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20/07/06
We arrived in the Outer Harbour of New York on Friday 14 July after 5 days at sea from Charleston. Mostly it was a smooth trip but very light winds overall so motoring was predominant! Lots of coastal shipping and fishing boats throughout the nights and almost none by day! However there were very few thunderstorms which made our watches a lot less intensive.

We decided to anchor by the New Jersey coast (Sandy Hook) tidy up the boat and have a good night’s sleep in readiness for our big day on Saturday to sail into Manhattan and pass the Statue of Liberty!

Saturday was an amazing day heading under the Narrows Verrazano Bridge up the harbour and seeing the Statue of Liberty, sailing by drinking champagne, then past Ellis Island. We just can’t explain the excitement and feeling we felt when we spotted the Statue of Liberty as we entered the inner harbour of New York – it was all a little too much!! I guess the photo Terry took of me with a glass of champagne with the Statue of Liberty (on the blog) says it all!! After a while and trying to take everything in we made our way across the Hudson River to the Marina which is literally a hop, skip and probably several jumps from the statue. We were a bit overwhelmed (to say the least) and decided to stay out in the Hudson for a while to finish the champagne and enjoy the moment before heading into the Marina.

I am going to try and explain the events that unfolded in the next 4 days while we were in Manhattan in the briefest fashion – please forgive me if I fail??

We berthed at the North cove Marina in Battery Park around 3.30pm - next to the World Financial Buildings which is in front of the World Trade Centre Site – unbelievable!

We came on in and tied up then started washing the boat to ensure she looked in ship shape condition.

Within about an hour of berthing we were talking to some people who came along side our figure in a small motor boat. There were a couple – Charlie and Amy Sewell, David Tulloch (an Australian) and another couple of guys Dan and Wade. Dan and Wade lived up the Hudson River and it was their boat the others had been out on for the day. (Dan and Wade unfortunately had to leave within an hour to head back up the river).

Well you will get the short version of the story but the next thing they were having drinks on our boat – invited by us of course! We all hit it off very well - they were intrigued by our adventure and we were intrigued about their lifestyle.

Amy & Charlie and David (and his wife) all live in Tribeca which is about 4 blocks from that Marina.

Charlie is a physical educational teacher at school and his wife Amy is currently making a documentary movie. Her first was also a documentary which she wrote the story and co directed was released last year and is the 7th largest revenue earning documentary ever – which has only just been surpassed by a documentary on Global Warming. She and Charlie funded it themselves with the help of their families. Pretty amazing effort for her first movie and extremely lucky it was financially lucrative. She is currently making her next documentary and we were privy to meeting some of the ‘stars’ at some filming she did in a friend’s restaurant later in the week!!

David is a partner in a Finance company who specializes in hedging funds and is married to an American (away with their son on holiday) and has lived in the US for 17 years.

From our boat we were invited to Amy and Charlie’s home to have drinks before taking us to dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Fresh - just a couple of steps from their apartment.

Sitting on the balcony of their apartment, we were interested to hear Amy’s version of that fateful day – 9/11 - as she and her daughter’s were at home when it happened, which is about 5 blocks from the World Trade Centre site!!! Charlie had already left for work which was way uptown. An amazing account of events that unfolded and so interesting to hear it from someone that lived so close!

It was great food and such a good atmosphere at Fresh – very recommended. We were joined by a couple of their friends for after dinner drinks – Uve and Ralph – they are business partners in a restaurant called Dekk which was a couple of blocks down the road in the same street.

What a wonderful evening we had in their company. They were so interesting and kind to us – just the perfect conclusion to a most memorable day!

The next morning – I sat in the cockpit on AC sipping my tea just overwhelmed (to say the least) by our surroundings and position.

A little later Charlie arrived on his bike to tell us that Uve and Ralph wanted us to join them all at their restaurant for lunch! Of course that took little persuasion on our part so off we went!!

Another fun get together with them all. At this stage Amy was saying they had adopted us!!

However we could not linger at lunch as Jay and Ellie Urstadt were our guests for dinner on AC arriving at 5pm (Jay organized our slip at the North Cove Marina).

Anyway it was a fun evening catching up with them as we last saw them on the Silver Whisper 2 and half years ago! Jay arrived dressed for the occasion by donning a Captain’s hat and nautical jacket – soon to be discarded as the temperature was in the mid 90’s at 5pm! It was extremely warm 90’s to mid 100’s while we were there!

Next day we headed off to see the exhibit of the rebuilding of the World Trade Centre site which is housed in the Winter Garden complex in between the World Finance buildings. You can get a great view to ground zero from the first floor. Hard to believe it actually did happen given those planes would have flown over the exact spot where AC was berthed!

Then we headed uptown to have lunch at the New York Yacht Club – as you do!! What an amazing building and the exhibit of sail boats in the very elaborate sitting room! Very stuffy though!

That evening we had all our ‘new best and adopted friends’ from Manhattan on AC for drinks and a little food. Another great night in downtown Manhattan.

Tuesday our last day – I decided to go to Bloomingdale’s for a little shopping. I met up with Terry in a little Restaurant called Gino’s that he found about 1 block away. It has been there since about 1945 and it was like it has been in a time warp! An old fashioned cash register and hand written cash books and certainly does not take credit cards. Well we meet with some fascinating clientele sitting at the bar! One gentleman in particular called Don Ray who hopefully may join us for a couple of days in Boston where he has insisted we meet up with his close friends there.

We did linger perhaps a little long here but it was so interesting and fun but we were determined to have a quick stop at the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station before heading back to our friend’s restaurant in Tribeca for a few drinks and fond farewell. This is where Amy was filming her interviews with her subjects for her next documentary movie. We met the contenders, all very attractive smart young women. Cannot tell you the subject as it is confidential but will be interesting to see the final product.

As we were leaving the next day to go up the East River and leaving Manhattan in the background – I said to Terry I would love to live in Manhattan for a 2/3 month stint. There is so much to see and do and I certainly saw a different side of New York than I had on my previous visits – I just enjoyed it so much more.

We had quite a quick trip up the East River and uneventful journey through ‘Hells Gate’ (can be quite dangerous if you don’t get the tides right). We arrived at the Indian Harbour Yacht Club around 3.30pm.

Once again Jay had arranged for us to stay here on a mooring of a colleague of his. Most of the Clubs around here do not have slips, only moorings. However we are fortunate this Club operates a courtesy launch service 24 hours a day on demand. The Club House is very old and stylish and we have been made extremely welcome. They have a RNZYS flag framed on the wall of their sitting room which the Food and Beverage Director kindly pointed out! We would suspect that there are substantially more members than there are boats – it seems that being a member here confers a socially acceptable status.

The complex is close by Greenwich Village which is a very up market area of Connecticut. In fact our mooring faces some of the most expensive real estate in the country we are told. These houses are very huge and in the most beautiful grounds. One of the properties is owned by the guy who invented the micro chip!!! Funny that I like that property the best!!!

We had Bill Caldwell who owns the mooring we are using on board for dinner the first night we were here and what a character and generous person he is. He insisted that Terry went home with him (before dinner) and pickup his other car, a Lincoln 4WD – what a machine - for us to use while we are here!!

Thursday our friends (Peggy and Roland we met also on the Silver Whisper) came over to pick us up and take us back home to their home in Morris Connecticut (about an hour’s drive away) for two days. Coincidently it was Peggy’s 70th birthday on Thursday and we were invited to join them and their families for a birthday celebration in a nearby restaurant. Roland had organized the private room filled with red roses and balloons and we enjoyed a wonderful evening sharing in the celebration. Peggy told her grandchildren she did not want them to buy any presents so they all had to do something creative. What a treat for us to witness the interchange!

Peggy and Roland house (a mere 10,000 square feet not counting the basement or porches) sits on 72 acres of land at the top of the hill and overlooks the valley. It was like walking into a boutique hotel, so many rooms and beautifully decorated. We enjoyed our two days of living in luxury and enjoying their company. Peggy has a wonderful sense of humour which seems never ending!!

Jay Urstadt said to us yesterday when he and Ellie and their family were on AC – ‘some people collect stamps, coins, cars – the Rogers collect people’!!! He has nick named us ‘The Jolly Rogers’! We are certainly blessed and privileged that this is indeed a journey about people – it simply cannot get better than that!!
We are now in Stratford Connecticut which is where we are leaving AC for our 2 and half week excursion to Washington State to see our dear friends Don and Glori Watts (passage San Diego to Cabo San Lucas) as it is Don’s 50th birthday celebrations second weekend of August. We depart on Thursday 27 July and return here 15 August. As soon as we hit the ground in Seattle Don & Glori along with friends Bill and Victoria are picking us up in Don’s helicopter and we are flying to Canada for the weekend. The guys have organised everything and even their wives don’t know what is going on! What a treat and even more so as I have not been to Canada before!! Not a bad way to begin our land holiday!! Will report on that visit later!
Meantime – hope you are all in good humour and having fun whatever you are doing.
Take care Love Lois and Terry – “The Jolly Rogers’
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12/07/06
Position: 35 13 N 75 04 W
Days from Port: 03
Wind Speed: 15
Wind Direction: 230
Weather: Fine
Sea State: Moderate
Comments:We were 20 nmls abeam Cape Hatteras 1 hr ago at 1200. Our first evening and yesterday was flat calm except for a light SE wind between 1700 and 2200. The Moon was full leaving Charleston with extraordinary red sets and rises. This certainly enhances already beautiful evenings and with the Atlantic High moving in today and beyond is, and should be, Red Wine sailing!(we are low on Champagne). Also the cumulus clouds have not transformed into towers of electrical energy as has been predicted at 20% probability. A first since the coast of Mexico so long may that continue. Watches are quite busy with heaps of shipping to watch out for but the crew is coping well. If we can average 7 knots we should be in New York harbour by Friday evening. We think NY a milestone up there with Hawaii, San Diego and Panama.

Sailing up this coast is the manifestation and realisation that this adventure is not a dream, it is real. Lois and I have to pinch ourselves to confirm that her idea has materialised into something solid. The conditions are so good we thought a picnic on the aft deck would be in order. Salute.
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10/07/06
E-mail from AC:
We arrived in Savannah Georgia Tuesday 27 June after 4 days at sea from Miami.

We had our first experience of the Intra Coastal waterway after entering the channel and heading up the river to try and find our marina which I had booked from Miami. This was our first experience of the Intra Coastal Waterway.

It was a long, long day getting to the Isle of Hope Marina. We went pass A buoy, the entrance to the channel at 6.45am yesterday morning. We proceeded up the Savannah River but missed the turn to where we needed to go! We rang the Marina who gave us directions, which included going under one bridge!! The waterways are well marked and we were on an incoming tide for commencing this part of the journey. We came to the bridge and called on channel 9 to open mid span (one side didn’t work – a little tense) however we were grateful it opened on demand so no waiting! About an hour later we came to a second bridge which we were not told about, that had only a 65 foot clearance – guess they thought is was just another road? Our mast is approx 68 feet and naturally we had a little problem proceeding, so we had to wait until low tide, which was 4 hours away. By the time we went under the bridge (still only had a clearance of around 2 or 3 feet at the most – b. tense moment) it was 4.00pm!! However it is now low tide so even more challenging with the depths and at 5.00pm we ran aground on a sand bank in the marked channel! However after about 30 minutes, as the tide was starting to come Terry managed to get AC to a deeper part and got underway again.

We finally reached the Marina about 5.30pm. It’s a fabulous spot, lovely trees all round and very calm. We were a tad tired to say the least but tided ourselves up, borrowed the loan car from the marina (Lexus – bonus), and went into the village (about a mile away) and had dinner.

We think that this experience of the Intra Coastal Waterway confirms our belief that this is not for us – that we are not the type of vessel with the depth of our keel and height that is suited to the challenges of the waterways.

The marina was in a very attractive area – fabulous properties (very large houses) –all with very elaborate jetties with boatlifts!! I think some serious money around here.

On Thursday we went into Savannah Township in our dinghy (much to the surprise of the lady in the Marina office who said we should not do that) and spent a few hours wandering around the ‘River Street’ area. We were very impressed.

On Friday we had a friend from the ‘Silver Whisper’ – (yes another one!) - Carol who came down to visit and took us for a lovely lunch in the nearby village. Plus she was kind enough to help us provision. It was quite a challenge to get all the goodies into her fabulous convertible Mustang though!!

Later on Friday our friends from Atlanta, Carol Ann and Thomas arrived to spend a few days on the boat with us. I met Carol Ann at a conference in Alice Springs 4 years ago and we have kept in touch. In fact Carol Ann, who owns a Travel Agency in Atlanta, was instrumental at getting us to go on the Silver Whisper back in 2004.

They took us to the Westin Hotel for Sunday Brunch. The hotel is located right on the river opposite the township of Savannah. It is a beautiful property and the food was amazing, but better than that it was washed down with a few champagnes!!! After this we went on an old trolley tour of the town. What a great thing to do!! It was one of the best little sightseeing things we have done in years! If you have seen the movie ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’ (Kevin Spacey) – it was set in Savannah – great movie too!

On Monday we left for Charleston with our guests, Carol Ann and Thomas who decided they wanted to take the overnight journey with us. It was a perfect sail – about 12 knts of wind on our starboard beam. Just the right recipe for our guests given that it was their first time on a sail boat overnight!!

We arrived in Charleston Tuesday 4th of July – Independence Day celebrations and more importantly – my late mother’s birthday. I have never been in the US on this day and it is certainly an important celebration in their calendar.

Carol Ann and Thomas departed once we had tied up – after all they had to hire a car drive back to the Savannah to pick their own up! However they said it was worth the experience.

We went into the town – took a horse carriage tour around Charleston. Once again, very attractive place and lots to see and do. We would certainly recommend to anyone a visit to this area of the US.

After visiting a couple of bars we decided to come back to the boat to view the fireworks. However we made a slight diversion to the Charleston Yacht Club close by and we were very welcomed by members and in fact we shared in the food for dinner as their guest. They certainly made us feel welcome.
On the way back to the boat down the long pier we stopped by this French couple we meet briefly in the Isle of Hope Marina in Savannah who invited us on board for a drink so ended up watching the fireworks from their boat.
Unfortunately I managed to damaged the screen on our computer so am typing this on our very new one which we purchased a couple of days ago! Terry has spent two odd days transferring our data across so he has been doing little else.
As you do we have met a few people whilst being in this Marina – one couple in particular Jim and Ann had us for dinner on their trawler one evening? He is a retired Continental Airlines Captain and enjoying this new lifestyle of boating without having to be anywhere on time!!
We had planned to leave for New York 3 or 4 days ago but the wind was coming from the North East so we decided to wait for it to change and today we are leaving.
We are very excited about visiting New York. Daughter Nicole is coming to visit us for 5 days on the 18th and we are also looking forward to catching up with our friends (we met on the Silver Whisper) Ellie and Jay who we have kept in touch with over the couple of years and who have been following our progress continually. They introduced us to Peter and Lois Nottage in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu Hawaii, who looked after us there. Plus we have also touched based with some other friends Peggy and Roland (Silver Whisper) we are also hoping to catch up with.
Jay and Ellie has organized for us to stay the first night or two at the The North Cove Marina – downtown Manhattan – Battery Park. Jay is Vice President of the Battery Park Authority so we couldn’t be in better hands!
On the 27th of this month we are hopping on a plane and flying to Washington State to spend 2 odd weeks with Don and Glori Watts (spend 2 wks with us on AC from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas). It is Don’s 50th Birthday celebration on the 11 & 12 of August. We are so looking forward to seeing them and spending time with them in their neck of the woods!!
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27/06/06
TXT: Phone Just got signal!
We r just in channel entrance 2 Savanah Georgia.
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26/06/06
Position: 30 40 N 080 32 W
Days from Port: 3
Wind Speed: 09
Wind Direction: 102
Weather: Fine
Sea: Moderate
Comments: Gulf Stream has been interesting in that it was 2.5 knots for the first day and a half out of Miami but has receded as we approach the coast of Georgia. With the residual current, shallow water (22 metres 50 miles off shore) and SE wind the wave patterns are complex and uncomfortable under very moderate conditions. Evening time is quite a different matter. About dusk the cumulus white clouds tower and turn dark grey or black and we experience series of squalls with attendant rain, lightning, thunder and strong winds for periods up to an hour at a time. The best last night was 37 knots. Morning arrives and by 0800 all is serene and fine except for the lumpy surface that remains. The Atlantic coast from Georgia to New Jersey is very shallow a long way out to sea. As we would like to experience some of the Intra Coastal Waterway we will investigate the possibility of an inland passage past Cape Hatteras.
Water maker was leaking profusely although it was still producing good water. New seals etc seem to have stemmed the flow. Have a dirt/brackish pre filter kit to install whilst in Savannah.
Received your email a little while ago. Welcome home.. lotsa Rum Murray and Mulled Wine or Bristol Cream Lesley to ward off the winter chills what!
Love Terry and Lois
PS We have just been overflown by a US Army? helicopter, I waved out and they, Rambo kit and all, waved back.. another International incident averted !
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20/06/07
Hi Everyone
If you have been following our progress you will know that we are now on the east coast of the United States in Florida and our Hawaii number is now working again if you want to phone us +1 808 990 2237!!.
We have ticked off a few milestones in the last 4,500 odd miles since leaving San Diego and the end of March – but one stands out amongst the rest, which is the transit through the Panama Canal. It was a unique experience and we were lucky that we had no hiccups, only tense moments, and were able to do the transit in 8 hours in the same day which we understand is the exception rather than the rule!! We had two very nice pilots throughout the day, both competent it seemed and 4 line handlers who were also competent thank goodness.
As for me just plain nervous at the beginning of the day and particularly upon entering the first chamber on the Pacific side - it was quite overwhelming. We went through this first lock with a huge container ship side tied to a tug – we looked like a dingy compared to this vessel towering over us. And when this ship starting engines to leave the chamber after the first lock the turbulence in the water sent our lovely Alpha Crucis in a bit of a spin – thank goodness Terry was able to control her – not a happy moment heading for the side concrete walls of the chamber!!! Our Pilot got on the VHF and spoke to the Captain of the vessel and told him to keep the speed to a minimum for the next chamber. Rightly so!!
Anyway probably on the verge of repeating ourselves here but it’s now hard to believe that this experience is behind us when for so long it was our focus to get to Panama and transit the canal.
Since then we have spend a week in Grand Cayman and a week in Havana and a week in Key West all great for different reasons.
Cuba was, I guess, somewhere we will most likely not experience again once the Americans get in there. In some ways it was neat to experience like it is now which makes it unique however the on thrust of money will certainly help the place in so many ways.
Our marina was another experience again. The general state of the complex is in disarray but they have had a few hurricanes through in the last year but just don’t have the money to fix anything. There are Guards everywhere watching your every move and despite the fact that we had cleared customs, immigration and everything else imaginable, when we left the compound (best way to describe it) they want to check your luggage. They were especially interested in the laptop – I guess because you cannot buy them! They want to record serial numbers etc so when we finally departed Havana they checked we have everything on board! Hence we did not bother to take our motorbikes out – just such a long drawn out procedure, which we could not be bothered with!
Nothing worked – when we tried to use the public phone it was not working because of bad weather a few months before and when we tried to refuel on departure as we had experienced quite a lot of rain for several days the pump failed because of an electrical problem – 3 hours later we finally got some fuel!
In terms of transport – Matt from Cosmic Girl (parked in front of us) found a young man, Robin (married with children), who worked in the Marina maintaining boats etc. However since the Government placed a premium of 20% surcharge on the US dollar about a year ago – the Americans are not coming with their boats anymore – surprise surprise. Robin had a car (very unusual) that was owned by his father (he use to work overseas for the government so he had permission to buy one) that he used to transport the odd tourist around but had to be extremely careful as it was not a licensed taxi and he could have been thrown in jail!! We had to leave the money in the glove box before we arrived at our destination and should we have been asked by anyone about our ride – Robin was a friend!! We gave him a video and some mags. You actually feel quite sorry for them, however in their own way they are happy!
Our exit from Havana in terms of customs etc was a much smoother process – only about an hour – however they were much more diligent with looking through lockers and the bilge to ensure we did not have any Cubans on board!!! The head immigration officer – good hunky Russian type looking woman didn’t bother to come on board as she did on arrival – just wanted to taste some of our almonds again!!
Our 91 mile journey across the channel to Key West was smooth and little wind so motoring was predominant however we did manage to get a 7 hour sail in! It was a very busy night with traffic so we had to keep a diligent watch. Cosmic Girl travelled around 5 miles behind us. Our autopilot failed again however it did so only in the last 3 hours of our passage!
We parked up at the Key West Bight Marina and went ashore to clear in which was about a 10 minute walk to the Court House into town. The officers were very courteous – we completed our paperwork and that was it – they didn’t even come down to see Alpha Crucis – we were amazed especially as we had come from Cuba. They asked us about cigars and we said we had some on board and all they said is that we were not allowed to bring them into the US but just don’t take them off the boat!!
We had a bit of a social time with our friends from Cosmic Girl in Key West – parked next to us in the Marina!! (same scenario in Havana) three of them departed the day after we arrived so the night before we had them for drinks on Alpha Crucis and then went out with them in to town at 12.15am and got home after 3am!! Wow this is not like us but they insisted and we though what the hell. A bit tired the next day however every night for the next 5 nights we have been with Matt (owner of the boat) and Ester his first mate. They are great friends and such good company. It has been fun to travel with another vessel.
We had a couple of farewell dinners the last two nights before they left on Tuesday for Bermuda and then onto England – Matt’s last leg of his circumnavigation – a pretty amazing accomplishment. We will see them sometime when we are in England.
Key West is a very attractive little town with large emphasis on restaurants and bars. It is not difficult to work out why it is known as Margaritaville!! It’s a very very social environment and no problem meeting people. We met a couple of couples in bars and spent some time with them. They were great company.
After saying our goodbyes to Cosmic Girl on Tuesday, exhausted, we decided to leave the Marina, fuel up, and go and anchor for a quiet night!!
We left Key West on Wednesday heading for Savannah. We decided to give Fort Pierce a miss as it is questionable whether there is sufficient water below us at any of the Marinas. It was our intention (through recommendation) that we should have any maintenance work done here!
Anyway after talking to several dock masters at the marinas by phone we decided that we did not want to take any risks and we would have the things we want done, probably in Maine.
After about 12 hours we were experiencing north east winds around 15 knts so on Thursday as we were passing Miami decided to give the conditions a miss and call into Miami for a couple of days and wait for improved conditions.
We plan to leave here today. There is a warning for the possibility of a tropical cyclone in our vicinity but nevertheless we are leaving and can always take shelter somewhere else along the way if need be. We would like to put some miles behind us and get north.
We are in Miami Beach Marina at the usual high prices and on non floating docks would you believe, however it beats heading into the wind with lumpy seas!
Terry has been busy on jobs. Installed a new filter on the cold water sink outlet (to remove chlorine, odour and bacteria) so now we have pure tasting water out of the tap from the water we take on board! Plus completely dismantled the pump on the water maker and reassemble with all new seals and O rings. Both difficult jobs to do at sea especially in the conditions we were a couple of days ago!
We went to a great little Chinese Restaurant last night for dinner and then to the bar just at the top of this Marina. Friday night and did it rock – oh so many people!!
Looking forward to our next stop Savannah!!!________________________________________________________________________________
14/06/06
TXT from AC: Just arrived in Key West. Good passage across but auto pilot failed again. Needs new brushes & pump. Just going to clear customs.
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11/06/2006
Well here we are in downtown Old Havana!! We have had a couple of nights in a lovely Hotel the Hotel Florida situated in downtown Old Havana. This is the best part of the town with cobblestone streets and little park plazas all over. There is nothing to buy as you can imagine so money is best spent on drinking and eating. Yes it is a fascinating place. We have enjoyed the restaurants, one in particular, and especially the bars and music. Music is amazing they are so talented. Food is average but the one restaurant we have been to twice, great setting in a Plaza near old to Cathedral called El Patio is better than good! At this point we would have to say the highlight is
definitely the music and the bars!!! People are very friendly and helpful with only a little english spoken. Terry has been indulging himself with the odd cigar and really enjoying the exception to the rule!!! Unfortunately it has been raining for the last day or so which is not that great but we did buy a couple of umbrellas for 2.90 each so we have not got too wet, anyway it is warm at least. There is a storm in the Gulf of Mexico heading for Florida so will obviously be watching this and checking weather patterns before we leave for Florida Tuesday. We are going to a Cabernet on Monday night with the Cosmic Girl gang. They are also leaving Tuesday. So we are going back to the boat later today after a little more exploring then tomorrow we will get the bikes out for a bit of different sightseeing and lunch of course!! Next stop Margaritaville!!
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06/07/2006
Position: 23 05 N 082 30 W
Days from Port: 5
Wind Speed: 13
Wind Direction: 063
Weather: Fine
Sea: Calm
Arrived Marina Hemingway, 9 miles SSW of downtown Havana, 0930 local time today June 7 (GMT-4 hrs). Arrival formalities took 2 hrs but was no trouble as the 7 various officials plus a sniffer dog visit the boat and do the form filling at a very slow pace. Now berthed and are about to toast/welcome ourselves appropriately and then catch up on our rest. We spread the last 40 nm out over 12 hours from 1900 hrs last night to arrive in daylight and have time to complete the onerous arrival stuff which we knew about. Lois was on watch through to 0400 this morning brave lass. Really tired now. Three significant milestones... Reaching Cuba, crossing the Tropic of Cancer for the third time and last night was our 100th day/night at sea together and we still are, and loving 95% of it.
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04/06/2006
Position: 20 33 N 083 00 W
Days from Port: 2
Miles run since last report: 115
Wind Speed 07Kn
Wind Direction 110
Weather: Fine
Sea: Calm
Departed Grand Cayman 1500 hrs yesterday bound for Punta Maria la Gorda which is about 30 miles East of Cabo San Antonio (Western extremity of Cuba). We understand we can clear into Cuba there. Our friends in Cosmic Girl are about 24 hrs ahead of us so we will find out if is is possible and not too much of a hassle before we arrive tomorrow. If it is too difficult we may just continue on to Havana.
Grand Cayman was a good place to stop for R&M as it is probably the most advanced of the Caribbean Islands and is English albeit very expensive on shore. This was ameliorated by easy arrival and departure formalities, free moorings in the roadstead and a very safe place. Most mornings we awoke flanked by up to 3 Cruise ships which normally departed about 1600 hrs and it was the low season! En route from Panama a hole developed in the exhaust expansion/muffler vessel coating the engine room with desiccated salt and started to fill the bilge with a exhaust/salt water mixture as the aperture enlarged. It was traceable but inaccessible of course. On our last night from Grand Cayman the AutoPilot failed. We steered with difficulty. It took a day to get the exhaust vessel out, a day to have it repaired (done excellently and quickly by a local marine machine shop} and most of a day to re-install and commission. Another few hours to clean up.. the boat and ourselves. It turned out that the circle of bolts that affix the two hydraulic steering arms to the rudder stem had come adrift although a quick visual inspection did not reveal this. The bolts had the wrong thread (metric) and were too short and had all stripped but were still in place. Steering problems only manifested themselves with certain angles of heel and rudder angle stalling the Autopilot hydraulic pump. Surprisingly getting longer Imperial stainless bolts was easy and all now seems well. Over the side with SCUBA to check shaft and propellor as it seems noisy...all okay as far as we can tell? There was a social side to our GC visit.... Our companions on Cosmic Girl arrived on the evening of our morning arrival and so a reunion was enjoyed by all and continued until they left from time to time. Kellie and Mac Imrie, friends of Nicole and David, live and work here. They took us to a Hyatt restaurant for lunch, they came on board the next day for lunch with their two children Jade and Joseph. Kellie acted as our personal guide and driver which was wonderful even organising haircuts, provisioning and associated boat stuff. Dinner at their place, just great, and a quiet Thai dinner ashore for two tired people on our last night in Grand Cayman.
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29/05/06
Hello from Grand Cayman
We arrived in Georgetown on Friday morning around 10.30am. Very pleased to be here after sailing close to the wind for 5 days! We are not use to having to work as hard with motoring the majority of the way to Panama from San Diego!!
It was a very efficient and inexpensive (nothing) to clear in here and lucky for us there were no cruise ships in on Friday so we were looked after immediately.
We are now on a mooring owned by the Harbour Authorities - for free!! Quite a contrast for having to pay for expensive Marinas all the way down the Coast of Mexico and Costa Rica to Panama!
After getting AC back into ship shape on Friday we went ashore for drinks and dinner. No problems with the language here, they all speak 'American'. The atmosphere was great at the bar we were at but drinks were expensive but at least we are not paying to house our lovely vessel for a change!
We made contact with Nicole and David's friends Mac and Kelly (NZ'rs living here temporally) and they picked us up yesterday and took us to lunch at the Hyatt Hotel - very nice outing!
They joined us, plus their two children Jade (3) and Joseph (9mths), on AC today for lunch. It was nice to have some 'small people' on board for a change!!
Cosmic Girl (following us from Panama) and crew arrived on Friday night - 12 hours behind us - so have caught up with them a couple of times for drinks as well.
Tomorrow Terry will be getting on the case to determine what is wrong with our engine and also fix the auto pilot which failed 2 hours out from Georgetown on Friday - thank goodness not before!!
So at this point not sure when we will leave for Cuba but not until these issues are addressed but good to know we can call on help if need be from Mac and Kelly.
Unfortunately Doris and Brian are not joining us in Cuba - she is a bit busy with her business and of course Amy is due on July 4th so understand she does not want to be far from home!!
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24/05/06
Position: 14 46N 080 49W
Days from last port: 3
Distance to Grand Cayman: 256
Wind Speed: 15Kn
Dind Direction: 040
Weather: Fine
Sea: Moderate
Comments: Will probably call into Grand Cayman to effect minor maintenance on a few items as it should be easier in an English speaking location. Have sent a message to a friend of Nicole and David who works there to find out if the marine services have been restored after their devastating hurricane. Expect to arrive in the early hours Friday.
Back to to the Panama transit, I forgot to mention... The weather was perfect as it was looking like rain but didn't where we were, it did rain ahead and behind us. We had a good 10 kt breeze so were relatively cool and protected from the sun. The locks themselves are awesome. The Guillard Cut on the southern end traverses the Great Divide and the longest part is across Lake Gatun. I did not explain that it is not like traversing Lake Taupo. Rather it is a continuous series of channels weaving their way between and around many jungle clad islands that were left when the several river valleys were flooded in 1914. That's why large ocean going vessels appearing out of the jungle is different and impressive.
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22/05/06
Position: 05 22N 079 54W
Distance to Grand Cayman: 582
Wind Speed 09Kn
Wind Direction: 240
Weather: Overcast
Sea: Moderate
Comments: Distance is to Grand Cayman. However we may continue on to Havana depending on weather and fuel requirements and our demeanor. Have no specific reason to visit Grand Cayman, been there done that! The Panama transit was an experience to cherish. No issues and the traverse across lake Gatun was amazing with the Jungle down to the edge and every half hour or so the appearance of a huge Ocean going vessel upon an idyllic inland man made lake in a very well marked channel. Despite Lois' initial but short lived apprehension she captured the journey on video beautifully. We arrived at Cristobal in the dark and had to go to the Panama Yacht Club to offload our 4 line handlers and their 150' lines. Finally anchoring in the Q area about 7:30pm. We had thought we would continue straight on but realised we were both exhausted from the long day and the social load and pace set by the Meadows over the previous weeks and friends in Panama itself. Not to mention provisioning, fuelling and getting prepared for our transit. We stayed put for Sat and Sun for R&R. Our young friends on Cosmic Girl arrived last evening so we caught up with them again. They are now about 6 miles astern also bound for Cuba.
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17/05/06
We are finally here in Panama!!!
We anchored last night around 4.30pm at Taboga Island which is just 7 miles from Panama!
We finally arrived at the Flamenco Marina and cleared in at around 1300hrs today - Tuesday local time!!
After nine months and a thirteen thousand odd nautical mile journey we are now finally here -it has been a long but exciting journey across the Pacific but of course just the beginning of our many adventures to come!
We have opened a bottle of champagne (gifted for a birthday present last year from our friend Alistair Sutherland!) that I stowed away before we departed Auckland last year that I wrote "Panama" on the box. We have shared it with our friends on board of course but also with our friends Matt and Ester plus their new crew whom we have followed down the Coast - they greeted us on arrival!! What a pleasure to see them again!!
Oh it is great to be here!!
A few champagnes and many wines - today we can and will enjoy!!
Be in touch
Love Lois and Terry
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13/05/06
Position: 07 43 N 82 39 W
Days from Port: 2
Miles to next port: 265
Weather: Sunny
Sea: Calm
Comments: Motor sailing at a good pace. Departed Los Suenos 1600 hrs yesterday and covered 160 nm in 24 hrs. Calm/light conditions with the evening thunder and lightning. Have Suz and Noel Meadows on board who are settling in well. Close encounter with a Trawler last night. Full Moon when the cloud cover allows, looks better this evening, so here's hoping. Entered Panamanian waters 1500 today. All well on board.
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11/05/06
Greetings from Los Suenos, Costa Rica 
Alpha Crucis left Acapulco mid-afternoon 29 April bound for Costa Rica.  The major potential obstacle was the Bay of Teuanatepec.  This  is famous for continuous high winds blowing from the Caribbean into the Pacific through a gap in the Central American Mountains.  Apparently winds can exceed 50 kn for up to 70% of the year.  The Bay is approximately 150 miles wide.  In these conditions the advice is to skirt the shoreline in less than 10 m of water to take advantage of the strong wind close to the beach thus avoiding the tremendous waves which extend some 200 to 300 miles out into the Pacific.
We were spared all of this.  Approaching the throat of the bay from the West we did encounter some weird oncoming swells which were very uncomfortable as the wind was behind us.  That lasted for about six hours and then died out.  All we were left with was a continuation of thunder and lightning from early evening until early morning everyday.  On the odd time that we were close enough to the shore to take advantage of the sea breeze we were able to sail but other than that the entire leg from Acapulco to Costa Rica was a long and tedious motor sail.
We arrived at the Marina Los Suenos in Costa Rica at 1300 hrs last Sunday 7 May almost dead empty of Diesel. 8 days/nighs at sea.  A new and lovely facility associated with an adjacent Marriot Hotel luxury resort.  The downside of course is the cost...  What the hell!
Whilst at sea we had made an arrangement for an agent to clear us on arrival.  That was a wonderful experience.  He arrived on time with three officials; Port Captain, Immigration and Quarantine.  We were cleared with no effort within you were 35 minutes.  Our alternative was to taxi into Puntarenas, an apparently grubby commercial port 26 miles to the north.  This has to be done serially and typically takes most of the day.
Our San Diego friends Suz and Noel Meadows had arrived at the Maraposa Hotel in Quepos the same day.  Quepos is about 1 1/2 hours taxi ride South of Los Suenos.  We joined them for lunch on Sunday and have been their guests until today, Thursday the 11th of May.
The Hotel Mariposa is in the booklet ‘1000 places to see before you die’!!!  Yes we are trying to tick off a few of these before we do!!!! 
The hotel is older style and not luxurious but very comfortable and has everything you need!!  The setting and views from the dining room and pool bar are literally to ‘die for’!!  It has been a wonderful and relaxing few days ashore!
Suz and Noel have decided to accompany us to Panama.  One way we can repay some of their amazing generosity.  We expect that leg to take three or four days arriving in Panama next Tuesday.  We will be leaving Costa Rica tomorrow afternoon.
We think Costa Rica is an amazing place.  We are at 9° north amidst rainforests and volcanoes.  The people here are very friendly and helpful.  The architecture and environment is better than anything we have seen since we left San Diego.  They have created many national parks and we are sitting in the middle of one of them.  They are encouraging tourism and development.  As one would expect the Americans have taken considerable advantage of this so if you want to come here...  Do it soon.
The food is good, wine is available at reasonable prices and the service is friendly.  What else could we want?
So almost to Panama now – just a little few miles to go!!  And we can finally open that bottle of champagne we had written on the box when we left Auckland in August –‘PANAMA’!!!
We think of you a lot and of course miss you.
Love Terry and Lois
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05/05/06
Position: 11 53 N 088 26 W
Days from Port: 6
Miles to Next Port: 275
Weather: Sunny
Sea: Moderate
New destination is Marina Los Suenos in Bahia Herradura Costa Rica. We have reserved a slip there so we can leave AC while we meet up with the Meadows (our very generous friends from San Diego) who are flying in to the Manuel Antonio National Park and the Hotel La Mariposa (page 798 in "1000 places To See Before you Die")to share time with us. Just great! Our younger globetrotters Matt, Ester and Scott on Cosmic Girl are about a week ahead of us having arrived in Golfito, Southern Costa Rica yesterday so it does not look like we will meet up with them until Panama which we dearly would like to achieve. They are great company and fun.
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01/05/06
Position: 15 50 N 095 54 W
Days from Port: 3
Miles to Next Port: 770
Weather: Sunny
Sea: Moderate
Destination this leg is Quepos a small port in Costa Rica but that could change. We are 32 miles from the infamous Gulf de Tehauntepec (a la Tink report) but our Grib files indicate variable winds over the next 36 hrs so here's hoping. We are taking the precaution of keeping near the shore in case it blows up. This afternoon we had head on steep swells with a 14 knot following wind, very uncomfortable and slow because of AC pitching rather heavily. Moved inshore and things have improved. Before we received the Grib Files we were seriously contemplating backtracking to Huatulco and anchoring for the night as we thought the swells could have been caused by winds blasting out of the gulf of T. Time will tell. Damn hot 32 degrees and water temp 26 degrees. All OK on board
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29/04/06
This is our third day here – we are staying at the very nice ‘Acapulco Yacht Club’. Great setting with a very nice restaurant bar area and fabulous swimming pool!!! Not many people here which is great as most of the owner of boats live in Mexico City it seems so only come over maybe on weekends or long weekends for recreation. So place is full of ‘Boat Boys’ looking after the maintenance of their employer’s vessels!
We haven’t ventured far from the Club except for provisioning yesterday and dinner watching the Cliff Divers last night as we have enjoyed the complex and taken time out – can’t do much in this hot weather.
The Commerical Mexicana (supermarket) was very new and had almost everything you could wish for – even most of the produce was fresh which is a bonus. So taxi by VW car there and back – but even a small shop takes the best part of 3 to 4 hours by the time you do your purchasing and cart it and pack it away.
The Cliff Divers were magnificent. We arrived at the restaurant/ hotel around 7pm and had a table overlooking the water and cliffs. It was a beautiful evening so was pretty special. We were lucky enough to see one performance in daylight and the other at night with lighting on the cliffs and water – quite a different experience. The cliff where they dive from is 150ft high!!! Plus they have to dive a long way out from the cliff – very scary – no wonder they pray before they leap!!!
We have struggled a little here not speaking Spanish – in fact we have found less people here speak English but nevertheless the value of sign language works wonders!! We really need to improve our ability to speak the lingo though!
The saying about how ‘Kiwi’s’ spread themselves around lives on – we met a great couple – John (surname Neal) is an American and Mandy is a New Zealander, and they run an off shore sailing school aboard their lovely vessel. She also writes a column for a boating magazine on provisioning food and cooking sort of the ‘Martha Stewart’ of sailing. In the little time we have spent with them they are a most interesting couple that make their livelihood out of sailing, which is great. Apparently John is quite renowned in his field and even in New Zealand where he has spent quite a lot of time.
Mandy is an intrepid sailor and in fact crewed on the first female crew in the Whitbread back in ’89. She is rigger by trade and in fact used to work for a rigger in Auckland called Terry Gillespie who has done work on Acrux as well as Alpha Crucis. As luck would have it she was able to fix our broken spinnaker halyard by splicing it in exchange for some ‘chick flick’ (as Glori Watts would call them) videos!!! Not bad bartering! We look forward to getting to know her and John better as they are heading out Monday from here towards Panama with their new ‘crew’ or customers on board!
We also met another couple who arrived the same day as we did but have since left for Costa Rica – Rem and Taylor Briggs. They live on a small plce called Bremen on Long Island, Maine – on the North East Coast of the United States.
They are on 38 ft sloop, which was built by a New Zealander in the US!!! They are in fact on their way home now as they have been at sea for 2 years! They sailed across to Europe, down the coast of Africa, round Good Hope to Melbourne, up the coast to Sydney, across to NZ, then New Caledonia, Japan, Alaska, Canada, down the coast of California, Mexico and now on their way home back to Maine. In other words a b… long way and some amazing legs at that – very impressive as they sold their house to do it! And all this, can you believe, without a refrigerator or freezer – just an icebox!! I admit I’m impressed but certainly not envious!! There is no question I would put myself in the upper end of the category in liking and wanting all the comforts of home while we are on this journey!
For the first time since we met Matt on Cosmic Girl in Hilo, we are finally meeting other cruisers going the same way – quite cool really.
In fact Cosmic Girl is now in Costa Rica so we have been keeping in touch – hopefully we will connect in Panama – be great to see both Matt and Ester again as we haven’t seen them since beginning of March in San Diego. They apparently have a new crewmember called Scott from San Diego.. Cosmic Girl is on her way back to England as Matt has to get a life again and get ‘a job’ to pay for the last two years!! But it will be good when we get to England to have someone else to look up that we met along the way.
We are getting ready to leave now. Just taken Terry up to the top of the mast – scary!! Then a final swim, pick up our clearance papers from the Port Caption, and we will depart.
We should be in Panama in about two weeks after stopping off in Costa Rica for a few days. Hopefully Suz and Noel Meadows from San Diego will met up with us there?
We hear that there is an 18 day waiting list to get through the canal so we are trying to touch base with an agent there to see if we can shortcut this as this would put us well behind in our schedule to be across the Caribbean by end of June. Plus we have Don Watt’s 50th birthday to go to in Washington State in early August so we have a wee way to get to Boston by then so we can fly from there. Anyway where there is a will there is a way!!!
We are lucky we have a couple of people who we also met on the Silver Whisper two years ago who live in Panama – Mary Coffey and Willie Friar so looking forward to meeting them again.
By the time we reach Panama we would have clocked up approx 13,500 odd nautical miles – only about double the distance we intended to do however we have had some great times going the ‘long way round’!!
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Date: 25/04/06
Latitude: 18 55 N
Longitude: 104 41 W
Wind Speed (knots): 18
Wind Direction: 310
Weather: Sunny
Sea State: Moderate
Obviously the log is not working and continues to under read when it does. Will omit until it is working and calibrated. Starboard side on lazy jack system fell to the deck during the early hours of day 01. Control line frayed through in the block at the second spreader. Suspect it was not properly rove by a rigger who worked on the rigging while we were i NZ. Fortunately it was nearly dead calm early morning so Lois hauled me up to fix it. Last night with following seas 0400 the mizzen gybed with our ensign somehow caught up in it. Snapped off the Flagstaff...bugger. Expect to be returned to duty by 1500 tomorrow. All now well on board.
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Date: 22/04/06
Latitude: 22 55 N
Longitude: 106 23 W
Wind Speed (knots): 10
Wind Direction: 285
Weather: Fine
Sea State: Calm
Departed Mazatlan 1400 hrs bound Acapulco 574 nm dist. Meant to leave yesterday but was stricken by a gastric event which drained me of energy, product and resolve. Back up to 80% and gaining. Mazatlan was a wonderful place and we were sad to leave. Met some great people in the last 24 hrs, all going North. However are determined to knock off the miles on route to Panama asap to increase our chances of catching up with Cosmic Girl. Our progress will determine our stop off plan. At the most that will be Acapulco, Huatulco and Costa Rica; probably less.

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21/04/06
Still cannot get the wireless to work here despite much effort on Terrys part. Anyway given up now as we are leaving anyway. Hopefully today but Terry has a little tummy upset so depends on whether he feels right when I get back to boat after this.
We enjoyed Cabo San Lucas especially having Glori and Don on board to share it with. Don was a great indian scout (we called him) as he loved to explore - and funnily enough he was generally always up before us!!! I think we mentioned Don and Glori paid for the marina at Cabo which was fantastic as at 262.00 dollars a night it was certainly out of our budget!
We will now leave Mazatlan today and head for Acupulco - estimate around 5/6 days but may well even give this a miss and go further. We will see how we feel.
We have enjoyed our time here in Mazatlan - it is a lot less commericalised than Cabo San Lucas and a lot less expensive! The highlight being our excursion to Copper Canyon - what a treat and well worth the time to get there. 6 hours in a bus to Los Mochis and then another hour to El Fuerte and then the 6 hour train trip to the Canyon.
Overall the Mexicans are a friendly bunch so you feel really comfortable and safe here. Its just that nothing happens very quickly which is just fine.
We did our provisioning at a place called Walmart yesterday and there was just about everything there you could wish for. Mostly the veges and fruit were good too. In fact better than I expected.
We have learned that if we refuel at another marina not far from here it is a dollar a gallon cheaper than where we are so that is what we will be doing of course. Gosh the value of talking to other boaties!
We had some people on board last night for drinks - they arrived yesterday and heading North, but we have managed to fit in some great conversation and laughs.
Anyway the journey continues as we head South and we are getting a little closer to Panama finally!!
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Date: 12/04/06
Latitude: 22 53 N
Longitude: 109 43 W
Wind Speed (knots): 16
Wind Direction: 221
Weather: Fine
Sea State: Calm
Comments:Left Cabo San Lucas 1300 today bound for Mazatlan ETA 1700 tomorrow. Cabo was great albeit very expensive by Mexican (or any) standards. In Mazatlan we hope to be able to take a side trip by train to/through the Copper Canyon so could be there 4 or 5 days before making a major sail south to Acapulco and Panama.
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Date: 09/04/06
We are about 25 miles from Cabo San Lucas!
All is great here - the weather conditions light so have had to motor this last sector.
We are all in good shape on board.
Glori, with only a few more miles to go, is feeling pretty pleased with her accomplishment of completing this passage from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas with 'no' seasickness!! She is now moving around the boat while we are going along quite comfortably. For someone who was seasick on the 'Silver Whisper' we would say she has done remarkably well!
We bought some crayfish off some fisherman yesterday whilst we were anchored in this little bay. Great value - 4 large ones for 20 dollars!! Terry gave them some batteries and they even offered another two but we declined (not sure why?). So that's dinner tonight- not bad ah!
We have just rung up about a Marina but will not be partaking in that - 262.00 per night - bloody daylight robbery!! Apparently Cabo is very expensive so as soon as the Watts leave on Wednesday we will be off!
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Date: 07/04/06
Latitude: 24 46 N
Longitude: 112 15 W
Wind Speed (knots): 10
Wind Direction: 290
Weather: Fine
Sea State: Calm
Comments: Arrived Bahia Santa Maria 0230 this morning. We had a quick trip (7.5 knots) from Puerto San Bartolomie. Great to be running before the wind constantly although the yawing got a little severe at one point but reduced sail and downwind tacking helped a lot. Lori had her brand new Nikon D2X (A serious piece of equipment} smashed into pieces when it catapulted from the cockpit dash onto the galley sole... bugger.
At breakfast time the Pacific Princess appeared moving north. She changed course for us so I called for the hand held VHF whilst holding my breakfast - a plate of noodles and bacon bits, eggs and spring onions. Woosh. Deciding that the VHF had survival priority the contents of the plate cascaded on down to the saloon sole and beyond. Unfortunately Lois was partaking of her breakfast squatting on the companion way step providing a semi permeable barrier, You will not believe that she was speechless! The addition of butter glistening pasta locks to her already famous hair were regarded as additional adornment by the rest of us with appropriate amounts of laughter. Lois remained silent but stoic. Lois adds - a certain question mark over Terry's priorities and his ability to multi task!!!!
We thanked the Pacific Princess for changing course and they compared us to a bobbing cork... Bloody arrogant Brits!!
Currently Planning to leave for Cabo San Lucas tomorrow to arrive Sunday morning the 9th. The rest of today is R&R and R&M.
This cove is outboard (west) of a large (San Francisco Bay size) Magdalena Bay. At the north end is Puerto San Carlos with a 9 mile channel to the town. It is a commercial Port a la Whangarei in the dust. We will not be going there.
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Date: 05/04/06
Latitude: 27 36 N
Longitude: 114 53 W
Wind Speed (knots): 27
Wind Direction: 310
Weather: Fine
Sea State: Moderate
Departed Puerto San Bartolomie (Turtle Bay) 1430 Pacific Summer Time bound for Magdalena Bay 220 nm down the coast. Arrived in Turtle Bay 1530 yesterday having left Ensenada 1130 on the 3rd. Puerto San Bartolomie is a remote dusty village with a rickety wharf but we have just had a wonderful fish luncheon in a little beach side restaurant for $5 per and beers at $1. The village is 132 mls off the Baja Highway linked by a dirt road. Sorry about the lack of contact but propagation has been variable. All well on board.
Will add map soon (MJA)
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02/04/06
We arrived here yesterday afternoon. Not a lot warmer than San Diego but dry and sunny!! We are at a marina close to town. Quite a clean and tidy Latin American town.
We had dinner at a very nice elegant restaurant in town last night – very pleasant however Terry must have been unlucky to eat something that gave him an upset stomach, as he has been quite unwell today. Don, Glori and I were just fine.
We cleared in this morning with ALL the authorities – very time consuming as we were warned and it was exactly the case!! However all done now!!
We had a great fish taco lunch today which cost around 12 USD for all four of us including two beers – a bargain.
Glori and I wondered up town and bought Terry some new jeans (while he was sleeping) and went to the supermarket – things are very cheap here.
Guess what – we got your cribbage board out this afternoon and I played with Glori with Don and Glori guidance of course – it was fun and sort of getting the hang of it now!
We leave here tomorrow to continue south. Will be in touch.
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01/04/06
We arrived here at 1320 hrs. We are about to go visit this town.