Alcyone
  • Home
  • Route
  • The Boat
  • Tracking
John

John

19 posts •
Homeward

Homeward

Yesterday the curfew was eased in the BVIs. We're now allowed out between 6am and 1pm, with only essential shops open. During the past week we managed to both make and receive an

  • John
    John
  • Elena
2 min read
BVI and Lockdown

BVI and Lockdown

After vowing to come back to Dominica we set off for Guadeloupe as the sun was rising over the mountains of Dominica. Our destination Deshaies, or better known to some as Honoré on

  • John
    John
  • Elena
5 min read
Dominica

Dominica

We were keen beans to leave Martinique waiting for the checkout computer to open in St Pierre at 7:45am. Despite some queue-jumpers getting in the way we were ghosting out of the

  • John
    John
  • Elena
6 min read
Martinique

Martinique

We arrived in Martinique with a list of jobs. First we needed to restock the boat with cheap tinned goods for our return crossing over the Atlantic. Tinned sausages and beans or cassoulet?

  • John
    John
  • Elena
4 min read
St Vincent and the Grenadines

St Vincent and the Grenadines

We left Petit Martinique and headed to Clifton on Union Island, with only a brief stop in Petit St Vincent to change courtesy flags. Clifton was very crowded with laid moorings and with

  • John
    John
  • Elena
7 min read
Grenada

Grenada

St. Davids turned out to be a great and terrible choice to make our landfall in. We tied-up at the dock and marvelled at how steady and still it was. After gathering our

  • John
    John
  • Elena
5 min read
Sao Nicolou, St Vincente and Santo Antao

Sao Nicolou, St Vincente and Santo Antao

8th - 28th December The night crossing to Sao Nicolao was unexpectedly fast - we arrived at 4am to a coast that was so dark there was no discernible difference between sea, land

  • John
    John
  • Elena
8 min read
Landfall in Cabo Verde: Ilhe do Sal and Boa Vista

Landfall in Cabo Verde: Ilhe do Sal and Boa Vista

We made landfall in Cabo Verde at Ihle do Sal in the North East of the island group, anchoring at the small town of Palmeira. Here we could check in, re-provision and top

  • Elena
  • John
    John
3 min read

Brief Interlude

We’re currently sitting in a bar stealing WiFi waiting for the siesta to end. Then we’ll collect our deposit, slip lines and head off from Mindelo over the Atlantic. We’ve

  • John
    John
1 min read
Madeira to Cape Verde

Madeira to Cape Verde

With an (ex) tropical storm set to swing past Madeira it was definitely time to leave. The swell had started to enter the marina and it was getting a bit lively. We spent

  • John
    John
  • Elena
5 min read
Madeira

Madeira

After an easy, if protracted, sail from Porto Santo we arrived at the eastern most harbour in Madeira, Quinta do Lorde. It seemed a far more manageable target than our other option Calhetta

  • John
    John
  • Elena
5 min read
The Sirens of Porto Santo

The Sirens of Porto Santo

After the somewhat traumatic trip from Portugal it was a relief to be tied up in the marina and surrounded by such a friendly and welcoming bunch of fellow sailors. We spent a

  • John
    John
3 min read
Nazaré to Porto Santo

Nazaré to Porto Santo

How we managed to get it so completely wrong is a question we're still pondering. The morning we left Nazaré the weather forecast we downloaded gave us maximum 15 knots all down wind

  • John
    John
2 min read
Nazaré

Nazaré

Nazaré turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise. Before we arrived the only thing it had going for it was it's day and a half sail from Porto and an "all weather"

  • John
    John
2 min read
Porto: Any port in a storm.

Porto: Any port in a storm.

We arrived off of Leixōes in the early evening, and tenderly picked our way towards where the harbour breakwater should be. Listening to a container ship leaving thankfully blowing their fog horn. Neither

  • John
    John
2 min read
Viana do Castelo

Viana do Castelo

Our first port of call in Portugal was Viana do Castelo, a lovely small city on a river overlooked by an impressive basilica and brimming with history and interesting architecture. We arrived late

  • John
    John
2 min read

¡Que Viva España!

A day into the middle of another force 6 with a decent sea running trying to hand steer down the waves in the pitch black. Wearing every item of warm clothing I have,

  • John
    John
5 min read

The Never Ending List

It’s been said that cruising is just doing boat work in exotic locations. Well, exotic would be nice. We left Norway with a list of jobs that needed doing. We then seemed

  • John
    John
1 min read

Stavanger To Hull in the Washing Machine

Leaving came as a bit of a shock. In the rush to prepare the boat, pack the house and pack the boat, actually setting off was in someway a surprise. All of a

  • John
    John
  • Elena
4 min read
Alcyone © 2025
Latest Posts