Home on Kangaroo Island

Tobago was a lovely change of scene after some of the crowded Caribbean islands. We met a few yachties and plenty of locals in Charlotteville. A few bus trips, a hill climb or two and some great fish restaurant meals. A visit to a waterfall in the rainforest was a great way to cool off.

Argyle Falls with German friends Mark and Carlita

We spent a few days at the South end of Tobago and then sailed the last 60nms to Chagaramus Bay on Trinidad. The wind was favourable at 15 knots astern and an Albacore we caught was good for the freezer so we had fish for the last few days of our adventure.

A happy skipper with the last catch, an Albacore

Chagaramus is a hurricane free area with 2000 plus boats left out of the water in hurricane season. we arrived in the "quiet" time but still met yachties from South Africa, Canada, France, Germany and Denmark so had a social few days as we packed the boat for 10 months storage.

Parked up with our big neighbours

With Le Bateau safely ashore we flew home to Oz via Miami and Doha. If you say it quickly 33hours flying over 43hours seems OK, but it was nice to be home.

We travelled back to Kangaroo Island with daughter Kimberley and we were pleased to find our house was in good shape.

Home at last

The island has had terrible fires over a six week period. Some farms suffered terrible losses with up to three different fires affecting their properties. Of the 80 houses destroyed we know about 10 of the owners personally and one family lost 4 of the 6 family homes. The stock losses were huge with more livestock deaths on KI than all of the mainland. But there has been an outpouring of goodwill and the long road to recovery is starting to happen. We were lucky to be in the area safe from the onslaught.

The dunes near Vivonne Bay

Five weeks on and a Eucalypt sprouting but look at the scorched soil!

So we are home in Oz until November with a range of plans to keep us well and truly busy. The dramatic contrast of fresh new growth against scorched ground and blackened vegetation are crying out to be an art project for Jane.

The next part of the trip should see us through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific to Australia.

If you think you might like to join us for some of the time below is a rough itinerary and please talk to us if you are interested. Jane is currently thinking of doing the whole trip which certainly has Ants happy. Her University art course is still on the cards but with a start in Feb 2022.

Late November 2020 launch "Le Bateau" and sail to the Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba east to west) with possibly a quick stop in Grenada.

Next leg is in December to Columbia (now considered quite safe) and then the San Blas Islands around Xmas.

We expect to be in Panama around the New Year and after the Canal down to Ecuador. The plan is to spend a few weeks there with some mainland trips, perhaps to Chile or Bolivia. 

Mid February 2021 we will do the long (3500nms and about 30 days!) leg to the Gambier Islands, in French Polynesia.

Kimberley is thinking of joining us there and after the Gambiers she may get see an atoll or two in the Tuamotos.  The next stop is Tahiti from where Kimberley can fly home.

The cyclone season should be finished by the end of April and we will head West over the next months via Bora Bora, Suwarrow Atoll, Western Samoa, Wallis Island, Futuna, Fiji, Vanuatu and the Chesterfield Reefs before making landfall probably in Southern Queensland between August to October 2021.

If you want a bit of an adventure please be in touch.

Till next time    Jane and Ants