It was a bitter-sweet experience arriving in Hiva Oa – sweet because we could officially check in and reprovision, bitter because it was here we had to say our goodbyes to The Butler- aka The Pirate, aka Sherm, aka Geoff Sherman our good buddy and shipmate since early January when he and Mia joined us in St Vincent. As the longest standing member of Team Toucan (what stamina!), we thought it only fitting to put up a little pictorial tribute of his adventures with us… Continue reading “The Butler – Hiva Oa, Marquesas”
Les Marquises -The Marquesas
Jacques Brel and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young sang about them, Herman Melville wrote about them, Paul Gaugin painted them, and here we are – in the stunning Marquesas, one of the most remote group of islands in the world and thousands of miles from the any continent. 15 volcanic islands rising majestically out of the sea, of which 6 are inhabited with a total population of just over 9000. Continue reading “Les Marquises -The Marquesas”
I Can Jump Puddles – The Pacific Puddlejump
They call it the ‘Puddlejump’ or the ‘Coconut Milk Run’ which suggests the passage is a bit of a doddle. But at nearly 3000NM it’s a long, long ocean passage which creates wear and tear on boats and crew alike. I had visions of clear sunny days, long gentle rolling Pacific swells pushing us westwards under the spinnaker, lazing about reading, filing our nails and playing guitar to while away the time. As you can see, we did have some of that, but unfortunately not nearly enough… Continue reading “I Can Jump Puddles – The Pacific Puddlejump”
Land of the Giants – Galapagos
Giant tortoises, giant iguanas, giant costs and giant pain in the arse bureaucracy. Sadly, that about sums up our experience of the Galapagos, although it certainly wasn’t all bad and we don’t regret going there. I’m just not sure we’d go back again for another visit. Continue reading “Land of the Giants – Galapagos”
Much Ado About Nothing – Las Perlas
Las Perlas islands (‘The Pearls’) are only a day-sail from Panama, on the way to the Galapagos. We’d been told that they were very pretty with some great diving sites, so we were keen to have a few days there exploring before going on to the Galapagos. Sadly for us, they didn’t quite live up to the hype… Continue reading “Much Ado About Nothing – Las Perlas”
Rebel, Rebel – La Playita, Panama
La Playita anchorage on the Panama City side of the canal is the only place where you can drop the hook for free, so it was a no-brainer for us to stay there after the pummeling our bank balance has had recently. Continue reading “Rebel, Rebel – La Playita, Panama”