fish

we finally managed to catch a sizable fish enroute from Madiera [ in fact this was the second one as we lost the first] Both were dolphin fish [must be the head shape that gives them their name]. The fish is laid on top of our dustbin lid so you get some idea of the size. The colours in real life were much more vivid, it was really stunning and tasted delicious!!!

2011 pics

Pax pics: ducklings up the river

Pax update

Hi Everyone,

 

Very merry Christmas and all the best for 2012!!!

 

Pax, Paul and I are happily settled in Almerimar once again, we will be staying here until mid May 2012, then plan to head back to the Rio Guadiana between Spain and Portugal, via Morocco, Gib, etc..

 

We decided to come back here largely for the weather and some social life, so far so good!   Mainly sunny, in fact still in shorts and tshirt in the daytime [well at least H is], s o should be good for varnishing, etc., which will start in earnest after Christmas. Bit chilly at night but plenty of heating on, so no prob with that. Social life is quiet currently but picking up by the day: off to a jam session tonight in one bar , then carol singing tomorrow, Christmas Day pub crawl and games day on the 26th. Paul is currently rigging the sailing dinghy so that we can sail around the marina on Christmas Day!

 

We actually left Tenerife at the end of August accompanied by Pete, having visited and loved La Gomera [ well worth a look around if you have the chance]. Stopped off in Lanzerote a while and then went to Madiera, again well worth a visit, the people are very friendly and helpful.  Set off with Sue, John and Neil onboard and called in to Porto Santo. Unfortunately the winds wouldn't let us head straight for Portugal, so we went via Morocco and Spain back to the Rio Guadiana. ALL good fun.

 

Thoroughly enjoyed coming back here via  Gib  and Estepona, caught up with lots of old friends.

 

Plans for 2012 will depend on a few things but we aim to make a sailing trip out of our journey to Portugal in the latter part of May,so will certainly need crew for that. 

 

Hope everybody has a splendid time over the next week or two , we will be on Skype as much as possible so would love to hear from anyone!!!

 

Cheers love H&Pxx

Pax news

Latest news from Pax Nostrum.   We have been in Tenerife for 2weeks in a marina in the south, but heading off to La Gomera tomorrow for a few days then on to La Palma for a short visit. Paul2 has joined us and is staying all the way to Portugal.    We plan to sail from La Palma to the Azores and explore as many of the islands as poss, so will aim to leave Ponta Delgarda [San Miguel island- the most northeasterly ]by 20th Sept heading for S Portugal and will be near Faro by 27th Sept.    Would welcome more crew whenever   Cheers H&P

Pax uses Charlie's Bar!!!

Finally got round to using Charlie's Bar -the oak was utilised to raise the middle hatch and put in the 6 portholes from Samarang -looks great!!!!

Dinghy and raised hatch

Pax 2011

Hi everyone We are still in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, currently working hard to get Pax ready to leave. Over the winter we have [well mainly Paul] completely rebuilt the fibreglass dinghy we rescued in Gib last year. It had belonged to Peter {Bacchante] but had suffered badly and been squashed and cracked. However it is now in pristine condition and we have enjoyed sailing it around here.Other work has included constant maintenance as ever! Our latest project has been raising the central hatch and putting in 6 portholes, which has allowed a lot more light into the hold, is just about completed. We will be fixing the dinghy we rebuilt over the winter on top of this , for further voyaging. Next we are packing everything down ready to head for Tenerife hopefully next week,probably initially into Santa Cruz. If we can stay in the marina we'll explore the island on the bikes. All being well our plan is to leave the Canaries in early August and sail up to the Azores; aiming for Horta, which will take around a week to 10days. Once there we hope to explore some of the islands, apparently they are very beautiful, have hot springs and whales can be sighted around them. Will aim to leave from San Miguel [the most north-easterly island ] sailing to S Portugal in mid/later Sept, again about a week. The winds etc., are pretty much set for the last leg, so timing most accurate there. Basically to do the whole trip could be approx 6weeks ,so you are welcome to join us for the whole thing or if only 2 weeks available may be best to look at San Miguel to Portugal,as flights from Azores in august big, but to Ponta Delgada [San Miguel island] from Uk are around £180 in Sept. The islands are quite a long way out but worth a visit we believe, not least for whale watching.Then flights back from Faro are good. Alternatively Tenerife to Horta may be poss inside 2weeks but again flights from Horta a bit pricey, altho from UK to Tenerife very good. We hope to have a few folk along and enjoy everything about the whole voyage, so join us in your droves!!! Will send this to our webpage and try to put some recent pics on there too.[wwwpaxnostrum.org] Cheers, looking forward to hearing from you all, love H&P

Pax music

This is the Messolonghi Marina Bar and Barbecue Band [MMB'BB], the group who
played and sang together last winter, this is actually the pic on the cd we
made!

Paul[Wils] and Hils visit the Kasbah

" If it moves you run left and I'll head right"

Second pic

Latest pics

1.Paul [ Wils ]fixing the steaming light , think he was saying " Does my
bum look big in this?

2. Hils up the Rio Vasquez with Dave and Sarah from Cape,saying " You're
dead right I'm not diving in that chilly water like those 2 lunatics!"

Pax Latest

Hola All,

Happy and healthy wishes for 2011!!!

We are currently in Las Palmas marina, Gran Canaria.

Our trip down from Alcoutim was great.After Paul [Wils] and Rene joined us
in Alcoutim we headed off down the Guadiana on11th December, hoping to make
it straight to Lanzarote. After stocking up in VRSA at the third attempt we
got over the sandbar at the mouth of the river, due to big southerly swells,
and headed south under engine. After a few hours the wind was increasing
from the east so we set all the sails and enjoyed some great sailing down
to Agadir in Morocco. It took us 4days and 3nights, we reached good speeds
and had over 20 bottle-nosed dolphins accompanying us part of the way.
Agadir marina proved very uncomfortable and swelly when the winds turned
southerly, we snapped 3 lines in one night, fortunately we had rigged around
15 so no damage done. The staff were very friendly and tried to please but
wi-fi capability was frustrating and the amount of bureaucracy made for a
wearing stay. We were stuck there for 9days but did get to see a bit more of
Morocco albeit the touristy part.
Finally we managed to escape there on 24th Dec, after 4 hours of waiting for
official stamps and visits and enjoyed some more excellent sailing to
Lanzarote. Christmas day was particularly memorable as we buzzed along with
Christmas songs blasting out of the ondeck speakers!! Our max speed over the
ground was 8.5 knots, and we managed turkey breast and fried new potato
sandwiches for lunch.
Arriving near Arrecife we looked at anchoring for the night in Naos, but
there wasn't much there and it was Wils birthday, so after fixing a new
piece if leather to the end of the main boom we headed south to Rubicon and
spent a night in the marina on Boxing Day before motoring over to Gran
Canaria.
Our plan is to settle here for a while, although it will be mostly at anchor
as prices are quite high, but we will be just north of the marina and able
to enjoy their facilities. Cape have already gone out ther this am [new
Year's Day]but think we will join them tomorrow. Haven't got around to too
much exploring yet but have found a good ferreteria and know where the
nearest Lidl is!!!
Hope everybody has a brilliant 2011,with lots of good news and good health.
Cheers, all the best Hilary, Paul, Pax and crew.