Noonsite June Sailing News and Updates |
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CRUISING WITH PETS SPECIAL |
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On June 21st the sun reached its northern-most position relative to the earth and the longest day of the year (or the shortest night) was celebrated in the northern hemisphere. Many cultures mark the summer solstice in different ways, but numerous yachties celebrate the Summer Sailstice. This informal event was founded by Latitude 38 publisher John Arndt and is now celebrated internationally with prizes for photos of the biggest raft up, the best video and the best photos. See https://summersailstice.com/ for this year’s news and stories.
Now summer has officially started, we get to be outside more with our pets and some owners even go so far as to take their pets cruising. This can be extremely rewarding with a little bit of forward planning. Logistically it’s more paperwork if cruising with your pet to foreign countries, plus the kit required and accommodation on board, however, many yacht owners enjoy the companionship of having their pet with them on their seafaring adventures.
This month we celebrate the animals we encounter when cruising and give some Insights on how to successfully achieve sailing with your pet.
Keep cool,
Sue and the Noonsite Team
Editor@noonsite.com
Previous newsletters can be viewed here.
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Ocean Cruising Club members have for some time been observing and commenting on social media about the climate changes that are affecting their decisions about passage making, storm avoidance and seasonal boat storage. In a proactive move to assist the cruising community, the OCC have contacted prominent meteorologists and weather routers and asked for their input on what they are seeing as they track traditional cruising routes. The result is a series of guides to assist all cruising sailors which include considerations for shortened passage-making seasons, tolerable temperature ranges, expected changes in atmospheric and ocean currents, storm-free zones, weather extremes and much more.
Caribbean Compass report on Turtles in Trouble in Bonaire, due to the die-off of the sharpnose pufferfish [page 16]. Juvenile green turtles are ingesting the weak and dead pufferfish floating at the surface and suffering neurological damage. Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire has been working hard at rescuing and rehabilitating the turtles, and they ask all divers and snorkelers to please call the hotline [+599 780 0433] if they see a turtle in trouble. Please do not touch the turtle - the conservation group will come to collect it.
Encountering marine wildlife is one of the reasons why many of us enjoy time on the water, but how can you help if you come across an animal in distress? NOAA, Sailors for the Sea and Onboard Online have useful guidelines as to what to do, but their overall message is don’t engage with the animal and contact trained responders in the area to come and help. In the vast majority of cases, human interference of animals in need, however well-meaning, can make matters worse for the animal and as hard as it is, sometimes even the professionals have to make difficult judgements and decisions that are in the best interests of the animal. Most countries have rescue organisations for marine mammals. Whales Tales have a useful list of those that they know about in the USA, Canada, Australia and NZ.
Richard Chesher, marine scientist and author of the Rocket Guides for New Caledonia and Vanuatu, wrote a Cruising Kindly article for Noonsite on how to better care for coral, birds, reef creatures and the marine environment. A useful reminder for all of us.
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We are excited to announce a new special offer program now live on Noonsite granting members special discounts and other valuable offers from selected vendors. To access special offers, you must be a Basic or Premium member (sorry, free memberships do not qualify). While viewing any port or country page, you will see a green "View special offers for..." option. Clicking on that will open a panel where the offers are displayed. You can download the offer as a PDF to claim it.
If you are a marine business, or offer maritime services, you can join the special offer program and reach thousands of sailors in your area. The program may already be included if you are a current advertiser. Please email us at promotion@noonsite.com to find out more.
Within Noonsite's Cruising Resources is a useful page on Sailing with your Pet. Delve into the sub categories where you’ll find many links to associated articles and websites, reports from Noonsite users about cruising with their pets around the world as well as recommended reading. This is a relatively new page for Noonsite, so send us links that you have found helpful and reports on your own experiences with your pet on board, to editor@noonsite.com
A great way to learn about destinations and living on board is through cruisers blogs, YouTube channels and other social media sites. Noonsite has a wealth of interesting cruising blogs listed on our Cruisers Websites page. Some have stopped cruising, but their site still holds a lot of very useful information, however, the majority are still underway. As well as circumnavigators we link to cruisers in every area of the world. Also don’t miss our Portrait of a Cruiser series, where we profile regular contributors to the site who tell us why they started cruising, more about their boat, crew, route, thoughts on cruising and much more.
Remember, on the new look Noonsite you must “click” to find the information you want – either the hamburger menu, icons or the related businesses. When you are searching a port and looking for sailmakers, for example, click on related businesses to find the sail loft listings – they no longer automatically appear. Pages are kept short to make them quick to load and the site more efficient to use, so you only see what you want to see.
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If you are considering visiting far-flung places with your pet on board, this report by Katie Monahan will give some insight into the rules and procedures in the Pacific Islands. While extensively cruising with her dog Logan, Katie discovered that pet protocols were not as problematic as it appeared at the start, however, some countries were easier to get into than others and costs in some cases were substantial. Katie has put together a very useful website which includes all the necessary forms and hoops to jump through—as well as some tips and tricks for new boat dog owners.
Talking with other cruisers sailing in the same area as you, or undertaking the same passage, has become so much easier with the rise in cruiser Facebook groups. Usefully, the OCC maintains several Facebook groups, some of which are open to non-members. All are welcome to join the following:
Also don’t miss Noonsite’s round-up of cruiser Facebook groups in the useful resources section on the Cruising Networks page.
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Jimmy Green Worldwide Delivery |
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Kathy and Scott Erwin have been full-time liveaboards since 2021 and are circumnavigating from California on their yacht “Sea Bella”. Their four top tips for those planning a similar adventure are:
- Buy the right boat for your cruising plans and intentions.
- Plan a year or two of coastal cruising to begin with (a few overnights on the boat is a must).
- Of the numerous research you do, include connecting with other cruisers ahead of you. Read their blogs, message them with questions, follow their routes, issues and wonders.
- Learn various skills; sewing, line splicing, scuba, mechanics, electrical systems, solar cooking and others like music, arts, foreign languages etc.
Tim Goodyear and Jules Buckley of SY Mojito prove that you can not only cruise successfully with a dog, but also teach an old one new tricks. They spent 18 months visiting 13 countries with their 12-year-old Labrador-mix Chloe (see picture below), from the USA, through the Caribbean to Mexico. Chloe took part in our Portrait of a Cruiser series and submitted some very amusing, yet informative, answers. A must-read if you are, or are planning on, cruising with a dog.
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Pacific:
SV Animal Cracker recently completed their Pacific crossing to French Polynesia and successfully imported their two dogs. They were told by the local vet in Tahiti that they executed the pet import procedure perfectly, as a result their dogs were imported without delay. Read their detailed blog about their experience.
For yachts that have just arrived in French Polynesia and are planning on further cruising westwards, don’t miss the Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendez-vous in July. This annual 3-day event includes canoe races, dance shows, a traditional Polynesian feast, briefings on cruising westwards from sailing experts and much more.
SV Carina report that while Moorea is listed as a port of entry/exit on official websites, and Customs in Papeete will direct you to the Gendarmerie in Afareaitu on the SE side of Moorea, in actual fact there is no Gendarmerie there. Persisting in Cooks Bay on Moorea, they were told by the Gendarmerie there that officials were not equipped to undertake clearance procedures and were sent to Tahiti. Therefore, for the time being it looks like Moorea is not a straightforward place to carry out clearance. We are endeavouring to clarify the current situation with DPAM.
US sailor Richard Delfosse has shared a YouTube video of his voyage from Mexico to the Galapagos Islands and on through the South Pacific to Fiji (June 2022 – January 2023), where he hauled the boat for Typhoon Season.
There has been plenty of feedback this month from the Cook Islands, now domestic borders have opened up. Suwarrow National Park in the Northern Cooks re-opened to visiting yachts after being closed for several years on June 1st. Pre-application to visit Suwarrow must be made in advance - see Suwarrow clearance for details.
Palmerston Island in the Southern Cook Islands is a popular stopover for yachts due to its remote location, history of welcoming seafarers for many years and unique “adopting” of visiting yachts by local families for a full immersion in traditional life on the atoll. The island will, however, be off-limits for yachts in August this year, because of a rat eradication project.
After leaving French Polynesia, Noonsite regulars Brent Crack and Mary Bevan, had a torrid sail to the southern Cook Islands where they had a brief stopover in Rarotonga, before heading to New Zealand. While the welcome they received from the locals rivalled that of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), they felt the weak yachting infrastructure, officiousness and government fees, meant they wouldn’t return again with their boat.
Stefan and Ute Hirsch and their four children were cruising in Tonga late 2022 just after it reopened from Covid closures. Aboard their 45 foot Leopard catamaran Rainbow Safari, they found many places still reeling from the effects of the Tsunami, which followed the Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption in January 2022.
The Solomon Islands lifted all COVID-19 entry requirements at the end of May. See differing opinions of cruising these islands in Solomon Islands comments (click on the speech bubble in the blue bar).
After so many struggles post-Covid, Niue have finally received funding from NZAid to improve the booking and clearance process for visiting yachts and launched their online pre-arrival notification system this month. Yachts can now send all paperwork for clearance in advance and book a mooring prior to arrival. World ARC visited Niue at the start of June - the swell being considerable making getting ashore a challenge. Fortunately, this tiny Pacific nation are well prepared with a crane to get dinghies swiftly ashore and out of the ocean’s way – although wet feet are inevitable.
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South China Sea:
Yachts cruising SE Asia are talking about the “Grab App” – which makes life on shore so much simpler. It can be used for hailing a taxi, ordering take away food and grocery deliveries in all SE Asia countries. https://www.grab.com/my/
Cruisers entering Indonesia recently report that the advance vessel declaration system is not 100% reliable and not all officials are familiar with how to find the information online. See Indonesia Clearance for the latest guidance.
The Notice of Arrival required for entering the Philippines is not enforced in all ports. However, a yacht that cleared in to San Fernando, on Luzon, coming from Japan, was fined PHP 6'000 for not having followed the correct procedure, that is to notify the authorities of the vessel’s arrival at least 48h in advance using the prescribed official forms. If in doubt, follow the official procedure.
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Indian:
The Ocean Sailing Association of Southern Africa (OSASA) produce an excellent monthly newsletter with all news from South Africa and surrounding countries. If you are headed that way, be sure to sign up and get the latest news. https://www.osasa.org.za/
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Red Sea:
While mainland Yemen should be avoided, the small archipelago of Socotra belonging to Yemen, located between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, is a useful place to stop and re-provision on the way to the Red Sea. Feedback this month from local contacts on Socotra report that approximately 20-30 yachts stop there every year, mainly to re-fuel.
Hans from Switzerland and Imma from Barcelona have been sailing around the world slowly since 2011 on their Dufour 40 Performance “Tuvalu”. Following their wonderful report from the Maldives, they have now shared their experience of sailing up the Red Sea these past couple of months. “Many sailors look at the Red Sea as a mere transit area to get to the Suez Canal as quickly as possible”, they told Noonsite. “So, they sail as fast as the prevailing north winds allow to Suez, but miss an incredibly beautiful sailing area with a variety of excellent anchorages in coral reefs, with great diving and friendly people in Sudan and Egypt. There's absolutely no need to rush!” Read their Red Sea report with in depth details on all the anchorages they visited.
The majority of Saudi Arabia’s coastline is on the Red Sea, but it’s never been a welcoming place for cruising yachts until recently. Sailboat Tabata III, a 24m ketch, is sailing around the world diving with and filming sharks and spent some time in Saudi Arabia as it’s known as a good place to dive with these animals. “We took the opportunity to go now that the country is opening up, but not yet congested with mass tourism” said skipper Patrick. He recommends Jeddah as a much better stopover and refueling option than Djibouti, “because the boat can dock at a nice marina, supermarkets are big, modern and every type of food is available (except alcohol and pork of course), it's easier to find spare parts and overall the place is very clean and the people are extremely welcoming and polite.” Read more from Patrick at Saudi Arabia comments.
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Linton Bay Marina, The Last Stop Near San Blas |
In the middle of beautiful nature, clear water, marine barriers, located in the north coast of Panama, Linton Bay Marina offers a safe haven from hurricane season to all vessels.
Inside the marina you may find 80+ slips capable of berthing up to 130 ft, Travel lift with a capacity of hauling out up to 160 tons, dry storage yard, two restaurants and a fuel dock station.
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Caribbean Sea:
While many yachts have already moved out of the Caribbean basin for hurricane season, the month of June and first half of July are said to be the best months of the year for sailing the islands. Uncrowded anchorages, a steady breeze of 10-12 knots - rarely more - and seldom hurricane activity so early in the season, make this the perfect cruising season. Donald Street shares some other summer sailing secrets in this month’s Caribbean Compass (pages 20-21).
In the BVIs an abundance of jellyfish have been spotted at The Baths, on Virgin Gorda, a popular bathing spot for tourists and of course yacht crew. If you see purple flags flying at beaches in the BVIs, this indicates a marine life warning and extreme caution is recommended. For further information call the National Parks Trust on 541 2420.
When cruising with pets in the Eastern Caribbean, the French Islands are reported to be the easiest places to go with a dog as an import permit is not required – although on most of the islands you should keep the dogs off the beaches and leashed.
In St. Lucia this month, a lone yacht in the anchorage of Anse Canaries (south of Marigot Bay) was boarded by three attackers and the sole occupant assaulted and robbed of a number of items. The Caribbean Safety and Security Net (CSSN) say this is not the first recent instance of armed robbery in this bay, or nearby in the Soufriere/Pitons area, and skippers should be cautious. Read the report here.
Bonaire Customs has confirmed that they are conducting a trial with the advance web notification service for clearance - SailClear. Completing the online forms prior to checking in aims to save a lot of time at Customs. As this is a trial, there are no Customs computers available for Skippers to complete the forms on arrival as yet (like there are in other islands that use this system), so Skippers should log into SailClear, if possible, prior to arrival in Bonaire and complete the paperwork in advance.
The Cayman Islands grant visiting yachts and their crew a 30-day stay on arrival and technically it should be possible to extend this to 6 months. However, cruisers continue to report how difficult this is, and that the general feeling is that cruisers aren’t wanted there for an extended period. Read feedback in Cayman Islands comments.
On the island of San Andres – a major holiday destination for mainland Colombians - a yacht at anchor was boarded by armed men in the early hours of the morning on May 27th. Luckily no one was hurt and nothing stolen. This was reported to CSSN, who do a wonderful job of tracking crime against yachts in this part of the world. If you are a victim, please take five minutes to complete the CSSN online incident report, it’s quick, confidential and keeps our cruising community fully and factually informed.
Costa Rica, with coastlines on both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, now offers a new tourist TIP for visiting yachts. This means a foreign yacht can extend its stay in the country for up to 2 years (maximum time used to be just 90 days), making Costa Rica a viable option for hurricane season.
Following a series of boardings, robberies and assaults on cruising yachts that anchored in the bay of Nombre de Dios in Panama in 2019, four men have at last been sentenced to jail for committing these crimes. See news item in Spanish.
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Atlantic:
The beautiful Azores (Pico pictured here) is seeing a lot of yachts this month with the exodus from the Caribbean towards the Mediterranean. Each of the islands is unique from the tiny crater island of Corvo, the ruggedness of Flores, to the volcanos on Horta and the brown sandy beaches of Santa Maria. Cruiser Kia Koropp wrote a wonderful report for Noonsite of their time here in 2021. Although hundreds of yachts call every year, very few of them cruise around the islands and the majority stop only in Horta, on the island of Faial, one of the perennially favorite places of long-distance sailors. With their secluded bays, uncrowded anchorages and protected harbors, the nine islands of the Azores are still waiting to be discovered as a cruising destination in their own right. We have done a complete update of all ports in the archipelago this month, so why not take some time to find out more about this mid-Atlantic gem.
Some interesting feedback from OCC member Catherine Lorenz, who entered the Azores in Horta in May 2023 with her dogs: "We entered the EU via Horta, Portugal from the US. There were no issues at immigration or customs, they didn’t even look at my stack of medical records. I took all of the current medical records and both dogs to a vet in Horta and got Pet Passports. We continued through the Azores, Portugal, Spain, France, Morocco, Greece, Italy, and Montenegro with no issues or fees whatsoever. The EU is very pet-friendly, especially Italy. We are just loving that aspect of cruising here."
The Atlantic Hurricane Season started this month and is predicted to be normal, or near to normal, with met services suggesting up to 20 named tropical storms and 8-14 hurricanes will occur in the North Atlantic before the end of November 2023. For the first time since 1968, the Atlantic has seen two named storms form in June simultaneously, tropical storms Bret and Cindy.
Storm Oscar at the start of June, wreaked havoc in the North Atlantic Islands. With record rainfall in Madeira it resulted in the closure of Funchal Marina due to a build up of rocks, silt and debris blocking the entrance.
Still on the same coast, Sines (a useful Portuguese haven halfway between Lisbon and Cape St. Vincent) has closed its marina to visiting yachts due to safety concerns raised on a survey this spring. Anchoring there too is prohibited.
If Brazil is in your sights, then why not consider the BRally Amazon, set to kick off on 28 October from Marajó Island at the mouth of the Amazon River. The event is a 500-mile fleet cruise up the Amazon River, over the course of 22 days. For the first time this year there is no entry fee and the event will be run like a cruise in company, only sharing any fleet costs. Registration is open until 31 July and there is space for up to 30 yachts. Find out more at https://brallyamazon.com/en/. Mark and Christine Templeman report on the BRally Amazon 2021.
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Mediterranean:
Ana and John of Sailing the Dream https://www.svthedream.com cruised in the Mediterranean with their Golden Retriever Ella from 2017 until the end of 2022 (Ella has her own blog "it's a dog's life" on the website). They say “no one cares about your dog or all the paperwork except for Gibraltar and Malta” (note: they did not visit Libya, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus or Bosnia). “After the first year of calling and trying to contact the relevant authorities that just don’t want to know you have a pet, we gave up. If they ask, we have the paperwork available. One time in Montenegro the customs lady commented we had a dog on board and if we had done the veterinary inspection. I said no and gave her all the papers and asked if she could kindly help me call them, because I could not get them on the phone. She looked at all the papers without much attention and wished us a good trip!”
The Corinth Canal in Greece re-opened on June 1st until the end of September with a new online booking and payment portal. While this is the most expensive canal transit in the world for the short time it takes, it does save the long voyage around the Peloponnese.
Following a number of incidents in the last three months, Michalis Roditis (of Roditis Yachting Agency, Rhodes) has some words of advice for anyone currently in Greece with a Delaware USA or UK registered vessel, who may be planning a change of flag.
While costs are rising in Turkey, cruisers report that it’s only expensive if you stay in marinas. Many cruisers manage very well with anchoring (which is free) or using restaurant docks, plus, unlike Greece, there’s no TEPAI to pay. Fuel is also reported to be much cheaper than in Greece.
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The Marshall Islands in the North Pacific is made up of 29 atolls, 5 islands and 1,225 islets which form two major islands chains: The eastern Ratak (‘towards dawn’) and the western Ralik (‘towards sunset’) island chain. Ranked the fourth-least visited country in the world, the Marshall Islands is perhaps the last frontier of yachting, with pristine vibrant ecosystems. Cruising these remote atolls that played a major part in some of the most historical events of the 20th century, requires time, effort and cruising permits, however, it’s well worth it, as the crew of SY Alice detail in this report.
Stuck in ice in Greenland for 130 days with his pet chicken, is about as far off the beaten path as you can get with a sailboat. French sailor Guirec Soudée has made headlines with his numerous seafaring adventures, not to mention his unique on board pet - the little red hen Monique. Just sailing from the north to the south pole was not enough for Guirec, who has since rowed across the Atlantic twice and is now working towards an entry into the next Vendee Globe. We review Guirec’s new book at the end of the newsletter and you can find out more about this fascinating French sailor and his adventures at https://www.guirecsoudee.com/.
Watch this free SSCA webinar to get the latest information about NOAA Chart transition from raster to vector format. The webinar also covers satellite charts, especially outside the United States. Longtime SSCA cruisers discuss the use of OpenCPN chart software to create custom Satellite Charts, and satellite chart archives available free of charge to sailors cruising to remote locations around the world.
John and Sue Hacking of SV Ocelot have been publishing charts for years. They have been cruising their Wauquiez Kronos 45 catamaran for over 20 years and their mbTiles charts now cover over 30 countries, including all of the Eastern Caribbean, Galapagos, Micronesia, Solomon Islands, PNG, most of tropical SE Asia, and much of the tropical Indian Ocean. They offer satellite imagery from ArcGIS, Bing (MSFT) and Google Earth, as well as nautical charts from CMap (new, not CM93) and Navionics. The satellite imagery is incredibly accurate, with max positional errors on the order of 3m (10’) and most of them can see underwater reefs to about 10m (33’). The resolution (Z18) is high enough to see individual coral heads, and they are exactly where plotted. The nautical charts aren’t as accurate, but they have depths, which are certainly useful. SV Ocelot also show you how to use “Chart Groups” in OpenCPN to switch between charts with only a single keystroke. Cruisers are welcome to download their mbTiles and those with high‑quality mbTiles themselves are encouraged to contribute them to Ocelot’s repository, so others can download them.
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LINKS WE LIKE FROM AROUND THE WEB |
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By Guirec Soudée
This inspiring tale of pursuing your dreams despite obstacles, follows the author and his intrepid pet hen, Monique, as they travel 45,000 nautical miles.
Guirec never planned to sail around the world with a chicken, but after arriving in the Caribbean at the age of 22, he and Monique headed for Greenland, where they eventually emerged from the pack ice 100 days later. After becoming the youngest sailor to navigate the North West Passage he sailed around Cape Horn to reach Antarctica, arriving back home in Brittany three years older and much wiser.
Throughout this incredible voyage his trusty pet Monique provided a fresh egg almost every day.
The intrepid pair captured the attention of the entire world and sparked a social media frenzy. Readers can now discover their thrilling journey from beginning to end in their long-awaited first book.
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Find Crew with Ocean Crew Link |
Need crew? Want to find new sailing buddies? Then visit Ocean Crew Link, the only crew connect website specifically for ocean voyaging.
Add your boat and opportunity and it will be emailed to over 11,000 sailors worldwide. If you want to find a boat, then hop aboard as we have over 150 active sailing opportunities open all the time.
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