Blogs from Pacific, Oceans and Seas - page 25

Volpaia Time: 21:30:00 Zulu Time: 03:30 13 00.88 N 123 09.82 W Speed: 10 knots Wind: 13 knots 027 T Course: 260 T Seas: 3-5 ft Crew: Shay on deck, Colby and Cyrus sleeping, Brett on deck, Alix on deck, Liz helming Comments: Brought to you by Brett Cary, in partnership with Yerba Mate. The food cycle on S/Y Volpaia, June 8th, 2011. My day starts at 130am Volpaia time, which isnt always congruent with local time and has been distancing its self from this more and more everyday. My first task in being awake is finding my vice, coffee. Of recent I have been reaching for something more potent, Yerba Mate. This jungle dwelling plant thrives in nutrient rich rainforest soil and delivers a buzz that coffee cannot contend with. This particular morning Colby left ... read more

Volpaia Time: 08:00 Zulu Time: 14:00 18 21.61 N 117 55.44 W Speed: 7.5 knots Wind: 13 knots 352 T Course: 230 T Seas: 3-5 ft Crew: Alix sleeping, Liz on deck, Colby sleeping, Brett sleeping, Cyrus getting off watch, Shay helming. Comments: Bob, agreed to all sent yesterday. We have altered course slightly to the south to make course along your suggested route, to be entering ITCZ at 5 00N 130 00W, or there abouts. The wind has finally made its shift to the N as of last night and we are now sailing on our same STBD tack but with the wind off our stern quarter. With the light apparent winds at this angle and the still somewhat confused seas, we are experiencing the occasional roll. What we are currently carrying for sails is ... read more

The final day at sea as tomorrow we arrive back at Long Beach so we sat by the pool and drank cocktails. I want to take the time now to put in a plug for Carnival Splendor the boat we were on. The meals are just fantastic and run 24 hours a day, you can get anything from Pizza and Burgers right up to 4 star dining. The staff likewise is just great and nothing was to much trouble, right from our room steward, Sang, to the matre d' of the restaurant. Check out the animals made out of folded towels that were left in our room every night, Sang made them and we got to the stage where we looked forward to getting back to the cabin after the evenings fun just to see what ... read more

In November 2010, Carson and Deb took a trip to the Philippines to do some scuba diving. We flew into Manila, then traveled overland to the southern shore of Luzon Island where we boarded a water taxi to Mindoro Island and the small beach town of Puerto Galera. Shimmering seas and lush mountains surround the small town and three cove shaped beaches, all called Sabang. The boat harbor and our hotel are on the largest. The Atlantis Dive Resort catered to our every need. From small swimming pool, spa, massages, internet, beachside bar and fantastic restaurant, we found we never had to leave the grounds. The staff were incredibly friendly, everyone was on a first name basis. For Carson the diving was fantastic. The coral is still pristine in these waters. The Resorts Master Divers took ... read more

March 26th, 2011 Anchored at Abreojos It is reaching sunset and we are safely anchored at Abreojos. From the 5 mile radius, Brett began his screams of joy, pointing and dancing as he saw the faint outlines of crashing waves near shore. Apparently able to tap into his super-human vision, he exclaimed that there would indeed be surf for all. As our down-wind sail came to an abrupt stop (we simply ran out of wind) and coasted into the bay, we did see that in fact there were some nice peeling waves reaching around the point we are anchored next to. Then the wind gusted to 25 knots and has not let up.. this did not detour Brett our surf nazi, and he screamed, pointed, danced and did a few of his "hooo hooo hooo hooooooo! ... read more