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Home
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and trip map.
Peter's Logs
Click here for Peter's complete logbook.
Photographs
Portland to the
Azores
In the Azores
Azores to Portugal
In Portugal, Part 1
In Portugal,
Part 2
In Spain, Part
1
In Spain, Part
2
In Morocco
The Madiera Leg
The Canaries
Leg
The Caribbean
Leg
The Boat
Chase is a Sparkman and Stephens designed Swan 40.
Click here for more information about the boat.
The Crew
The full time crew for this endeavor will be Peter Stoops
and Tom Nangle. Click here for information about the
people involved with the trip.
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PETER'S LOGBOOK
The logs are in chronological order. Scroll down for the
newest entries.
April 14, 2003: 43° 43.5’N,
070°13.1’W
"Getting closer… Chase has been in the water now for 3 weeks,
and she’s looking more like she’s blue water ready all the
time. Wind gen on, sat phone antenna on, sails and rigging all set. .
. " Click here for more of the April
14 log.
June 1, 2003: 43° 43.5’N,
070°13.1’W
"Hard to believe that the $1,000 worth of groceries that was piled
high in my living room yesterday is now stowed on board, with even a little
room to spare. . ." Click here for
more of the June 1 log.
June 4, 2003: 42° 09’N,
067° 32’W
"Wind was steady from the WSW last night at 20. No chance to ease
into the offshore thing - just got dunked right in! Leaks to plug, equipment
to repair, and getting used to the seas resulting from the wind. . ."
Click here for more of the June 4 log.
June 6, 2003: 39° 30’N,
062° 49’W
"Rainy, with winds of 20 - 30 knots through this morning; very lumpy
seas (10 - 15') in counter-current created by a warm eddy from the Gulf
Stream. . ." Click here for more of
the June 6 log.
June 10, 2003: 37° 30’N,
051° 06’W
"About 950 miles covered so far—only 100 miles to the halfway
point! Already talking about the Azores... shall we go to Flores or to
Horta, etc. . ." Click here for more
of the June 10 log.
June 13, 2003: 36° 49’N,
045° 01’W
"We're about to cross the 45th meridian, which means two important
things: a time change (one hour ahead), and a bottle of wine from Charlie
Woodworth, who has designated one for each 15 degrees we cross. . . "
Click here for more of the June 13 log.
June 14, 2003: 37° 24’N,
038° 23’W
"There's a funny sort of choreography that sets in as time goes on...
If the weather is good, and no one is sleeping, the four of us usually
congregate in the cockpit, books in hand. Or we converse, but if there's
no reading or talk, no one is afraid of what are really companionable
silences. . . " Click here for more
of the June 14 log.
June 16, 2003: 38° 24’N,
033° 40’W
"Saturday night's sail was a perfect example of what night sailing
should be: 15 knot beam reach, low seas, a full moon under clear skies,
and the boat surging along at 8 knots. And, everyone as dry as a bone.
. . " Click here for more of the June
16 log.
June 18, 2003: 37° 24’N,
038° 23’W
"Arrived in Horta almost exactly 2 weeks after leaving, at 1700 local
time, June 17. Very cloudy day, and we didn't see the island of Faial
until
we were about 10 miles off. . . " Click
here for more of the June 18 log.
June 23, 2003: Ashore in Horta,
Faial, the Azores
"The days are kept from blending into one another by the fact that
Horta closes down from Saturday through Sunday, meaning the weekend is
clearly delineated. It's now Monday morning, and many of the chores and
errands we were unable to complete by Saturday can be tended to today..
. " Click here for more of the June
23 log.
June 28, 2003: Ashore in Horta,
Faial, the Azores
"Katie arrived at 1630 on Wednesday (June 25), the trip from Ponta
Delgado on Sao Miguel (130 miles away) having taken longer than the trip
from Boston to Sao Miguel. . . " Click
here for more of the June 28 log.
July 01, 2003: Ashore in Faja
Grande, Flores, the Azores
"There is only one word for Flores: spectacular. It seems to be a
blend of Ireland, New Zealand, and Switzerland, with a touch of Cape Breton
Island thrown in for good measure. . . " Click
here for more of the July 01 log.
July 07, 2003: Ashore in Punta
Delgada, Sao Miguel, the Azores
"Made the overnight passage from Horta to Ponta Delgada (150 miles)
last night... beautiful sailing night! Close reach in 12 -14 knots of
wind, making 6 - 7 knots in virtually no sea, with clear skies. . . .
" Click here for more of the July 07
og.
July 14, 2003: Departing the
Azores, bound for Portugal
"Picture this: you're on a motor scooter about 20 feet behind one
of your best friends (in this case your oldest, too) doing what you've
done many times before—zooming around an island either before or
after yet another sailing trip. This time, it happens to be the Azores,
and we're sightseeing 3 days before our planned departure to Portugal.
But, unlike all the other times, the unthinkable finally happens . . .
" Click here for more of the July 14
log.
July 18, 2003: 38° 26’N,
015° 51’W
"There's a slight swell—no breaking seas—so as we move
forward, we roll a little from side to side. But boy, do we move forward!
We're heading just north of east, and the wind is from the west-southwest
at 18 knots, so we're sliding through the water at 7.5 knots, Chase's
bows coming down off the seas with a low noise that sounds like waves
hitting a beach far away. Click here for
more of the July 18 log.
July 23, 2003: Ashore in Cascais,
Portugal
"Made it! Lisbon. Well, actually, Cascais, a resort town at the mouth
of the Tejos River, about 15 miles south of Lisbon. Either way, it's Portugal,
meaing we got—finally—ALL the way across the Atlantic. . . "
Click here for more of the July 23 log.
July 28, 2003: Ashore in Sines,
Portugal
"Yesterday was a bad day. Actually, it started out OK, when we departed
Cascais at 1015. . . but, upon arrival [in Sines], we were
plagued by a problem that had cropped up just as we arrived in Cascais:
the transmission only engaged in forward when it seemed to feel like it. . . . "
Click here for more of the July 28 log.
August 7, 2003: Ashore in
Sines, Portugal
"Miscellaneous nights we find oursevles in the company of Ricardo,
who owns the Buccaneer Bar in the old section of town. The bar has seating
for about 20, and takes up maybe 150 square feet. We've made good friends
with Ricardo, who has named a drink—rum, pineapple juice, a little
water and some lime—after Chase. . . . "
Click here for more of the August 7 log.
August 19, 2003: Ashore in
Lagos, Portugal
"The saga of the transmission finally came to an end the night before
I was due to catch a bus/train/train/hotel/train/taxi/plane/plane from
Sines to Geneva. It was delivered with all proper parts, though Tom and
I realized quickly that there were some parts that needed to come off
of the old one—which was still in the hands of the original mechanic.. . "
Click here for more of the August 19 log.
August 25, 2003: Ashore in
Villamoura, Portugal
"What a relief and a welcome change to actually be back on the boat,
sailing!!! I calculated that it had been almost 4 weeks since we'd arrived
in Sines, since the transmission had gone kaput, and I'd been travelling.
Amazing to think that 1/6th of my entire sabbatical was taken up by things
on shore. . . " Click here
for more of the August 25 log.
September 10, 2003: Ashore
in Villa Real, Portugal
"Returned from a.... hell, what does one call it when one takes time
off from one's sabbatical? Well, regardless, Katie came over from home,
and
we spent 11 days travelling in Spain, mostly hiking.. . . "
Click here for more of the September 10
log.
Plus! A supplemental log entry from the
boat by Tom Nangle!
"Well, with Peter headed off to pick up Katy, the time had definitely
come to leave Vilamoura. After taking a day to provision and recover from
a slight 'intestinal disorder', I departed vilamoura on Friday, August
29. . . . " Click
here for more of Tom's log entry.
September 14, 2003: Guadiana
River, Separating Spain and Portugal
"Left Vila Real on Friday, September 12, to explore the Guadiana
River, which divides Portugal from Spain. The previous days at the marina
had been spent in two fruitless searches: one for the missing ground tackle
and the other for a knowledgeable Spanish or Portuguese authority who
could explain our European Community visa options. . . "
Click here for more of the September 14
log.
September 19, 2003: Ashore
in Chipiona, Spain
" Picked up John O'Meara in Seville, on Monday, September 15. Decided
to put off seeing Seville until the end of his visit, and we headed down
to pick up the boat and Tom in Ayamonte. . . " Click
here for more of the September 19 log.
September 25, 2003: Ashore
in Seville, Spain
" I'm brushing the cobwebs of sleep off myself (though it is 1030
in the morning), and then I'll be off to fetch one of the wireless network
cards the club offers to laptop owners so they can access the internet
without the inconvenience of those dreadful, public, internet cafes. Later,
I'm sure, Rioja vino, tapas and Flamenco will beckon. . . how
can you help but pity us? . . . " Click
here for more of the September 25 log.
October 5, 2003: Ashore in
Rota, Spain
"We had a great sail once we got into open water, with a 12 knot
beam reach moving Chase down the Spanish coast at 6.5 knots. Except for
a close encounter with an offshore shoal, it was an uneventful 18 mile
run to Rota, where Max and Lynnie had thoughtfully saved us dock space
right next to Juanona. . . " Click
here for more of the October 5 log.
October 9, 2003: Ashore in
Rota, Spain
"We dropped Seb off at the bus station on Thursday, October 9, but
not before we managed to scare up some fun in Rota and environs. Several
of our days were spent simply hanging out on the boat, reading and doing
boat chores, and then cooking up some great dinners (with us taking unabashed
advantage of Seb's expertise as a cook) with Max, Lynnie, and other nearby
boat friends. . . " Click
here for more of the October 9 log.
October 15, 2003: Morocco
supplemental log
"How to describe Morocco. . .?! It's a truly amazing place
when you compare it to what we are used to. . . "
Click here for more of the October 15 log.
October 22, 2003: 36°
26’ N, 011° 00' W
"Back at sea again! Can't believe how good it feels. . .
guess after all of that cruising along the coast, this feels like we've
been set free again to travel anywhere we want. As if to prove the point,
we were joined on our first morning by a set up dolphins who cavorted
off our bow for an hour, as if to welcome us back. . . "
Click here for more of the October 22 log.
October 28, 2003: 32°
44 ’ N, 016° 42' W
"We're just leaving Madeira, and have set a course for Tenerife,
in the Canaries. We've spent the last 4 days in the Madeira Island group,
which have been great fun. . . " Click
here for more of the October 28 log.
November 2, 2003: 28°
28’ N, 016° 15' W
"Tom, Lincoln, and I arrived in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, on Thursday
morning, October 30, thus completing the second of three legs in getting
back to the Caribbean. We left Madeira and the Ilhas Desertas at 1200
on the previous Tuesday, expecting that the 250 mile trip would take 48
hours—especially given the slow wind conditions we were experiencing before
we left. . . " Click
here for more of the November 2 log.
November 12, 2003: 28°
28’ N, 016° 15' W
"Boat work, though, did take a back seat upon Katie's arrival. We
spent the majority of our time touring the islands of Tenerife and La
Gomera, hiking, and visiting with Max and Lynnie—who arrived in
Santa Cruz late, due to weather delays and to having lost one of their
propeller blades. . . " Click
here for more of the November 12 log.
November 18, 2003: 23°
00 ’ N, 022° 33' W
". . . [A]s when we left Rota, it felt great to be
moving, and back at sea again. In fact, this crossing is really the Big
One. . . all the other sailing seems to have been in anticipation
of this long, and very traditional route. . . . "
Click here for more of the November 18 log.
November 21, 2003: 20°
50 ’ N, 026° 35' W
"We've been sitting here now, in the middle of the Atlantic—known
for it's winds and it's fury—with almost no wind for the last 4
days. It's as if the ocean is saying: "I'm not getting my usual kicks
from sinking ships and terrorizing people, so I think I'll frustrate them
by doing nothing". Or, not really "nothing", but rather
something a little more diabolical. . . " Click
here for more of the November 21 log.
November 26, 2003: 19°
26’ N, 037° 00' W
"Halfway there! We reached the 1380 mile mark this morning, Wednesday,
November 26! That's the geographical mid-point... hopefully, though, the
second half will be a faster one to travel over than the first! . . . "
Click here for more of the November 26 log.
November 30, 2003: 17°
26’ N, 045° 00' W
"The weather continues to be an enigma. . . last night
the forecast called for winds to be light (10 knots or less) southeasterlies
starting last night, and going into Tuesday. . . . Instead,
though, we currently have good southwesterlies (?!), blowing at 12 to
18 knots. . . " Click here
for more of the November 30 log.
December 4, 2003: 17°
22’ N, 051° 58' W
"Of the last four days since my last log, three and one-half have
been essentially windless. The forecasts have called for 10 knot winds,
but even those seldom appear. When they do, we hoist the sail, move the
boat speed up to 4.5 or so, and then watch as it gradually diminishes
over the next few hours, forcing us to start the engine again, just to
keep up some semblance of making speed (4.4 knots or so) and distance. . .
" Click here for more of the December
4 log.
December 8, 2003: 17°
09 ’ N, 068° 30' W
"Wheeeeeeeeee! Apparently my whining about the lack of wind has paid
off: we re-established contact with the trades early on Thursday, December
5th, and have been ripping along ever since. . . " Click
here for more of the December 8 log.
December 12, 2003: 17°
05’ N, 061° 46' W
"It's hard at this point to be wrapping up the last few days of My
Big Trip (the potential delivery home in May notwithstanding), particularly
in terms of what to say about it in a final log. While trying not to be
overly-sentimental about it, I can say that it was a marvelous experience,
that I enjoyed all of it, and that I'd do it again in heartbeat. . .
" Click here for more of the December
12 log.
December 22, 2003: 43.5°
N, 070.0° W
"I'm not sure if it's proper to be writing a log this far from the
boat, or even if anyone will read it, since so many people have welcomed
me home, and then folded me mentally back in to the normal routine of
day-to-day life. Nonetheless, it seems that coming home may be as important
a part as a the voyage, so I wanted to jot a few notes about it."
Click here for more of the December 22 log.
April 29, 2004: 30° 31’
N, 064° 23' W
Tom Nangle writes: "I had been anticipating my return to Chase for
some time, so was quite pleased when she was the first boat I spied as
I walked into the marina, bag in hand. After being away from this “home”
of eight months, it was a welcome sight to open up the companionway slide
and see everything just as I had left it three months earlier. . ."
Click here for more of the Tom's log.
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