Departing Palma 37:34.4N 0:22.6W
Kealoha 8
David Holliday/Jay Faulkner
Sat 1 Nov 2014 15:32
Finally Its time to tackle the keyboard again and start blogging - hopefully
this time in earnest.
So since my last submission we've spent last winter (2013/2014) in Palma,
Mallorca undertaking a fairly major refit on Kealoha. Among many other
things , we had the rig taken out, overhauled and partially painted, painted
the coach roof, renewed the watermaker, overhauled the rudder, propeller ,
engine, generator and bowthruster, sanded the decks, varnished some of the
interior, painted all the bilges and lockers and what seemed like a million
other jobs. That kept Bev and I busy until Easter and then followed a few
short cruises (sorry - "seatrials") around Mallorca with David and family
and friends .
David then moved K8 to Montenegro and we embarked on a busy charter season.
Each trip started in Kotor or Tivat in Montengro and then sailed north to
cruise southern Croatia dropping off either in Split or Dubrovnik.
Unfortunately the southern Adriatic experienced its wettest summer for what
the locals said was "living memory". And when it rains in that part of the
world the heavens certainly open - with a vengeance. Thankfully the second
half of July and all of August were back to normal, though without the
intense heat that we often experience there in the summer. Everyone had a
great time though and we managed to find plenty of new anchorages and places
to go despite the fact it was our third year cruising that area. At the end
of the summer David and family joined us to cruise the Montenegrin coast,
south of the Bay of Kotor which was a first for all of us.
Then back to Palma for more of the never ending maintenance that is required
to keep K8 in good working order. A fairly manic four weeks of activity saw
us out of the water again for some works on the rudder , a new (longer)
anchor chain, complete replacement of the batteries and a redesign of the
battery cooling system to hopefully enhance their life and general servicing
works on sails, rig, machinery and systems. We also were busy procuring
spares parts and everything else we think we may need for the next big
adventure that we are now embarking on.
The plan for the next 20 months is that we will cross the Atlantic to
Antigua, spend a couple of months between Antigua and the British Virgin
Islands hopefully doing some charters and then will undertake an extended
cruise firstly to The Bahamas and Cuba in spring 2015, then moving west to
Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama during the summer, then through
the Panama Canal , down the west Coast of South America, concentrating on
cruising Patagonia, then Cape Horn, The Falklands, Argentina and Brazil ,
returning to the Mediterranean around June 2016. Truly a huge adventure for
all concerned and one that has now officially started with our departure
from Palma yesterday afternoon (31st October) with the crew of Bev and I,
Chris (Admiral) North, Daniel and Louise Hearsum and Robert Kingham. We
left in a hurry in the end , hopefully getting ahead of a fairly unpleasant
weather system that will be heading through the Gibraltar straits on Monday
night by which time all being well we will be safely berthed in Gibraltar
and sampling the delights of the local hostelries!