tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62553452011-04-21T19:49:53.390+02:00Cameron's Sailing Adventure Welcome to my hair raising and titilating tales of life on the high seas. Earlier this year I sailed 5,500 mıles from Thailand to Turkey via the Red Sea. Now I'm setting off on a delivery from Cape Town to the British Virgin Islands, and my first Trans-Atlantic. Email me at hear_ye@hotmail.comCameronnoreply@blogger.comBlogger371100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1101105563381788512004-11-22T08:02:00.000+02:002004-11-22T08:39:23.380+02:00HOME!
I arrived at my parent's place in Riverton on Tuesday. After about 12,500 sea miles (14,400 miles or 23,000 kms), 11 months of travel or attempted travel, countless couches, flea bitten beds, leaking berths and botched connections. Toss in dozens of new friends, experiments, accidents and mistakes that turned into adventures. Of course I can't forget about the discoveries--geographical, Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1100184889995067452004-11-11T16:46:00.000+02:002004-11-11T16:54:49.996+02:00NEW YORK
I've made the full circle now...back to where I was in March, 2001 before I left for Asia. I arrived in NYC last night, and went straight to Dalia/Chris' place. Seeing them again was spectacular, they're still like family even though we haven't seen each other in over three years. And, just as I wished, I spent my first evening in NYC sitting in their apartment drinking wine, Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1100012504426590632004-11-09T16:59:00.000+02:002004-11-11T16:43:27.043+02:00BRAZIL TO TORTOLA
Oct 28
We’ve just crossed the Equator, a first by sea for Ryan and I. So, in true maritime fashion, we had a little ceremony for Neptune. Basically Sheldon made us sit on the transom and he dumped a lot of kitchen shit on us and said some gobbeldy gook, then we jumped in the water and swam across the actual equator. The mouth of the Amazon is off our port bow, some 80 miles in Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1098791747262885642004-10-26T13:49:00.000+02:002004-10-26T13:55:47.263+02:00We´ll be leaving Fortaleza in another hour or so...and we should be arriving in Tortola in about 10-12 days. I think it´s around 2000 miles. I haven´t seen a lot of the town here, days have been spent on board doing repairs, cleaning and getting the boat back into shape after a rough crossing. The marina/resort we´re moored at is a long way from the center of town, and there´s not much to see Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1098643307678882612004-10-24T20:38:00.000+02:002004-10-26T13:36:17.330+02:00PICTURES:Just cut/paste these addy's into your browser and follow the instructions to view my photos on ofoto.com. You do not need to open an account to view the photos. The albums are in reverse chronological order.
NEW!! Atlantic/St. Helena http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=fif2crj.a50pfznz&x=0&y=-57r6sq
NEW!! S. Africa and Lesotho http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=fif2crj.3ss1bri7&x=0&y=-1tg65
14. Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1098641446527905642004-10-24T20:08:00.000+02:002004-10-24T20:36:24.183+02:00CROSSING THE ATLANTIC
September 28
We finally pulled away from the Port of Cape Town fuel jetty at 1415 on the 27th after an agonising morning of waiting for parts for the boat. Now we’re about 200 miles offshore after doing 170 miles in our first 24 hours. It’s been blowing 20-30 knots pretty much since we left, with seas of 2-3 meters. In a mono hull this would be a cake walk, and it’s not so Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1097318379930550482004-10-09T13:27:00.000+02:002004-10-09T12:39:39.930+02:00Arrived in St Helena last night after 11 days from Cape town. Sorry, can't download my journal, as the computers here don't have CD rom yet! Very odd little town in the middle of the sea, England about 100 years ago, with a huge mish mash of ethic strains all mixed together. And, since net service is 1 quid for 10 minutes, I'll wait to tell you more! We leave on Sunday for Fortaleza, Brazil, Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1096095833827185992004-09-25T09:03:00.000+03:002004-11-11T16:45:27.226+02:00SHARK DIVING
Here fishy fishy
A three to four meter Great White shark looks more like six when he skims by you in the cold ocean water, at least according to my very recent experience. I just got back from shark diving in Gansbaai, about two hours drive from Cape Town. A van came around and picked us all up from our respective hotels, homes and boats (8 in the group) in the morning, and we Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1095957344652667682004-09-23T19:30:00.000+03:002004-10-26T13:56:56.470+02:00Track my boat on the web!
I'm still in Cape Town. Our newest departure date is Monday. We've been delayed by a Northwester that has blown in and is expected to stay until Saturday, and today we found out the builder wants to make some changes on the boat on Monday morning...so wait we do. I'm going shark diving tomorow...any work out there for one-armed sailor/writers? It should be exciting, a Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1101964809833853772004-09-10T07:18:00.000+03:002004-12-02T07:20:09.833+02:00DRUNKEN LESOTHO HORSEMAN
A Lesotho mountain trail, snaking between rocky gorges and cacti prickled slopes, does not leave much room for a hiker when it already contains a stubborn horse and rider. Yet, here I was, gingerly picking my way down a washed out gully of a trail that formed the only link between a string of remote mountain villages, with a snorting horse and its drunken, whip wieldingCameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1094479183584958222004-09-06T16:54:00.000+03:002004-09-06T16:59:43.583+03:00I'm off to sea again...and I can't express how happy that makes me. Summer in London/France has been great, I've spent more time with Roz this summer than I had in the 2 1/2 years of our relationship so far. I also passed my yachtmaster ticket, which was a long term goal I had, and caught up with friends in both Paris and London...but I quit my job to sail, and now I can back to it.
The plan is Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1093439037854327892004-08-25T16:03:00.000+03:002004-08-25T16:03:57.856+03:00 Roz and I went for a walk on Box hill, south of London on Saturday. It was a sunny but crisp day, a sign of the autumn that’s just around the corner. We hadn’t done much planning for our day trip, and therefore rushed from Kings Cross (from which trains did not go to good walking grounds I was told) to Waterloo. When we arrived we realised our chosen spot would cost a pretty penny to get Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1092135203970823452004-08-10T13:52:00.000+03:002004-08-10T13:53:23.970+03:00I'm back in London after a month in France...and it's cool and rainy here.
I got to Paris on Bastille Day, in time for fireworks by the Eiffel Tower. France was very relaxing, actually a bit too much in some ways. During the first part, while I was in Paris, I started getting a bit restless. Paris is cheaper than London, and I had a free place to stay, but if you really want to "do" the city youCameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1088432976365263312004-06-28T17:28:00.000+03:002004-06-28T17:29:36.366+03:00I'm a Yacht Master! Well, not officially, but I've passed the exam. All I need now is to take another first aid course, a VHF radio course (both one day), get a medical exam and I'll have the actual paper in hand.
I was in Southampton area all of last week for the exam prep course and exam itself. What a week of sailing...I've never been out for a week that held so much cold, rain, hidden sand Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1086696832695043392004-06-08T14:54:00.000+03:002004-06-08T15:13:52.696+03:00So I'm in London, paying five quid for a bowl of laksa that cost me SG$2 in Singapore. Ahh, life in the big city. It's cool to be here though, in a real city and knowing I don't have to hurry off in two days time. It's also great being with Roz again, catching up on what's been going on in our respective lives and seeing her actually live hers instead of just meeting up in some hot vacation spot Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1086635052178819752004-06-07T22:03:00.000+03:002004-06-07T22:04:12.176+03:00TRAVELLING IN TURKEY:
It’s been a good while since I sat down and updated this journal, and a lot has happened since then. I’m now in London, making plans for the summer here, but I’ll get to that later. First I want to tell you about the couple of weeks I spent travelling in Turkey.
Elin and I left Jubilation in Finike on the 21st of June. We bus-hopped our way Northeast, through Antalya and Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1085143987569984062004-05-21T15:21:00.000+03:002004-05-21T15:53:07.570+03:00Aksaray, Turkey
We just arrived here a few hours ago to catch a bus to the Ihlara Gorge. Pretty little town, but I'd like to be on my way.
The strangest things happen when you walk into a nightclub and just sit in the corner with a stupid grin on your face...Elin and I stopped off in Konya yesterday for the night on our way up to Cappadocia from Finike, and we were taking a walk around town Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1084891627170374902004-05-18T17:35:00.001+03:002004-05-18T17:58:02.586+03:00EGYPT TO TURKEY
I’ve been a bit lazy in updating this journal since arriving in Turkey, but it’s finally been brought up to date, descrıbıng the trıp from Egypt to Turkey, and the tıme I've spent here so far. New photos wıll be up ın one or two days
May 10
halfway down the Suez Canal
We’re over half done our second 50-mile day of the Suez Canal, which means we’re only hours from entering the Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1083949855211139122004-05-07T20:04:00.000+03:002004-05-07T20:44:06.700+03:00I'm in Cairo...I didn't think I'd be here just a year after my first visit. We had an uneventful but pleasant sail from Abu Tig to Port Suez. It only took about 36 hours. The northern bit of the Red Sea, actually the Gulf of Suez, felt like a lake since we could see both shores...what a change from the open sea. Not much to see but a lot of shipping traffic and heaps of oil rigs flaring their gasCameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1083443100652772762004-05-01T23:17:00.000+03:002004-05-01T23:29:20.763+03:00Roz flew off back to London this evening., We had a great few days here at Abu Tig. Nothing too exciting, but she got to meet some of the people I've been sailing with and we were able to catch up on what's been happening in our lives since the last time we saw each other in early January. I'm hoping to see her again in a month or two in England.
Also newsworthy...I've switched boats. Things on Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1083263105810645842004-04-29T20:16:00.000+02:002004-05-01T23:41:15.826+03:00ERITREA AND THE VOYAGE TO EGYPT
Here are the details of my trip from Eritrea to Egypt. I arrived on the 27th, Roz was here waiting for me, which was great. We're not doing much, just chilling here in the resort area. It's a pretty quiet place, except that today Nasser's son (Nasser as in former president of Egypt) got drunk and rammed a few boats in anger and started making racial anti-Jewish Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1081067903993389512004-04-04T10:33:00.000+02:002004-05-01T23:37:49.826+03:00YEMEN TO ERITREA
April 1
Day 3, Aden-Massawa
13 47N 42 16E
heading 282 degrees
We left Aden three days ago, saying good-bye the Arabian Sea and turning north. It feels like we’re going home.
The last few days in Aden were quiet, slow days as we waited for favourable winds. I did some shopping, wandering around town, and went to a karate competition with Mark and Nenad, sailors from the boat Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1080565840419587192004-03-29T15:07:00.000+02:002004-05-01T23:43:28.546+03:00YEMEN
March 30
Tawahi, Port Aden
We’re still in port, with our departure pushed back two days by the heavy winds in the straits to the Red Sea. Tony was on the radio this morning with a few boats that were on the way through, and they had 40 knots of breeze and 3 meter swells. That’s not unsailable, but Checkmate is not very well equipped for sailing heavy (or light winds for that matter) so Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1080221153764129822004-03-25T15:24:00.000+02:002004-03-25T15:29:22.513+02:00Photos are on their way...if I can find an e-cafe in Aden with a good enough connection, so keep checking this site.Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1080218424818994032004-03-25T14:35:00.000+02:002004-05-01T23:40:24.233+03:00OMAN AND THE VOYAGE TO YEMEN:
March 19
Day 2 Salalah-Aden
15.28 N 052.57E
heading 210 degrees
We’re back underway, motoring towards Yemen, following a four-day stop in Salalah.
Checkmate arrived in Salalah during the afternoon of Saturday, the 13th, exactly one month since our departure from Thailand. We went through the usual wait for and then visit from the clearing officials, and then Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1080130148822137392004-03-24T14:03:00.000+02:002004-03-24T14:12:36.373+02:00We arrived in Aden, Yemen this morning, our seventh day at sea since Oman. It was a hellish trip over, and I'll be posting the details of it in a few days. My first impressions of Aden are:
--dry and dusty (again!)
--very very poor. I've never seen cars like this before. I think I've only seen two cars so far with all doors closing and working and all windows in place.
--Very sweet nice old Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1079266958669390592004-03-14T14:19:00.001+02:002004-03-14T14:25:52.340+02:00I've landed in Oman. It's dry, dusty and very sunny, and Salalah is a rather deserted town from the looks of things. We arrived last night, and have just started looking around...so more news later.
Here's the journal from Sri Lanka to the Oman...
Day 4 out of Sri Lanka
Feb 29
06.51N 74.02E
heading 285, about 70 miles east of Maldives
It's been a fairly uneventful and windless trip from Sri Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1079266881670080202004-03-14T14:19:00.000+02:002004-03-14T14:24:35.356+02:00Here's the journal from Sri Lanka to the Maldives...
Day 4 out of Sri Lanka
Feb 29
06.51N 74.02E
heading 285, about 70 miles east of Maldives
It's been a fairly uneventful and windless trip from Sri Lanka so far. We've been motoring a lot, and when we are sailing we rarely get above five knots of speed. Appears we have entered into a bit of a current this morning, as we should be moving fasterCameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1077704347923116042004-02-25T12:15:00.000+02:002004-02-25T12:51:48.860+02:00Heyo;
Sorry this journal is getting a bit messy, but here's some details from the Thailand-Sri Lanka voyage. Link to fresh photos is further down.
Day 1
Friday Feb 13 0844 GMT
N 07 56.24 E 97 45.05
heading 270
It’s Friday the 13th and we put out to sea this morning.
Sailors say putting out to sea on a Friday, much less the 13th, means evil will befall your vessel, but with as much bad luck Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1077693654142225152004-02-25T09:02:00.000+02:002004-02-25T12:53:29.763+02:00 This entry picks up from the early evening of the 20th described above....
At around 2100 I was sitting on the rear deck after dinner, getting ready to turn in for the night. It was a crystal clear sky, and we were getting excited by the thought of being in port in another day. It was quiet, a nice 15 knot breeze blowing, light seas. Captain Tony was down below sleeping, and I was about to Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1077692065794879202004-02-25T08:43:00.000+02:002004-02-25T08:57:14.000+02:00A few photos of the Thailand-Sri Lanka voyage can be seen here:
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=fif2crj.43zmyrjj&x=1&y=-xmz9yt
Don't sign up for Ofoto, just click on view photos. Pix of Sri Lanka itself may be some time in coming. The journal to go with this will be going up shortly (tonight?) , having some Mac/PC issues.
I expect we'll be leaving Sri Lanka on Thursday morning, the 26th of Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1077443822665862722004-02-22T11:54:00.000+02:002004-02-22T11:59:46.903+02:00Just got into Galle, Sri Lanka this morning after 9 days sailing from Thailand. We've had an amazing welcome so far, and am already sad we plan to spend only four day here before sailing to Maldives, and then Oman/Red Sea, although our plans are still in the making.
In the next few days I'll be updating this site with all the details of whales at sea, turning 30 on the Indian Ocean, strange Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1076420911482989782004-02-10T15:30:00.000+02:002004-02-10T15:53:13.810+02:00Well, looks like I'll have stories of more than my sleazy Phuket hotel after all...I have a firm commitment from another yacht, and others options still left hanging. So I'm again getting set to sail!
I've been in Phuket for three 3-4 days now, going from marina to yacht club to yachtie pub putting up posters and speaking to sailors. This after a few days of doing the same in Langkawi, draggingCameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1075974743502635112004-02-05T11:43:00.000+02:002004-02-05T11:54:45.123+02:00Bad news folks. The sailing trip is off. The skipper and owner had a falling out, and the rest of us have had our plans scrapped because of it. I have no idea what I'm going to do next. I guess I'll start by looking for another boat, likely in Phuket, but it's a bit late in the season for yachts to be leaving Asia. So don't expect to many stories of the high seas on this site for the next while.Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1075211797709066152004-01-27T15:34:00.000+02:002004-01-28T05:21:54.983+02:00Let me tell you a little about my neighbours in Rebak Marina. It's a regular little neighbourhood, with gossip, the sound of neighbours fighting, borrowing of suger and garden hoses, and kids playing on the docks.
Sharing our dock is the Foremost, out of Brisbane. On it sail/live a man and a woman. The man's waist is so big--he doesn't really have a belly, he's just thick from the neck to the Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1075210143227211402004-01-27T15:27:00.000+02:002004-01-27T15:33:56.640+02:00PICTURES:
click on or paste this url into your browser, and it should take you to an Ofoto site with pix. Just click on "view photos." there's no need to sign up for an account
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=fif2crj.bxe2m6tb&x=0&y=f1qg9i
Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255345.post-1074002946276106552004-01-13T16:05:00.000+02:002004-01-28T16:14:30.670+02:00Not much to report just yet. I'm still in Langkawi. Delay after delay. I flew up here on the 11th in a complete groggy haze after a great send-off at Landreth's. Checked into a cheap-ass flea bag guesthouse, and finally packed my bags. My landlord (curses upon her head) came to collect the keys while I was enjoying my last shower in my place, and I frantically threw my shit together and rushed Cameronnoreply@blogger.com0