http://www.followtheboat.com Tales (not just) from the high seas Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:30:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/06/21/final-sailing-today/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/06/21/final-sailing-today/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:43:06 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=23346 The last instalment of our six-part story of our trip from Turkey to India has been published in Sailing Today. Over the last year our story of the Vasco Da Gama rally, including our passage through Pirate Alley and across the Arabian Sea to India, has been serialised in British sailing magazine, Sailing Today. In this story we make our way down from Goa to Kochi with friends Emma and Katie straight through some nasty storms, signalling the beginning of monsoon. Sailing Today Issue 171 is out now and is also available online.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/06/21/final-sailing-today/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/09/14/what-do-7-metre-waves-look-like/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/09/14/what-do-7-metre-waves-look-like/#comments Tue, 14 Sep 2010 06:30:53 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20606 So what do 7m waves look like from the inside of a cruise ship? I've put together three video clips in this post. In the first we see the effect of a storm on a cruise ship's passengers, crew and gear. This CCTV clip was taken from a cruise ship that hit 50 knots winds off New Zealand and makes for scary viewing! The second clip gives you a bird's eye view of a rolling cruise ship, and the third is a small clip taken from the bridge of a commercial vessel enduring some sci-fi looking waves. Anyone booked their cruise this year?]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/09/14/what-do-7-metre-waves-look-like/feed/ 17 http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/01/24/a-tale-of-two-cities/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/01/24/a-tale-of-two-cities/#comments Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:08:35 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=4374 It doesn't seem to matter where you are this weekend: Turkey, England, Germany... it's wet wherever you go. If the weather's not ripping pontoons apart in Marmaris it's holding up traffic on the M25 and making the autobahn a dangerous place to travel. For those who haven't seen it we have some video evidence of the damage that wreaked havoc across Marmaris, recorded by Mike of 'Roam', hot off the press. In stark contrast to that we have a great movie of 'Ilios', 'Viva Solo', 'Esper', 'Full Flight' and 'Lady Jessie' all demonstrating what we like doing best. Any opportunity to send Liz off up into the air attached to a bit of string , camcorder in hand, has got to be worth the effort and she captured some fantastic video clips, which we present to you here. A pleasant musical refrain replaces the dirty-mouthed Liz battling with a shaky video camera.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/01/24/a-tale-of-two-cities/feed/ 19 http://www.followtheboat.com/2007/06/07/mental-weather/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2007/06/07/mental-weather/#comments Thu, 07 Jun 2007 13:54:47 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=2876 The anchor is well dug in and my transit line still hasn't changed, but now it's dark I can't see it and the anchor chain is making funny noises every now and then. The wind is blowing hard enough that the boat is tipping over and I have to lean over the laptop to readjust myself to an upright position. I can hear the water slopping all around poor Esper. I'm not sure how well I'm going to sleep tonight and I'm exhausted after the six hours of sailing we've done today.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2007/06/07/mental-weather/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/30/another-force-8-and-some-big-waves/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/30/another-force-8-and-some-big-waves/#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2003 14:34:54 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=1344 The next 24 hours became a blue of slamming, spray, 5 metre waves and queasiness. Most of the watches were done in saloon, though I preferred being outside, harnessed in and riding the boat as if on a surf board! It was either feel sick and feel sh!tty, or see it for what it was and make the most of it.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/30/another-force-8-and-some-big-waves/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/29/ten-eleven-twelve-knots-any-faster/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/29/ten-eleven-twelve-knots-any-faster/#comments Wed, 29 Oct 2003 14:20:10 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=1332 A fellow yachtie we bumped into in the showers warned us of Force 9-10s and 9 metre waves. This didn't really phase us since Vincent was a grand yacht master (though I don't know anyone who would want to see him put to the test in those kind of conditions) and the rest of us actually wanted to see 9 metre waves! (How foolish!)]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/29/ten-eleven-twelve-knots-any-faster/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/12/playing-in-the-shipping-lane/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/12/playing-in-the-shipping-lane/#comments Sun, 12 Oct 2003 10:46:09 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=1220 The weather continued to amaze us as the sun set in the west and a huge orange moon rose in the east. On the one side was the Kentish coast and on the other Dunkirk, with huge great ships lit up dotted around in-between. We celebrated with a Thai red curry (cooked by yours truly) and ate it outside watching the sunset before us.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/12/playing-in-the-shipping-lane/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/10/crossing-the-north-sea-in-a-force-8/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/10/crossing-the-north-sea-in-a-force-8/#comments Fri, 10 Oct 2003 10:14:57 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=1189 The weather was getting progressively worse but everyone was itching to get going and finally hit the open waters. When the green light indicated our turn to enter the lock the sense of nervousness and trepidation increased as the conversation dropped. Once the gates had closed behind us we had a fifteen minute wait as the lock filled and rose to sea level. We were all looking at the red traffic lights and waiting, wondering what the open water had prepared for us.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/10/crossing-the-north-sea-in-a-force-8/feed/ 1 http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/08/accidental-tack-incorrectly-furled-mainsail/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/08/accidental-tack-incorrectly-furled-mainsail/#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2003 10:06:53 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=1184 Back on the Ijsselmeer we continued to get to grips with the boat. At one point I accidentally tacked, which in stormy conditions can be the end of the boat since the boom can swing round the wrong way and put too much pressure on the wrong side of the mast, which could snap it in two. Mistake number one!]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/08/accidental-tack-incorrectly-furled-mainsail/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/08/sailing-across-the-ijsselmeer/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/08/sailing-across-the-ijsselmeer/#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2003 09:56:09 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=1178 Although Ijsselmeer is only three metres deep it behaves very much like the sea. With fairly strong winds we unfurled the mizzen, the sail at the back of the boat that’s used to stabilise it in strong winds. With the slashing rain we were the only sailing vessel on what is normally a busy bit of water, and when the storm that had been predicted by the weathermen finally came over the sh!t really hit the fan!]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2003/10/08/sailing-across-the-ijsselmeer/feed/ 0