John Passmore This started as a particularly pedestrian blog post. Now I’m writing it sitting on the leeward berth, the laptop sliding off my knees as we race south – and it is a race: Me and Samsara against the “tropical disturbance” which may or may not develop into a tropical storm or even a hurricane. One … Read more
A big thank-you to Tom Fisher and Marco Schaal who, between them, cleared up all the errors in my new book The Voyage #2: Falmouth to Grenada. Tom managed much of this while sailing from Bermuda to Nova Scotia. Neither has accepted the offer of a refund, insisting instead that I put it towards the … Read more
Barbuda’s Nobu beach bar is more of a resort really, with wooden walkways in the sand and piped music among the trees, secluded sunbeds, outdoor bars… They have an indoor bar as well – although nothing’s really indoors except for the five-star loos… I had walked all the way up the beach specifically for a … Read more
It was always going to be about Barbuda. Among these islands lumped together as a tropical paradise, Barbuda is special. It is the only one that is truly unspoilt. Here, there are no sprawling hotel complexes, no condominiums or cruise liners. No charter flights through the night… Barbuda, I learned from the Cruising Guide when … Read more
Green Island gets a good press. The Cruising Guide calls it “charming” and goes on about the abundant birdlife and the snorkelling on the reefs. The Caribbean Compass calls it a “must-do” and puts it in the top-five Antigua destinations. So, I was rather excited to get away from the ministrations of Jesse the mechanic … Read more
I am pleased to announce publication of The Voyage #2: Falmouth to Grenada. This follows the success of The Voyage #1 which told the story of my crossing of the Atlantic going the other way. That was something of an experiment: Would anybody be interested in a day-by-day account of an old man all … Read more
There is a man living in my chain locker. His name is Marcel and he’s a second-row forward for the French national rugby team. Marcel is a big lad – just over 20stone (that’s 130kg to the French – 286lbs if you’re American). But stocky: Marcel has very short legs. Second-row forwards don’t have to … Read more
I’m still rowing. Apparently, I’m the only one. In the vast anchorages of the Caribbean, this is so unusual as to be considered truly eccentric. Currently, I am in Le Marin in Martinique. I pulled in here on the way to Antigua because the Starlink only connects one time in five and if it’s … Read more
It is a law of nature in France (maybe it is a law of the Fifth Republic) that nowhere in the country is more than ten minutes’ walk from a bakery. This means that at 7.00 a.m, as another blazing day began in Les Sables d’Olonne, the town was up and out for the morning’s … Read more
Ƒor a 6.5m boat, Anna Lusja II has a very powerful foghorn. It’s electric. It would not disgrace a small coaster. And it is pointing into her own cockpit. When it went off in Baltimore Harbour, I nearly jumped out of my skin – and heads popped out of hatches for half a mile around. … Read more
