Tag: Rota

I’m Ready Now

Ready to Go. Just need to replace my tatered flags, both the Kadey Krogen and the Satrs & Stripes show wear from the last 5,000 miles.
Ready to Go. Just need to replace my tattered flags, both the Kadey Krogen and the Stars & Stripes show wear from the last 5,000 miles.

Dauntless is finally back in the water.  In spite of holidays, vacations and other national disasters.

In the Sling
In the Sling

The Spanish, at least in southern Spain, have a penchant for bureaucracy, that would make ___ proud.  Even if you stop in a marina and just stay overnight, one night, they make a file for you.  Even though everything is on the computer, everything is also in that file.

It’s a bureaucracy that is at best redundant and at worst really f…ing annoying.

However, I do recall that in Lisbon, you could not leave until you checked out and you could not check out if the office was closed.  Yes, that meant no early morning departures to take advantage of tides or weather.

All the Scrapes and bruises repaired for $160.
All the Scrapes and bruises repaired for $160.

Next week in Morocco, I’ll probably have to east all of these words.  Umm, I hope they are tasty.

While picking up my laundry, we decided to go to the grocery, I figured maybe I’d get fresh milk and a few other things.  $150 later we had a grocery cart full of stuff.  I figured where am I going to get anything cheaper between here and even in the Caribbean?  So now once again I have a half year’s supply of: sardines, anchovies, dried sausages, mustards, toilet paper, UHT milk (I use for my morning coffee) some fresh goods and even mayonnaise. (The Hellman’s mayonnaise in Europe requires no refrigeration [what I have been saying for 30 years], what changed, the marketing folks finally figured out Italians were not going to buy mayonnaise they had to put in their small, dorm room sized, fridges.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll wash the boat, refill water tanks and leave for Gibraltar.

Sunset over Rota
Sunset over Rota

One night at anchor underway, then Gib for two nights, leaving for Africa, Morocco, Sunday morning, winds allowing. We’ll stop in Rabat for two weeks, allowing us to do some exploring.

I want to be in the Canaries be the end of November and Barbados before Christmas.

As a reminder, you can get a position of Dauntless within the last 10 minutes at: Share.Deloreme.com/Dauntless

What's Dinner without the whole family
What’s Dinner without the whole family

Richard on Dauntless heading south

In the Meantime, even the Birds are Talking

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Go West, Young Man, Go West

OK, I’m not so young anymore; well at least not physically.

The Atlantic Analysis for 26 September 2016
The Atlantic Analysis for 26 September 2016

Yesterday, I decided to tackle the laundry basket of papers, books, magazines and miscellaneous stuff that should have been thrown away last year.  OK, actually two laundry baskets, plus a few smaller bins.

My bicycle was also part of the melee, the last time I rode it was in Sweden, last September.  I really liked Sweden.  If I get back to Northern Europe, it will certainly be because Sweden has much of the best cruising grounds in Northern Europe.

Poland intrigues me also, but not for the cruising, but for the people and food. Both wonderfully warm and tasty.

But, now my vision is looking west. And there will be a westward component for a long time to come. So while Sweden is only 2,000 miles away, I’ll probably put 20 times those miles before I get back there.

One of my current homepages is the Atlantic Analysis from NOAA’s Ocean Prediction Center. I don’t spend a lot of time with it, but I do like to check it out every time I am connected to the WWW.

The current map shows the large high pressure area that pretty much lives over the eastern Atlantic. That observation at 29N, 16W is the Canaries.  There will be a similar pattern when we finally leave in late November and I should be able to follow that 1020mb isobar for much of the way all the way to Barbados. The Kadey Krogen was born for following seas.  She must like her behind being pushed along.

Well the bicycle is attached to the wall as it was two years ago on the east bound passage.  Many of the papers have been sorted and put or thrown away.

I’m doing this now because I’ll be Missing in Action (MIA) for the month of October. I’ll be in the USA and Italy, so Dauntless needs to be ready in early November.  Leaving the boat for a month in southern Spain is not inexpensive.  At this point it looks like my best option is to pull her out of the water and let her be on the hard for 30 days.  I had previously not considered this option, but a little mishap in docking a couple weeks ago, made this option very attractive.

Yes, I have a 5-foot scar down the side of the new painted hull.  F…ing annoying.

Dauntless is Wounded
Dauntless is Wounded

I hardly spoke to myself for days!

Just writing about it is annoying so, that’s all for now folks.

 

 

 

Cruising Costs for the First 112 Days

It’s the 112th day since our cruise started May 29th.

The Full Moon Rises Behind Dauntless
The Full Moon Rises Behind Dauntless

Dauntless now sits easily in the Puerto Deportivo de Rota. Her new grey paint scheme fits in well being only a mile SE of the big naval base in Rota, Spain.

Rota Lighthouse
Rota Lighthouse

We’ll be in this area, between Rota and Gibraltar for the next month, so this is a good opportunity to get my data updated and I’d thought I’d share with you our cruising costs so far this season.

So far, compared to last year, I’m spending about $20 less per day.  Overall costs have been about $107 per day, that’s $27 less than last year and almost all of that savings are due to the lower fuel costs. I was able to fill Dauntless with fuel in Ireland at $2.30 per gallon.  Upon my return from Scotland in June, I was able to top up the tanks again.

I should be able to get reasonably priced fuel in Gibraltar, but when I top up the tanks in the Canaries, it will be $5 per gallon fuel.  I should only need a few hundred gallons; however, the Caribbean won’t be cheap either.

Total guest contributions to expenses have been about 11%; that’s less than last year.

Overall, I am pleased that expenses are staying just below my planned budget.  I need to get more proactive about Sponsorships; but that’s another story.

Dauntless will be pretty much stationary until the end of October, as I am going to NY during the first two weeks.  Since it will be my last opportunity until spring to visit some friends in Europe, I will go to Italy during the last two weeks of October before returning to D.