Rock2Rock » Ahoy there

R2R 21.2 The Dangerous Islands

Miss Tippy — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:34:06 +0000

The low lying coral atolls of the Tuamotos present serious challenges. Not only are the reefs difficult to see but the passes into the lagoons within the atolls often have very fast and turbulent flows making entry intimidating. No wonder they call these the dangerous isles! Despite the danger we loved these remote islands. The Southern islands were nuclear testing sites for the French so we went through the middle of the archipelago and visited Rairoa, Makemo and Tahanea. Rairoa was where Kontiki ended her voyage and was a remote and sparsely populated island. We visited a pearl farm there but sadly did not have our cameras at the time. Makemo was more developed and we enjoyed being able to go to shop and buy bread as well as being taken diving by a local operator. Tahanea was probably our favorite. Uninhabited, but for, a handful of seasonal copra workers we found beauty, solitude and an underwater paradise here…..

R2R 022 Easter Island

Miss Tippy — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:18:42 +0000

Well its a while since we were there…but we now have internet having crossed the huge expanse of sea that covers half of our planet…the Pacific. This film describes our trip to Easter Island. A week away from Miss Tippy on this magical and mystical island!

R2R 21.1 Marquesa Islands, French Polynesia

Miss Tippy — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:22:57 +0000

After 3,000 miles at sea we were met by the majestic peaks of the Marquesa Islands. We anchored at Niku Hiva at first and spent a couple of weeks there touring the island and meeting up with our rally friends. Afterwards we briefly visited two other islands at Oa Pou and Fatu Hiva before embarking for Tuamotos. The islands are physically spectacular, the culture and history are rich and the people are friendly. What a wonderful introduction to the South Pacific!

R2R 20 Pacific adventure

Miss Tippy — Sun, 16 May 2010 04:44:51 +0000

This was our longest passage. Over 3,000 miles from Galapagos to the Marquesas Islands (and the start of French Polynesia). The sailing was surprisingly easy and fast but of course it was not that easy! Just before half-way Sheila was contacted by Jaume from Bionic who was suffering with illness. He was in a lot of pain, had not slept well and was about 1,500 miles from the nearest medical help!! We diverted our course and transferred Sheila to his boat (her medical background being very useful). The wind picked up after the transfer and we were unable to get Sheila back…so it was Dad and the kids for the second half of the journey!

R2R 19.3 Isabela, Galapagos

Miss Tippy — Thu, 06 May 2010 03:36:30 +0000

Without doubt the best time we had was in Isabela. What a beautiful island. The main street was sand and we stayed in a lovely little hotel just behind the beach…

R2R 19.2 Galapagos Excursions

Miss Tippy — Thu, 06 May 2010 03:18:18 +0000

This short film captures our visits with friends to three other islands…Seymour Island, Floreana and Bartoleme. Lot’s of indigenous wildlife plus some fantastic scenery!

R2R 19.1 Santa Cruz, Galapagos

Miss Tippy — Thu, 06 May 2010 03:10:14 +0000

We anchored at Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz during our two week stay in Galapagos. The authorities are quite restrictive on movement in order to protect the environment from the potential ravages of tourism. The next two films describe excursions we made on motor boats to various other islands….

R2R 18 Panama Canal

Miss Tippy — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:04:04 +0000

It was fantastic to get to the Panama Canal…the gateway to the Pacific which we have all been dreaming about for years! Our transit was fascinating. It made us feel so small going through canal locks that have been built to cope with super tankers. Join us as we pass crocodiles on the lake shore on our way through to the largest ocean on earth!

R2R 17.2 Cruising San Blas

Miss Tippy — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:53:25 +0000

After our vicious passage across the Caribbean we were pleased to arrive in the San Blas for some rest and recouperation. We visited beautiful islands, met other cruisers at a weekly get together on BBQ island and had fun playing cricket. But adventures are never far away…..first the foil on our foresail broke and the sail was jammed causing us some anxiety in amongst the shallow reefs of the San Blas. Later we responded to a call for assistance from another yacht that was joining the rally for the transit through the Panama Canal. They had lost steering and most of their equipment seemed to fail at the same time! Poor guys!!

Just before leaving we were invited aboard Zig Zag by Richard Matthews, the founder of Oyster Marine. We were surprised to meet him in such a remote location but delighted to be able to tell him how much we loved our Oyster 56, Miss Tippy. The bubbly was good too!

Well its all covered in the short film below…just click and view…

R2R 17.3 Kuna Yala village

Miss Tippy — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:02:53 +0000

It was a humbling but uplifting day when we went into one of the San Blas island villages and met local Kuna Indians. They live a simple but happy life in this idyllic corner of the world off the coast of Panama.

R2R 17.1 High Seas!

Miss Tippy — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:15:26 +0000

We had a wild trip for 1,000 miles from Ponce in Puerto Rico to Porvenir in San Blas. We caught up with the main rally fleet despite our diversion into Puerto Rico for emergency hospital treatment. However, as we met with the fleet we were faced with huge winds (reported at 40 to 65 knots) and massive seas. Miss Tippy coped well although many on the fleet suffered knock-downs. Luckily no injuries although a lot of breakages occurred and many limped into Porvenir for their first taste of cruising off the beaten track. This film describes our experience of the trip and shows some of the weather we faced.

R2R 16.3 Worse things happen at sea!

Miss Tippy — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:14:02 +0000

Well it’s been a while since we posted a film because my camera broke and I had to get a new one from UK. We hope to be catching up and publishing a few short films on our trip from Puerto Rico to San Blas and through the Panama Canal over the next week. Then there will be a pause while we sail over 3000 miles to the Marquesas.

We hope you enjoy this instalment which tells the tale of our accident at sea and how Sheila and the kids were able to sail Miss Tippy to a safe haven in Puerto Rico where the skipper was then taken care of in hospital. A scary time but one which has taught us many lessons!!!

R2R 16.2 Caribbean Cruising (Part 2)

Miss Tippy — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:42:54 +0000

This part shows our cruising around the beautiful islands of St Marten, Anguilla, and around the British Virgin Islands (including Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Tortola). A lovely break before continuing our voyage with a 1,000 mile passage to the San Blas islands in Panama….we’ll be sure to post more videos of that trip and will hopefully meet some of the indiginous Kuna Indians when we are there. In the meantime we hope you enjoy this snippet of our trip!

Problems viewing? Use this link to our You Tube player.

R2R 16.1 Caribbean Cruising (Part 1)

Miss Tippy — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:35:12 +0000

After Christmas in Antigua we cruised towards the British Virgin Islands visiting some beautiful islands en route. This first part of our two part film on our Caribbean experience includes Antigua, Barbuda, St Kitts, Saba and St Barts. We hope you enjoy!

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R2R 015.2 Arriving in Antigua

Miss Tippy — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:53:43 +0000

What a great feeling to turn the corner at the South of Antigua and see the turquoise water and palm fringed beaches of Jolly Harbour. This film shows our arrival at Jolly Harbour after almost three weeks at sea as well as a number of other rally boat crews who were equally excited to have reached dry land!

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R2R 015.1 Transatlantic Passage

Miss Tippy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:34:34 +0000

Light winds plagued the start of our first family Transatlantic crossing. Once near Cape Verdes these gave way to steady trade winds and we soon sped along to Antigua. We went about 3,000 nautical miles in 19 days and faced the usual trials of a long ocean passage and went through a vicious lightning storm on the way.

Thankfully we arrived in Antigua in one piece both physically and as a family! This film shows the crossing itself whereas the next film R2R15.2 shows the arrival in Jolly Harbour.

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R2R 014 A floppy sail to Lanzarote

Miss Tippy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:04:19 +0000

Light variable winds dominated this first leg of the Blue Water Rally. A good time for getting into the rhythm of ocean sailing and fishing. See our adventure on the following film including our best catch so far…a large tuna!

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R2R 013 Rally Away!

Miss Tippy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:57:24 +0000

At 1000 on October 25th, 2009 a canon exploded forth on Europa point and the rally finally began!!

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R2R 012 Departure looms!

Miss Tippy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:14:18 +0000

Several crews from the Blue Water Rally share their thoughts on the eve of the start of their around the world adventure!

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R2R 011 Moroccan moment

Miss Tippy — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:36:04 +0000

After a month in Gibraltar we were ready for our warm up cruise with the Blue Water Rally to Smir in Morocco. We set off in the dark early on Saturday with Rally Organisers, Tony and Christine Diment plus John’s friend Bex for a great weekend! After an invigorating sail we enjoyed wandering ancient streets in Tetuan and were then drawn into the inevitable carpet and spice souks before an evening at a local restaurant. We were sad to leave on Sunday but had a relaxing sail, with some company from dolphins, as we returned to Gibraltar for our last week of preparation.

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R2R 010.4 Lagos to Gibraltar

Miss Tippy — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:14:11 +0000

After about 2,000 miles down through the English Channel, across the Bay of Biscay and down the Spanish and Portuguese coast we arrived in Gibraltar. We had some tricky moments, including a near collision with a fast catamaran ferry off Tarifa. This still didn’t dampen our enthusiasm as we looked forward to reaching the end of our first leg!

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R2R 010.3 Lisbon to Lagos

Miss Tippy — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:17:28 +0000

We sailed through thick fog down the coast of Portugal, occasionally accompanied by frolicking dolphins! Sailing at night was complicated by the numerous lobster pots floating around which threatened to tangle up on our rudder!

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R2R 010.2 Porto to Lisbon

Miss Tippy — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:27:09 +0000

A foggy passage with visits from dolphins. Lots of fun and sailing through day and night!

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R2R 010.1 Baiona to Porto

Miss Tippy — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:13:09 +0000

We got in a right tangle with our cruising chute as we headed down to Porto!It was Fred’s birthday so we got some culture by visiting some museums in the city centre and then roamed around before departing on the next leg of our journey.

A short video and some pictures are included below. Simply click on the play arrow.

We’d love some feedback. You can either comment below or rate the video on You Tube.

R2R 009 La Coruna to Baiona

Miss Tippy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:11:08 +0000

We sailed along the Spanish coast from La Coruna, past Finisterre to Baiona before departing Spain for Portugal. This film shows our voyage and includes some photos of our escapades when in harbour.

We hope you enjoy!

Problems viewing? Use this link to our You Tube player.

R2R 008 Relaxing in La Coruna

Miss Tippy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:59:44 +0000

After our exhausting trip across the Biscay we had a great few days relaxing. After treating Miss Tippy to a clean we explored the local town and went swimming at the beach. We were accompanied by the crew of Solway Mist, another Oyster that had ventured across the Bay with us. We had lot’s of fun and wish our friends the Cook’s well.

Hope you enjoy this short film of our time spent in La Coruna……

Problems viewing? Use this link to our You Tube player.

R2R 007 Radio Net

Miss Tippy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:49:57 +0000

Before leaving the Biscay Triangle Rally the children ran a Radio Net whereby we recorded other participants co-ordinates and passed them on to Rally Control. We received many compliments about the children’s ability on the VHF!!

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R2R 006 Bay of Bones

Miss Tippy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:35:21 +0000

The Bay of Biscay is aptly named the Bay of Bones due to all the ship wrecks that have occurred there. The reputation hails from the times of the square riggers which would get trapped by prevailing westerly winds against the coasts of Brittany and North West Spain. High winds combined with rapid reduction in depth around the continental shelf results in some tempestuous in the Bay.

This was one of the most feared passages of our journey and also the first time Sheila and the children had done a passage of more than a day. We had therefore planned originally to go across with the Biscay Triangle Rally. However, weather conditions caused the rally to change its plans and head to Benidet in France rather than our destination of La Coruna in Spain. In the end we decided to go it alone and peeled off from the rally as the boats approached France. One other yacht, another Oyster named Solway Mist, came too. We greatly enjoyed her crew’s company en route and when we arrived in harbour after a hard slog across the notorious Bay of Bones!!!

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R2R 005 Leaving Brighton (with Lottie)!

Miss Tippy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:18:55 +0000

Well we finally departed Brighton on July 13th 2009 and headed to Torquay where we were going to join the Biscay Triangle Rally. We were lucky to have a weather window and had a cracking sail to Torquay although we then spent some days weather bound there while we readied Miss Tippy. Our friend Lara joined us at Torquay and for a sail around to Plymouth when the rally started (a bit of a rough trip around Start Point I’m afraid!).

This short film describes our journey from Brighton to Torquay. We had Annie’s friend Lottie Roberts on board who showed great character on her first voyage.

Hope you enjoy!

Sharing our first passage with Lottie

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R2R 003.2 Preparations

Miss Tippy — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:49:13 +0000

Hi everyone. This video describes our preparations for the trip including the final bon voyage party. Happy viewing!

Party on!

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R2R 003.1 Sea Trials

Miss Tippy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:36:45 +0000

We had a great couple of days in June commissioning Miss Tippy and taking her out for trial sails. After accepting the boat Oyster then threw a small party to celebrate her launch and the imminent start of our journey.

Ready for champagne launch!

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R2R 004: Maiden Voyage

Miss Tippy — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:53:59 +0000

This video describes our first voyage in Miss Tippy when a bunch of friends joined Brian for a stormy and eventful sail from Ipswich to Brighton in the UK.

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Hiking in Islas Cies

Miss Tippy — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:43:00 +0000

Dad was telling us how he had found a lovely place to walk in the morning. Some of us were more keen than others but we eventually came to the agreement that setting off at 5am to see the sunrise would be enjoyable. In fact we left at 10am after a nice breakfast outside in the cockpit. Bang goes that idea.

Sore feet after 7km!

After kayaking to the shore, we walked to our “start line”, put on our hiking boots and began to make our way up the slope. We soon came to a causeway of rocks over the sea, which was fun to walk over except both Annie and I ended up falling in! After a few hours of walking we reached the lighthouse at the top where we were tormented by seagulls. The view was miles around and we could see Portugal, Baiona andvast volume of deep blue sea. Discovering blackberries on the way down, we began to pick them and ended up with a great haul. We discovered caves and views and it was a very fun and tiring day out!

Watch you don't fall!

The Voyage Begins!

Miss Tippy — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:13:25 +0000

July 2009

The last few months leading to departure were frantic to say the least. As well as many activities associated with getting our boat ready and planning the trip, we had the logistics of leaving home for two years to cope with.

Most things went well, and we left the house a week early to accommodate the apparently desperate needs of a tenant who wanted immediate access to the house. However we were let down at the last moment when the person and family did not show up or in fact even enter the country at all !!

Many thanks to our great neighbours and friends Meirion and Tim Shaw who let us use their house as a home. Look forward to seeing you soon !!

Exhibiting ourselves at school open day

June 20th: We had a great leaving party and were visited by over 200 family and friends for a bon voyage send off at home.

Bon Voyage party

Oyster arranged a champagne launch party for us (July 1)

July 5th: Brian left Sheila and the children at home to join the boat and was joined by a cadre of friends for the inaugral sail from Ipswich to Brighton where we were due to meet up as a family again after the children finished school. (See Where We Are for our route).

July 6th: The forecast was not great but various crew had commitments so we departed Ipswich as planned at 0300hrs. All on board were full of excitement and, after the trepidation of manoeuvring such a large boat out of the small marina, we settled down to a lovely moonlit motor our of the tranquil River Orwell.
All was well until we were near the exit of the river. Brian was fiddling with various buttons on the binnacle just as we passed a huge, brightly lit container terminal. Suddenly Mark’s head popped out from below and exclaimed that we were heading for a red buoy marking the channel. Brian looked up just in time to avoid a big crunch but not fast enough to miss the buoy completely. We glanced off leaving four six-inch long scratches in the hull of our new pride and joy. It was scant consolation that in over twenty years of sailing he had never scratched a boat and that only hours after getting his first brand new boat he managed to scar her in this way!! Was this an early omen for our voyage?

Initially we had a good sail cruising along at about 7 knots in a 15 knot wind. Gradually the wind strengthened and changed direction to make sailing conditions more difficult but not before we managed to run aground on one of the many shifting sand banks in the Thames Estuary. Although the charts showed over 10m of water they had clearly nudged the bottom briefly while rounding the infamous Knock Deep.

It wasn't all bad!

Conditions worsened later and as we passed Ramsgate, strengthening and shifting wind together with the constraints imposed by some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world forced them to take in the sails and use the engine. We thought we would use this for a couple of hours and then resume sailing, however we had to continue in this mode until Eastbourne. Motoring into wind is uncomfortable at the best of times but that night we had high winds (gusting up to 37 knots) and conflicting currents from the tide. A number of our crew fell sea-sick but all managed to keep their spirits up.

Getting wet!

July 7th : We arrived in Brighton at 0900. Everyone mucked in to tidy the boat and then we had a well-earned pint before everyone disbanded and went home.

LTR: Chaz, Shark, Brian, Russell, David, Phil, Mark and Hamish (Rocky took photo!)

Peace at last

Brian spent the next few days sorting out the boat, getting the hulls repaired by an Aussie magician called Garth (who managed to invisibly repair the wounds Brian had inflicted).

July 10th: School finished and the family joined the boat . We welcomed a steady stream of visitors over the weekend then set off for the first leg of our round the world trip together from Brighton.

July 13th: There was a welcome lull in the weather and a pleasant and fast sail to Torquay (150 miles in about 21 hours!). Annie’s great friend Lottie Roberts joined us for her first ever sail and despite bouts with sea-sickness she was a fabulous and joyful addition to the team.

En route to Torquay with bubbly Lottie

July 14th: We spent a number of stormy wet days in Torquay awaiting the arrival of other yachts due to sail across the Bay of Biscay with us in the Biscay Triangle Rally. Sheila’s parents, Brian’s Dad and his wife came down for a final farewell. Our family friend Lara joined us aboard for her first offshore adventure!

July 21st: Bad weather prevented our planned departure for Spain , and rally organisers from BWR devised an alternative plan to ensure the rally got underway at the planned time. We left Torquay at 1000hrs bound for Plymouth to await improved weather.

Rough weather off Start Point

The trip to Plymouth proved one of the most challenging many of the sailors on the rally had ever faced (despite there being a number of people who had sailed around the world!). The wind direction required a beat into 15 to 20 knot headwinds, which caused short steep seas off Start Point and left many crews sea-sick. All was fine when we arrived in Plymouth. Everyone seemed to chalk the trip down to experience and move quickly on to enjoy the social events arranged.

Derek and Fiona entertaining in Plymouth

Weather conditions did not improve a lot and the rally organisers eventually decided that the planned route would divert to the northern coast of Brittany rather than crossing the Bay of Biscay. This was a sensible decision but potentially made it difficult for us as we could have struggled to get to our destination in Spain in time. We checked the forecast, had a team discussion and decided to peel off from the rally and head straight to La Coruna in Spain. One other yacht Solway Mist (also an Oyster), rose to the challenge as well. We kept in contact as we sailed and gave each other much needed morale boosts as we again battled headwinds to work our way down south. After two and half days feeling fairly despondent the wind direction suddenly veered 90 degrees to enable us a pleasant sail for the last day. Believe it or not dolphins visited us about 5 minutes before the wind shift and we all feel that this was an omen from the deep!

Leaving UK with Cranleigh teddy!

Days of fun across Bay of Biscay?!

July 27th: We arrived in La Coruna on the North West tip of Spain at 0100 a few hours after our friends on Solway Mist. All of the family had coped really well with our first major voyage. No complaints of boredom or discomfort despite many hours of wearing conditions. This has certainly boosted confidence for the remaining trip!

Allan, Shirley and David Cook with crew/friend Clive from Solway Mist

We have now spent a few days recuperating with our friends from Solway Mist. As well as undertaking inevitable maintenance duties we have enjoyed the sun and lovely beaches here. The last couple of weeks have given everyone a chance to become accustomed to their new roles and we are beginning to love and trust our new home on the water.

Enjoying dry land in La Coruna

What a babe!

Getting into their roles!

Spanish film star!

July 31st. We are now ready to leave the port and find some nice anchorages in the Rias of Northern Spain and Portugal. We will be leaving tomorrow and will be in touch next time we have access to wi-fi in a week or so.

We have already enjoyed lots of wonderful messages from friends at home.

Thank you all for your support.

Love to all
Brian, Sheila, Charlie, Freddie, Annie!

PS: film of preparations and first part of voyage should be published in a couple of weeks.

R2R 002: Building Miss Tippy

Miss Tippy — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:28:42 +0000

We have built a new yacht to take us around the world. This film shows the planning, construction and initial launch of our new home, Miss Tippy.

Problems viewing? Use this link to our You Tube player.

Key statistics:

Length: 17.07 m (56′)
Beam: 4.95 m (16’3″)
Draft: 2.52 m (8’3″)
Displacement: 26,500 kg (58,422 lb)
Sail area: 174.5 m2 (1878 sf)
Fuel: 950 litres

She is well laid out for a voyage of this type. Cabins have been allotted although we’ll probably spend a lot of time outside (even during the nights!).

Sunset in the solent

Miss Tippy — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:16:18 +0000

Sea survival course.

Miss Tippy — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:27:46 +0000

We went on a sea survival course which was great fun but I hope we never need to do what they taught us!

R2R 001: A Dream Come True

Miss Tippy — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:40:12 +0000

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