Almost exactly halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, we had a perfect day of downwind sailing, followed by a perfect sunset with a very light evening breeze. Our sail rig is “butterfly” — gennaker and poled-out 130% Genoa.
On passage in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas between Primosten, Croatia, and the Straits of Messina, we saw a lot of dolphins — as we have all over the world. Most of the time, though, by the time I grab the camera they are gone. This Adriatic pod stayed with Read more…
Phong Gna Bay, adjoining Phuket Island, has more beautiful anchorages per square meter than just about anywhere else in the world. The day we shot this video, we anchored just north of Ko Hong. A hong is a sea cave open to the sky — an enclosed pool with a Read more…
In Phong Gnong Bay, near Phuket, Thailand, we drove the dinghy around the boat at sunset for a 360-degree look at both her and her beautiful surroundings.
Near the city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia is the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre (KGECC). On a land-trip away from the boat in November 2002, we had a wonderful day at the center, as Alan mingled with the elephants in company with the KGECC team and some highly entertained Read more…
On December 31, 2001, we were anchored in the middle of Sydney Harbour, not far from the Harbour Bridge, for the annual New Year’s Eve Harbour Party. Many hundreds of boats of every description were all around us, and an estimated one million people lined the shores. As darkness fell, Read more…
The dugong (DOO-gong) is a rare, nearly extinct marine mammal. A relative of the manatee, the dugong has a whale-like tail and is without question the oddest-looking creature we have ever seen underwater. It feeds on seagrass in sandy, shallow bays. We found this very amiable dugong in Lamen Bay, Read more…
In November 1999, we departed Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga, for Whangarei, New Zealand. The passage took six exhilarating days. Even though we had lumpy seas and 25-40 knots of wind most of the way, we were very happy to get across this notoriously dangerous bit of ocean without incident. When Read more…
In Bora Bora in1999, Jeff from Sea Witch took this underwater video of Alan diving in Manta Ray Alley on an overcast and squally day. Manta Rays, sometimes known as Giant Mantas, are technically members of the shark family but not harmful to humans. Also observed on this dive were Read more…
In April 1999, we completed our transit of the Panama Canal and set sail across the Pacific Ocean. First stop was the Galapagos Islands, where we spent several weeks of eco-touring land travel. For the 6-day passage to the Galapagos from Panama, we had light winds on the nose almost Read more…