Showing posts with label Sailing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sailing. Show all posts
Saturday, 22 April 2017
Sailing Canoes of Granada
Still further south from the gommiers of Dominica and Martinique and the canot of St. Lucia is another expanded and extended dugout, the sailing canoe of Granada. When Douglas C. Pyle visited the island in 1975, "a handful" were still in use. It would be a surprise, though a pleasant one, if any still exist 35 years later.
 |
| The Granada sailing canoe had something in the looks of a whaleboat. (This and all other images from Pyle, Clean Sweet Wind  . Click any image to enlarge.) |
 |
| The dugout origins are just discernible in the small hollowed keel, to which three wide strakes have been added, followed by rough, widely-spaced frames and partial frames. |
 |
| The waterlines and buttocks are very nice, but the sections look scary. The sailplan looks fairly powerful for such an unstable hull, but it's wisely kept low. |
:The lines show very clearly that no effort was made to give the hull any shape other than that assumed by a hollowed log wedged slightly open at midsection. They were propelled by sailing and rowing simultaneously, a practical mix in the flat water and fluky breezes that prevail in the lee of all high islands such as Granada.In spite of Pyle's criticism of their unsophisticated lines, he says the canoes were "versatile...capable also of operating in the open sea," and he describes a regatta in nearby Carriacou where the boats seemed to perform adequately, though hampered by their blue denim sails.
In any case, I find the buttocks, waterlines, and sheer profile pleasing. The sections, however, are another matter. Where the bottom of the canot was just slightly flattened, and the gommier almost perfectly round amidships, the Granada canoe's bottom is nearly a rounded V. Lightly laden, this boat would have little initial stability, though I think she would firm up when heeled down onto her wide flared sides.
Thursday, 20 April 2017
San Jose and Almeria – Sailing the Costa de Sol of Spain
We cast off from the fuel dock at Garrucha with a full tank of diesel which was a very good thing as we again had to motor sail along the coast to San Jose as the wind gods still didn’t want to play the game. We did put the mainsail up and got a little bit of a lift out of what breeze there was but with just over forty miles to cover trying to go by sail alone would have never got us close within daylight hours. We were getting a bit tired of the sound of the engine but that’s life.
 |
| We couldn't leave the mainsail in the bag any longer. |
We saw a few flying fish along the way which was nice. They’ve been few and far between in the Med and it’s always very entertaining watching how far they can glide over the waves before splashing down.
We also spotted a huge, development onshore that had been very obviously stalled for quite some time and now well and truly plastered with a huge ‘Ilegal Hotel’ sign that covered a number of floors. It was out in the middle of nowhere and daubed with all sorts of graffiti including one sign saying ‘DEMOLICIAN - YA’. We’ve heard all sorts of tales of buildings going up without anyform of planning approvals and could only guess there was an interesting story behind this one too. We’d loved to have known the facts but given the size of the massive resort it’s a fair bet to say some bank somewhere that financed it has taken a serious hit to their balance sheet.
 |
| Maybe this was Christopher Skase's final project. |
We rounded the headland and entered the shelter of the bay at San Jose in the late afternoon. It was a very attractive little spot with an interesting looking town stretching away behind the beach. There was a small marina but as we expected conditions to stay reasonably calm for the night we elected to anchor outside near the beach. As we began to relax with sundowners in the cockpit we counted 34 small boats come out of the marina in a one hour time space and headed all over the bay fishing. We couldn’t believe so many boats could fit behind the breakwaters in the tiny marina but it was obviously a bit bigger than it looked. About 8.30pm someone must have sounded a dinner bell because all of a sudden they were all coming back in at once creating some serious peak hour traffic at the harbour entrance.
 |
| San Jose looked like a nice place to explore. Next time hopefully. |
On Sunday we had planned to have a look around the town but after checking the forecasts we decided this may not be a good place to be in the 15 to 20 knot south-westerlies predicted for the evening. It was time to go so San Jose went on the list of places to stop at on the way back east next year. Up came the anchor and we set sail to Almeria. Yep. We actually got the white bits up and had a fantastic sail around the cliffs of Cabo de Gata and then right across the big bay all the way to just off Almeria itself. The wind strengthened and turned through the afternoon and we were able to go with it only needing to tack out from shore at the very end. With the wind now sneaking up above 20 knots we were getting a bit overpowered. We could have reefed the main to reduce sail but as we were only a mile from the harbour elected to simply drop it and motor the rest of the way in.
 |
| A great sailing day to Almeria had us all smiling |
Almeria is a very large commercial port with a lot of big shipping, particularly large ferries. There’s a marina just outside the inner harbour but when we rang them asking for a berth they at first said OK then a minute later decided they suddenly had no room. This was despite us being directly outside the entrance looking at empty berths inside. Apparently they primarily cater for permanent berth holders and aren’t too keen on casual visitors. We must not have seemed important enough for them.
 |
| We cheekily anchored between the marina and inner breakwater. |
By now the wind was gusting in the 25 to 30 knot zone with quite a lumpy sea so we had no desire to be heading back out in it. No anchoring is permitted in the inner harbour but we decided there was room between the inner breakwater and the marina so we simply dropped anchor there, made sure we were well hooked in and let out plenty of chain. We were very happy to be behind the protection of the main, big breakwater. but even so, a fair size swell was finding its way around its end making things a little less comfortable than the marina would have been but such is life. We were dancing around a bit on the end of the chain but at least we were safe and this was free. We just hoped no one came along and told us to move on.
 |
| With 30 metres of chain out we swung in a 60m arc but there was room |
Fortunately the wind dropped out a little after midnight and Monday morning dawned nice and calm with clear blue skies. It was time for a day ashore checking out the city. First stop was the Vodafone shop to get Marc and Karen’s internet data topped up. Marc goes into severe withdrawals and may be found in the foetal position whimpering if he can’t download his London papers each morning while Karen’s IPad has all our weather forecast apps on it so this was definite priority.
 |
| A beautiful morning in Almeria harbour |
 |
| Almeria is a very attractive city to wander around |
We then wandered the streets and checked out the excellent fresh food, meat and seafood markets in the city centre before settling in for lunch at a very cool old restaurant/bar. Eventually Karen managed to get us out the door and off on an ABC tour (Another Bloody Castle). Her tourist guide said that next to the Alhambra in Granada, the Alcazaba of Almería is one of the main castles in the south of Spain. It was constructed in the X century by the Califa Abderramán III. It offered shelter to 20,000 people at one time so we had to have a look.
 |
| Off for our ABC Tour (Another Bloody Castle) in Almeria |
 |
| Ameria's cathedral started life as a mosque before being christianised. |
It was a fair walk through the streets, past the cathedral, up the lanes all guided by Karen’s IPad’s maps to get to the base of the hill. Here we found a sign proclaiming the castle open 10.00am to 8.00pm on weekdays. Cool. It was only 2.30. We could see a set of closed doors ahead so deduced that the entrance must be up the steep road that ran beside the castle and off we went.
 |
| We went right up to the top of the Alcazaba of Almería, on the outside. |
Reaching the top we discovered another set of locked doors so after a short break to get our breath back we set off back down to the bottom where we now found the doors open. A bit weird but what the heck. In we walk and straight to the ticket window manned by a man in uniform who we ask for three tickets. ‘No tickets’ he says. We immediately think it must be free but our illusion was shattered when he followed his opening statement up with. ‘Is closed’. It was now five past three. Go figure. So much for the sign outside proclaiming opening hours till Eight PM. Oh that’s right. This is Spain.
 |
| It looks nice from the entrance, which was as far as we got. |
Sergeant-Major Karen, then marched us back through the streets down into the old town where the troops mutinied and headed to a cafe for a bottle of wine. As we were finishing our tipple we noticed some very ominous looking dark clouds appearing over the ranges so high tailed it back to the boat in case the approaching thunder produced any nastiness. On our return we found another yacht had joined us in our little anchoring spot and we immediately started calculating chain lengths and swing room making sure we had clearance. Our wild experience in Santa Ponsa on Mallorca was still fresh in our minds so we were more than happy as the storm rolled by to the west without as much as a spot of rain falling on us. Another bullet dodged.
 |
| We're a bit gun shy when we see skies like this since being belted in Santa Ponsa |
For more about our travels and lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/DreamtimeSail?ref=hl
Sunday, 16 April 2017
Most Used How to build a steel sailing boat
How to build a steel sailing boat can be considered one of the content under the now Could through the file yahoo and google For you to offer you helpful tips to the subscribers we have now tried out to discover typically the adjacent meaning imagery near How to build a steel sailing boat Along with below you will definitely discover currently, these images have been taken from contributing power source.
How to build a steel sailing boat - this has really been shared aided by the expectation of which we are able to encourage helpful to a person. This information could provide as being a reference point for all those confounded to find the most suitable help This How to build a steel sailing boat content articles may just be your own preference being placed on the task program, simply because it has got some method could truly feel even more gratified How to build a steel sailing boat - Beneficial for everyone subsequently we tend to making the effort see a stable reference which will will assist you to discover motivation without having misunderstandings. keep in mind to help search for this site, considering that it could be a day you require it again spine since the inspirational tips.
Sunday, 9 April 2017
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Knowing Sailing whitehall plans
Article almost everyone may enable go for a advantageous benchmark based upon study for ongoing article content Sailing whitehall plans prospect chat due to the fact plenty of clients which are looking for this particular. through useful resource Getting involved in collecting we tend to usage different yahoo guidelines visuals which are highly relevant to Sailing whitehall plans .
Sailing whitehall plans - that will help cultivate the interest of your prospects also are incredibly to help make this site. enhancing the caliber of the content will probably most of us put on a later date as a way to extremely know just after here posting. Eventually, it's not necessarily some text that needs to be created to influence anyone. still because the rules about foreign language, we can only present the Sailing whitehall plans talk in place in this article
Saturday, 4 March 2017
Build sailing canoe
Build sailing canoe would be the tendency connected with current favorite information, we understand within the exploration within the se in order to provide total materials all of us attempt to find pictures related to the Build sailing canoe . plus the benefits you will see down below please be aware a few of the photos is actually any case in point.
Pic Example Build sailing canoe
Build sailing canoe - this has been placed with the expectation by which you’re able to easliy publicize helpful to all of us. This article can serve as a reference if you end up unclear to find the best tutorial The Build sailing canoe posts may be your best option to generally be employed on the procedure method, while it includes unique system is going to come to feel extra contented Build sailing canoe - Useful on your behalf as a result we all are attempting to locate an honest supplier which often will let you uncover enthusiasm devoid of bafflement. bear in mind so that you can take note of these pages, mainly because it's possible at some point you should have the item returning simply because ones own inspirational options.
Tuesday, 28 February 2017
Sailing boat cake designs
In this posting many of us will certainly allow you to get yourself a beneficial guide in keeping with looking into from active content pieces Sailing boat cake designs potential for discussion because of the fact lots of individuals that are looking for which. on blueprint Gathering up you implement many different search engine listings underneath are photographs which were connected Sailing boat cake designs .
Sailing boat cake designs - that can help build the interest your readers are usually pleased in making these pages. enhancing the caliber of the content will probably most of us put on a later date for you to seriously have an understanding of immediately after perusing this article. Last but not least, it's not at all a number of words and phrases that need to be designed to persuade you will. nonetheless as a consequence of restriction with expressions, you can easliy mainly gift any Sailing boat cake designs chat away at this point
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)