Caminante second time circumnavigating
 

2017-7/2. A new blog (Gustaf) tells about a calm sailing on the Atlantic Ocean. Two big fishes have been caught and during his night watch he enjoys a delicate sushi. About one day remains to Luderitz.

2017-5/2. A message from Marine Traffic: CAMINANTE II departed from Port SIMON'S TOWN at 2017-02-05 00:48 Local Time (2017-02-04 22:48 UTC).

2017-4/2. A blog from Gustaf about their stay in Simon's Town arrived a week ago. Today an email from Gustaf: "We are sitting in the club, checking the weather forecast and tonight we will start sailing to Luderitz, Namibia. That should take about three days".

2017-22/1. A message from Marine Traffic: "CAMINANTE II departed from Port MOSSEL BAY ANCH at 2017-01-21 10:45 Local Time (2017-01-21 08:45 UTC)"
 And another message from Marine Traffic: "CAMINANTE II arrived at Port SIMON'S TOWN at 2017-01-22 21:49 Local Time (2017-01-22 19:49 UTC)".
 
2017-18/1.  A message from Marine Traffic: "CAMINANTE II arrived at Port MOSSEL BAY ANCH at 2017-01-18 14:23 Local Time (2017-01-18 12:23 UTC)". After a very wavy sailing from East London with start on the 16/1, Caminante is now anchored in Mossel Bay.

2017-13/1. Johan went back to Sweden, leaving the Caminante family to make their new plans for the continued voyage round the coast of Africa.

2016-27/12. Gustaf's brother Johan arrived in good order, equipped with a good bunch of traditional Swedish Christmas food. Let's hope he did not forget the Snaps, the drink the Vikings got their strength from. In the Swedish blog Gustaf tells about a visit to the Zoo in the town, where the children could see some real man-eaters, the lions that had a few robbers for lunch the other night. Their bad luck was that they happened to jump over the wrong fence when they went into the zoo to rob visitors.

2016-26/12. Caminante's crew will soon be enlarged by a new member: Gustaf´s brother Johan is sitting on the fly from Gothenburg, destination East London. He will stay with Tina, Gustaf, Lovisa and Karin for nearly three weeks.

2016-18/12. In the evening Caminante anchored in Buffalo River, East London, S.A. The sailing was very fast in hard winds and in a very strong current. It feels good to have reached that far in a so short time, but for the nearest days a guess would be that the crew will have a good rest and enjoy life.

2016-18/12. On the 17/12 Caminante left Richard's bay, heading East London, South Africa. The time past has been very enjoyable with an easy life and good friends, not least the Peregrine's. Just the last days were a bit hectic, with taking in supplies, making Caminante ready for the sea and clearing out from Richard's Bay. In East London they will meet Gustaf's little brother Johan, who will arrive after Christmas Eve and be staying for two weeks with Tina, Gustaf, Lovisa and Karin. In this very moment (on the 18/12, early morning) Caminante is under sails, making a good speed, with fishing tackles hanging after the ship.

2016-4/12. From our friends Tina and Gustaf several emails have dropped in. During the last week they have been exploring the African wildlife together with the children. They rented a car and have been camping in Umfolozi, Hluhluwe game reserve and in the Krueger Park. The experiences and adventures during this trip are quite many, but they will soon be back in old Caminante again.

2016-19/11. Tina writes in the blog today, and tells about their voyage to Maputo - Richard's Bay. That sailing was a very tough one, with heavy winds against them to begin with, and squalls and heavy seas after that.

2016-12/11. After a long night's fast sailing from Maputo, Caminante has anchored in Richard's Bay, South Africa.

2016-9/11. The plan to go directly to South Africa is changed, as a cold front with some bad weather has turned up. They are now anchored near Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. Peregrine and Zuleika are still a long way behind.

2016-3/11. The Mozambique channel proved to be a very difficult water, and because of the strong currents and weak winds they have had to use the engine for 8 hours. Peregrine and Zuleika were left behind, as they were not so lucky in navigating in the streams, often with 3 knots against. All onboard are in good spirits but the 1300 NM from Majunga to Richard's Bay is lasting a very long time.

2016-31/10. Caminante clared outwards from Madagascar (Majunga) yesterday and is sailing towards Richard's Bay, South Africa, in company with Peregrine and Zuleika.

2016-24/10. Moramba Bay has been their place of residence since October 17. Here they had a good anchorage, still together with their friends in Peregrine and Zuleika. Tomorrow Caminante will sail the last 80 nautic miles (NM) down to Majunga. From there they will cross the Mozambique channel and go to the African mainland. Everything seems to be well on board, but the hurricane season is only a month away.

2016-16/10. From the little island Nosy Saba Tina was writing about the days passed since the latest blog. They are sailing towards the south, passing small islands and meeting friends in the many sailingboats who also like the shores and the people of western Madagascar. Just now anchored on Nosy Lava, in company by Peregrine and Zuleika. Aiming at Majunga where they are going to clear outwards from Madagascar.

2016-7/10. Tina has reported that they have moved from the island Nosy Be to a place called Russian Bay on the Madagaskar mainland. The latest news (Oct. 9) tells that the anchor has been dropped in Honey River.

2016-29/9. In the latest blog post (Swedish, by Tina) is a nice description of the town Andoany (formerly Hell-ville) on south Nosy Be, where Caminante has been staying for some days. It looks quite picturesque, and here it is  possible to fill up empty stores with fruit and vegetables. From the supermarket "Champion" Tina and Gustaf have been carrying also a lot of groceries and other necessities to the boat. To reach Caminante they have been using their little rowboat. A new problem onboard is a bad smell of diesel in the drinking water. Gustaf is now trying to find a solution to that, but until then they have to boil the water. Next stop will be the island Nosy Komba, where wild lemures may be studied. However, these human relatives are not always very friendly, so if they are feeling hungry the frustrated animals may give you a bad bite (what is what happened to their neighbour on the catamaran Tigger the other day).

2016-21/9. Nosy Mitsio is an island where the sailing community sometimes meet. At the moment Caminante, Peregrine, Chantey, Flourgirl and Convivia are anchored there. The shore is very long, with white sand and tempting water. Again Lovisa and Karin have other children to have fun together with, and Tina and Gustaf are enjoying the company with their friends from the other boats.

2016-16/9. A new blog post, written by Gustaf arrived today. They are still sailing towards the south in company with the American yacht Peregrine, often staying overnight where they can find a good anchorage, not always the case. Gustaf describes an incident they had when they run aground in a gale and had a very hard job to get loose again. The charts in this area are very bad and a few moments of missing attention can turn out to be dangerous. This time a combination of the engine on full power, the Genoa, filled by the hard wind and the efforts by the entire family showed to be what was demanded to leave the sandbank. And to finish with a good fishing story. A 2.5 m Blue Marlin (a kind of a swordfish, compare with Hemingway's The Old man and the sea) bit at one of the hooks they often drag after the boat to get some fish. This fish was quite terrible and the battle very long and furious. Towards the end Gustaf and Tina actually managed to get the pugnacious fish onboard. Just now (19/9) they are anchored at the island Nosy Mitsio.

2016-14/9. Caminante is anchored in Ironono, fairly protected.

2016-9/9. After the passage of the Madagascar north cape they have anchored in a deep bay on the west side. They are still in company with Peregrine and will take a few days rest after the long cruise on the east side of the large island.

2016-3/9. Tomorrowthe company going will be sailing back to Mananara again to restore supplies. Again they will pass the great bay, now in southerly direction. The plan is to round the north cape of Madagaskar and go to the popular district around Nosy Be on the west side, a distance of about 300 NM. Supplies have to be completed to be able to do that. A kind of a stomach illness has been keeping them a little too long in that nature reserve but now they are feeling much better. During the time of the illness the little chicken died, perhaps it got the same. The little girl they treated is now fit again. Trevor, Gwen and Tina were ashore in the evening and said good-bye to their fishermen friends. The chance they will meet again is very small, such is the rule for the long sailing cruisers.

2016-29/8. Caminante is companied by Trevor and Gwen in their boat Peregrine. After the passage over the great bay, Baie de Antongil, our friends have anchored Caminante in 6m depth of water, behind Pointe Ampomalobe, in a nature reserve. It is easy to find the place using Position-Winlink, and it is obvious that this is the middle of nowhere. Nearest neighbours are a group of fishermen and their families, who temporarily visit the places there and around to earn their living. Many children are playing on the shore, and Tina and Gustaf observe that a little girl has got a kind of a skin disease. With their medical knowledge and the ship's dispensary they have been trying to help the girl, and after only one day it looks like they have made good progress. A man there had a bad toothache but had to wait another five days before he could go somewhere to have the toth pulled out. Life is hard when living out of civilisaton, where it can be a long way to the nearest dentist, and the work together with your friends has to come first.

2016-24/8. From Ile Sainte Marie Caminante went to Manompan on the Madagascar mainland and then further on to Antanambe. Nosy Boro was the next port to call, but as there was a very high fee to pay to go ashore, they decided to just stay anchored over night. The most recent stop was Mananara on the west side of the inlet to Antongil Bay, the largest bay in Madagascar. During the cruise they sailed in company with Peregrine, Gwen's and Trevor's ship. Just before Antanambe these friends found a fisherman in the water, who they rescued. Also his canoe was saved, and in Antanambe the friends could say good-bye to the man, now equipped with a little money and some new fishing gear. A new friend onboard Caminante is a little chicken, belonging to Lovisa and Karin. They actually bought two, but one died rather soon, perhaps did it not get the proper chicken food. The survivor is the children's pet, eating flies and some boiled rice.

2016-11/8. After one month on Rodrigues in the Mauritius group of islands, Caminante commenced her voyage to Africa. She set sail on the 2nd of August, and on the 8th Caminante anchored at the island of St. Marie, Madagascar. The crossing was very calm, and in a new blog posted by Gustaf he tells about how, from the time of the old sailing ships, Madagascar has been known as a haunt of pirates, and on the island Sainte Marie the notorious captains made their homes. In spite of its bloody history, the inhabitants seem to be a very friendly people, and the Caminante family have again found the most lovely island on their way back to Sweden.

2016-13/7. Tina has been telling about the long walk Caminante's crew performed on the 12th of July, together with Tucker, the dad, and children Miles and Ruby, from the American Convivia. Rodrigues is a nice island to be walking around, but after nearly 9 km Gustaf and Karin became rather exhausted. At some time in the future our friends will have to continue their voyage, but for the moment that seems rather far away. Perhaps they will celebrate Christmas in South Africa. Gustaf has finished the work on the windows, but now the wind generator has got a new habit of making a lot of noise, so the list of things-to-do is a never ending story.

2016-2/7. A new blog by Tina tells about their living in Rodrigues. The climate is warm, but quite comfortable with a little rain at times. Much time is spent together with friends from the other yachts, on land as well as in the vessels. The children are having a good time with many friends from varying nationalities. As usual Gustaf is busy repairing things on Caminante. This time he is sealing around leaking windows, a demanding job, making a lot of dust. Also the ship's school for the children takes its time, so the days are passing fast on this nice island. Nothing is told about how long they are going to stay.

2016-17/6. The story of the voyage to Rodrigues, written by Gustaf, tells that they are a group of four vessels, all traditional one-hull yachts, that started from Keeling Christmas island on the 7th of June. Caminante is the second, with the Italian lonely sailor Marcel coming first. The wind is coming from the south, about 8-10 m/s and the waves are quite high, about 4m. With Caminante's high freeboard the cockpit is mostly kept dry, in contrast to the other three ships where waves sometimes are rolling over. There is high spirits onboard, and after the departure both Gustaf and Karin have had their birthdays (48 and 10 years) with loud singing and a good cake.

2016-11/6. After the departure from Keeling, Caminante has got good winds and is doing about 8 knots. They are a little armada actually, keeping together in a radio net on 8297 kHz usb at 1.00z, thus raising security. The position on the Google map by WinLink was updated today, and we can see that Caminante is doing well. More than a third of the distance to Rodrigues has already been worked.

2016-22/5. Normal life on Cocos Keeling. The children are visiting the school and many kids are visiting Caminante. Gustaf has caught a cold and works on deck with sail repairs, slowly recovering from that and planning for the next long sailing.

2016-16/5. Well on Keeling, anchored at Direction Island, the sailors' paradise, Tina writes about this quite lovely place and the seasickness she had to fight before arriving there. The time is spent by meeting other sailing people and having a good time together, but also exploring the new land they have conquered, in fact belonging to Australia. It consists of many smaller islands around the atol water, and by a favourable tide it is said one can  walk around the whole of atol.

2016-9/5. The departure from Christmas Island was a little melancholy, as they had to leave many friends there, not least of which were the kids' playmates. The wind at sea was permanetly over 10 m/s and the ship coped with it well with only main sail and a taken in genua. Speed is mostly over 8 knots, and specially Gustaf seems to enjoy being at sea again, with a new adventure in front of him.

2016-7/5. Tina writes in today's blog about their coming departure. Gustaf was visiting the authorities to get the necessary papers for going to Keeling Islands, also a part of the Australian territory. It is really hot and swetty these days. The west wind has decreased, so the sailing towards west can soon be continued. Keeling islands will come first and later the Mauritius islands. Tina writes how they are storing fresh pumpkins in wet paper to have during the long sailing. In the old times that was a known means to avoid scurvy, a desease caused by a lack of vitamin C. Anyhow, the pumpkins are gifts from some kind local people and will be nice to have when no other vegetables are available onboard.

2016-27/4. Many new friends share the lives of our friends, the Caminante family, Tina, Gustaf, Lovisa and Karin. Christmas Island is a very friendly island and if you can make yourself understood using the English language, the inhabitants will do their best to create friendship. Tina mentions a lot of new friends and I bet it will be hard to continue the sailing again.

2016-20/4. In her blog, Tina tells about Christmas Island, "The children's island". A good bunch of playmates turn up when Lovisa and Karin jump ashore. Every day they have much fun together on the jetty and the shore, as well as onboard Caminante, where they sometimes have pancakes or popcorn to boost their energy. Little sad is to think of the big refugee camp on the island, where foreigners are interned. It is said they are criminals, as they have tried to settle down in Australia without valid papers. And a new threat to sea life has become visible around the island, coral bleaching, an effect of warmer sea water.

2016-15/4. Arrived to Christmas Island. The crossing is done and Caminante is anchored in Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island. The arrival was somewhat dramatic as the Coast Guard did not get any answer on the VHF radio when Caminante was called up - Gustaf had disconnected the antenna as a security step in case of lightning. There was a storm going on when they arrived with lots of rain was falling. When all suspicions that they were smugglers had dropped, the story ended like in good fairy stories with friendship and joy. Christmas Island seems to be a wonderful place and the Australian touch like a breeze from home.

2016-9/4. Departure from Indonesia was on the ninth of April, in the morning. In his blog text Gustaf tells about corruption, bribes and huge bureaucratic hassle in the country, but also about very beutiful land, with a nature so fantastic you will seldom see anywhere else in the world. He also talks about the wonderful people that they met and some unforgettable meetings. Caminante is now bound for Christmas Island which is governed by Australia.

2016-2/4. Caminante is now loaded up with 360 litres of diesel, and supplies are going to be purchased for a journey from Lombok to Christmas Island. South Africa will come next. The process of clearing outwards has begun, and Gustaf is thinking of Franz Kafka's The Castle...

2016-22/3. Message from Gustaf telling that the have anchored to the island Banta. Here they live the sailor's normal life, maintaining the ship and doing the children's school. Nature around is very beautifil with volcanic rocks, a high mountain and a rich vegetation. But the stay will not last for long, so soon they will continue to next island.

2016-16/3. To extend their visa, the Caminante family went back to Labuan Bajo on Flores. Also Nautilus arrived there after having got the engine repaired, so the friends are now having a good time together. The climate is hot and moisty and a problem is to avoid moulding on all surfaces onboard. All fans on the ship are running, and sometimes one or another gets broken and has to be exchanged. Disregarding temperature it is very nice to be boat- touristing in Indonesia, and the Caminante's are enjoying the visit, not least the children, who are having much fun together.

2016-2/3. The south beach of Rinca was a bit dangerous to land on, as the varans seemed to be attacking there. Gustaf moved Caminante to a nearby little small island to get rid of the nasty animals. The Nautilus family had bad luck with their engine, so they had to sail away to get some help with that.

2016-24/2. News of the day is a new island for Caminante - Rinca island in the Komodo archipelago, not far from Flores. Tina tells us about the Komodo varan lizards on the island, not very nice pets but enough close to reach out your hand to - the last time you saw that hand, so don't try. Much nicer was the reunion with the friends in Nautilus. Also the kids were very happy to meet their playmates again. In the blog Tina tells of the island Tanahdjampea where they did a one weeks stop on the route from Jampea to Rinca. It is placed between Sulawesi and Flores and is seldom visited by any tourists. They got the gps coordinates from another sailor, nothing seems to be written in the guide books, but that island was well worth the visit.

2016-15/2. A new report tells us that Caminante is anchored  south of the island Jampea (or Djampea). Gustaf writes about much rain, but also of some sunny moments when he runs the sanding machine to take away rust and do some painting.

2016-7/2. To get their visa papers renewed, Caminante sailed north one day to the island Wangi-Wangi. As usual, the people they met were lovely and the paper job went very well. Tina tells that the trip back to Hoga island next day had to be with the help of the engine, as the winds were slow and not what Caminante wanted.

2016-2/2. Caminante is now visiting the Hoga island Wakatobi, Sulawesi. Today's blog by Gustaf is among other issues about the two villages near to Caminante. One is on terra firma, and the other placed upon long poles in the sea. It seemed like people in this part of the world are a bit unfamiliar to people of other complexion than their own, but very kind indeed, and liked to hug the Swedish kids. As usual, Tina and Gustaf walked around a lot to learn to know the surroundings and the nice people. Another thing of interest: Gustaf had to change a ball bearing to the three phase generator. He was lucky enough already to have such a thing in the workshop as a spare part for future possibilities. At the same time he looked over the charging system for the battery bank, and change a few automatic fuses that had begun to run hot.

2016-30/1. Caminante departed from Ambon a few days ago, and a nice blog signed Tina tells us that many tears fell when they had to leave their friends Winie and Iman. The thing with the round-the-world-sailing is that the ship has to be running soon, and that is part of the many tragic fare-wells. Caminante's mission in the world should be to bring people together and tell the story of friendship, but the back side of the coin is the great number of good-byes. Let's hope they will meet again in a better world. Just now they are close to the Hoga island where they are going to have a stop. The journey has so far been quite calm will about 3 knots in faint winds.

2016-22/1. Gustaf's brother's family went back on the 15th, and the school for Lovisa and Karin is now running as usual. They had a lot of fun together, and are missing them, but the Dutch vessel Nautilus is not far, so the kids have still got playmates, Seppe and Fien. Tina and Gustaf have got a new friend family, Winie and Iman, who live in a suburb to the city Ambon. From them they learn a lot of life in Indonesia and enjoy both the friendship and the very good cooking in this out-of-the-way corner of the world. The voyage is thought to proceed to Flores and the Komodo islands in a few days, perhaps a week.

2016-1/1. A blog part arrived today from Tina. She tells that all is well onboard, and also about the events when the Eric family arrived to Ambon. Early in the morning Tina and Gustaf picked them up on the Ambon airport and brought them to Caminante by a taxi. Soon they moved the boat to the Molana island where they celebrated the Christmas Eve. After a few days anchor up and sailingf to Teluk Balaena. The anchorage was not so good, better on the SW corner of Saparoea where they should be just now. These islands all belong to the best snorkling and diving waters of the world, but there is a lack of maps over large areas. Not even the Google maps are telling any details here. It is not easy to navigate among the corals, but with a good portion of patience and help from some suitably placed friend it is still quite possible.

2015-21/12. Yesterday, Sunday, Gustaf's brother's family arrived to Ambon by air, all the way from a dark and rainy Sweden. A fond reunion, not least for the children, now five, in different ages. The time on board will be a scanty month. Today Caminante will sail north to find a nice place for snorkling and diving.

2015-16/12. A new blog part by Tina tells us that Caminante is now leaving Pulao Yanggelo, the wonderful island where they spent a few days after leaving Wayag. Another fare-well was given to their very good friends on the Dutch vessel Nautilus. On Friday Gustaf's brother Eric and family will fly from Sweden to Ambon, so now Caminante is going in the south direction to pick up the brother and his wife Camilla and children Rasmus, Amanda and Victor. This will be the second time they meet together on Caminante's circumnavigation round the world, the first time was in Panama (February 2014).

2015-8/12. The problem with the anchor machinery was soon sorted out by Gustaf, who found the reason for lacking power in the three phase generator. A broken cable to one of the coals could easily be solded, and so the anchor could be taken up again. Caminante has just left Wayag, and the plan is to go to the island Ambon. Before Ambon, where Gustaf's brother and family will arrive on the 19:th, Caminante will do just one stop to some nice island by the way. Wayag was a real pearl, with a quite untouched nature and the most fantastic underwater world. The children's school is running as usual, and all on board have had a good time together with their friends on Nautilus, since August on the same route as Caminante.

2015-29/11. In a nice blog part from Tina, she describes the difficult job of sailing the big vessel Caminante with only two adult sailors. The night watches are long and the time for sleeping a bit too short. Now they could throw the anchor to the island Pulao Vayag, quite far from land and in a paradisiac environment. Nearest significant place is Sorong on the western corner of the Papua island. When the anchor reached the sea floor on 23 meters depth, they found that some technical error hinders them to take it up again. Time for a good retirement in a stunning nature.

2015-28/11. After one weak of very slow sailing, Caminante is now quite near the end of Papua New Guinea, the Papua bar. The edge of the huge island and the interesting world of islands south of Sorong should be 1-2 days away. The journey has taken rather long time, with many changes of sails and also some help from the engine. Birds have visited the ship at nights to have a good sleep there, and the children have had good chances to look at them and even carry them around. The temperature on board is around 28 C and higher, but it seems like the crew has adapted themsefes to the climate. Just now they are riding on the equator, so it is quite natural with soft winds, moist and heat.

2015-21/11. Under sails, leaving Jayapura heading Raja Ampat, Indonesia. After 5 days of clearing inwards, they are finally there, leagally arrived in Indonesia. The bureaucracy was monumental and the paper job enormous. Anyhow, Gustaf did it and everything was OK at the end. Tina had some days of taking care of ship and children, also shopping supplies whilst Gustaf visited the different offices. Now they are happy to be the jolly sailors again, leaving papers and bureaucrats behind.

2015-16/11. Now anchored in Vanimo (PNG). The sailing went first by very weak winds, but at the end it turned into a tough sailing with squalls and a real gale. In Vanimo Gustaf cleared out Caminante from Papua New Guinea and tomorrow the journey will continue towards Jayapura (Indonesia). There was a lot of paper work before all documents got ready, and not quite easy to come through without having to pay a fine. The plan is to sail from Jayapura to Ambon, SW of Maluku (Indonesia), where Gustaf's brother Eric and family (wife Camilla, children Rasmus, Amanda and Victor) will meet up in about a month.

2015-8/11. Yesterday Caminante anchored in Ninigo, the happy island with many nice people. They passed south of Manus, another island with a not so good reputation, so safest not to be in those waters for long. Winds have been very faint so they have had to run the engine many times during the 400 NM sailing from Kaiveng. Now they will have a good but not very long time on this island, and the children are playing around with the local kids. On Ninigo the main income comes from producing and trading betel nuts (Areca), which they transport to the mainland using open boats with two outboard motors, a quite dangerous but the single way of making the prosperity to the island.

2015-5/11. Still very soft winds give low speed and much work to maintain the sailing towards Ninigo, where the fresh water is said to be run out. Some hundred people there are forced only to drink coco nut milk. The very warm and dry weather in this area should be due to the change of climate. This year we are facing the worst el niño phenomenon ever.

2015-2/11. After the long route up to Kavieng and clearing inwards there, they have continued to reach the reef island Ninigo, 400 NM west from Kavieng. In 5 weeks they will pick up Gustaf's brother Eric's family in Indonesia. Very weak winds make the sailing slow and Gustaf has to use all sails they have. All are well and the normal activities like the school for the children are running like always.

2015-25/10. In an email Gustaf tells that they have spent the night on Ambitle Island and are now running the engine in very weak wind, not far from Lihir island, where they perhaps will have a stop, awaiting better wind. Ambitle seemed to be a very happy society with friendly people, who were glad to see visitors, very rare to them. Only four sailingboats have gested the island during the last few years. Electricity and other novel luxury did not exist, with the exception for a tiny sun panel with a LED lamp. They changed fresh vegitables against sugar and rice and could also buy some "wild fowl" eggs to bake a good cake in Caminante.

2015-23/10. Position via Winlink: "Anchored in SW Ambitle isl. Feni islands".

2015-22/10. On the 19:th of October Caminante left Gizo in the Solomon islands. The aim is Kavieng in Papua New Guinea. The sailing is calm and every sail is up. All aboard are enjoying this nice crossing, from one continent to another. Tina tells that the wounds on her leg seem to be much better by now, so no reason for concern. Tina tells "Now passing Bougainville and Buka, we have New Ireland och New Britain just north of us".

2015-15/10. Tina writes about infected wounds she got on her leg, probably after mosquito bites. After proper treatment they are better, and probably she will soon be quite OK again. But small wounds can be rather hazardous in a tropic clima, so it was a good decision to visit the hospital in Gizo and get helped by experienced medicals.

2015-6/10. Now the water-maker is up'n running again. Gustaf describes how he got the new electrical engine and how he eventually got it on its place to run the water pump. So now he and Tina, Lovisa and Karin have got their fresh water, necessary for their life onboard.

2015-5/10. The new water pump will arrive tomorrow, and in a new blog chapter Gustaf also tells about the wonderful Solomon Islands. If Paradise exists anywhere, it should be here, specially if you happen to forget the huge saltwater cocodiles, living in the bathwater. But who cares?

2015-1/10. Problems with the watermaker. Tina tells that the powerful electrical pump engine (45 kg!) has been destroyed by a sudden water leakage from a broken tube. Gustaf has ordered a new one from Noel Hudson on island Liapari, a skilled repairer. They are now on island New Georgia (Noro), about one day's sailing from Liapari. The new engine is said to arrive on Monday (today Thursday).

2015-28/9. Anchored in Renard sound, Mbanika Island, Solomon islands.

2015-20/9. Arrived to island Ureparapara (Vanuatu).

2015-16/9. After visiting the town Luganville on the main island in the Vanuatu group, they are now moving north. It will still take some days before the final departure from the Vanuatu islands but the clearing outwards is just done.

2015-7/9. New position, Wala island, on the north-east of the head island Vanuatu. Last position was Malekula island. The birthday celebration for Lovisa, 11 years, turned out to be a be a great day for her and friends. Tina happened to sprain her ankle when jumping into the rubber-boat, not very serious but painful enough. Tina also told about native cooking they learned from people on the island, next project will perhaps be a cookery book?

2015-31/8. Caminante is now visiting Awei, Maskelyne Islands in the Vanuatu group. All is well on board, but many things have to be mended, as the wear and tear is tough on a long-sailing-boat. Tina and Gustaf have to be repairemen most of the time. The latest thing was the rubberboat that had got some leaks. On these islands there is a certain risk of malaria, so they are now using nets for mosquitos when sleeping. Far from civilization a German dentist Michael is volontarily working on his catamaran Mariposa, helping native people to maintain dental health. He has got a well equipped clinic aboard and his medical care is free. Tina and Gustaf met him on Away, soon he will continue to Luganville on Santo.

2015-21/8. Tina tells about a visit to the "Cave of sculls", the old burial-place, where relatives of their new friend David lies. The school on the island is again working after the terrible hurricane in March. On the island there is still a need for many provisions like coconuts, maniok and sweet potatoes. Slowly life goes back to normal again, but it will take long time before trees and plantation are back again.

2015-18/8. Time to go north, to the island Erromango. After a sight-seeing-trip to the volcano, they decided to leave Tanna. The weather forecast told about heavy rain and hard winds. An email from Gustaf tells they are sailing again, just now only 35 NM left to the new anchorage.

2015-16/8. On the 14:th they arrived to Tanna, Vanuatu and are now anchored close to Mount Yasur, an active vulcano. The crossing from Suva went well but weather was colder than expected.

2015-14/8. A new blog (Gustaf) tells that they left Fiji last Tuesday (11/8) and are now heading Vanatau. The last time, in Suva, ment many boat projects, but also a good time together with Astrid and Ben (Gaia), friends with many interests in common. The first part of the way to Vanuatu was not so nice, with engine running and many waves, but after leaving Fiji and the corals behind, good sailing was again possible.

2015-4/8. The rather new computer, a Lenovo, used for communication and navigation had a hard disk crash and a lot of work had to be done to get a new disk running with Windows 8. Ben, from the Dutch yacht Gaia has been a good help getting the PC in working condition again, with all programs needed. Weather has not been of its best, and another problem has been visible, a lot of leaking around windows, where rusty water comes in. All has to be cured before the departure to Papua New Guinea. Another mission was to get hands on suitable school-books for Lovisa and Karin. In a shop Tina found good Australian books, solving the problem and so the school can go on for another year.

2015-25/7. Now back to Suva again, where a hectic actvity has taken place. The ship has to be prepared before departure to the Asiatic islands, where they are going to spend the coming year. Tina and kids are shopping around, to get clothes and other things, not possible to achieve where shops are not available. Gustaf works hard to finish all his mechanical projects he has started earlier. The three phase generator was one of them. The brushes were suddenly gone but new are now in place, so power for hoisting the anchor up is again available.

2015-17/7. A new message arrived from Tina, telling that weather has picked up and that they have got four other child-boats around. A lot of social activity makes life just what we suspected it should be on such a paradise island with a lot of friends.

2015-13/7. After some time on the main island they have now moved to the island Gau, still in Fiji. The weather is not the best, and wind and rain will perhaps make them sail to the west part of Fiji, were it is said to be more sunny. Now they have applied for visa to Indonesia, and have also checked the need for taking malaria medicine profylactic. That should not be needed. They are planning to visit Papua new guinea, the Solomon islands and Vanuatu, also perhaps some more places.

2015-6/7. Anders has left Caminante, and the energy aboard is now concentrated on what will happen next. They are surrounded by four child-boats, and the ten kids are having great fun together. The plan is to sail in the Asian world of islands, beginning with Papua new guinea. To be able to deal with all kind of new problems for sailors there, Tina and Gustaf are using the time here in Suva to gather as much information they can, about the many new things they may meet. Astrid and Ben from the Duch yacht Gaia have been there, so from them much information can be absorbed. Katrien and Hans from the Belgian Nautilus are also interested in this part of the world and will perhaps be companions during the thrilling exploring of  the Asian water world.

2015-27/6. Their friend Anders flight to Sweden via Sydney is quite close now, so they have to return to the main island, Vitu Levi. By the way they visit the island Kadavu, the fourth largest Fiji island. Kadavu Island, approximately 65 km in length, is surrounded by Astrolabe Reef. The plant Kava is grown here and Tina lets us know about the kava-kava drink, a mild narcoticum, widely used by the original Fiji inhabitants but not too appreciated by Tina and Gustaf. Soon they will arrive ton Suva again and will be making new plans for the future.

2015-19/6. A new story by Tina, telling of life in Dravuni, a real pearl in the Fiji archipelago. Gustaf and Anders are drifting around, mending a lot of things for the local people, like washing machines etc. In return they have the opportunity to absorb the culture and good feeling among people there, and learn the special kind of life they live. The children have a good time with a lot of friends. English is the common tongue for grown-ups, but kids seem to play well without any common language.

2015-16/6. Tina's and Gustaf's friend Anders reached Caminante on the 10:th of June. He had been carrying with him a lot of things to Caminante, ordered by Gustaf, so his own luggage could not weigh much. After some days in Suva they had a night-sailing to Dravuni in Astrolabe Reef, about 70 NM straigh south of Suva, where they arrived on the 13:th, Karin's ninth birthday.

2015-15/6. Anchored in the Suva harbour, surrounded by vessels any kind. Gustaf tells about the vigorous life around them and many impressions they get from the harbour, full of international life. To avoid a possible bad memory they lift up the dinghy to deck when dark begins.

2015-7/6. A quite large blog story (from Gustaf) has arrived. It deals with islands Namena and Makogai, where they have spent the last week, mosty with diving together with friends from Lumbaz, Fieldtrip and Et Voilat. Tomorrow or the next day they will go to the head island, capital Sava, to pick up a new crew member, their friend Anders, who went all the way from distant Sweden to company them. A good guess tells that Asia will be on the agenda.

2015-1/6. Tina tells that they have shifted anchorage to a very good place for diving and snorkling, the island Namena, 25 NM south-west of Vanua Levu. In Savusavu they had a good time and did a lot of shopping, but also maintenance of different things aboard.

2015-26/5. Caminante reached Fiji on the 25th of May and is now buoyed in the Savusavu harbour of the island Vanua Levu, the next biggest island of the Fiji group. The last part of the sailing was not so easy, with many squalls, giving hard winds.

2015-24/5. News from Caminante: Departure from Minerva Reef last Friday (22/5). Winds are weak so they could possibly reach the Fiji islands today or tomorrow. In the Swedish blog Gustaf tells about diving and watching many fishes in deep caves, but also about filming by radio-controlled mini-helicopter. On Thursday Sara and Mark invited them to a most memorable Mexican meal onboard Fieldtrip, partly to celebrate the droner's lucky return after a risky flight over the wide ocean water, where Mark lost the radio contact with the flying vessel but got it back just before the batteries running out.

2015-21/5. Tina writes about the fantastic Minerva Reef and the social life they share with friends in nighbour vessels. The time spent here got longer than according to plans, not least because of new friends and good fishing in crystal clear water.

2015-16/5. Well anchored in the Minerva Reef, Gustaf tells about fishing, and how he lost a big tuna he shot with his harpoon. New friends again, this time from Australia, share their apple pie on Caminante.

2015-12/5. Good weather and easy sailing make the trip to Fidji a nice journey. Other boats like Fieltrip och Exodus have the same goal and should be quite near Caminante.

2015-9/5. A new message is telling they started yesterday from Opua, destination Fidji. The weather is rain and hard winds, so not quite pleasant.

2015-8/5. Quite a long time has passed since we had some real news to tell. During the last month they have been exploring the islands out of Opua, in The Bay of Islands. Recently a new blog (by Tina) tells that they are soon sailing to Fidji, and perhaps they have already went off. All supply was brought in and all papers were cleared a week ago. A short stop at the Minerva Reef may be expected. Let us hope the reports will drop in a bit more often in the days coming.

2015-25/3. It was now time to leave Opua and have a look to some new, interesting views. Via Robertson Island they got to Moturua Island and anchored there on only 4 meters in the shallow Bay of Islands together with Naoko and Magnes (boat Vahana) who they met on Robertson. On the island they visited Terry and Jim, a fascinating, artistic couple.

2015-17/3. Pam turned out to be quite good-tempered in the well protected bay. The winds gave good speed to the wind-generator, and the inverter produced current enough to run the washing machine. And the new neighbors, two Italian gentlemen, showed to be very nice guys. Gustaf wrote the blog, called "Calm again".

2015-15/3. Remnants of Cyclone Pam near New Zealand is threatening close, so the crew is doing preparations to withstand the expected hard winds.

2015-13/3. A new blog is telling that their new 12V/230V inverter is working with new, heavier cables, so it is now possible to use normal electrical tools in the workshop onboard, without running the petrol generator. Another thing: They fell for the temptation to buy two cheap kayaks, but after a good test it was clear that they were rather dangerous. The shop was quite kind and the transaction could be reversed. A long passage of  the blog tells about lead battery life when charging is performed in different ways. Perhaps charging onboard could be performed unproperly for battery life, as cells go bad, one after another? Tina has bought two interesting books about Indonesia. Could perhaps that country turn out to be their next goal?

2015-10/3. After the long flight from Sweden, the Caminante family is again onboard. The ship was covered by bird's shit, not very pleasant, but possible to remove by a lot of hard work. They have also been celebrating their friend Sara's och Phil's wedding (the British yacht Lochmarin) down in Whangarei, a wonderful party, much appreciated not least by the children. The trip there was a three day's project with car renting and two nights on a camping. Now time is used to unpack all things they brought from Sweden, and starting up the school for the children. Time to get into normal routines!

2015-27/2. The Caminante crew members are in Gothenburg, Sweden, visiting relatives and friends. Today Friday, and on Sunday their flight will bring them back to New Zealand again. It has been a hectic time here with much work. They have been helping Gustaf's parents clearing their house before selling it off. The old people will live in another, smaller house in the country, so many things have had to find new owners, many other had to be sorted out. The kids have been to their old school a few months, to show how successful the Caminante School has been during the passed two years, and to pick up some new knowledge from their "real" teachers. The busy time has arrived, and the suitcases should soon be ready. Caminante is swinging on her buoy on the other side of the earth, awaiting her staff...

2014-7/12. Yesterday was the last day for the Caminante crew before their flight to Sweden. Tina wrote today's blog part, telling about Orcas (killer whales). They and members from another child boat, Lumbaz, got the luck to be picked up for a whale safari together with an orcas researcher who has been working with that kind of whales for the last 25 years. The animals were hunting stingrays quite near to the anchorage. Soon the Caminante family will change the NZ nice summer weather to the Swedish westcoast cold and rainy winter. Let's hope they will enjoy the substitute and the Swedish Christmas.

2014-27/11. Summer is arriving to Opua, North Island, New Zealand. Tina tells that flowers and grass are around them when they go ashore. There is no need firing the stove to get warm any longer. Their friends on Moxie had a nice party last Monday and yesterday she sailed away, followed by Carpe Diem, other friends. New boats are arriving from Fidji and Tonga now, as it has been a favourable weather lately. With the summer arriving to Opua it may feel a little odd soon to go to Sweden where it is quite cold, but the children are eagerly longing for the day the plane leaves the New Zealand ground and a new adventure begins.

2014-22/11. This time Tina is telling about activities onboard and ashore on the new anchorage in Opua. They have already done small excursions, hired a car and been walking around a lot, so the town should be well explored. The children find friends, are playing on the shrore and seem happy to be looking on all the new places. There is much to do with the boat before the long period they will have to leave her, so Tina and Gustaf seem to be quite occupied before the trip to Sweden.

2014-10/11. A short message is telling that the family has got tickets to Sweden for a visit, 7th of December to 3rd of March. It's now a long time since we saw them last, so time for a Christmas together.

2014-9/11. Caminante + crew are now in Opua, New Zealand where they arrived on the 5th in this month, after a calm journey from Minerva Reef.

2014-4/11. Only 150 NM left to Opua, the New Zealand town Caminante is aiming. Last day gave a very good sailing with free wind, earlier a mix of sailing and engine running. The latest weather is rain and wind against, not the very best, but not the hard weather Tina and Gustaf had expected. A numerous amount of yellyfish surrounds them at the moment, in different shapes and in many colours.

2014-1/11. The sailing goes on, but when the winds are rather good, the currents are against, so the engine has been running many hours since the latest blog. Now 440 NM left to Opua, the town in NZ where Tina and Gustaf intend to land Caminante. The weather has been quite good, but is said to turn to a worse about Monday. Please check the position by the WinLink icon on the blue frame.

2014-29/10. After only one day + night on Minerva Reef they went on sailing again. A low pressure over New Zealand made it easy to decide to pull up the anchor. In his blog Gustaf tells how he "hunted" lobsters in the dark night, just by picking them up between the corals. We may suppose he used a good lamp.

2014-28/10. Caminante reached Minerva Reef after 2-3 days of sailing, 250 NM. The island is a kind of a ring-formed reef, diam. 4-5 km, mostly covered by water when the tide is up. All are well onboard, waiting for a little better weather forecast for the final run over to New Zealand.

2014-24/10. A new blog arrived today, written by Tina. She tells that they have sailed to Tongatapu, the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga and the location of its capital Nukualofa. They arrived here two days ago, and yesterday they cleared out, together with their friends Sara and Phil from the British yacht Lochmarin. They have just taken in diesel oil (taxfree, as they have officially left the country). Soon they will sailing again, heading Minerva Reef, a little ring-formed island (2-3 days of sailing). After some time there the destination will be New Zealand (another 7-8 days). The hurricane season is not far, so hundreds of sailors are doing the same.

2014-17/10. Haapai is the blog headline, just arrived from Tina. It is also the name of the group of islands they reached after 70 NM of sailing from Vava'u, three days ago. The name of the island where they have anchored is Haano island.

2014-11/10. A new report arrived from Tina, where she tells that they have anchored together with three other children-boats, the Belgian Nautilus, the Swiss Koa and the Canadian Rockstar. Tonight they all had a meal onboard, discussing different things, while the eight children enjoyed their film-time evening. Tonga is for many the last harbour before the long sailing to New Zealand, so now they are mentally preparing to meet this new country. But when it will be - just wait and see...

2014-4/10. After Niue they continued to Vava'u, an island of the Tonga Kingdom. They anchored there on the 26/9 and have spent most of the time touristing, as there is much to see also on this island. The plan is to move south in the group of Tonga islands and eventually start towards New Zealand, where they will do a longer stay.

2014-19/9. After more than one week of sailing, they yesterday reached the Kingdom of Niue, an island with the most extraordinary nature. They started with renting a car, to be able to see as much as possible of this very peculiar place. Also the snorkling is well worth the trouble to get here; you can see down to 80 meters below the suface! And down there, many fishes, but also some very poisonous snakes in cheerful colours. Yesterday evening they had a meal together with the Bayamee crew, who started to Fidji this morning. With the right winds the journey will succeed on next Saturday.

2014-16/9. The long sailing towards Tonga works well, and the teaching of Lovisa and Karin goes on like normal. Since start they have had good fishing luck, with two 10-kg dorados to make their sushi from. The question is now if they will have a stop at Niue or if the will avoid the rather strong winds which are said to affect the area there, making an anchorage at the island quite unpleasant. Tonight they will have the decision done.

2014-9/9. In a new blog part by Tina we Swedes can read about the wonderful island Maupihaa (also Mopelia). “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave” is a joke among the neighbor sailors. Anyhow, it seems like Caminante is departing tomorrow, and weather looks good for sailing towards Tonga with some stops between, Niue, or Palmerston.

2014-30/8. Like the other sailors they have moved Caminante to the south part of the island to get a better shelter from the wind. Weather is a bit rainy and windy, but as usual spirits are on top. They are all enjoying the wonderful seafood with lobsters, crabs and all fresh fish, from which they mostly make sushi. There are quite few inhabitants on this island, but still Gustaf found one with a broken radio to get mended. The first problem was to get rid of an ants nest, blocking the fan. Surfing and diving together with friends from the other two child-boats makes life most enjoyable on this paradisic place.

2014-26/8. A new blog-part by Tina tells that they have moved 130 NM west, to Maupihaa together with two children-boats. All is well, except for a toilet with a kind of blocking, lucky us who don't know the details...

2014-14/8. From Lovisa, eldest daughter, came a blog-part where she tells how life is for the kids onboard. And from Tina an email arrived, describing the common days when living on Caminante on Bora-Bora, an island in the Society islands group. Quite wonderful, I would say. It is fully understandable that some prefer to live far away from the comfort in an European country and settle down on an island like Bora-Bora, where weather mostly is nice (rainy yesterday) and people are extremely friendly. Or is it really like that? The only way to figure it out is to go there and check it out for yourself...

2014-6/8. This time Tina and Gustaf are telling that Caminante left Raiatea on the 4th of August and sailed the 25 NM to Bora Bora, a wonderful pearl, known as a snorkling paradise. But the time passed has not just been the lazy days. On Raiatea Gustaf had a lot of work, changing the diesel pump and repairing the three-phase generator, and having just arrived to Bora Bora he had to tackle a problem with saltwater into the motor oil. After reading today's blog, a stubbern smell of old motor oil could be scented. But as usual, the old Perkins diesel had to be up running, when Gustaf put his tools back again. Tina tells that the sunset could bee seen through a soft rain, not very usual on these islands.

2014-2/8. In a new blog text from Tina she tells that four child-boats, the Moana Roa, Field Trip, Byamee and Daphne are anchored around them, so they grasp the opportunity to change experiences, teach the children and have fun together on Raiatea instead of pulling up the anchor again.

2014-31/7. The diesel pump has now arrived from England, and after having changed the old one to the new, Caminante is ready for the sea again. In an email Gustaf tells about a nice party they had on Bayamee, a neighbor boat, last night. They were "22 persons from five different childboats, Fieldtrip, Daphne, Moanaroa, Bayamee and we." A really memorable evening, he told.

2014-29/7. Gustaf tells that they are waiting for the diesel pump, that has now reached New Zealand. Meantimes he has been mending the three phase generator, that has been causing problems lately, now solved, so for the first time in a week they have been running the water maker. Also the anchor machine has now got its power. They have been marinating sword fish in different preparations and seem to have all delisious food they need. Now time again to start up school for the children after a month of vacation. A short note about flags: On the police station they have had flags flown at half staff to show sympathy with the victims for the Mali flight crash. In Caminante they know only little of the outside world and wondered why the Frech are in mourning.

2014-20/7. Anchored out of Uturoa (just south of Raiatea-Tahaa). All well except for trouble with the diesel pump that is needing a spare part. Caminante will be stuck in the area until that part will arrive.

2014-19/7. Soft winds, 4-5 knots and a nice sailing brings them over the huge water towards the destination, Raiatea-Tahaa. In the evening: "Just passing Tahiti. Can see the lights there. /Gustaf".

2014-17/7. Yesterday they started a new sailing-trip, aim is Raiatea-Tahaa, where the American Daphne is expecting them. A new friend, Margo, a young girl from France, is their new shipmate. She is good at cooking, sailing and looking after kids, so the journey to the next island should turn out happily.

2014-16/7. Tina writes a new blog-part (yesterday), arriving today. She tells about the celebration of the French National Day on the 14/7 and the friends they have got on Fakarava. They have had a new problem with the 3-phase ganarator which eventually got solved. Caminante is now moved to the north side of the island and is anchored alongside Laurin, a French boat with children, now playmates to Karin and Lovisa.

2014-9/7. The kite-surfing and scuba-diving continues, like the good social life with the friends from France. Karin and Lovisa has got a friend in little Abbie, ten years, from the Californian boat Obsession.

2014-7/7. The three nice Frenchmen, Adrian, Ariel och Lion who they met in  Panama have arrived to Fakarava and are now teaching the Caminante crew about kite surfing. In return Gustaf and a friend, Antoine, from the boat Karaka teach the guys how to be scuba-divers. Still on Fakarava they seem to have a nice, but somewhat hectic life.

2014-5/7. To-day's blog part describes the wonderful snorkling the Caminante-crew did in the pool of the atol. Huge fishes showed up in the crystal clear water, many of them quite big sharks. But like in Paradise, you can always trust the neighbors, if you arrive there with good intentions...

2014-2/7. Caminante II is now under sails again. They left Tahanea yesterday and are heading Fakarava for a short stop. The gaul is Tahiti, like their friends on Daphne, who stared earlier. The story of today was a bit thrilling and described how they got a two tons piece of a coral tied to their anchor chain when they were leaving. It was perhaps not far from a real break-down of the anchor machinery, made by Gustaf a long time ago. Anyhow, the windlass was strong enough and now they are slowly sailing with a weak wind, which is told to pick up soon, together with a rainy weather.

2014-22/6. A new report tells us that Swedish Midsummer is now introduced in the French Polynesia, at least among the sailing people. An American pair from the sailingboat Perigrin were the guests, first a bit frightened but later in the evening enjoying this old Swedish tradition.

2014-13/6. Now anchored on crystal clear water in the atol island Tahanea (reported yesterday).

2014-10/6. Under sails! At 13.23 GMT they had 259 NM left to the Tahanea-atol, which they are heading and could be reaching in 2-3 days. The blog part dealt a lot with a long walk to a very high water-fall, and how they lost the way up and eventually found it again. During the last time they have had a nice time together with their friends in Litorina and Brizo, also children-boats with playing-friends to Lovisa and Karin. Nuku Hiva is a vulcano-island in contrary to Tahanea which has got a low profile to the sea, made up by corals and sand. The Tuamotos islands has got a description in Wikipedia.

2014-1/6. A new short story from Gustaf tells that they have moved back to the south side of Nuku Hiva again. Litorina and Brizo have anchored quite close to them, and the children are playing together a lot.

2014-28/5. Last days they have painted the deck with a white, two-component paint with some sand added, to get an even, light colour with anti-slipping property. They have also baught a lot of fruit, much appreciated by the children as well as by the adults. There is a special, sweet kind of grapefruit called pompelmousse which they love most. Another thing to do was scraping the boat's underside. When Gustaf had been doing that, he heard funny sounds in one ear. Tina looked in the ear and found - a little crab! The poor animal got removed and had to look for an other hidingplace!

2014-18/5. A new message (Tina) tells about activities since they left Fatu Hiva.

2014-17/5. An email from Gustaf told that they have a good time on Nuku Hiva, anchored in a nice bay in the north of the island called Baie D'anahoe. Time is filled by long walks,swimming, schoolwork with the children and social life. Together with friends from the American Daphne they have lots to discover in the magnificent nature in this pearl of the Pacific ocean.

2014-14/5. By changing the address for Position-WinLink (left, blue frame) we know that Caminante reported its position to Nuku Hiva on the 9th of May. Still no blog report - "The Winlink web site is offline for some major rework. We apologise for our extended downtime." But we know that the friend Kjell left Caminante yesterday and got a flight to Tahiti.

2014-13/5. It seems like Winlink has got a problem just now, so no Winlink-position and obviously no blog at the moment. The AIS-position is not updated for a long time, so just now Caminante is hiding somewhere, lacking contact with us.

2014-8/5. Only three days stay is allowed on the island if you have not cleared inwards to the Marquesas. Before leave they have explored the island accurately, having in mind their last visit. As before, the inhabitants are very kind, helpful and generous and the nature stunningly beautiful. The waterfall and the fruits are the memories they will first think of, when they try to recall the impressions from Fatu Hiva.

2014-5/5. Today they dropped the anchor out of Fatu Hiva. The long cruise is ended.

2014-4/5. Today there was a blog, signed Gustaf, telling that they are about one day's sailing from Fatu Hiva now. All has went well so far and it will be a bit thrilling to see the island again. Last time was 12 years ago, when they were sailing the old Caminante.

2014-28/4. All is well onboard and thoughts are mostly dealing about food and the difference between catamaranes and normal boats. The fishing is not very effective but the fishes are big, so the dinners will mostly be based on different fish dishes. Lovisa has made an invention: A new tasty fish sauce.

2014-25/4. A new blog report (Gustaf) tells that they now have reached half the way to Fatu Hiva, one of the islands in the French Marquesas group. The sea around them now seems to be more desert-like, a fact depending on the lack of nutrition substances in the water, now far from the coast of South America, where the up-welling cold water was a nursery for a lot of different fish. Gustaf has tried (and succeeded) to breed his own youghurt from an older batch, given from Stina on the "Liv".

2014-22/4. The voyage rolls on, and in a new blog story Gustaf tells how their fruit is growing ripe. Bananas are falling down in the same rhythm as the ship moves in the waves on the ocean. Tina uses her imagination to keep the children active during the long days, when nothing specific happens. Yesterday they hooked fish nr. 9 since they left Galapagos (a gold-macrel. And in the Position-WinLink you can see where they are just now, as Gustaf tryes to do daily updating of the map.

2014-20/4. From Caminante another blog-text arrived, telling about the large number of things there are to do onboard a longsailer's boat. Gustaf seems to be an energetic sailor, doing a lot of things during his watch. He is steering the boat, changing the sails, doing navigation, but also baking, doing electric repairs, communicating by radio, and besides that also planning for the childrens' school. Could it be that long-distance sailing is a bit boring, and you have to fill it up by many things to avoid real gloominess?

2014-18/4. The position from WinLink can be seen here (Link). The weather is rain and overcast, but is said to clear up when they get below the the 7 degrees south where they just are sailing. The fishing has been fortunate but the crew begins to long for other food than fish. The children's school has started again, a sign of calmness and routine. The trip to Marquesas will take its three weeks, so good to find the everyday feeling.

2014-14/4. A new blog story by Gustaf tells that they have started sailing to the south to get to the stable tradewind. The speed is low and the wind is said to be still slower, so there is maybe a risk that they must start the engine.

2014-14/4. A short email from Tina tells that they will be sailing to the Marquesas group on Tuesday (tomorrow). First they will go right south about 300 NM to find the tradewind area. A guess is that the first island they get to will be Hiva Oa, after at least three weeks of sailing. The preparations before take-off are immense, so when they eventuelly start, the energy level of the crew should be somewhat low.

2014-8/4. From Gustaf there arrived a long story about the wonderful wildlife on Isabela island, Galapagos.  David from Daphne and Gustaf did a very long walk up to the mountains and met a lot of interesting birds and other animals. By the way they also found a lot of fruit to bring to their boats. Another story was about a large amount of canned milk that had began being sour and thus it had to be used up quickly. Gustaf gives different methods in doing that, the best perhaps the pancake method. In his blog he also tells that he has managed to teach the children latin, appreciated by the kids, and has to be continued,

2014-3/4. A tsunami warning was given by the port authorities yesterday evening, and all vessels had to leave the port at once. The earth quake occurred on Panama's north coast, so the effects to Galapagos were not of any severe dimension. The Caminante's got a reminder that you always have to be alert when you are in port, and big wells may show up when they are least expected. Next time - may be worse!

2014-1/4. Yesterday, lunchtime, they arrived to Galapagos and are now anchored in Puerto Villamil on the island Isabela. Clearing inwards to Galapagos will be done today at a cost of about 1100 USD, quite a large sum, but perhaps worth the price to see the island of the evolution history. Four other boats with children are lying close to each other, and a good social activity is going on. First today they will be allowed to go on shore.

2014-31/3. A large amount of animals of many kinds are surrounding Caminante during its tour around the Galapagos islands. Gustaf reports from this lovely natural zoologic garden, where the animals can be seen quite close to the boat.

2014-30/3. Caminante has passed the equator and is now sailing on the southern hemisphere. Neptun himself (Gustaf) conducted the christening of the crew, as being the oldest onboard and having passed the line many times before. There is a rich bird life in these quite cold and nutritious water, and many interesting birds have been seen, now not far from the Galapagos islands.

2014-28/3. The reports come often during long sailings like this one, from Panama to Galapagos. Gustaf tells here about different birds resting on Caminante on the wide water. Perhaps it is to save energy, perhaps because they know about Tina's and Gustaf's passion for birds. The wind is 3-8 m/s S to SE and the sailing is good but not too fast.

2014-27/3. The winds are weak, so all five sails are up. Sometimes they might be caught in a squall, visible by the radar, but mostly it is easy sailing with wind from SSE. Fishing gives a good complement to to the food onboard, and all enjoys fresh tuna and other fish, but also the vegetables and fruit they bought before departure. Many animals are seen around the boat, like different birds, dolphins and a lonely, black shark.

2014-24/3. A new good message tells that the destination is Galapagos, where the evolution history started, when Darwin began to think over the divergent species of animals on this isolated group of islands. The wind is very poor, so the engine has to do the job. And during the night there comes a sound from the head mast boom coming lose, as the big bolt, normally keeping it in place, has fallen down. As the wind is weak, the job to get it back is not to heavy, and a real trouble is so avoided.

2014-23/3. After some unforgettable days in Pedro Gonzales they have now commenced the travel over the Pacific Ocean. But where will the stop be next time?

2014-20/3. A new position today: Anchored by the Perlas islands, on the west side of Pedro Gonzales. Hundreds of pelicans and other animals, the small land-crabs not to forget. On the way they got ten macrils, not bad, and so the dinner was prepared.

2014-15/3. From Gustaf an email arrived today, telling that he will take a bus to Colon today, and be a helping hand to the Frenchmen who helped them through the locks. Where they are anchored there is a large activity by vessels, carrying people to and from the big freighters, anchored further out. A small island, covered by guano can be seen south of Caminante, and to the north the marked fairway to the Panama Canal begins. The water is the clean Pacific water and the tide is about five meters. No doubt, they are in the South Ocean and when Gustaf returnes they will continue their voyage.

2014-11/3. A new blog from Tina tells us of life in La Playita, Panama City. As the long journey in the Pacific lies before them in a near future, they spend a good time by purchasing provisions all kinds, preferably cheese, the latter much appreciated by Gustaf. Many neighbour vessels are gathered, buying stores and preparing for a life in the South Sea. As usual the children have found new friends, but there is not much of a nature there, to be playing in. Panama City is a large, spectacular town with very high houses, making one think of cities like New York.

2014-8/3. The passage of the Panama Canal went well and Kjell, Tina, Gustaf and children Lovisa and Karin are now happily on the Pacific side. They started this adventure on Wednesday and had a good help from the four nice Frenchmen they met in Portobelo. Even with a pilot onboard and their new friends acting as linehandlers, it was quite tricky to go through all the locks. In next week the Caminante crew will help the Frenchmen with their vessels do the same journey through the up-locks to Lake Gatun and down-locks to the Panama City.

2014-5/3. Today time for starting up the trip to the Pacific. From Portobelo they will sail the 17 NM to Colon, and then into the Panama Canal and the locks. They will sail together with four Frenchmen who will leave their two 8 meters boats in Portobelo. Yesterday Gustaf found these new friends, also aiming Panama's westcoast through the Canal.

2014-1/3. The new crew-member Kjell has arrived. During the day Gustaf has payed the canal fee and they think they will start their passage through Panama on Wednesday. Quite exhausted they take a beer together in the evening, Kjell after his long voyage from Sweden and Tina and Gustaf after all preparations to get ready for the thrilling adventures they are facing.

2014-27/2. They have now moved Caminente to Colon, waiting for a friend, Kjell, who will arrive on Friday. He will be their shipsmate and help them with crossing the Pacific Ocean, after passing the Panama Canal. Gustaf has written a long story about their gigantic purchase of food of all kinds, most in Portobelo, where they got a lorry transport to get all onboard. Just now they are anchored outside the harbour in "the Flats" together with a few freighters. Most yachts prefer the marina, but the price for that does not fit Caminante's economy. In the thrilling continuation we may read how they change the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean.

2014-22/2. Tina tells about the sailing to Portobelo, a trip in heavy swell, not very nice after the long stay in the San Blas region. In Portobelo they met a nice guy, Peter, who shows them the town, its shops and pubs. There seems to be friends everywhere for the sailing people.

2014-20/2. Yesterday they cleared out from San Blas and today they will be sailing to Portobelo.

2014-17/2. The visit of the brother's family Camilla-Eric and children is over. In an email Gustaf tells that they had a wonderful time together. Soon Caminante will leave San Blas and prepare for the Pacific.

2014-13/2. Caminante is still in the San Blas region, anchored together with Litorina. Tina, Gustaf, and guests Camilla and Eric and together five children are having great fun onboard and in the clear, clean water. There is much to see when snorkling, like fishes in amazing colours and also sharks, barracudas and big rays. Tina tells in the text of today about a sack of flour they bought, containing a good part of bugs and worms which they had to strain of, sitting together with a tea-strainer. Camilla and Eric, Gustaf's brother, will have many stories to tell when they come home after the most exotic holiday they ever had.

2014-6/2. All is well onboard, but Tina writes about the Portuguese man of war, or bluebottle, a dangerous jellyfish which has been observed in the area. A recent problem onboard is the lack of 230V electrical current to the washing machine and other things, after the break-down of their inverter.

2014-4/2. Camilla tells of wonderful snorkling and a good life onboard Caminante in San Blas, Panama. Could  perhaps five new boat-tramps be borned among the corals?

2014-3/2. Blog from Gustaf: New anchorage is Lemon Cays, a short trip from Carti. The new crew members Camilla, Eric, Rasmus and Victor seem to enjoy life onboard and activity involves shopping from local indians, repaire of an outboard engine, swimming and playing around.

2014-1/2. Camilla, Eric & children arrived happily to Caminante. After the flight from Sweden they spent a night in Panama City, and then by taxi they could arrive in Carti, where Tina, Gustaf and kids eagerly awaited them in Caminante. They are now under sails, aiming some nice island in the San Blas archipelago. Told by Camilla, who sent an sms when just leaving Carti.

2014-31/1. Early this morning Gustaf's brother Eric with family left Gothenburg to join the Caminante crew. The new members are Camilla, Eric and the children Rasmus, Amanda and Victor. Coming from a wintery Sweden to the warm and moisty Panama should be a real adventure. During the morning hours Caminante had a nice sailing to Carto, the place to which a taxi will deliver the family on Saturday.

2014-26/1. Today they moved to Coco Bandero Cays. Snorkling there with the kids they spotted an enormous rayfish.

2014-24/1. A new sign of life from Caminante was written by Tina. They are anchored on a very difficult place with lots of coral heads, making the water level very varying. A new boat named Liv (in Swedish: "Life", boat type, a 39-feet Hallberg-Rassy) went on the corals on its way in. It took some hours for Gustaf & friends from Litorina and Bernard to get it free. The new friends Stina and Jan were happy to get saved, as it is quite dangerous to get stuck in corals when wind and waves may increase. This good story has got its happy end but numerous sailors have lost their vessels in treacherous coral reefs.

2014-19/1. They are still on the same place as a week ago, the Holandes Cays, where now 5 boats with children are gathered. Tina writes about their good life, where children and parents are very happy together, learning much from each other and from the wonderfull nature around them. In her nice text we can read that Gustaf just is keeping a 2 hours lecture in chemistry for the kids (some quite young), who are eager to learn about the elements in the Periodical Table. Gustaf owns a good portion of enthusiasm and that may be the clue to his success to be that good teacher, also when talking about rather difficult things.

2014-14/1. Today the blog was from Tina, who tells that they have moved to a new place in the San Blas archipelago, very difficult to reach among the corals. Two other boats, Litorina and Byamee are close to Caminante, both with children onboard, so Lovisa and Karin has now got friends to play around with. The place seems to be a quite popular one with many other boats anchored on the rather shallow water. Please have a look at the updated map (WinLink position, chose Satellite).

2014-7/1. A new story about Caminante's surroundings and the people living on the islands in San Blas. The weather is hot, like it uses to be on these latitudes, but in the boat, under the water level it feels better. The Caminante school has started up again after the Christmas holidays.

2014-6/1. Gustaf writes how it feels to be ready with the long trip over the sea. They are anchored on 12 m and they see small canoes with curious indians around. Already they have purchased some cooking-bananas and have had a chat with a nice gentleman, Rafael. Small coral islands can be seen and the water seems very frish and nice. The children are happy to have reached the gaul for the 5 day's hard sailing wih much waving, and so they could have the New-year party, somwhat postponed. More info will come soon.

2014-5/1. An e-mail from Tina tells that they reached San Blas, Panama in the morning. Everything is fine, but a bit exhausted after a very rough sailing from Cuba they have to rest a day or two.

2014-4/1. A new blog (Gustaf) is telling about the hard wind they have been struggling with. It is now nearly 5 days since they leaved Cuba, and Tina and Karin are longing for a good meal when this period of hard sailing is over, indicating that they perhaps do not like this kind of stubbern waving...

2014-01/01. The destination is Panama and they are sailing close to the wind.

2013-31/12. Caminante left Cuba about 10 am local time and is sailing south.

2013-26/12. Today's blog, written by Tina, tells us about their glorious Christmas in Cayo Largo. The children got their gifts and they could all enjoy a cosy evening with traditional Swedish meatballs and Cuban lobster, together with friends from two neighbor boats.

2013-24/12. An e-mail arrived early from Gustaf, where he wishes all readers of the Caminante website a Merry Christmas. The children Lovisa and Karin are now having their Christmas holidays from the Caminante school and are eagerly longing for their Christmas gifts.

2013-21/12. Today a new blog-part arrived, written by Tina. She tells that they have left Cienfuegos and sailed to Cayo Largo, an island south of the mainland of Cuba. They are anchored on shallow water in the marina there. The trip there was a rocky one, during the night, and not too comfortable. Cayo Largo is known as a lovely place and the Caminante's are going to celebrate their Christmas there.

2013-19/12. Now they are back again, after their trip to the neighbor town Trinidad. The visit there was very amusing and interesting and the picture of Cuba gets more details, like a photograph developing before the eyes. Now in Caminante the school begins again, but soon the children should have their Christmas holidays!

2013-16/12. Under the title "Sunday on Cuba" Tina tells us about playgrounds they have visited in Cienfuegos and in Havana, and the low security they have, compared to Swedish equivalents, so look up! Today they will go for a 2-day's excursion to another town, Trinidad, some 80 km east from Cienfuegos. Together with two crews from an Australian and a French boat they are also talking and planning for the time coming. Perhaps they will change Cienfuegos to the nice islands Cayo Largo in the end of the week.

2013-14/12. In the new blog Gustaf writes about the very common extermination of insects in Cuba, to defeat tropical diseases, common in the West Indies. When reading, you may also get the feeling of a political system in alteration, let's say it might be Cuba's second revolution. For the tourist to the island there are several benefits these days, during this huge change to the more free economy. Crime is still unusual, prices are low and people are very friendly, glad to meet the strange friends from a free world. Gustaf writes that the children onboard are eager to celebrate Christmas and also, they had to buy new Christmas decorations, as their own were difficult to find in Caminante, buried deep in the ship's interior.

2013-8/12. Gustaf continues his thoughts about the Cuban political system, which he would like to change in direction towards the Swedish one. But how to do that? Gustaf thinks it should go enough slow, not to hurt people too much. Many good things should be kept, but more freedom should be added. Not easy. Anyhow, in Caminante it is high life, the children are giving concerts with the instruments they got in Havana and in the saloon they have put up the Christmas tree, like many Cubans already have.

2013-6/12. The trip to Havana gave a lot of knowledge of the country and its capital. People are very friendly and the town is just wonderful with its old-fashion look and artistic touch, but also with a noble decay of some old buildings in city, left without maintenance. It is easy to forget the cold war, Castro's political prisoners and the lack of possibility to earn good money in this country, when we explore a land of mostly happy people and a quite marvellous nature. Drugs and prostitution, crime and misfortune seem to have stayed out of Cuba. It looks like people have got a good social care, unique compared to the other islands in the West Indies. Have we done a wrong judgement? Gustaf is enthusiasic...

2013-3/12. From Caminante another blog again. Marined in Cienfuegos they perform exploration trips in the city. After a foot-walk in the town, interrupted by many look-arounds and eventually ice-cream in their favourite place, it was time for the horse-drawn vehicle. It was Karin who wanted that and Gustaf is a kind-hearted father who cannot withstand the children's wishes, specially when they do their best in the Caminante-school. This horse kind of a transport is quite common in Cienfuegos and the price was not too high, so now they are an experience richer, and Karin was very pleased. In a few days they will take a taxi to Havana, where they will stay some days with B & B, a good alternative to hotels and boardinghouses. Let's see what will come out of this. Their impression of Cuba is very good so far, and the trip to Havanna should give more knowledge of common life today in this old communistic dictatorship.

2013-2/12. Caminante's crew takes a bicycle taxi to town to explore a lot of new things. Gustaf tells about the low prices in Cuba and the very special economy there. Imported things are quite expensive but locally produced things are very cheap. Karins arm is now well and does not hinder her when she eats her ice-cream in the sun.

2013-29/11. A new story again, tells that Karin fell out of her bed and enjured her arm, not seriously but bad enough to have to visit the local doctor. Nothing broken, but some pills were bought and let's hope she will soon recover. Gustaf lost a little part when he did the regular maintenance of the ship's toalettes and had to spend some time making a new one. The text also tells more of Cuba and their contacts with the society, something Gustaf seems to appreciate. Let's see what he will discover later...

2013-27/11. Viva Cuba! The customs people were onboard and had a good look at Caminante. Everything was in order and all were satisfied, specially Karin who loves dogs and gave the little bomb-dog a good hug. And so they learned a lot of Cuba, how it is governed and how laws work in this lovely country. Gustaf got very enthusiastic over the economic system and thought it would be even better than ours, the land of Vikings were taxes are high and social service on top. This was the first impression. Remains to explore Cienfuegos and look how people live. Will be continued...

2013-26/11, contin. Start in the morning today with a very good wind. At 16z only 30 NM remained to the inlet fjord before Cienfuegos, Cuba.

2013-26/11. Gustaf writes "At anchor again" . The deep is 4 meters, and the place is called Cayos Machos de Feuera. This will be the last place before clearing inwards in Cienfuegos (check with the map in Position, WinLink). He had a real problem with the anchor chain that had gone stuck in its tube, but in the end all went well. Good to be ready with a long day's sailing, also with lovely surroundings like here.

2013-24/11. Two short blog stories had dropped in today, where Gustaf describes the lovely marine environment and tells that they have now left the comparatively dangerous coral reefs and are sailing to the north-west with about 7 knots.

2013-23/11 contin. Again a few lines: Only another 18 NM were sailed today, in these very difficult waters. Karin's cold seems to be better. Both children helped Mum with the bread baking.

2013-23/11. Some new lines arrived this morning, telling about the marvellous nature around the uninhabited island, the Caminante crew are exploring. Lots of birds and other animals live in the groups of mangrove bushes and trees in the water, and fishes all kind are swimming around. The Friday evening was a nice one, with good sandwitches while Tina was showing pictures from her trip to Sweden.

2013-22/11. Two new blogs have arrived from Caminante, describing their journey towards west. Of course they are eager to do the legal checking-in to Cuba, but the coast is long and the waters not very easy to navigate, so that will take its time. The spirits are high and the kids have their school as usual. Unfortunately Karin has cought a cool lately, but that does not bother her much. Just now they are anchored fairly far from land, and Caminante is waving a lot.

2013-21/11. During the last days they have been sailing west along the Cuban south coast, and anchored yesterday close to a little island. You can see their position using Winlink (blue frame), with the satellite exposition many map details are very clear.

2013-19/11. They are now heading Cuba, the sails are filled and the speed is good, about 8 knots. Gustaf tells about the time in Jamaica, excursions they did there, the children's school and repairs he had to do, when his camera objective and their laptops got broken due to weak and bad plastic.

2013-15/11. A new blog part called Blue Mountans, Jamaica, has shown up. Gustaf tells of the nice people they have met in Port Antonio and the beautiful nature there. In a few days they will be on the move again, and next destination will be Cuba, not far from Jamaica.

2013-12/11, early morning. Now just about 50 NM left to Port Antonio on Jamaica's north-east coast. Caminante is now sailing near to the coast, and different signs of land are showing up, while Gustaf is manoevring the vessel after the long trip from Curacao. Congratulation to Tina, who can step ashore and have a nice birthday under Jamaica's sun!

2013-11/11. New contact (Gustaf) tells they have 140 NM left to San Antonio, east Jamaica. The WinLink position (left blue frame) is working again, the AIS is not.

2013-10/11, evening. A new story from Gustaf tells of the sailing today, through sqalls and sometimes hard winds. Tina did the nighy watch and in the morning hours she looked after the children when Gustaf took over sailing and navigation. Sailing seems actually to be a tough job some days.

2013-10/11. The speed is high and the wind is good. Last night they passed Aruba on their way to Jamaica. As usual on the longer sailings there will be much music and fairy tales onboard, and the kids seem to be happy, like Gustaf, who has written today's blog part.

2013-9/11. Now under sails Caminante moves fast, aiming Jamaica. Dolphins are playing besides the vessel and the radar is telling about some minor squalls behind them, so it is good to keep the speed up. This blog-part is done by Gustaf, who also tells about the children's games and playing together. Up till now the playmates have mostly been using English, later it will be Spanish, so the kids on Caminante will have to learn a lot when they also are having a lot of fun. Good weather and good sailing during the first days at sea, accompanied by reggae music, drives Caminante towards Jamaica.

2013-8/11. An e-mail arrived from Tina, telling that they have clared out from Curacao and are preparing a new cruise again. This time they are aiming at San Antonio, Jamaica, and the trip should take about a week's time. Perhaps they will continue to Cuba after that, perhaps not. A hectic time for the family before departure...

2013-1/11, afternoon. At last it arrived! A new good blog from Gustaf, telling about Halloween celebration and how he spent his time when Tina was in Sweden. On the track again!

2013-1/11, morning. Still no blog from Caminante, but an e-mail has arrived from Tina. She tells that everything is ok and "we had a Halloween party onboard Caminante with the crew from the American Daphne and the Australian Byamee. The Swedish Corinne thinks the hurricane season is over and ran away this morning, aiming at Antigua, five days away towards north-west." Tina's suitcase disappeared when she went back to Curacao but she forgot to tell us if she evetually got it. Let's hope next blog will arrive soon.

2013-22/10. After a long while it is time to bring some news: Tina is flying back to Curacao today. Myself, Peter, her father-in-law, says Welcome home to Tina and hope there will soon come a new blog from her! And please look at the AIS position. A new aerial has arrived from Icom and so Caminante got on-air again. The Winlink position is still un-updated, but why worry - we have the AIS and can see where Caminante is anchored.

2013-8/10. Tina missed the plane due to a visa problem (the ESTA visa for USA, LINK). The servers were down. Later today she bought a new ticket. Her visit to Sweden could be performed, one day postponed.

2013-2/10. A new letter (Gustaf) tells about life in Curacao, where they have been for a week. A good time is spent with the school for the kids (Lovisa and Karin), as that was a bit undoned during last time. Also social life together with friends (the Litorina crew) is mentioned, but as usual, the technical details in boat maintenance is a good subject of Gustaf's writing. All is well, but the autumn, like we have got it in Sweden, is not observed. Every day the temperature is around +30 C, so when Tina arrives here on Tuesday next week, she will probably get a shock. Tina will return to Curacao the 21/10, so the visit is just a week.

2013-26/9. The harbour authorities were very keen to get a good fee for staying in their marina instead of being tied to the buoy, and the Caminante's were a bit too stingy to pay off, so they chosed to continue to Curacao instead. After six hours of sailing they throwed the anchar again, and met their old friends on the Swedish boat Litorina. The reunion was great and now the children are playing together again, while the grown-ups are planning for new adventures (will it be Colombia next time?).

2013-24/9. A new blog from Gustaf tells that they have arrived to Bonaire. The last part of the sailing offered a little better wind, and now they are buoyed on the very clear water outside the island, just finishing their hamburgers and fryed potatoes.

2013-23/9. Two new reports tell that they left Trinidad on the 21/9 and are now sailing north of Venezuela, aiming Bonaire, the east of the so called ABC islands, 25 km north of the mainland. The plans are to stay on Bonaire for a week and then go to Curacao. After a month there they will continue to Panama where they will raise the Christmas tree, preparing to go through the canal. All are happy, the weather is nice (with some squalls there between) and the children are enjoying the sailing with books, puzzles and Gustaf's fairy stories.

2013-18/9. Very many things are collected from shops around by the diligent Caminante family. The transports are done by taxi cars, not so easy to identify if you don't have the experience from this country. Tina writes a nice story of the family, preparing for next trip to some other island, where the water is a bit cleaner but perhaps prices are higher.

2013-14/9. A new report from Tina tells about the new anchorage in Chaguaramas, Trinidad. It seems like they have changed the beutiful surroundings on Hog Island to a more industrial kind of nature. Not so nice, but the diesel oil is cheep, and they were lucky enough to get some new friends, instead of the many they left on Hog Islad. The South-African couple Tony and Berry arrived in the catamaran Daphne with their girls Jade, Cleo and Stella in suitable ages to Lovisa and Karin so spirits are high onboard Caminante. They are not going to stay long on Trinidad, so filling supplies is what they mostly are doing these days.

2013-10/9. Yesterday they left Grenada and sailed south towards Trinidad, where they now have anchored. The journey went well in spite of squlls and driftwood from the rivers of Venezuela, the mainland not far from Trinidad. The children were awake when the prickly contoures of Trinidad got visible after a rather tough sailing.

2013-4/9. Lovisa, eldest daughter onboard, writes of her 9 year birthday last Monday. What a party! All the friends from the boats around celebrated together with Lovisa, Karin, Tina and Gustaf on the shore. That day Lovisa will remember for ever!

2013-23/8. Tina writes today about daily life and how the children learn in the Caminante school.

2013-15/8. Carneval on Grenada means dance and full speed everywhere. Tina writes today about this fabolous event, that has to be taken part in to be fully beleaved. They all enjoyed it and one may expect the children to bring this tradition to Sweden, when they will return one day. The blog of today also tells about daily life and small projects she and Gustaf fill their time with.

2013-8/8. Hog Island, just south of Grenada, is a very nice place to live in, so the Caminante family will stay there the nearest time. Very many other boats are anchored around, forming a rather solid common society, with a radio net, keeping people together. Tina writes today about life onboard and tells that the place is wonderful, but many times it may feel a bit hot, as it is often 30 centigrades and more. Not very easy to get the attention for schoolwork from the two children Karin and Lovisa, when it is warm and moisty and a lot of friends are having fun around. We know they will make it, and also the youngest pupil, Karin, will be able to read and write when the Caminante school goes for holidays again.

2013-4/8. The school begins for Lovisa and Karin, and there is a problem to get the school-books for the children. Karin (who will begin in first class) can take over Lovisa's old ones, but with Lovisa it is a bit more tricks. Gustaf borrows the actual books from their friends on the boat Elin, and so it is just to take pictures of the pages. Simple and easy, but should take some time. In the blog Gustaf also tells about his technical projects he loves to be running, and the reader will learn about mechanical end electronical things.

2013-29/7. Gustaf's new story Old Iron Never Rusts tells about the old tugger Flying Buzzard, and a job he took there. A ferry, Amelia III, got engine problems outside Trinidad and  had to be towed back to Grenada. In the end all ended well, but as usual many things happens when Gustaf looks back some days. They have now received the AIS gear but seem to still be waiting for an aeriel for the same device. Still on Hog Island, Grenada.

2013-22/7. Tina writes a nice and detailed story of the immense social life there can be, on a Sunday on Hog Island (Grenada). They know a lot of people they meet and share their lifes with in the boats and on the shore. The new RIB-boat is good to have, with Tina's home-sewed sunshield.

2013-18/7. Still on Hog Island they are doing many things, waiting for a parcel from Icom, England, with the AIS device that has been repaired. The new RIB-boat is freshed up, keepes pressure and does a good job. From the old boat Gustaf has taken out parts, perhaps the floor will make a good toy for Karin and Lovisa. Gustaf has been scuba-diving together with Angela from Flying Buzzard, a nearby tugger. Jules and Mike, friends to Tina and Gustaf, own this old steamboat, by the owners converted for diesel. They had all a nice meal onboard Caminante in the evening, just before Gustaf wrote the latest blog, called Flying Buzzard.

2013-12/7. The children's week runs on, and the sailing kids have interesting things to do every morning. The South-African couple who are arranging the activities teaches the young about different useful things like farming and cooking over a fire. And Tina and Gustaf have painted deck with a white paint with a good addition of sand, to prevent slipping. A new (but used) RIB-boat (made of real rubber) is purchased, to replace the old one which is leaking (PVC plastic).

2013-9/7. This time Gustaf writes a few lines. He tells that the weather lately can change to strong winds with hard rain and sometimes even thunder. The hurricane season has just began, but Grenada and Hog Island should be situated south of the real bad winds. These "hurricane seeds" are called tropical waves and are all moving to the west, along the isobars. Anyhow, if it is getting worse they will continue more to the south, but the risk is not big. Another thing, nice for the children, is the fact that some good persons have arranged "children's week" with lots of fun for the kids. Karin and Lovisa are very thankful and glad and are in a great hurry in the mornings to go ashore having fun with their friends.

2013-8/7. Caminante has moved east, to the north of Hog Island, just south of Grenada. The Swedish yacht Elin accompanies them, but there are also a lot of other boats on the place, Woburn Bay, where many vessels are anchored. Tina writes about this odd place, where the lifestile is living close together on the water, creating a society of their own, far from the solid social structure we are used to. The VHF radio channel 68 is the common "hailing channel" where all important information is interchanged, lead by a net controller, who takes a responsibility of bringing people together, making life easier. Normal chatting can be done on other VHF radio channels.

2013-5/7. The keyboard was taken over by Gustaf today. He writes about the many projects he is dealing with, also in the field of electronics. From Jeff, a new friend from New Mexico, he has traded a 60 MHz oscilloscope, which will be a valuable tool onboard. Safety is something he has been thinking a lot of, and so he has made temperature alarms for the exhast system and the generator. Perhaps we grow more anxious when getting older, he thinks. A couple of weeks earlier he welded gratings before the entrances to protect against burglary, so old Gustaf seems to have grown older, we may think. The plans are now to go through the Panama canal to the Pacific about Christmas, and perhaps it will be a still better adventure for the family to do that in a more secure boat.

2013-1/7. A new description of life on bard has arrived. Tina tells of the eternal reparations they both are involved in, Tina mostly with sewing, Gustaf with mechanical things. Also the social life with the many friends is an aim for Tina's diligent fingers on the keyboard. Just now they are three Swedish boats in Prickley bay, Grenada. Their Russian-Australian friends in Brizo have just sailed away, leaving Lovisa in tears, as she lost a good friend, their 9 years old daughter Alissa. However, odds are very good they will meet again on some of the islands off the Venezolan coast in a near future. Plans for the continued cruising are under discussion on board Caminante II, and we will follow the thrilling story in coming chapters.

2013-23/6. The Swedish tradition of celebrating Midsummer is now well introduced to Prickley Bay, south Grenada, where many long-sailing boats are gathered. Tina describes with great enthusiasm how they and their friends had a nice meal together and were dancing to live music on Prickley Bay Marina, on Midsummer night. She also tells of the children and how they learn English and other languages to be able to play together. And Gustaf, he goes on with ship maintenance when Tina does sewing and restores the sofa. Live onboard may seem a bit hectic to an old landlubber like me, the father of Gustaf.

2013-18/6. Today Tina has written a nice story she calls International Pizza Night, where she describes events on Grenada and specially how the long-sailing people live. Sorry to say she writes in Swedish, but the total sum is that they have a wonderful time on that island, both the children an grown-ups.

2013-15/6. The watermaker refused producing fresh water, so today Gustaf tells how he got it to work again. With the turning lathe he makes the new part that replaces the old corroded one, and so the watermaker can do its job again. The blog also tells about a terrible boatfire not far from Caminante. A big aluminium cruiser burned, but nobody was injured. They are still on Grenada as you can see on the Position links, left blue frame.

2013-13/6. After Union Island they went to Mayreau and then back to Union again. The 11/6 it was time again to set the sails, and so they arrived to Grenada, where they are now, anchored in Prickley Bay together with Litorina and some other friends.

2013-5/6. Today Caminante anchored just outside Clifton, Union Island after one day under sails. This morning they passed west of St. Lucia.

2013-3/6. For a little less than a week ago Caminante went to a new anchorage on the south-west corner of Martinique. The new harbour, Le Marin, is an incredible place, with lots of boats, all kind. Tina wrote a nice story about themselves and the surroundings which she calls "The floating town Le Marin". Everything is calm and nice, the children are playing around with walkie-talkies and they are able to do the shopping in "Prices shop" and get the goods near to the sea with the shopping trolley. Their friends from the Swedish boat Anna are also there and it seems like they enjoy this place.

2013-26/5. Tina has written a good new story again in the blog, with many nice details as usual. On the 24/5 they moved from Saint Pierre, Martinique, to Fort de France, the capital of the island, to buy supplies. With their new good friends, a Russian family with children, they have had a very good time together. Tina tells of a nice excursion they performed, to a rhum destillery in the mountains, unfortunately closed, but from a nearby (closed) restaurant they got the refreshments they needed after the long walk with the children. In the evening of the 24/5 we had a nearly perfect direct radio contact Martinique-Sweden over shortwave. Gustaf told that they had just arrived to Fort de France and dropped the anchor, half an hour before our radio conversation.

2013-21/5. Yesterday Caminante sailed to Saint Pierre, Martinique. Tina writes today about the life on Dominica and the journey to the new anchorage. It is not easy to be on a waving boat after a long calm time, so Karin had to offer up to Neptune in the beginning of the trip. All went well and now the are in port again. The AIS spotted their position just between Dominica and Martinique when they were sailing, but lost them after that. The Winlink position was not yet updated in the morning the 21/5.

2013-19/5. The both families aboard Caminante and Elin had an excursion cross the island Dominica to figure out who were the original inhabitants of the island, and how did they live. The answers they got about ancient time were not quite clear, but they learned a lot of how they are living today and how they behave as humans. The recent inhabitants seem to be a very nice and friendly kind and give an impression of having a good life together, eager to share what they have with the sailing people. Tina's blog also told about the moisty weather and the ability to collect water from the rain on Caminante.

2013-14/5. Another life sign from our heroes: "Dominica again". Already on the 9:th of May they went south and anchored the same day (night) on the north of Dominica (Portsmouth, you can see it in the AIS position window). Again they met their good friends on the boat Elin and also a good bunch of other sailing people (and "locals"). Party on the beach and a continuing of the social life, swimming and snorkling in the shallow water is what the Caminante II crew are occupying the time with at the moment.

2013-6/5. Another nice story by Tina tells how they moved to a new little island in the Guadeloupe archipelago called Terre de Bas, one of the Les Saintes islands. The weather is warm and moisty but they seem to be used to that kind of climate. They are all very happy with the beautiful surroundings. Swimming and strolling around, exploring the unspoiled countryside occupies much of their time.

2013-1/5. Last Saturday they moved another 10 NM to the south. Now they are anchored just out of Pigeon island, in the Cousteau National Park (LINK). A wonderful underwater nature with innumerable turtles encloses them. Tina writes today's blog, also telling of high temperature and moisture onboard, sometimes giving difficulties to sleep at night.

2013-26/4. A new passage of the blog tells how they sailed to Deshaies, on the north-west side of the French island Guadeloupe, where they have been anchored up for the latest five days . They started on the 22:nd (last Monday) their 45 NM long voyage to the south. Gustaf writes some lines about Antigua, some about the sailing (8-9 knots all time) and rather many about Guadeloupe. Among other things they visited the Botanic Garden on the island, which was a bit expensive but very much appreciated, not least by the children, who found the park and animals there quite lovely.

2013-20/4. Tina writes a nice story about filling the supplies with food-stuffs from the store not far from the boat (anchored on south Antigua). For a long time they have been out of many victuals onboard, and at last they can have anything they want, also yoghurt and fresh fruit. The children are happy to get their Saturday sweets today, like in Sweden. After a bus ride to St. Johns, the main city, they know more about Antigua.

2013-17/4. Gustaf tells today that they have left Barbuda to migrate south, to avoid the severe storms which usually occur in the summer in the north Caribbean waters. In his blog he also tells about his interest in philosophy and religions, and about the many books they have in their ship's library. Just now they are anchored in Jolly Harbour on Antigua.

2013-15/4. Tina writes today about the children and how they live onboard. Caminante II is surrounded by other boats with Swedish children, so a great social life takes place every day, with swimming and different games, most of them in the water. Lovisa reads many books in Caminante's big library, and also Karin is now beginning to be a reader of the good kid's literature they brought from Sweden. The reader of the blog gets a feeling that cruising may give a very good life for the small as well as for the grown-ups.

2013-12/4. This time Gustaf is telling that two new boats have arrived to their beight, Gravenor Bay, on south Barbuda. They are now four Swedish yachts: Caminante II, Litorina, Meribelle and Corinne, all represented on our link page. The new blog (in Swedish) also informs of the fantastic sea life beneath the surface and of the formation of the limestone cliffs on the shore. Yesterday the children had a day off from their ship school.

2013-7/4. Another good blog-text, where Tina describes a lovely party with their Barbuda friends, who had invited them to share their dinner and have some fun. Also the Litorinas where there, and they all had a very nice time in a small but really nice little house on the shore. The food was chickens , fish and turtles and all enjoyed it very much, specially the children. About reef  fish there is a (false?) rumor that it might contain an algae poision, ciguatera, so most of the Swedes did not dare to try it.

2013-6/4. Today Tina writes about the party they had onboard with their new friends, Elisabeth, Watley, kids and nearest. Also the Litorinas were there and all children and adults enjoyed the time together.

2013-5/4. The trip to Codrington, Barbuda, whas a very nice adventure for both Caminante's and Litorina's members. The nice lady, Elisabeth, with her 4WD-car drove them all over the island so they could complete their supplies in the shops. Codrington has around 2000 inhabitants, a health care center, a post office and two shops, so it is just enough large, a nice place in the Caribbean world. Our sailing friends feel that this is a paradise island with nice people.

2013-4/4. As usual it takes a bit longer time between the messages from Caminante II when they are anchored and everything is trotting along quite slowly. Tina writes today about the Easter celebration onboard Litorina together with their friends, a very nice evening. The supplies are running out, so it is time to go to Codrington, the head village on Barbuda to get some new food onboard. A friendly woman has offered them a lift with her car, which makes them really happy, as it is a long way to go by foot. That event should be today, so here is what our friends are doing right  now.

2013-27/3. A new blog dealt about more social life together with the friends on the anchorage, but also about the grandiose nature over and under the surface. The school for Lovisa and Karin continues with Swedish and English reading, arithmetics and a touch of science between. It seems like the stay on Barbuda is a very harmonic one, for me (father of Gustaf) the island I would at most like to see. Perhaps I at least could get a direct radio contact with Caminante on shortwave?

2013-23/3. Time for an exploration of the island! Sorry to say, lots of garbage are piling up on the east shores, Nobody has taken any attention to the problem, and Gustaf writes about severe disadvantages of the human civilisation. Perhaps we should do better without it? However, the taste of the langusters is superb and the company with the friends is wonderful, so why worry?

2013-20/3. Barbuda seems to be one of the best Caribbean islands regarding clean water and a rich marine life. They are five boats anchored in the south part, between Coco Point and the Spanish Point, behind the reefs. All are enjoying this lovely place, not least the children. Diving and kite-surfing are described in a new interesting blog part written by Gustaf.

2013-18/3. The 30 nautical miles from Green Island to Barbuda went well, despite very difficult navigation between coral reefs. Now they are anchored on rather shallow water together with some other Swedish boats.

2013-16/3. Departure towards south Barbuda tomorrow, Sunday, 17/3.

2013-15/3. A new photo gallery (from Bequia) has turned up, please check!

2013-11/3. New blog by Gustaf tells they are anchored on Green Island 10 NM north of Antigua together with their friends on Corinne and Litorina . After checking in to Antigua they had a nice afternoon and sailed next morning (yesterday) to Green Island, a paradisic place surrounded by coral reefs. Position records from both AIS and WinLink give good maps of the place.

2013-9/3. Blog: Under sails again, the aim is Antigua. They will spend the night on Guadeloupe, and if you check the position you can see they are already there.

2013-7/3. Now they have left Dominica and arrived to another island, Les Saintes, which belongs to France. Gustaf tells about Dominica as a happy island but poor. Saintes looks a bit more exclusive, perhaps not so cosy as Dominica. We may be reading more about Saintes when they have explored the island a bit closer.

2013-5/3. Gustaf writes about a long walk with the family again, this time to a volcanous part of the island, were they were looking at a caldera with elementary sulfur round pot holes. A nice guy on the island owns a part of land and has established a track with very beutiful surroundings. Our people happened to find him on their walk and so they got a memory for life of the lovely wilderness. The blog also tells that Victory has sailed again, but first they had a nice evening together, grilling pork shops and talking about their adventures.

2013-27/2. Tina tells that their friends in s/y Victory arrived yesterday. Daughter Linea onboard, friend of many kids in the anchored Swedish boats, was greeted by loud screeming of joy on the VHF radio. In the evening there was dancing arranged on the shore, as the arrival happened to coincide with a regularely arranged festival, honoring the shore security guys. It seems as the big sailor society has a lot of fun in the Caribbean.

2013-24/2. Today Tina writes about new impressions on the lovely island Dominica. The passed week they have been exploring the surroundings, been visiting the local markets and also traveling around a lot, until their feet are aching.

2013-19/2. A new blog letter tells that they have now reached Dominica and already have had a good look at it. On the way they just passed Martinique and relied on the possibility to buy what the will need on Dominica. The new island looks lovely and the first person they met was a very friendly fisherman who showed them aroand. On this place they want to stay for a good while.

2013-15/2. Sometimes a lack of dramatics tends to dissolve the veil of romance that normally is the sign of the long-sailing cruiser. The everyday life buries the adventures and the blog-writing ebbs away. Anyway, soon time to wake up the tall stories again and so they are planning to pull up anchor again, and go to Martinique for taking in supplies, then to Dominica to have a look at that island and eventually sail to Barbuda that is said to be a very nice island. Here a link (LINK) to look at so you will know more of these regions.

2013-9/2. Now the windows are ready and new thoughts take Gustaf's attention. He tells about people they live quite close to in the bay, and the boats they visit there. Life is a lazy thing on Bequia and there is plenty of time to enjoy the kid's progress with the school onboard and many other things. Today Tina and Gustaf used the computer and called the parents in Sweden from the beach. Everything was just fine and Gustaf told that he will soon have a try with the shortwave radio, to see if he can reach Sweden.

2013-3/2. Gustaf writes today about the difficult window reparation he has been doing. Six windows had to be changed and the steel frames had to be removed and new were welded to replace the old. The rust is a difficult matter to handle in steel boats. The blog letter also describes how the children have to do the school lessons onboard. Gustaf had an extra job with Litorina's steering gear that ended with a lovely dinner in Litorina together with their friends Monika and Patrik.

2013-27/1. The Jazz Festival on Bequia, on Friendship Bay, was described in today's blog. Gustaf tells how they went to the place and enjoyed the good music and even danced together. In the last part of his letter he tells about the installation of the short wave radio in Salsa, and how they successfully tried it later. Also some discussion about earthing and grounding is included. This can be a problem in plastic vessels, and as a conclusion he adds, that if you have a good copper plate in the bottom of the hull, you should connect the radio earth and the aluminium mast to that. The sea water will then make a good ground plane for the transmitter, and with lighting, this may act as a simple life insurance.

2013-26/1. Today the blog tells about how to maintain the windows in a steelboat. Gustaf has been watching a film which showed whaling on Bequia. Nowadays only 4 whales/year may be caught and it is seldom that figure will be reached. Whaling on Bequia is a brutal sport, and Gustaf's comments show his disgust to it. He also has some thoughts about modern piracy, quite comparable to killing of the whales by the brave men in the small boats.

2013-23/1. Gustaf tells about the nice children's party on Litorina yesterday, where he tought the kids about scuba-diving on shallow water. This was very appreciated and turned out to be a great joy during the party. Besides pleasures he also tells about some technical tasks, like changing batteries in Salsa (please see our links) and helping Staffan there to start up their short-wave radio, an Icom 801. Salsa will soon be leaving Bequia for Panama, not so nice for Lovisa, who has a lot together with the doughter Erika in Salsa. Gustaf also tells about the leaking windows in Caminante. The problem is that all their portholes are quite rusty. Leaking or not, they all require a good rust treatment and also a change to stronger plastic glasses. So we radio amateurs will perhaps have to wait long for a good contact with SM6UAS, Gustafs radio signal in Caminante II.

2013-18/1. Tina proclaimes Field Day in the Caminante School. In a new passage of the blog Gustaf is telling how he has to leave the tools and join the family for a long walk over the island. They also apply for a residence permit to the local authorities and are now allowed to stay for another three weeks. The walk shows out to be a long one, and Karin finds a big turtle that she tries to educate, not very easy. In an e-mail Gustaf tells that he will soon take up amateur radio again, but first he has to mend two leaking windows.

2013-16/1. Gustaf tells about his dayly work with Caminante. The rust is an eternal problem that must be taken care of constantly. Also the tools need their maintenance. Late evenings onboard when routines are over it is nice to have a good book. Gustaf tells that lately he has been reading Harry Martinsson, Swedish fiction writer and Nobel Prize winner 1974.

2013-15/1. "Another day in Paradise" is Tina's latest contribution to the blog. They are still anchored in Admirality Bay, Bequia and are living a calm life together with their children and many friends. These days Gustaf does some rust maintenance on Caminante and Tina has housework to do. They also teach the children. The latest theme is music on the flute, also reading, as usual. But swimming and digging in the sand on the shore is always very popular, specially when many other children are together there.

2013-13/1. This time Tina tells of a ferry on fire not far from Caminante. Gustaf and many others offer their help to evacuate the people from the burning ship. No severe accident occurs and Tina can finish her blog with a nice description of a walk to Fort Hamilton on the island. She buys fruits and different spice herbs but well onboard she is not sure how she will use them.

2013-11/1. Gustaf describes fault-hunting on Litorina's watermaker and Cassiopeja's generator. Barbecue on the shore together with Danish friends is nice, even if it is raining when the temp is high, about 28 centigrades on Bequia, where they stand, soaking wet on the sandy beach. In the end he tells that he and Lovisa tries night-diving, a way to explore the sea and to cure fear of the dark.

2013-10/1. A new link - Please check "Länkar" (= links, blue frame). The link "Salsa" leads to a nice blog site, written in English, often updated. Salsa is a Swedish yacht, anchored quite close to Caminante II.

2013-9/1. Two new picture galleries have arrived. Please check "Bilder", blue frame."Galleri Jul och Nyår" means Christmas and New Year. Try also "Galleri - Atlantöverseglingen" = The Atlantic Cruise. Today Gustaf writes a new blog, telling of electronics, lobster-fishing and snorkeling in shallow waters. Everything is OK onboard and now the wind-generator and sun-panels are working again.

2013-8/1. Tina writes about their neighbourhood and thinks they have found the real happiness. Nice people have anchored around them, many with children onboard. In the sea just under them seafood is swimming and crawling about. In the shops a lot of fruits and vegetables of quite new kinds can be bought. Tina wants to stay here, until everything is explored. We may wonder if the moisty heat at night makes change her mind?

2013-5/1. New pictures have been sent from Caminante and will soon be landed on "Blogg och Bilder" (on the left, blue frame) were you will find them (please see "Bildgalleri"). The anchorage on Bequia is very good and Tina tells that she will never leave it! Good neighbors with many children make life easier also for the children. Just now they listen to Harry Potter in Swedish, much easier than to read it in English for Lovisa and Karin, 8 and 6.

2013-2/1. Tina writes about the New-Year-celebration on the shore, where a lot of Swedes were gathered. Crews from the boats Victory, Corinne, Litorina, Meribelle and the Norwegian boat Felice had a very nice, long-lasting party together. The climate is warm, moisty and not always quite comfortable, so a party is sometimes needed.

2012-29/12. A new blog-text has arrived. Gustaf tells about how they clean up onboard and about a long walk they did. Together they found a turtle-farm and also chickens and small goats, lovely for the children to pat. Gustaf had baked Russian pasties as the packed lunch, and the walk was long and the all got very tired but also happy as so much was to see on the island. Nothing was told about old Andy, so perhaps he has already left the ship. Our contacts are at the moment only via the blog, but let's hope we will get a phone call before the year goes out.

2012-25/12. A Christmas-letter from Gustaf has arrived in the blog. Of course they have got a ham and a Christmas tree, like they have had every year. The tree is a plastic one and the ham is the type "Serrano" from Spain, the air-dried type, very good indeed. Andy told that this was his best Eve ever, and perhaps the location in the West Indies had something to do with that. The Christmas celebration took place on the shore together with the crews from six other Swedish boats plus one Danish. The Nowegian boats are so many so they had a party of their own. The children had a happy time on the shore and in the water and all played and enjoyed this kind of a Christmas party.

2012-23/12. "Bequia - A first impression" was the headline of today's blog. And the first thing to do was to clare inwards to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It was decided that Andy will continue on his own, sorry to say. So he booked a flight from St. Vincent to Trinidad, and they will miss him, for sure. The water is very clear, and among the first they saw was a very big octopus on shallow water. There are lots of flowers, beutiful birds, fruits and coco-nuts all around. Also lots of nice people and charming surroundings, so the impressions are many. Children and adults enjoyed the wonderful island and tried to pick coco-nuts to make cocos-cakes from. Gustaf had a long chat with a guy selling water, about waling. Wale-hunting is something they do every year, and Gustaf learned a lot about it, but did not find i very nice.

2012-22/12. They have anchored on Bequia! The message was time-stamped 23.50z. Johan and Liselott from Corinne were the first to salute them when they arrived. Today they will clare inwards to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

2012-21/12. Now they have passed Barbados, with 88 nm left to Bequia. The weather is mostly clear with a good wind but a sudden squall surprised them yesterday night. This morning they could see land and that gave to them a good feeling after the long time at sea. Time for Gustaf to sort out eatable cheeses from more disgusting ones in his big cheese-store under the children´s beds.

2012-20/12. A new blog tells that only 232 nm remains before they arrive to Bequia. That should be done in 2 days, if nothing unpredictable occurs before. Gustaf tells that they should rather enjoy a longer stay in the West Indies than rush away directly to the Panama Canal.

2012-19/12.  Still good wind, and if you click on Link above, you will see the wind forecast map, that the Caminante crew are studying every day. Only 392 naut. miles are left to Bequia, so it is rather sure they will celebrate the Eve there.

2012-18/12. Now the wind has arrived and with that also a good speed, about 7 knots all night. In Gustaf's latest blog you can read of small dolphins playing in the bow water on yesterday evening, and also about that the good murmuring sound that is back again.  The louse treatment showed again to be needed, as Lovisa had a few lice left. So all the crew was treated, this time with the pharmaceutical louse drug diluted with sunflower oil, as most of the original means was used up in the previous trial. The children play and have a good time together when the weeks run off and the ship is traveling over the huge sea.  Lovisa is now so skilled in the English language so she has begun writing a little story about a space mouse she calls Zonko, with some help by Andy, her devoted teacher. The same Andy has still got problems from bad dreams after his 7 years in the military service. One can imagine that the time in Iraq has hurt him, and it would perhaps take long time before the psychological wounds are completely healed, and his nights are free from weapons and scaring explosions.

2012-17/12. The night was calm and winds were weak, Gustaf tells. Speed has been only about 2 knots so not much. A click on the Winlink position will tell the reader how far they got since last plotting. Gustaf also tells that Andy has been very diligent and peeled onions, washed dishes and even more good things, but should need more knowledge about housework. The journey with Caminante II could perhaps be somewhat of a turningpoint for poor Andy.

2012-16/12. New blog chapter from Caminante, title Light Winds. The low pressure is left behind, but the "tradewind" is not yet quite stable, so sails up and sails down is the poor sailors' fate. Eventually no wind at all, and they have to start the engine. Also the watermaker has to go for a while, so a bit fresher water than the old from the Canaries is prepared from clean seawater. Suddenly Andy spots a whale close to Caminante, and so they all will have a look at the big animal. However, big creatures like whales are not the only interesting things on the mighty sea. In the radio they get in touch with a boat, an American 8m catamaran "Merlin". When the boat comes nearer they see that this one is quite another boat, a 14 m wooden, German flagged yawl with 14 young people onboard. The Caminante crew enjoy the company for some hours, and before they sail apart Andy got very good friends with a London girl. They exchange addresses over the radio and will perhaps meet some time. Fate striking again?

2012-15/12. Today Gustaf is telling about better weather but still very hot and clammy. We got a more exact report of the remaining distance to Bequia: 841 naut. miles. That means that they have got 1/3 left of the Atlantic passage. Slightly more than two weeks are used since they started, but with the lower speed they have got now, it will take more than one week to reach their destination, Bequia in the Grenadines, the West Indies, in the Caribbean Sea.

2012-14/12. They are now close to the center of the low pressure area there lots of flashes illuminates the sky. The waving is very irregular and Caminante jumps in a most inconvenient way. Gustafs blogg was written some hours after midnight and he tells that the night is very dark and the wind is 8-12 m/s free wind. They are now 800 naut. miles out of the mouth of the Amazon river and it is very hot onboard, nearly 28 degrees. Andy learns more and more of cooking, but is still asking "how to make a sauce?". Tina worries as usual with her seasickness and is a bit ticklish with different kinds of food. Lovisa works with her English, guided by Andy, and Karin with read and write, helped by Gustaf. It is now about a thousend naut. miles left, and that tells for a Christmas Eve in Bequia.

2012-13/12 - The Lucia day in Sweden. Now they have went into the low pressure area with hard winds, choppy waves, thunder and pouring rain showers. Andy had a tough watch in the end of the night when the weather was at its worst. Due to the lightning Gustaf had put off all electricity onboard, so it was dark as well. Quite exhausted he went to bed and Gustaf took over, early in the morning. Still it was a hard, irregular waving, but the storm was decreasing so again time to start up the instruments and lights. On deck many flying fishes had landed during the night and quite a lot of job to trim and adjust booms and uncountable cords and ropes. The rainshowers had been very intense, and some hatches showed a certain leakage, forcing Gustaf to put another item on the to-do-list.

2012-12/12. Strong wind and good speed will soon bring them into a passage with low pressure, perhaps rain and thunder. Gustaf is studying grib files, bringing weather information so they can chose the best way. Winlink is the source of all meteorological news, but calls for own interpretation, many times difficult to perform. The driving belt to the generator got broken, so now they only have the head engine and the mini-power-plant to produce their electricity. The fishing finally gave a good result, with two big gold-mackerels. Only one half was needed for their dinner, the rest had to be put in the deep-freezer. A bigger fish hided down there, and cut both their fishing cords. Andy introduced a new ball game in the cockpit, highly praised by all, not least by Tina. The aim was teaching English in a new manner, but the result was a quite new sport.

2012-11/12. This time Gustaf tells how he bakes cinnamon buns at 4 am, but also about fishing. They got a really big one on the hook, but when Andy saves a bird from, as he beleaves, get stuck on the same hook, they lose it. This makes Gustaf disappointed but his good temper returns when Karin shows good results during their school lesson together. Also Andy is very successful in his work teaching Lovisa spoken English. Caminante's speed is very high after the gybe, described yesterday, so they have connected the propeller axis generator to the rotating propeller axis, normally done above 6 knots. Elin, Miss My and Litorina are far behind with their only 3.5 knots but are telling that they like that kind of calm sailing. They have a daily conversation over the shortwave radio, a good way to solve problems and maintain relations.

2012-10/12. The Turn, is the name of Gustaf's description of how they got a problem with the rig. A boom gets loose and falls into the water, hanging in its rope after an attempt to gybe. Much work to get it back again, but eventually they manage with that and the gype ends successfully. This blog also illustates a new pedagogic tool, invented by Andy, to get Lovisa talking more and better English. All people onboard are involved in a fairy stories telling project, where everyone has to make an own piece in English, to activate the mind in thinking in this, for a Swede, foreign language. The blog name, The Turn, would perhaps tell that from this day they abandoned the Swedish language and went English, not yet clear.

2012-9/12. This time a thin rope coming out from the stern and running far out after the ship called for Andy's attention. Gustaf examined it and found it to be a fisherman's lost cord, strong enough to get a pulling backwards of about a 100kg. Andy got the day's hero and went under Caminante and could take it off from the sacrificing anodes under the hull, where it was stuck. The price was high, as he got a bad sun-burn after the job. The blog tells that they went on with the louse treatment, intense hair-wash for all shipmates.

2012-8/12. Softhair debugging is the title of Gustaf's latest blog-text. He writes of a very unexpected thing, how they have got hair-lice onboard. Tina was the first one to figure that out. From where, is the question, far from land as they are. Anyhow, with scissors and some kind of a drug they hope to get rid of the small animals. The wind is weak, Gustaf bakes a good bread and Andy is diligent teaching Lovisa English. He plays with the kids and tells fairy stories, and more and more they learn, but Lovisa has an advantage before Karin as she is the eldest and has been practising the language for a long time.

2012-7/12. A new blog arrived, telling of cooking onboard: Secret cook. Karin learns the art of making delicous food, assisted by Gustaf, Tina reads for the kid and Gustaf talks to the other sailors ove short-wave radio. And Andy makes great progress in the sailing technique, where he begins to have a new interest.

2012-6/12. Weaker wind brings down speed and the number of sails, their setting and trimming is crucial for best sailing. Many things pop up on the to-do-list, like leaking in water in Lovisa's bed. The children's heads are full of thoughts of the coming Christmas and preparations of gifts are in their minds. Birds and fish visit Caminante, so they are not alone on the great sea, Gustaf writes.

2012-5/12. Today a new text appeared in the blog, Life and Joy. Gustaf tells about a happy life amongst the Atlantic waves. The kids are sledging down and down as the boat is rocking, having great fun. No snow needed, just cushions and pillows. Together they look at the dolphins, also Andy, who has to wake up from his off-duty-watch and admire the animals instead of enjoying his well-needed sleep in the stem where he has his bed. Andy likes to work in the kitchen where he learns baking pizza, described in a funny way by Gustaf who is a good cook himself. Tina manages the music and plays records, Stan Getz on saxophone and bossanova are making the sound track in the background. Speed is good and the position is north of Mindelo of the Cape Verde islands, course directed to south-west (see Winlink position).

2012-4/12. A new story, Rolling, Rolling tells about the feeling of 4 meter high waves and a lot of technical details in the art of sailing. Andy seems to become a real sailor and Karin and Lovisa takes in the English language well, thanks to their private teacher. Please check the Winlink position where you can see that they have now passed the "tropics of cancer". The course brings them rather far to south, but that is because of the wind forecast, telling them to avoid soft wind by navigating near to the Cap Verde islands.

2012-3/12. Gustaf writes about the good sailing speed, higher than Andy thinks it should be with respect to safety. The boy will learn, Gustaf thinks, and praises his good hand with the kids and his results with teaching them English. They learn a lot and they all have a nice time together. The journey continues towards south, as the maps tell about more east winds after passing the Cape Verde islands. Gustaf also tells about the friend ships Litorina and Corinne (both in our links). Litorina got a broken wind rudder and Corinne (now quite near to the aim, Bequia in the Caribbean) got water in the diesel oil when they filled in Las Palmas. Life onboard seems quite nice, when fighting seasickness and waving on the Atlantic. Please click "Winlink" on the blue frame and look at their position.

2012-2/12. A new blog arrived from Gustaf, telling about their departure and the work with different projects before start. Lots of things to buy, get onboard and put in bottles and boxes. The new guy Andy seemes to be a valuable member of the ships crew . He worked hard with cooking also when Caminante was rocking in the hard wind and it was difficult even to be standing upright. The new plot on the Winlink position map shows that they are sailing southward in a considerable speed.

2012-30/11. They left at 8 am and will be under sails for the next 3 weeks (Picture).
2012-30/11, morning. Still more thrilling: They never left yesterday. My crystal ball was wrong and perhaps they will start today. Most of their friends have already went off, so says Meribelle, Corinne and Litorina in their blogs. A short email from Tina (yesterday) told about hectic preparations.

2012-29/11. Thrilling blog part by Tina tells of preparations before the departure from Las Palmas to the West Indies. A new member, Andy McCann, 25 years, from Preston in England has joined the Caminante crew. Not only the AIS transponder is working now: Also the new radar is mouted and in order. Today they will pull up the anchor and leave for the Caribbean (or tomorrow).

2012-27/11. Today the ARC race started from Las Palmas (please check Link). Suddenly 192 boats are away and the harbour is much calmer for the sailors left.

2012-26/11. More from Tina: The ARC race is postponed 2 days because of bad winds. She tells of problems not only for the members of the race, but also for other sailors in the harbour, crowded by many yachts. And at last: The AIS transponder is working again. Click and check!

2012-22/11. Tina writes about their preparations before the sailing to the West Indies, that will start when good winds will blow. Lots of food are bought, carried to the boat and stowed in. Poor Karin has lost a tooth when playing, fortunately a milk tooth.

2012-20/11. A new lifesign arrived, written by Tina. It tells that life slowly goes on in the Las Palmas harbour. They are about 50 yachts gathered there, and 7 of them are Swedish boats with children onboard. In a week's time the ARC tournament will start from Las Palmas. About 230 yachts are registred but half of them are still on the sea, trapped by soft wind, wind against or no wind at all. Tina and Gustaf are working with the boat and living the normal sailor life. The broken AIS is changed to a new one, a new radar is under setting up and the generator has still got a problem. It seems like it will take a good time before they will continue their journey, aimed the Caribbean Sea.

2012-11/11. Still anchored in the harbour of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. There is a chance that the AIS onboard will be working soon, so a link to "AIS position" is available on the blue panel. A long time it has been saying that the position should be just north of Baiona, Spain (where the AIS electronics broke down).

2012-7/11. Yesterday was a hectic day for our man. Much new material for work onboard was ordered, a truck will arrive today. Some welding was also done, like making a new fastening device for the VHF antenna on the sun panel. Mounting the grill so it will stand the waving was another welding project, also mending a broken propeller for the outboarder. A new AIS transponder will now be sent from UK after a long negotiation with the Spanish and British Icom. A brand new Radar will be purchased, price discussions with some suppliers are in process (Spanish is not easy for us Swedes). Also the turning lathe had to show its strength in a minor job to help a friend. Today Tina and kids will arrive from Arguineguin, south Gran Canaria. Will Gustaf be quite exhausted?

2012-4/11. Small jobs and shopping of different technical things dominates Gustaf's days until Tina will be back on Wednesday. The long sailing trip will occur about the 12/11, depending on weather.

2012-2/11. Caminante is still anchored up outside Las Palmas harbour, Gran Canaria. Gustaf is alone onboard, as Tina and kids are visiting Tina's mother, sister and two nieces in the south end of Gran Canaria. There are many things to get ready until they will be sailing again. Also nice for the children to be playing in the pool together with their cousins.

2012-30/10. The AIS transponder is now left for mending to a local workshop in Las Palmas. The children are playing on the nice beech together with other sailor kids and Tina & Gustaf will often go shopping for the long sailing which follows their Canarian period.

2012-28/10. In weak winds Caminante has been sailing to Las Palmas where she will be staying during the next two weeks.

2012-26/10. The visit to Caminante has come to an end, and the journey back to a colder environment has begun. The Caminante II is now on its way to Gran Canaria anf myself I am on the plane back to Sweden and a much colder climate.

2012-25/10. Two new contributions to the blog are telling that all is fine on the La Graciosa island and the Caminante II. Myself and wife Barbro have had a great time there and can tell that life spirits are on top onboard the ship. Only the AIS is still the problem. The transmitter works just 1 second after power-on, but the receiver is good. Gustaf uses good instruments and tools but misses a circuit scheme. How can we help him? Next stop for Caminante will be in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, in 2-3 days.
Today is the last day of our stay with Tina, Gustaf and the kids, tomorrow we will be on the plane back to Sweden. And today I have a birthday, so we will celebrate with another nice day on the beach.

2012-17/8. Just the blog part of this site will be updated the next 10-12 days, as I will be visiting the Caminante crew soon (flying on Friday). So have an eye here but do not expect any miracle to happen. The position is La Graciosa and the weather is said to be better than in Sweden.

2012-15/8. From Caminante a new text arrived, describing how a cable inside the mast had to be changed. Climbing the masts seems to be the most common occupation a cruising person enjoys when the vessel is not really under sails. Anyhow, the wind velocity gauge failed and the cable had to be changed. After the job was done, a good bunch of friends had to celebrate Gustaf´s achievement with tea and freshly baked buns.

2012-14/8. Still on Graciosa, the crew is busy in different projects. Gustaf writes about his, the watermaker. This is a kind of machine, producing fresh water from sea water. The heart is a huge pump, same kind they use in car washer stations. To be able to use that Gustaf has to run the diesel engine, connected to a very big generator, giving 3 X 400 volts. The principle is simple filtering, beleave it or not. In his blog, Gustaf lets us witness the very first start, which is a real success, not least the sound of it. Now they can use the washing machine without getting water from land. The children are playing on the shore when the parents are taking care of the projects. Shopping food is one, run by Tina, while Gustaf is doing the mechanics.

2012-13/8. From Caminante we can tell that a kind of routine is created. Boat jobs, school for the children and being on visiting terms with the friends around are on the daily schedule. Reading the blogs from the friend ships Miss My, Elin and Litorina is a pleasant occupation for the Swedish readers, well worth the effort. We may hope someone will try to do translations one day!

2012-10/8 There are many things on the "what else to-do"-list for Tina and Gustaf. The non-working AIS is one. The receiver is OK but transmitting stops directly after turning it on. Another thing is the water-maker. A circumnavigation can be a challenge in the electronical and mechanical techniques. Also the school for Karin and Lovisa takes its time.

2012-8/10 Gustaf writes again from La Graciosa, where Caminante lies anchored among the many other yachts, some of which are old friends from previous cruisings. The wind generator is now on its place and produces electricity, good to have instead of running the engine to get the power to the batteries onboard. The children are having a good time in the water and on the shore and the adults have time to discuss different technical matters or just enjoying a nice time together.

2012-6/10. A new blog message from Caminante: "Seing old friends and building wind mill". Much told about teaching the children and cooking, but also about the friends they meet there, in the nice Graciosa bight where so many Swedish boats are anchored together. Not many words were spent on the windmill, but Gustaf is mounting a wind generator in the mizzen top to get more electricity onboard.

2012-4/10. A very good radio contact Caminante-Orust was performed in the evening. Gustaf told about the social life among the Swedish boats and how the kids enjoyed to be together on the shore. The 20 m band was on its best also for my simple 2 X 16 m multiband dipole.

2012-3/10. They reached the anchor place on south Graciosa late evening yesterday. The oversailing from Spain took about 6 days, all went well. Many Swedish yachts will soon be gathered there: Caminante II, Corin and Discovery are already anchored, Elin, Litorina and Marybell are on their way.

2012-2/10. Only 140 NM left to Gracioza at 22.14 UTC. With the speed 6.5 knots they should get to the island tonight. The AIS transmitter has gone bad so they can only see other ships but cannot tell the own position by the automatical system. The marine band on 8 MHz works well to Sweden evenings, so we could here them talking to Litorina at 18z, sailing a day's journey behind.

2012-1/10. Wind and waves are kinder today. In Caminante the family is sewing, having loud-reading and getting small delicacies. A new text from the hand of Gustafs tells about the good boat life. Caminante II is spotted by WinLink on a level with Casa Blanca. Radio conversation between the Swedish fleet members is performed on 8210kHz upper sideband where we ordinary hams only may listen, obligated not to speek, nor to tell what we there possibly may hear...

2012-30/9. A new blogg tells of high waves out of Portugal. The WinLink map is updated so you can see where they were about midnight. With the AIS map you cannot see Caminante II, but the wind map with forecast capability is fully funtionable. The waves are said to be quite dangerous in the vicinity of the sea-mounts just passed, after a good turn-around. The other Swedish boats are about 90 NM (nautical miles) behind, one of which got a problem with the intense waving.

2012-29/9, Early notation: They changed their minds. Short before the planned stop they decided to run directly to the Canary islands. The decision was a result of an intense study of the weather maps. It is worse to be out of wind than to have to strip most of the sails. The new blog On Open Sea deals about fishing and life onboard.

2012-28/9. Now out of the coast of Portugal. New blog tells of good sailing, fishing and ham radio. The WinLink position has been updated. In the evening a new e-mail tells: "Hard winds one day or two, so we will do a stop out of Lisboa and then start again /Gustaf"

2012-27/9. After a long period of silence we got an e-mail telling "Under sails again. Perhaps we will go to Graciosa". So now Caminante is using the good sailing winds south-west of the Spanish coast, heading for the Canaries.
A tip to the reader: Please use the AIS map and the wind forecast possibility there. Using that it is easy to see the coming wind situation between Spain and the Canary islands. Nothing told, but a good guess could be that Caminante later will be in company with the other Swedish yachts. A new blog update tells that they have a 15m/s tailwind and that the other yachts will start later.

2012-23/9 Still in Bayona where they are going to stay until weather gets better. Now hard winds and rainy but after that they will start for the Canaries. A new blog tells about a good social life together with their ship neighbours but also about work onboard.

2012-22/9. Again a short trip, now to Bayona (yesterday) where they anchored after lunch. Other Swedish vessels also there. In his blog Gustaf describes the problems with the fast changes of the weather. The position is only plotted in the Winlink map, no AIS plot is recorded.

2012-21/9. Yesterday (20/9) they sailed to Ria de Vigo, not very far but winds are weak and varying.

2012-18/9 By bus to Santiago de Compostela. Interesting reading in the Swedish blog about catholic culture. Still in Ria de Arosa.

2012-17/9 They are still anchored up in the bay of Ria de Arosa. Pobra do Caramiñal is the name of nearest larger village. Weather has been nice and the company of their friends from the other yachts Miss My and Elin is very good to have, not least for the children. They have spent 5 days there.

2012-14/9 It could be seen on the AIS that they had done a short move in the bay, obviously to come nearer to a nice sandy beach sheltered from waves and traffic.
 
2012-13/9 Evening: Anchored out of A Pobra do Caramiñal. after a sailing trip of 32 NM (nautic miles)

2012-12/9 After a short trip, about ten miles, they anchored out of the village Oseiro. This morning the AIS reported start again at about 9 am. After 55 miles they are now, 9 pm, south of Cabo Fisterre with about 5 knots, accompanied by  Miss My and Elin, the other two "childboats".  Finally: Anchoring 9.30 pm round the corner of Cabo Fisterre.

2012-11/9 Data from the AIS sevice: Caminante started at 15.23z, that is 17.23 Spanish and Swedish summer time. Good tailwind tomorrow, just now too weak to use the sails.

2012-10/9 Tina at the keyboard is telling that time has ran out and departure is close. S/y Salsa left this morning and the other three ships will soon come after. After many days it is time to say farewell to new and old friends, and a wonderul beach called Ensenada de Mera in La Coruña, north Spain.

2012-9/9 New Blog in the morning telling that the old Caminante, Miss My has reached La Coruña. They are now 4 yachts, Miss My, Elin, Salsa and Caminante II anchored out of a nice beach where they have a good party. They are 8 grown-ups and many children involved in a nice social life. Known radio amateurs are Gustaf, SM6UAS, Tina, SM6UBO, Kalle, SA7BKK och Olof, SA0BTO and possibly more...

2012-7/9 From the Blog: Shopping - taking in stores, also a good social life with new friends visiting. Nice for the kids to meet other children onboard, playing and having great fun together.

2012-5/9, morning. Anchored in the La Coruña harbour. New text in the Blog tells about earlier visits to this place. Warm weather makes a big difference to Ireland. All are happy to be in Spain, but many things are still on the to-do-list. The work with the ship continues.

2012-4/9, 9.10 am. Ready to anchor up into the harbour of La Coruña (A Coruña in Galician). Thrilling to watch the AIS plotting, "satellite" lay-out.
2012-4/9, 5.30 am. Sailing close to the Spanish coast. Back in the AIS plotting, speed 6.6 knots, heading south.

2012-3/9 at 5 am. Have been running by the engine for 10 hours. Sailing with 3 knots towards La Coruña. Course is straight south. Now only 1/3 left till they reach Spain.

2012-2/9, evening. Lovisa's birthday, nice weather, soft winds and more than half-way to Spain gave an euforic feeling onboard. New Blog from Gustaf.

2012-1/9, evening. Weather data from an actual grib file.
2012-1/9, again early morning. New Blog tells about calm sailing in 4 knots but also a passing of a containership with a strange behaviour, just drifting around on the sea. Interesting dolphin-watching spices the journey - and our reading (in Swedish, sorry to say! ).

2012-31/8, early morning. New Blog again. Gustaf writes about problems with tha auto pilote and how he cures it. Better weather before Caminante now and the sailing goes well. They have now left the Irish weather service and are getting forecasts from saildocs.com via Winlink.

2012-30/8, afternoon. Start from Valentia island, Ireland, destination Spain. Last spotting 4.30 pm out of the Irish westcoast. the journey should take 5-6 days.

2012-29/8. Still moored at Valentia island. New Blog tells about much work with different things before departure to Spain, but also nice company with other sailing people.  Please check Weather

2012-28/8, morning. Weather still bad with rainfall and hard winds from south. On Wednesday-Thursday a change may help them come away. Also have a look at WinLink to see plottings they have done earlier.

2012-27/8, morning. The Blog tells about hard winds in the area so they will await a change, expected to arrive in a few days. Till then they take part in the social life in Valentia and are having a good time there.

2012-26/8, morning. Still in Valentia. Headwind from south, tomorrow turning west. The AIS spotting shows no activity since it lost its contact just out of the harbour.

2012-24/8, morning. Taking in stores in Valentia Harbour and preparing for the big jump over to Spain. Tina tells that effort is laid on making contacts with other sailing families with children to create a social circle to support their lifes on the boats and get happy children onboard. New chapter in the Blog, interesting but in Swedish.

2012-22/8 at 3.48 am: Spotted 34 nm from start, 5.9 knots, heading south. Evening: Anchored in Valentia Harbour, Ireland, the start point for their journey to Spain.

2012-21/8. New chapter in the Blog tells about departure today. Wind from west takes over from the contrary southwind they have had for many days. After a wonderful time with their friends Helena and Bill, daughters  Maria and Martha, they are ready to pull up the anchor again.

2012-19/8. Meeting people on the little Irish island. In the Blog (Swedish) a new charming letter from Gustaf has arrived. Still stuck by the weather but seem to be happy before their departure, aimed Spain.
 
2012-17/8. Still anchored out of the island Inishnee, awaiting better sailing winds.

2012-15/8, morning. Caminante anchored again. Bad weather forces them to chose a deep bay when the gale passes.

2012-14/8 6 pm. Again under sails.

2012-13/8, Morning : Still anchored near Clifden. E-mail: Crowded in the Inishbofin harbour, so they had to move. Stubbern low pressure has been giving south winds. A little warmer now then it was in Scotland so they have not fired the stove for a few days. Many boats around. The Blog (Swedish) tells they have already visited the local pub and been listening to interesting gossip there.

2012-11/8 12.30 pm: Departure from Inishbofin. Sailed south to the inlet to Clifden. Anchored there about 3.45 pm. Weak south wind (against).
2012-11/8 About 1.30 am: Anchered up at island Inishbofin, a place they also visited 12 years ago, 20/8  2000.
 
2012-10/8 11.56 am: Started from the inlet to Belmullet. At 13 pm: Sailing with 6 knots out of the Irish coast. Also at 10 pm under sails, 6.2 knots.
 
2012-9/8 Update of the Blog by Gustaf. This interesting reading is in Swedish, sorry to say and has a link to the left green area. They are still anchored but will sail tomorrow.

2012-8/8 16.00 pm Tried to run a radio chat with Gustaf SM6UAS/MM. Not so easy on 14.27 MHz SSB, much noise here (+ a thunderstorm rather close to me). After 5 mins we went over to telegraphy and that worked well. Got to know that Lovisa was ashore playing with other children and that Karin was sitting in a big bowl in the cockpit, playing with water. Another thing: He told that the will leave the Belmullet inlet on the 10th of August and continue their cruise. I will try to get more radio contacts!

2012-7/8, Morning: Still anchored up. Today Hans is leaving, going back to Sweden. Work on board, running the washing machine, visits to Broadhaven.

2012-5/8 11.06 am: Anchored Caminante2 in the inlet to Belmullet, west Ireland. Nearest place: Broadhaven. Please zoom the AIS map on the bottom line on this page to see details!
2012-5/8  8.45 pm: Under sails out of the Irish westcoast near Belmullet. Speed 4.9 knots, south. Weather 5 m/s, wind north, turns to west.

2012-4/8 12.20 pm: Sailing south, 5.7 knots, pos. south edge of South Uist (map). Forecast: Wind from north-east, 8-12 m/sek, showers.

2012-2/8 2 am: Tells Gustaf that they are heading Barra.

2012-1/8  0.20 am: North of Ullapool, Scotland. Sailing south-west with 5.4 knots. Breeze from east, rainshowers. Far between AIS-stations in the Hebrides so notations may sometimes be few. 09.13 am: Out of island Skye.

2012-30/7  0.12 am: Sailing south, 7.4 knots. Weather (link)

2012-29/7  9.36 am: Departure from Stromness. Cape Wrath passed at 9.50 am

2012-28/7  Still in Stromness, but will sail again tomorrow. The trip from Norway to Scotland was calm & nice, kids had a good time with toys and books. Quite cold so nice to fire up the good old iron stove with the new-bought coke (three red sacks were brought onboard).

2012-27/7 2:53 pm: Will she anchor in Orkney? She did. Stromness.

2012-26/7 5:21 pm: Less then half-way left. Speed 5 knots, wind south 8 knots.

2012-25/7 10 pm: About half-way to Scotland from Norway. Speed 7 knots, wind from north, 5-6 m/sek

2012-23/7 Start in the evening from Lindesnes. Good weather,wind from west.

2012-21/7 Anchored up near Lindesnes, south Norway (arrived there yesterday). Gustaf is working with the wind turbine and other things which should be done before departure. Good to have a calm anchorage when working in the rig. Weather in south Norway is quite windy  at the moment.

2012-19/7 Departure about noon from home harbour, Långedrag in Gothenburg. First destination Scotland with a planned stop in southern Norway.