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Bridget hoisting the
Mainsail
Click photo for detail
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Peer Gynt II
Under trade wind rig
Click photo for detail |
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Onpassage.com
Why Onpassage.com?
During our cruising we found that we
spent a lot of time in internet cafes trying to find information, obtain
weather forecasts, order equipment and of course sending and receiving
emails. We were invariably joined by many other cruisers doing the same.
It was always frustrating and slow work because the sources of good
information took hours to find on the internet. Often the internet cafes
were either slow or expensive or worse, both.
Thus came the idea of creating a
website specifically to solve this problem for cruisers. The idea being
that all the research is done and all the best internet links are found
and put together in one place. This information must then be presented
in an easy to use format and kept up to date. It is also very important
that we provide information and assistance on our site to help wherever
possible. The site must be a true one-stop site for the cruising
community.
I hope that Onpassage.com not only
fulfils my expectations, but more importantly also fulfils yours.
Good cruising. Rod Hall
Page down to see more........
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Rod Hall and Bridget Carter
Bridget and I completed a
circumnavigation which had started out as a planned 3 year
around the world trip. However we actually spent 10 years
cruising as this allowed us to
extend our cruising and to explore countries in more detail. Bridget and I gave up our careers
to do our circumnavigation and have never looked back. Our
lives have been powerfully enriched by our experiences of
exotic countries, different cultures and of course wonderful
sailing and idyllic anchorages. |
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Rod Hall
I had long yearned to sail around
the world, inspired by the adventures and achievements of people
like Claude Worth, Joshua Slocum, Eric Hiscock, David
Lewis, Bernard Moitessier and many others. My main inspiration
came from Robin Knox-Johnston, whom I met at the London boat
show when I was 14, after his epic non-stop single handed
circumnavigation.
I have been sailing cruising
yachts for over 25 years, during this time I have owned and
sailed many different yachts and have sailed to more than 50 countries. I am a qualified Ocean
Yachtmaster, having obtained the British Royal Yachting
Association certification in 1993
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Bridget Carter
I was as very much into trekking
and mountains until I met Rod who introduced me to sailing.
I decided straight away that I wanted to be an equal partner
with a full share of the responsibilities on board. I have now
been cruising for 14 years and have completed a
circumnavigation. I have become a confident sailor capable of
handling a yacht offshore and I have gained qualifications and
experience in skippering, navigation and yacht management.
I trained in sail lofts to learn
sail repair so that we could be self sufficient in sail
maintenance. I then used this experience to successfully build
and run a sail repair business from on board Peer Gynt II.
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Mijbil
The boat in which we left the UK was an Alan Buchanan
designed Saxon class
called Mijbil, a 35 foot traditional wooden boat built in 1961.
She was a lovely sailing boat
that was designed as a fast cruiser, but not really an ocean
cruiser. She sailed very well and often out sailed cruising
boats much bigger than her over both long and short distances.
Before leaving on our "big" trip, we sailed Mijbil regularly
in the English Channel, France and across to Ireland. Mijbil
excelled herself when we sailed her from the UK to New Zealand.
There are three memorable storms that she took us through, her behaviour in bad weather
always impressed us, and her general high passage speed
was always pleasing.
It was in New Zealand that we
decided to change boats, we sold Mijbil and bought Peer Gynt
II. |
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Peer Gynt II
Peer Gynt II is a serious no
nonsense blue water cruiser. She is 44 feet long and was
launched with a displacement of 16 tons. We estimated that in
full cruising trim she was displacing 20 tons. The size of the
boat concerned us at first, was she going to be too big for the
two of us. The issue with short handed sailing is that on ocean
passages the one person on watch needs to feel comfortable
handling the boat themselves, only needing to call "all hands"
for the reefing of the mainsail. However we soon discovered that
she was easier to sail on long passages than Mijbil. The main
reasons being that she was a more stable platform in rough
weather, and being on deck for reefing was less hazardous. She
behaved very well in rough conditions and would sail through a
steady 40-50 knots quite happily. The extra space, queen size
double bed and hot showers were also greatly appreciated!
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Our Circumnavigation - The
route
Atlantic route - (Yacht Mijbil)
UK (Langstone Marina Portsmouth) - Spain - Portugal - Madeira -
Canary Islands - Cape Verde Islands - Antigua - Barbuda - Guadeloupe -
Dominica - Martinique - St. Vincent - The Grenadines - Grenada - Trinidad - Venezuela
(Margarita, Tortuga, Los Roques) - Curacao - Colombia - San Blas Islands - Panama
Canal.
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Pacific route
- (Yacht Mijbil)
Galapagos - Marquesas - Tuamotus - French Polynesia
(Tahiti, Moorea, Raiiatea/Tahaa, Bora-Bora), Niue - Tonga - Fiji - New
Zealand.
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New Zealand to
Australia - (Yacht Peer Gynt
II)
New Zealand - Vanuatu - New Caledonia - Australia
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Indian
Ocean route - (Yacht Peer Gynt II)
Ashmore Reef, Christmas Island - Cocos
Keeling Islands - Chagos Archipelago - Maldives Islands
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Gulf of Aden - Red Sea
route -
(Yacht Peer Gynt II)
Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt,
Suez canal
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Mediterranean and home -
(Yacht Peer Gynt II)
Crete, Greece, Sicily, Sardinia,
Balearic Islands, Spain, Gibraltar, Portugal, Spain, Bay of Biscay to France, UK
(Bucklers Hard, Beaulieu).
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Peer Gynt II
Click photo for detail
Rod & Bridget Cocos Keeling
Click photo for detail
Rod in Suakin
Click photo for detail
Yacht "Mijbil"
Click photo for detail |
