tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59896900076504539442024-02-19T08:16:06.919-08:00News from SY Sirius!SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-64058570073319991632011-03-18T15:03:00.000-07:002011-03-18T15:05:47.455-07:00MartiniqueJust a short update on our whereabouts: We are now in Martinique which means we have entered the European Union again! Our friends on Ypake were here already, and had invited us to Pilis 10th birthday! Of course we couldn't miss the occation and headed out from Rodney Bay in northern St. Lucia just before noon. We had left Marigot Bay the day before, as we wanted to visit Pigeon Island before SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-85997591731840805392011-03-07T10:04:00.000-08:002011-03-07T10:05:52.577-08:00St. LuciaWe've been on this island for nearly three weeks now, the island called Helen of the Caribbean, due to the many conflicts between France and England over "her". St. Lucia changed flag 14 times during 150 years up to 1814! Even if it ended up as a British colony with English as the official language the remains of French is evident in geographical names and not least in the local language of SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-60758294228345000642011-02-13T08:46:00.000-08:002011-02-13T08:59:49.978-08:00GrenadaOne month in Grenada, the Spice Island. Stein has been away on a two weeks trip to USA again, but the rest of start to feel at home here! Like so many times before, the attraction to a place we visit becomes stronger and stronger the longer we stay. We have "done" many of the things we have read about in the tourist guides: Fed the monkeys at Grand Etang, hiked in the rainforest and visited some SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-73581526376224786382011-01-19T09:35:00.000-08:002011-01-19T11:18:51.225-08:00Caribbean, at last!So, here we are, in the Carribean. Already in Grenada but this report will have to be about Trinidad as I have been on "Island Time" on updating the blog recently..We have celebrated Christmas and New Year in Trinidad with friends in other boats. Ypake and Karma and others. Some we have met earlier and some we haven't seen before.We were lucky to have the bar area of the TTSA (Trinidad and TobagoSY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-13028969446579588382010-11-25T06:16:00.000-08:002010-11-25T06:21:33.791-08:00We are in Kourou!Just a short update! We have stopped briefly in French Guyana. We try to find out about the Ariadne launch tomorrow, may be we get to see it from the beach. This is a community that has been build around the space center. Nice and clean in many quarters, and friendly! But also poverty in other places. The reggae music tells us we are approaching the Carribean!SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-23436832403489153332010-11-20T09:18:00.000-08:002010-11-20T09:20:52.200-08:00The Guinea CurrentAt the moment we are sunbathing in the Guinea current which brings waterfrom the southern Atlantic up to the Carribean. The temperature is 29.2Cin the water, 28.4C in the air. There are only very light winds, butwhether we have reached the Doldrums or not we don't know. There isafter all some wind, 7 knots or so. We have been motorsailing for sometime now, to charge the batteries and to get SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-24148955828351301822010-11-17T11:41:00.000-08:002010-11-17T11:48:09.663-08:00Somewhere outside the Amazone deltaWe left Fortaleza after only 5 days. I'm sure the city is nice andexciting in many ways, but everyone told us how dangerous it was. Youhad to take a taxi wherever you were going, to avoid being mugged! It'shard to say how dangerous it really was, but all the yachties seemed tohave the same attitude. There is a favela just outside the marina/hotelcomplex, but the guards were always there SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-8001106284882335202010-11-05T02:02:00.000-07:002010-11-05T02:03:47.597-07:00Breaking up from Jacare!Stein came home after more than two weeks in the U.S.. He came from frosty nights and autumn mood in Moses Lake. And in his baggage he had a lot of things from various chandlers in Seattle. There was a birthday gift for me, iPod! (I had already got a hammock..) and also a new and better stereo system for the boat. But most important, the thread inserts for the generator did unfortunately not SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-74254186305529779732010-10-17T02:17:00.000-07:002010-10-17T07:34:04.286-07:00Two months in Jacare!We have experienced a new phenomenon here in Brazil. Both when we were at the Port Administration checking in and when I was at the eye doctor for a check up. The limited language abilities of the Port Officer and of the receptionist at the doctor alike is compensated for by using Google translate! They were both very quick to start typing their questions and answers in Portuguese and letting me SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-1369699818220889252010-08-20T03:41:00.000-07:002010-08-20T06:14:16.022-07:00Rio Paraiba, Brazil!Finally, we made it!We had a good breeze ever since crossing the Equator, and made the last part of the crossing in just one week! It really felt good when we could sense the smell of the tropics! Green, green landscape, other boats, people.. There is a substantial tide here, and we had to time our entrance to the river accordingly. 2,4m tidal difference and a shallow river. We made it in time SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-61895329515061418702010-08-07T05:34:00.000-07:002010-08-07T05:37:00.199-07:00We have crossed the Equator! It has taken us another two weeks before we could finally cross the Equator. The course we had laid out for the passage turned out not to be a good one.A short while after I wrote the last report we started to realise that we were being taken west by some quite strong currents. And the boat would hardly be moved by the wind! During our short swim in the Doldrums we had seen some nasty looking SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-90119664524392648612010-07-24T00:56:00.000-07:002010-07-24T00:57:45.686-07:00The Doldrums A short report from us here in the Doldrums! We startet out from Cape Verde last Thursday, 9 days ago, after having given the hull a big scrub while at anchor off Santa Antao. We never visited this island, but were actually visited by some islanders who came swimming out! They were obviously curious about the newcomers, and what they might have been after was to make us come ashore the next daySY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-32022253154558376322010-07-13T07:43:00.000-07:002010-07-14T01:19:27.260-07:00Update from MindeloWe are very close to leave for the longest stretch towards Brazil now, and will give a short update from our stay in Mindelo before we go. The two weeks we have spend here has been relaxed, walking around the streets, looking in some of the numerous China-shops, watching football from South Africa, visiting the nearby tourist complex Point d'Agua for a dip in the pool or drink in the bar and so SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-24862460928546812442010-06-25T08:55:00.000-07:002010-06-25T08:56:17.985-07:00Marina Mindelo!We arrived in Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands this morning. It took more than the week we anticipated, but then we have not motored at all. There was a steady wind from NNE, which meant we had to gybe some times. The boat was rolling in the waves, so the activities onboard were limited to reading, some games, cooking, eating, sleeping. But every day seemed to be so short we seldom felt like arrangingSY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-28509207587811429822010-06-25T07:32:00.000-07:002010-06-25T08:55:21.475-07:00Thorsteins blog's from last weekBlog 1The first days towards Cape VerdeNow we've been out at sea for 36 hours, so I guess it's time for the first report. I must say things have been very nice so far, with decent wind (at least until lately) and not too bad waves (they are quite tall, but they aren't steep, so it's just a continuous roll). Everything seems to work the way it should. We are testing the wind rudder for the first SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-59519967336282350832010-06-13T09:47:00.000-07:002010-06-13T09:56:37.347-07:00We are leaving Las Palmas!Tomorrow we are leaving Gran Canaria, Spain and Europe. We are heading for Cape Verde Islands where we plan a short stop before continuing our journey to Brazil. Whether we end up in Fortaleza or Cabedelo in Brazil depends on the weather and currents. This morning another boat came in to our pontoon, and they are heading towards Cape Verde and then Trinidad in a couple of days. This means we SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-2328348472836731462010-06-01T05:47:00.000-07:002010-06-01T05:54:18.652-07:00Film from Dia de Canarias!SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-6666985724600677372010-05-30T09:22:00.000-07:002010-05-30T09:40:15.500-07:00Dia de Canarias!Today is the National Day of the Canary Islands. Ingeborg and I went to Pueblo Canarias, a museum/restaurant complex, where there was going to be traditional dancing and music. It was very nice! Colourful costumes and guitar music, and also some traditional songs which seemed to be well known among the audience! We took lots of photos and videofilms, so we'll try to make a small thing for YouTubeSY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-12745187410886129882010-05-23T11:26:00.000-07:002010-05-23T12:32:45.156-07:00May month in Las Palmas.We have enjoyed many weeks in Las Palmas now, but start to look forward to the Atlantic crossing at last! There are always some more preparations you could do, but I think we have covered the most important now. The captain is away for some days, and this trip that came up is the real reason we haven't left already. It has been good to have some quiet weeks for the SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-10820625204244670382010-05-04T05:37:00.000-07:002010-05-04T05:44:44.186-07:00St. Patricks Day, Gibraltar!Just found a short film I took while celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Gibraltar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZr4KkdUaiIEnjoy!SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-42947396006717226392010-04-29T07:47:00.000-07:002010-04-29T08:34:47.333-07:00Still here in Las Palmas!We are still here, preparing for the next step. We think it will be Brazil somewhere, if we are not stopping at the Cape Verde Islands. But first we must do a few things, like installing an extra solar panel, repair some scratches on the bow.., change a broken piece of the watermaker, hook up the SSB, install the Hydrovane... And Ingeborg and Thorstein have a period of more intense studies as we SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-80378949700410028572010-04-06T06:41:00.000-07:002010-04-06T06:56:53.097-07:00Las Palmas!We have arrived safely in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, after a smooth sail from Gibraltar. Originally we planned to stop for a day in Lanzarote, but after a couple of days at anchor south of Isla Graciosa we decided to go directly to Gran Canaria. Anniken, Ingeborgs friend will arrive tomorrow, and we didn't want to have a too tight time schedule. The summer has arrived also, with a forecast of SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-40416862872149905872010-03-27T01:27:00.000-07:002010-03-27T01:40:24.704-07:00Setting sail againAfter almost 3 weeks in Gibraltar, we are now setting sail again, this time our destination is the Canary Islands! It will be the longest trip yet, at 688 Nm, but if the weather doesn't misbehave it should take about 5 to 6 days. The island we are aiming for is Gran Canaria.SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-76292618256146078682010-03-09T07:59:00.000-08:002010-03-09T08:43:06.002-08:00In GibraltarWe are now moored in Ocean Village Marina, Gibraltar, after a pretty hard trip from Cartagena. We did get the wind with us this time, but when it reaches storm strength, it isn't that comfortable anymore. It took 3 days. All crew were well when we came to port.Then we experienced another storm yesterday night. This time our boat was struck into the concrete pontoon, which we obviously couldn't SY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989690007650453944.post-55006104156246762012010-03-05T02:32:00.000-08:002010-03-05T02:37:44.108-08:00Leaving for GibraltarWe are leaving Cartagena today, going towards Gibraltar. If the weather is anything like the forecast says, we should be able to get there in a few days. If the weather goes bad we'll find a sheltered anchorage (we are sailing along the coast, so there's bound to be one close by). It's about 225 nautical miles to sail.Hasta pronto!ThorsteinSY Siriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08326637541563493037noreply@blogger.com0