RAVEN - Atlantic Circuit 2021-22 - Mt Gimie

Mt Gimie

RAVEN - Atlantic Circuit 2021-22

Richard Foulkes

Sun 16 Jan 2022 22:32

I climbed Mt Gimie- pronounced Jimmy ! - the highest point in St Lucia yesterday together with a couple of other sailors. It’s only 950m but a pretty steep slog through dense tropical rainforest. I have a vague recollection of doing it about 35 years ago on a Navy visit, but didn’t have a blog then so can’t verify it!
We hired a car the previous day and set off early in the morning down to Soufriere and then up into the hills, recruiting our guide Augustus enroute who proved to be quite a mountain goat. Unfortunately it was a very wet morning, so no views of the Pitons and the island from the top sadly…..though Augustus did show us a video panorama of what we were missing. It was a 5 hour round trip on very difficult terrain , made even more slippery by the rain, so we were quite relieved to get back down in one piece!
The younger guy Craig had been due to sail to Dominica with me, but then got a better offer (actually being paid as skipper, which is what he does) to take a yacht to Barbados. Older chap is Mark who proved what a small world it is - he recently retired as a dentist having worked where I go in Cirencester and had 2 boys at same school Amy went to!

Blog Entries

2022

Jun 2022

Sun 19 Jun 10:37
Wed 8 Jun 16:12
- Made it
- The Big Breakfast
Tue 7 Jun 14:46
- South of the Isles of Scilly
Mon 6 Jun 18:23
- Getting closer
Sun 5 Jun 12:50
- A nice peaceful Sunday morning
Sat 4 Jun 17:10
- Good news - We have ignition
Fri 3 Jun 10:00
- What a difference a day makes
Wed 1 Jun 11:33
- Is it really June?!

May 2022

Tue 31 May 10:55
- Tuesday part 2
- The next corner
- Monday turn
Mon 30 May 08:11
- YES , we really are here!!
Sun 29 May 11:21
- We had a stowaway
Sat 28 May 10:19
- Grey skies and dark nights
Fri 27 May 18:12
- Strangers in the night
Thu 26 May 09:37
- Just passed 40 degrees north
Wed 25 May 18:28
- The first evening
- Horta astern
- We are on our way
Tue 24 May 00:29
- Much good news
Sat 21 May 12:13
- Repairs and snags
- Monday 16th - Recovery day
Tue 17 May 09:57
- Pics
- Farewell to Louise and Ollie
- We did it!!
- Passage data round up
- Standing on the shoulders of giants
Sun 15 May 05:45
- Made it!
Sat 14 May 16:51
- A challenging last day
Fri 13 May 18:14
- Calm before the storm
Thu 12 May 17:13
- All hands on deck
- Thursday - quick update
Wed 11 May 14:06
- Crew Takeover!
Mon 9 May 13:20
- a good Monday morning
Sun 8 May 15:57
- Over half way......
Sat 7 May 12:15
- The dolphins like this bit of ocean
Fri 6 May 13:46
- Louise sets the challenge
Thu 5 May 12:42
- Close hauled overnight
Wed 4 May 11:16
- A shame about the carrot and spinach dal
Tue 3 May 16:43
- Tracker
- Tuesday 3rd - Slow and ? steady
Mon 2 May 11:26
- A good first day
Sun 1 May 13:37
- Farewell tree girl !
- On our way
- RAVEN position tracker
- Win one, lose one!
- The big cook off

Apr 2022

Fri 29 Apr 13:53
- Family Day Sail
- New crew have got to work
Tue 26 Apr 15:36
Sun 17 Apr 23:18
- Farewell Bilal and Mark
- Some pics from BVI to berm
Thu 14 Apr 16:46
- The strain of command
- St George’s Bermuda
Wed 13 Apr 09:42
- Final straight to Bermuda
Tue 12 Apr 17:23
- A varied last 24 hours
Mon 11 Apr 12:21
- That cold front was COLD !
Sun 10 Apr 11:30
- Well over half way
Sat 9 Apr 12:31
- We have left the tropics
Fri 8 Apr 10:14
- A good first day on passage
Thu 7 Apr 14:56
- Leaving Virgin Gorda
- Wednesday 6th - A gentle start to the passage
Mon 4 Apr 00:04
- Farewell to Amy
Sat 2 Apr 12:22
- Brandywine
- The best BVI beach?

Mar 2022

Wed 30 Mar 22:50
- Tuesday/Wed 28/29 - Valley Trunk
Tue 29 Mar 14:38
- Monday 21st - BVI lap 3 begins
Mon 28 Mar 10:24
- First Wordle failure!
Sat 26 Mar 09:38
- Preps for the return crossings
- More joy with BVI Customs & Immigration
- Good news pictures!
Thu 24 Mar 20:52
- Mt Sage - another island peak
Tue 22 Mar 13:05
- (no subject)
- (no subject)
- (no subject)
- Monday /Tuesday 21&22
Mon 21 Mar 10:26
- 18:26.565N 64:45.133W
- Sunday 20th - to Sandy Cay and JVD
- Saturday 19th - Anegada road trip
Sat 19 Mar 11:23
- Friday 18th - up to Anegada
Fri 18 Mar 14:08
- Thursday 17th - to Bitter End
Thu 17 Mar 09:17
- Wednesday 16th - Some technical hitches
- Tuesday 15th - Where shall we eat?
- (no subject)
Tue 15 Mar 11:00
- Monday 14th - to Norman Island
Sun 13 Mar 20:04
- Saturday/Sunday 12/13
Sat 12 Mar 10:02
- Friday 11th - to Norman Island
Fri 11 Mar 10:42
- Thursday 10th - Jost Van Dyke
- (no subject)
Thu 10 Mar 16:36
- (no subject)
- Wednesday 9th - down to Beef Island
- (no subject)
Wed 9 Mar 08:56
- ARC articles in Yachting World and Monthly
- Tuesday 8 - up to Anegada
Mon 7 Mar 21:25
- Crew supper @ Bitter End
- Monday 7th - to the Bitter End
- Sunday 6th - Valley Trunk Bay
Sun 6 Mar 08:08
- Saturday 5th - Brandywine Bay
Fri 4 Mar 17:53
- Friday 4 - BVI entry
- Thursday 3 - up to BVIs
- Wednesday 2nd - Saba stop
Wed 2 Mar 08:13
- Breakfast chef Jon is back onboard!
- Nevis anchorage
- A wet crossing to Nevis
Tue 1 Mar 09:24
- Sunday lunch in Antigua

Feb 2022

Sat 26 Feb 02:05
Fri 25 Feb 21:12
- All Change
Thu 24 Feb 21:20
Sun 20 Feb 16:26
- Saturday 19th - Another soaking up a mountain
Fri 18 Feb 22:17
Wed 16 Feb 18:11
Tue 15 Feb 20:34
- Sunday- Les Saintes part 2
Sun 13 Feb 10:06
- Weevils in the rice!
- Les Saintes - part1
Thu 10 Feb 20:00
- …..and arrived in Guadeloupe
- We have left Dominica
Wed 9 Feb 13:52
- Tuesday 8th. - Back to Portsmouth
- New crew get the Dominica experience
Sun 6 Feb 21:05
- Rainbows
Tue 1 Feb 22:03
- Tuesday 1st - Morne Diablotin

Jan 2022

Mon 31 Jan 10:13
- Sunday 30th - Boiling Lake
- Saturday 29th - lake hikes and Ti Tou Gorge
Sat 29 Jan 09:54
Tue 25 Jan 19:25
Wed 19 Jan 19:32
Tue 18 Jan 19:00
Sun 16 Jan 22:32
- Mt Gimie
Thu 6 Jan 17:14
Sun 2 Jan 19:46

2021

Dec 2021

Wed 29 Dec 22:23
Fri 24 Dec 17:46
Thu 23 Dec 09:30
- Pitons
Wed 22 Dec 20:36
Sat 11 Dec 16:50
- We made it!
Fri 10 Dec 15:04
- Under 100 miles to go
Thu 9 Dec 17:55
- Full mainsail at last!
Wed 8 Dec 17:42
- Panic over - we found another 3 rolls!
Tue 7 Dec 15:41
- The caffeine fast is broken
Mon 6 Dec 18:39
- Good to be back with Marie Antoinette
Sun 5 Dec 15:48
- Onwards to the west
Sat 4 Dec 14:30
- Hastings
Fri 3 Dec 18:19
- Genoa sorted
Thu 2 Dec 17:07
- Can one eat too many bananas?

Nov 2021

Tue 30 Nov 20:05
- News flash
- Day 10 without caffeine or alcohol
- Day 10 without caffeine or alcohol
Mon 29 Nov 16:51
- Squally winds
Sun 28 Nov 18:25
- I spoke too soon!
Sat 27 Nov 12:48
- Getting into the routine
- Getting into the routine
Fri 26 Nov 11:29
- Our bananas are still green !
Thu 25 Nov 13:53
- Getting tropical
Wed 24 Nov 14:27
- We have wind …..and limited comms
Tue 23 Nov 15:00
- “Lonely - having to talk to each other ”
Sun 21 Nov 21:53
- Marie Antoinette by moonlight
- Marie Antoinette by moonlight
- Engine use
- RAVEN in the lead!!
- We are off
- ……..though we might have a stowaway!
- Departure pic
- Final preps
Fri 19 Nov 17:23
- Preparations continue
Wed 17 Nov 23:40
- Food delivery
- YB tracking
Sun 14 Nov 12:28
- Lots of bunting
Sat 13 Nov 08:38
- Tough life as a passenger!
Fri 12 Nov 14:14
- Ocean training session!
Thu 11 Nov 08:08
- Trip up North
Tue 9 Nov 19:00
- New crew!
Mon 8 Nov 12:41
- Pica Redondo
Sat 6 Nov 23:17
- Research yacht RAVEN - plankton , GOES & climate change etc
Fri 5 Nov 20:03
- 2 wheels on Mars
Wed 3 Nov 23:14
- The lights are back on
Tue 2 Nov 23:45
- The learning continues

Oct 2021

Sun 31 Oct 19:36
- No nasty photos, just a great hike!
Fri 29 Oct 20:04
- Holding Tank Episode 2 - Don’t watch if squeam ish!
Thu 28 Oct 22:21
- I am not the right shape to be a yacht plumber!
Mon 25 Oct 19:44
- Goggles photo contest
- Heading back to RAVEN
Sat 16 Oct 09:40
- Adios RAVEN - for a short while
Thu 14 Oct 23:02
- Whitefriars Sailability
Tue 12 Oct 11:20
- National Day in Spain
Mon 11 Oct 17:21
- Farewell to Leg 2 crew
Fri 8 Oct 15:37
- Arrived Lanzarote
Thu 7 Oct 18:56
Wed 6 Oct 17:35
- On passage Selvagem Grande to Lanzarote
Tue 5 Oct 10:05
- Selvagem Grande
Mon 4 Oct 17:30
- Going well
- Bye Bye Madeira Madeira
Sun 3 Oct 22:19
- Farewell Madeira
Sat 2 Oct 22:08
- Caption Competition
- Hiking in Madeira
Fri 1 Oct 16:59
- Exploring Madeira

Sep 2021

Thu 30 Sep 22:51
Wed 29 Sep 21:31
Tue 28 Sep 16:15
Mon 27 Sep 19:25
- Fish for supper
- Steady progress
Sun 26 Sep 17:33
- Supper on the go
- On our way!
Fri 24 Sep 11:53
Mon 20 Sep 08:51
- Windy marina
- Thank you Loulene
Fri 10 Sep 21:34
Sat 4 Sep 19:18
- Raven has wheels!
Fri 3 Sep 14:33
Wed 1 Sep 21:23

Aug 2021

Tue 31 Aug 22:39
Mon 30 Aug 20:09
Sun 29 Aug 18:21
Sat 28 Aug 21:16
Fri 27 Aug 17:53
Thu 26 Aug 18:31
Wed 25 Aug 17:05
- La Coruna
- Off the Spanish coast
Tue 24 Aug 10:25
- Tuesday in the Bay
Mon 23 Aug 14:01
Sun 22 Aug 10:03
Sat 21 Aug 22:09
Thu 19 Aug 16:36
- Nearly ready to go

Jul 2021

Thu 29 Jul 14:45
- The house is filling up, let alone the boat !
Tue 27 Jul 15:57
- From Hampen 51:52.94N 1:55.15W