Disembarkation Day 20 Monday 8 December 2025
🌤️ Lots of sunshine, dry 20°c + today
Awake and up at 0715h as usual. After breakfast at 0800h I had just an hour to finish my packing and get my luggage on deck. We were leaving it on deck for the morning and returning to collect it with a taxi at 1200h. Meanwhile we walked to the bus station to make sure we had the Bay number, bus number and times correct. 59, 112 and every 30 minutes with 1h 03 minutes journey time. Next stop was a return to the Art Museum, truth be told we needed a coffee but decided to take in a couple of exhibitions, one of erotic paintings and another by a number of different photographers called The Vertigo of Images which was about the use of AI in manipulating media. The introductory text in the gallery was a turn off straight away 'Images and their potentials configure a territory of realities and experiences as vast and heterogeneous as it is difficult to define.' I lost the will to live after the first sentence and decided it WAS time for coffee and a pastry after all. Once that was fixed, we walked slowly back to the taxi rank by the liner terminal to find  taxi to take us to the ship to collect our luggage and on to the bus station. The driver at the front of the rank didn't speak English so with the help of his mate and the translate app on my phone, we managed to get back to the ship to load up our bags. While we were there, we had a quick hello/goodbye to Gerben who was taking over as Captain for the next leg of the voyage to Cape Verde. Our driver dropped us off at the bus station OK. When the bus arrived we were a long way back in the queue and our luggage had to go on the 'wrong' side of the bus but the driver retrieved it for us at the stop in Los Cristianos so we didn't have stand in the middle of the road to get it out. The journey was very fast with no stops through very dry and sometimes bleak areas of lava fields. We arrived at 13:30 with plenty of time before our 15:00 check in, so we stopped at a cafe to have some lunch and a welcome beer (it was quite warm for December). Just after 14:00 we set off to find a taxi to take us to the Paradise Park Hotel. Not our usual type of hotel but it was just for one night and close to the airport. We checked in a 14:30 and waited 15 minutes for our room to be ready. The room was nice, and we repacked our bags for the flight home tomorrow. We had a lie down but no sleep. The activities by the pool were a bit noisy. We went for supper at 18:30, reasonable food, and a lot of choice. The only fly in the ointment was being charged €2.10 for a bottle of water. While at breakfast, water is  included in the range of beverages on offer. I made my displeasure known in my review!

A selection of iPhone images taken in the old town of Santa Cruz. I have included the introductory text to THE VERTIGO OF IMAGES exhibition. It was this kind of dense rambling verbiage that was the final nail in the coffin of my photography degree. Wading through stuff like this while studying Critical Theory took all of the joy out of my photographic education.

Voyage Day 19 - Sunday 7 December 2025
🌤️ Sunny all day 20°c dry and warm
It was a quiet night with earplugs in. I went on deck at 0730. An island was visible in the mist - probably Tenerife but we were motoring away from it. It turns out we were killing time. After breakfast, we turned and slowly motored towards it. Aiming to berth before lunch, we motored in and met a pod of Pilot whales (probably the same pod we saw off the coast of La Gomera three years ago!) The ship made its way into the marina just before lunch. Immediately after lunch, Angie, Nick, Andrew and me walked with Boudawein (the mate) to the Port Office to get entry stamps in our Passports. We walked into town to see if the Tourist Information office was open but  on a Sunday in December it was a forlorn hope, so we sat at a table outside Doris’s bar in the main Square and drank a beer and people watched in the afternoon sun. On our way back to the Marina, we stopped for an Ice Cream. Back on board we started to organise our packing for the morning, had a nap, then a delicious supper of Lamb fillet! There was a lot to sort out out before turning in, a money transfer in Euros for the hotel payment, and finding the details of the 112 bus to Los Cristianos tomorrow. While I was doing that, Angie was packing.

Voyage Day 18 - Saturday 6 December 2025
⛅️ Dry sunny spells, 18°c NE wind moderate.
Not a bad night, relatively quiet with a steady heel to port which was quite comfortable. I went on deck before breakfast, all Gaff sails, plus the two Topsails and the Forestay Sail were set, making good speed towards Tenerife. We should be there tomorrow afternoon. The wind dropped a bit after lunch but we are still making good speed SSE. Our logbooks have been handed in for completion. There is not much happening on deck so I have caught up on my notes and made some photos with the X-E1 + 27mm f2.8. The sunset was nice, we saw the whole globe of the sun sink below the horizon - no green flash though. Supper was good - Indonesian pork satay with fried rice cooked without sesame oil. I spent the evening re-reading the Sea Kingdoms and playing Solitaire. Bed at 2220h.

Voyage Day 17 - Friday 5 December 2025 Sinter Klass (sp?) Day
☁️ Dry overnight, cloudy all day. 19°c.
A noisy night with clatter from the doors left on the hook for ventilation!  (It's nice that the nights are now getting warmer). Motoring overnight as the wind dropped and the sails came down until just before breakfast. The Main, Schooner, Forestay Sail,  Inner Jib, and both topsails were up. I helped with the Mizzen and after breakfast the Outer Jib went up as well. We were making 4 to 5 kn SSE to Tenerife. Over the afternoon the wind increased and the Upper Topsail was furled. Also this afternoon, the Secret Santa (Dutch Version) was held in the saloon with Lucas as St Nicholas and Casper as Piet. It was fun, we all received our present and read the poem attached to it  - it took over an hour, while we did it, crew included. I don’t know who was sailing the ship?? I received a nice bar of Belgian Chocolate, Angie got some souvenir shot glasses from Madeira. Supper wasn’t very interesting, Summer Mashed Vegetables and Frankfurter Sausages with potato sticks and dried onion flakes - not the best part of the day if you don’t like frankfurters, but as usual, the dessert was nice. There was only one photo for today. (It is noteworthy that Sinter Klass and Neptune share a wig and beard! 🤣 ​)

Voyage Day 16 - Thursday 4 December 2025, ashore at Machico and Funchal 
🌤️ Rain overnight, sunny spells, dry and warm all day
Nice Day! Once the morning stuff was done, we went ashore on the ‘shuttle’ from the ship to shore around 0945h. A lot of people were waiting for the bus, local and from our ship. The journey was quick and by the time we arrived there were a lot of passengers standing. We alighted at the harbour side and waked to the tourist information office to be sure of the bus stop for our return journey. We then headed for the old town. Along the way we stopped for coffee and Pastel de Nata - delicious. We continued our walk to the old town, chose a bakery for lunch and visited the fruit, vegetable, flower and fish market, sat for a while in the park, returned to the bakery, sat outside to eat our ‘Mafia’ toasties, triple layer, with cheese, tomato, mozzarella, rocket, basil and olive oil. (see gallery) Very nice but very filling. We also had a soft drink and coffee. We then made our way back to the bus stop, snapping pictures all the while as there was a lot of street art to view and appreciate. We caught the bus and got back to Machico in time for an ice cream and the 1600h shuttle back to the ship. Tonight after supper we spent time wrapping our Secret Santa presents for tomorrow’s visit of St Nicolas - it's a long story but there are a lot of enthusiastic Dutch crew on board. 

Voyage Day 15 - Wednesday 3 December 2025 (arrival and ashore in Machico)⛅️ Sunny spells19°c NE wind. to Madeira.
Usual morning routine with breakfast done by 0800h. Sails came down in the night and we were motoring all the way to Machico. The lights of Porto Santo were visible before the sun came up. I spent most of the time on deck this morning watching Porto Santo then Madeira come into view as well as the Islas Desertas on our port side. I took a lot of photos. (It was interesting to see Porto Santo in passing. I was last there in 1992 when the development of the island was just getting underway with a new harbour just completed). We dropped anchor in the bay at Machico just before lunch. The afternoon was spent ashore, we are on London/Lisbon time again so gained an hour this afternoon. We should be on this time in Tenerife too. We were dropped on the Marina pier and went looking for the bus stop for the bus to Funchal for tomorrow, that done we sat having a beer overlooking the beach. On our way back to the pier we passed the Marina, stopping on the way for an ice cream. We caught the 1800h shuttle to the ship. Supper at 1930h then I edited some pictures for the next blog post. Bed at 2215h.

Voyage Day 13 - Monday 1 December 2025
⛅️Sunny spells, dry, wind moving round to N then NE, 16°c.
Usual morning routine. Alarm at 0705h, breakfast at 0730h. Throughout the morning I have alternated reading with making notes on my iPad and playing Solitaire. I have spent some time on deck helping with sail handling and trimming. Overnight we had motored with the topsails and the course set. Then the wind dropped and all the sails came down. We folded the course and stowed it. After lunch the wind picked up again from the NE and over the course of the afternoon, all of the gaff sails and all of the foresails were set. Sailing around 5- 6 kn (estimated) around 1900h. After supper, showered and went to my bunk to read and then sleep.
​Voyage Day 14 - Tuesday 2 December 2025
🌦️Rain overnight, sunny spells, cooler breeze today, NE wind.
Awake at 0615h. Got up at 0705h on the alarm. On deck was still dark, but the main, schooner and forestay sail were set and pulling nicely. After breakfast I put on my jacket and sat on the bridge starboard seat and chatted to Kathleen (2022 Iberian Peninsula voyage) She recounted her experiences sailing on Bark Europa’s Pacific voyage, remarking how expensive they have become since Covid and their accident in the Dry Dock in Cape Town. Later I read and finished The Man Who Died Twice and had a nap before lunch. During that time, more sails went up - both topsails. The rest of the day went on sorting out my camera gear and tidying the cabin a bit. Not much space for two of us to be messy! (Not much of interest happening on deck that you haven't already seen, so I have included some pictures of the cabin, en suite facilities and other parts of the ship from differing viewpoints. The ship is only 50m long and can have up to 30 people on board, so there is not much room with a full complement of Permanent and Voyage Crew).

Voyage Day 12 - Sunday 30 November 2025
🌦️Sunny spells, strong north westerly winds, 16°c, heavy seas.
Not a good night! The ship was rolling a lot, which happens when there is a large swell and we are running before the wind (wind behind us). The seas are quite big 3-4m swell but the wind last night decreased. We had the Topsail, Mainsail, Forestay Sail and the Inner Jib set. Later the wind turned to the North and we set the Main, both Topsails and the Course after lunch. I went on deck a couple of times to check the weather and the sails. I tried to help put up the Course but there were too many hands on deck so I just watched. During the afternoon I caught up on these notes, played solitaire, read my book. Nico, one of the Dutch guests on board is from a dairy farming family and brought some of his farm produced cheese for us to try. His family have been farming in the Netherlands for 135 years. The cheese was very nice, tasty with a mature bite, it had small holes and a Gouda-like texture. I am also reading quickly through my last book, the Richard Osman one. The Captain told us we will be in Madeira on 3rd December, which is when I can update my blog. (I am pleased to report that my photo book ‘Arctic Norway’ is still aboard in the bookcase and after three and a half years, it is in one piece, although the  hard cover is slightly worn. Testament to the glue and stitching I did on the binding. It has also completed a circumnavigation which is noteworthy 😊). No photos from on deck today.

Voyage Days 10 & 11  
Friday 28 November 2025 - Leaving Vigo ☁️ dull, cloudy, 14°c, dry, wind variable (motor sailing)Breakfast at 0730h, then on deck to take down and stow the tent, bring in the gangplank and cast off the mooring lines. We then motored upstream, turning before the bridge, to sail downstream with the topsail, fore staysail, main and schooner set. We reached the sea and the wind died. We motor - sailed waiting for good winds for m the north or west in the next 15 hours or so. We are not on the watch list for this voyage as we asked not to do nights because of balance and visual shortcomings, so are ‘freelance’ to take part as and when we can.  I spent the early afternoon reading and making notes up until supper and continued afterwards too. I have nearly finished my second Peter James book this evening. Light’s out at 2200h tonight - earplugs in as the change in temperature means we can sleep with the cabin door latched open so it could be noisy when the watches change at night.
Saturday 29 November 2025 🌦️cloudy, sunny spells, then rain pm. 16°c. Wind NNE variable, Force 7 later.Breakfast as usual at 0730h. I managed a reasonable night’s sleep. I was awake at 0600h when the generator came on. On deck the sails were much the same and we were still motor sailing. When the wind changed to the NE, more sails went up, the Mizzen, Schooner as well as the Topsail, Forestay Sail and inner jib. That kept us busy until lunch. I went for a nap after lunch. When I went back on deck I found it had rained. I finished making notes for my blog and chat. I  finished ‘One of Us is Dead’ by Peter James so I am now reading ‘The Man who Died Twice’ by Richard Osman. After supper I had a shower before the sea got too rough. Ready for my bunk at 2130h. (I only got the camera out once during these two days - see below)