Fixing our Hydrovane vibration problem

We were very excited to try our new Hydrovane self steering this summer but discovered that it had a harmonic vibration that made it sound like we’d been possessed by a phantom didgeridoo player. The noise was impossible to ignore making our new purchase very hard to live with. Plug in a decent pair of […]

Building an intruder ALARM for our yacht

Leaving European waters and heading further afield raises a question of personal security. To this end, we decided to look into the options for installing an intruder detection system on board. Our shortlist of requirements was as follows: as a deterrent, it should be obvious to anyone approaching the boat that a security system is […]

Configuring our Iridium GO! to use NOFOREIGNLAND boat tracking

We’re going to be off-grid for a while so in order to let our family know where we are at any time, we’re using our new Iridium GO! to update our position on the NOFOREIGNLAND boat tracking map. In this blog I explain in detail the steps required to configure this for both iOS and […]

Installing flexible solar panels on our bimini

It’s been over a month since our “big yellow umbilical chord” has been out of it’s locker and used to attach us to shore power. Instead, we now rely on our new solar panels to keep our house batteries topped up. The difference it’s made to our cruising life has been substantial: no more searching […]

A Lazy Two Weeks in Ibiza

Ibiza is the only island we’ve ever visited that has its own soundtrack. A mile or more out and it’s still possible to hear dance music beats eminating from the shore. Thankfully (for us at least) the club scene spots are very isolated from the rest of the island which remains wonderfully tranquil. In summary, […]

Morocco to Ibiza

We’ve finally landed in the Balearics. We’ve covered over 400 miles and it has been a tough couple of weeks getting here. This has been our route: (0) El Jebah, (1) Marina del Este, (2) Almerimar, (3) Cartagena, (4) Formentera We sat out a storm at the anchorage in El Jebah in Morocco before making an […]

Beautiful Morocco

After reaching Gibraltar, we decided that rather than following the Spanish coast into the Med, as initially planned, we’d cross over to Africa and take a look around. This blog tells of the very different places and experiences we’ve had there in the last week. Ceuta – Spain On the north coast of Africa and only a […]