CRUISING NOTES
some assistance from the locals.
“We got our anchor stuck 30m deep
under a coral bommie,” he told PBO.
“This old boy came out with a pair of
flippers and a mask. He just swam down,
tied on a line and pulled it up.
“Later we were sitting on the only bar on
the island – three plastic chairs and a
beach – and we met Regis, whose family
own the atoll. It was Regis who introduced
us to Haumata.
Raroia was just one the islands Mel and
friend Colin visited during a two-month
crossing from New Zealand to the
Marquesas in a Moody 54.
“I never realised how many islands there
are in the Pacific,” he says. “You’re sailing
in 400m of water then suddenly there’s a
lake in the middle. It’s a ring of coral 30
miles across, and 60 miles long. You enter
a break in the reef, and find yourself in
15m of water – it’s dead calm in the
middle of the ocean. It’s incredible.”
Around Wales in a
Vivacity
Circumnavigation by
canal, river and sea to
celebrate retirement
I
n a bid to raise funds for the RNLI,
former harbourmaster Arthur
Davies will leave Rhyl – where he
worked – and travel up the River Dee
to Chester via a link to the Shropshire
Union Canal.
For the past two years the link had
been blocked by an Environment
Agency (EA) floodgate, but following
negotiations with the Canal and River
Trust and Inland Waterways
Association, the EA agreed to move it.
“As far as I know, this route hasn’t
been done for some time,” says
Arthur. “A couple of chaps from
Aberaeron did it in the 1980s in a
Drascombe Longboat. It only took
them two weeks, but I think I’ll need
longer – probably a month.”
Arthur was considering using a
Drascombe himself, but then realised
his wife Sandra’s Vivacity 20 Scooby
was narrow enough to fit through the
7ft-wide locks, and with a bilge keel,
draws just 2ft 3in. Although Sandra
will be working she plans to join him
at various stages of the voyage.
After the Shropshire Union Canal,
Arthur will take the Staffordshire and
Worcester Canal to Stourport on
Severn, then cruise down the River
Severn to the Gloucester and
Sharpness Canal.
At this point he’ll step the mast ready
to sail down the Bristol Channel and
round the coast of Wales.
“I think the Bristol Channel will be the
most challenging,” says Arthur. “There
are such strong tides from Sharpness
to Cardiff under the bridges. I’ll need to
make sure they’re ebbing and the wind
has something from the east in it.”
Arthur is raising funds for the new
Shannon-class lifeboat at Rhyl, which
is due on station in 2019.
WALES
ENGLAND
Irish
Sea
Bristol Channel
N
Cardiff
Cardigan
Milford
Haven
Swansea
Bristol
Sharpness
River
Severn
Cardigan
Bay
Menai
Strait ShropshireUnion Canal
Rhyl
Stourport-
Aberystwyth on-Severn
Staffordshire &
Worcester Canal
ANGLESEY
River
Dee
Gloucester
Gloucester and
Sharpness Canal
kilometres
0 80
Chester
Located in La Linea, southern
Andalucia, the 624-berth marina is at the
foot of the Sierra Carbonera, and close
to the Rock of Gibraltar.
At the time of going to press,
Alcaidesa Marina is offering annual
berthing for catamarans at monohull
prices. Prices start from r3,584 for a
6.5m vessel. For more information, see
http://www.alcaidesamarina.com.
Now’s the time to take advantage of
good-value berthing at Alcaidesa Marina
on the Strait of Gibraltar, says PBO
engines expert Stu Davies.
“It’s the cheapest around for
monohulls and certainly good for cats
now,” says Stu. “It’s where I’m berthed
and is a good safe marina, clean and
tidy and serviced pontoons instead of
slime lines!”
Thumbs up for Alcaidesa
Raroia islanders help with the Kon-Tiki
Raroia, a Pacific
island paradise
Arthur Davies aims to sail the Vivacity
Scooby around Wales
Danita Delimont/Alamy
Georg Kristiansen/Alamy