It was fascinating to discover how all the spices we used daily, Vickie is an accomplished chef and exotic food is often on the menu, is grown and processed.  Much to Lauren’s fascination we also saw natural lipstick and soap berries.  Maurice had been in the Colonial Police Force in the then Tanganyika, and his insights into former colonial life and the dramatic changes within the country added greatly to our enjoyment.

Across the border to Mozambique, one of Vickie’s favorite countries, and continuing southward.  Mozambique had been war torn for over 20 years which was readily visible when visiting its former great vacation centers, now mainly in ruins with only traces of their former glory. The coast, off lying islands and beautiful beaches, coupled with the friendliest, and most organized, of the African people’s we met (you can hitch a ride anywhere, and we frequently did with the whole family piling in the back of an old pick up) added to the charm of this wonderful country, were the locals are striving hard to rebuild there former lives and return Mozambique to the holiday playground of Africa. Time to change crew again. This time anchored in the stunning Bazaruto Archipelago and onwards to South Africa leaving Mozambique, with our many happy memories, behind.  Carlos, a young Argentinean and Sue from England had joined us and first stop Richards Bay. Here 2 months of exploring, relaxing and making friends, with a little essential maintenance thrown in for good measure.

It never ceases to amaze me how many other like minded soles are around, either joining us for legs of our cruise or doing it themselves aboard all manor of craft, but these meetings invariably result in many happy hours sharing tales of previous or forthcoming adventures.  I’m sure we meet more of the great ‘Escape Artists’ afloat than anywhere else!

South Africa, with its abundance of natural resources, wonderful wildlife and scenery, made for a great cruising ground and a continuous stream of people joined us for one leg or another all the way to Cape Town.  We rounded the Cape of Good Hope with a party of 4 English lads, whales, dolphins, seals and penguins and one of the most spectacular phosphorescent displays I’ve ever scene, water pyrotechniques at its best!  Cape Town and Hout Bay in particular was among our favorite destinations.  A very beautiful city, surrounded by hills, mountains and National Parks.  Lots of exploring, and even better, lots and lots of crayfish courtesy of  our 9 year old son and couple of lobster pots!  In Hout Bay we became involved in the booming film industry, as ‘Onfe’ is an extremely pretty yacht, and was soon spotted and commandeered by the local film scout responsible for finding suitable boats for the industry.  Yet another diverse and extremely interesting diversion for us before moving onwards to escape the approaching southern winter.

Sailing North from Cape Town, we cruised the barren coast of Namibia as far as Walvis Bay.  This mainly desert country, one of the worlds great diamond areas had beaches where gems (unfortunately no diamonds) were there for the collecting and the strange floating vacuum cleaners used to recover the diamonds from the sea bed plied the inshore waters. We have since met more than one cruiser who has funded there trip with Namibian diamonds.  Now came our next major ocean crossing.  With the notorious Indian Ocean under our belt and ‘Onfe’ having already proved herself as a most capable, safe and comfortable ocean cruiser, we were looking forward to the South Atlantic crossing to Brazil.

We set off from Walvis Bay, with 2 South Africans, keen to learn as much as I could teach them about sailing and crossing oceans.  The sailing was superb, with gentle trade winds interspersed with lively squalls to keep us on our toes, and plenty of opportunity for the crew to practice there new found skills, from sail changes to weather forecasting. 9 days out we sighted the forbidding rocky cliffs of St Helena, a British owned island in the middle of the South Atlantic. Famous as the last home and resting place of the exiled Napoleon.  To our delight the island turned out to be an absolutely beautiful respite. Wonderful walks through verdant countryside, locals with great tales to tell and no tourists as St Helena has no airfield and is serviced only by a supply ship every 2 weeks.  Napoleon’s house was fascinating, accentuated by the most enthusiastic French guide who kept us all spell bound for 2 hours with his anecdotes of life in the house whilst Napoleon lived there.  Its only fair to say at this stage, that each of our destinations definitely deserves its own article at least.

Our longest open ocean leg followed our departure from St Helena, 15 days to Salvador, Brazil and our first foray into Latin America.  What a country of colour, friendliness and festivals!  The Brazilians always have an excuse to party and Salvadorians were no exception.  We spent a remarkable 4 months cruising this diverse area, exploring everything from the cities, small remote islands and villages to the varied river anchorages and market towns still served by heavily laden donkey’s.  We were inundated with people wanting to join us and those that did, like us, were totally fascinated while getting a real feel for the Brazilian culture and lifestyle.  We left the Salvador area with numerous happy memories and 3 Israeli girls and headed north to explore Brazils North Eastern coast.  In Natal we climbed and played on the giant sand dunes and found a great new use for the body boards with the steep sandy slopes. While in Forteleza we were anchored off Brazils largest open air rock concert which soon became a case of ‘If you can’t beat them, join them’ so we spent 3 nights entertained by Brazil's best Rock, Jazz and Folk stars, little sleep but a great time!

Leaving Brazil, tired but happy with 2 Swedish girls aboard we headed North for the Caribbean, the famous sailors playground.  Stopping on route in French Guyana at Isle Du Salut, readers of Papillion will be familiar with the notorious French prison of ‘Devils Island’.  In fact all 3 islands in the group possessed prisons and wandering among the half overgrown ruins was both sinister and captivating.  Having prisons on such beautiful islands was in stark contrast to the surroundings.  For us the break in our northward journey was similar to St Helena, a very pleasant surprise, as we enjoyed walks amongst the lush tropical vegetation, exploring the ruins and generally relaxing in the beautiful surroundings.

Our arrival in Tobago late October 2003 heralded the beginning of the next stage of our ocean wanderings, Venezuela and the Caribbean.  The strong West Indian flavour was savoured by us all and many happy hours were spent exploring Trinidad and Tobago with there heavily forested hills, quaint towns and villages and golden beaches.  With the lead up to carnival just beginning we were treated to plenty of calypso and steel pan band music and even previews of this years costumes, magnificent to say the least.

The trip to Venezuela gave us a taste of another Latin American society, with its desperate economic climate working heavily in our favour we stocked up with everything we could carry on board and ‘Onfe’ sank another couple of inches in the water with all the weight.  The stark contrast to the heavy foliage, of Brazil, The Guyana’s and Trinidad, proved an invigorating change.  Little rain and low humidity, typical desert foliage with an abudance of cacti, clear waters and no shortage of giant Iguana’s and small tree Boa’s made our forays to the hill tops for those breathtaking panoramic views delightful.  Although we didn’t venture too far into Venezuela, we have to keep something for the next trip! We thoroughly enjoyed the cruising we did there and the people we met. 

We have spent the last few months slowly working our way through the chain of Caribbean islands which surprisingly are very diverse both in topography, sophistication and culture, leading us to always wait in happy anticipation for the next.  Over the past 2 years we have shared our adventure with so many different people of all ages and nationalities, both children and adults, and thoroughly enjoyed, as they have, the whole experience, and are looking forward to what lies ahead and all the people who will join us for the future legs of our journey.  More of the Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Cuba then Florida.  Across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean stopping at Bermuda and the acclaimed cruising of the Azores. The summer to be spent in my old stamping ground, the Med. and all the changes that have undoubtedly occurred there.

We have been asked so many times ‘What are the highlights of your trip?’ to which there is no defined answer, virtually every day leads to new adventures and experiences. But comments from our various crews have given me a new insight into what I have taken for granted for so many years.  The simple pleasures of sailing at night with a canopy of bright stars, Dolphins playing in the bow wave, leaving magical phosphorescent trails at night, steering 30 tons of yacht in a brisk 20 knot breeze, the feeling of being at one with the elements and harnessing their power to drive you onwards, swimming mid ocean in the richest blue water over 5000 metres deep,  catching the large ocean fish and eating them fresh and the excitement of arriving at the next new place.

One of my personal delights is having been able to share, with others, the joys of sailing, often made prohibitive by the usual high cost, by offering on board vacations or adventure sailing legs to those keen to join us at a  much lower cost.  I know we have converted many ‘Land Lubbers’ to bona fide ‘Yachties’, so If you are interested in following our adventures or joining us aboard, take a look at our web site http://groups.msn.com/bluewatersailing we would love to hear from you.

John ? Vickie Billingham,  Antigua,  March 2004

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