Thank you Brian for the links.

Just a remark, our first names are not Bernard and Helene but Bertrand and Marie-Helene.

On our new website on the page "liens" we have put the links of our other blogs concerning the sailing and building of Grand PHA and PHA.

Bertrand

Thank you Graham

We met so a few times the Wharrams in England and in Brittany.
I regret now he don't offer as with the old classic cats a choice of different rigs including junk rigs.

Sailing after sailing, I discover my new rig with big wishbones without swing battens.
I'm very surprised to see when closing the wind between 90 to 40° if I give no tension at all on the sheets, the sails will find automatically the best angle of attack. After I pull slightly the sheets with the minimum of tension and it works better than if I increase the tension and so the angle of attack.
In fact the angle of attack is very small and although the profile of the wishbones is symmetric, as soon as a little angle of attack is created, the symmetry of the sail disappear with a cavity in the sail on the windward side between the wishbones and on the leeward side the sail is rounded between the wishbones (only the third part of the sail from the nose). It's why the tension on the sheets is very weak comparing with my previous double wishbones generating a deep curve and so a big sail force in the middle of the sail.

Bertrand

Hello

The 09th November after to have take on board one friend to have a more comfortable passage ( especially at night because Marie-Helene don't like to be on the deck during dark night) we left the island of La Palma on the west of the Canaries  to join St Martin in the north of the Caribbean the 28th November.
The crossing was smooth with no wind above 35kts and 3 days of light winds. After a short stop at anchorage in the bay of Marigot for the clearance we entered in the lagoon to anchor. During 10 days we visited and had shopping with the help of friends living here.

The 09th December in the evening we left St Martin to join directly Great Inagua in the south of the Bahamas we reached the 13th early in the morning to get the cruising permit and after direct to the south of Long island.
From there we motored and motor sailed the first two days along the west coast of Long island and Exuma in very beautiful and very clear shoal water putting the anchor at the sunset. After we only sailed and we had stops to visit Staniel cay, Warderick Wells cay and Ship Channel cay before to join directly the Whale cay channel the 22d December  in the north of the Bhamas near Gren Turtle cay , Grand Abaco where early in the morning our friends aboard their Tiki46 "Peace4"  were waiting under sails inside the lagoon.

Since we are mooring near Green Turtle cays where there are a lot of beautiful others cays with shallow water and beautiful grounds. As soos as we'll have received parcels we have shipped to here and which are hold by the custom, we'll sail to the south to have a stop in Haïti before to continue until the San Blas.

These last days we have begun a new personal web site :
Grand PHA web site

and you can follow us with this direct link :
position of Grand PHA

Bertrand

Around the Canaries islands, even when you are on the south, souht-west side protected from the N-NE main wind, as the archipelago is offshore you have always old swell coming from the north and south Atlantic sea.
And due to thermic winds you have during the day winds from offshore top to 15kts and more sometimes, happily with no high wave as the wind is blowing only on a few NM where the main wind is deviated in altitude by the mountains. In fact this winds are very difficult to predict, melting sometimes with acceleration of the main wind due to the mountains according the changing of directions...

It's why it's very difficult to find good quiet anchorages without waves ( and without motor boats for the tourist industry which generates short waves and sounds). During the day and night the boat like to turn arround its anchor and it's necessary to have a comfortable distance between the anchoring boats.
A catamaran has the advantage to be more comfortable in such condition comparing a rolling monohull. It's a good thing, because the price of a marina for our cat is very expensive.
La Gomera has the advantage to have a few anchorages with not deep water and good ground sand and if the wind is turning to the south there is an anchorage in the north.
The people is very nice and the tourist activity is very acceptable.

Bertrand

The time run very quickly and we are always in the Canarias. We have visited almost all the islands, exept Fuerteventura and Hierro . We are very desapointed to don't find good anchorages exept at La Gomera. Present time we are in La Palma to get parts for our diesel engines but soon we'll sail back to La Gomera.
We hope to meet our friends with their junk rigged catamaran Apatiki before to sail away.

Here is a link to follow the position of Grand PHA

Bertrand