. Loads of great chandleries with everything you need and good discounts. The 'to buy' and 'to do' list were dealt with and to make things even better Margalliti and Dalliance joined us. On the 5th of December Dalliance left for their three week crossing of the Altantic to Barbados, we left on the 7th heading for La Gomera, leaving behind the Margalliti whom expected visitors for Xmas and were still planning their next stage..

La Gomera is a very green island with a National Park on top so we rented a very small car and toured the island, celebrated my birthday with banana split for breakfast and visitors from Netjer (Dutch) and Aurelia (New Zeeland) before saying goodbye to Europe and setting sail for the Cape Verde Islands 800 miles south. Six days later (some good, some with a lot of lightning and towards the end a dodgy autopilot) we entered the harbor of Palmeira on Ilha do Sal (one of three harbors with custom and immigration). Nice to drop anchor again, swim and see something different. We buy fish from the quayside, drink a coke and be stared at in Palmeira, visit the old salt mines, ride in the back of a pick-up truck and visit Espargos (the capital). Next stop is Tarrafal on Sao Nicolau where we spend Xmas with a 4 kg tuna (bought in town, we have not been able yet to catch something) and our BBQ. We visit the capital (a one hour noisy, smelly and crowded but 100% fun ride through the mountains) and spend a couple of days on board relaxing, reading, swimming etc. Our last stop on the Cape Verde islands is a 45 mile trip away and is called Mindelo. A large natural harbor with "good" facilities for visiting yachts, boat boys look after your dinghy, we go shopping, have diner with great life local music, fill up our water and diesel tanks, meet the Wateraap II (Dutch) and the Ocean Link (Dutch) and decide to leave for Surinam on Dec 31st.........