TELL-TALES
Rod Heikell's very informal site on sailing around bits of the world and an eclectic collection of things nautical or nearly so.
Annotated Google Earth Maps
I've annotated some Google Earth maps showing basic facilities in various places. This won't work everywhere because in some areas the maps don't show sufficient detail to be useful. Some of the information is of the sort that can change from year to year so don't necessarily expect to find a WiFi source or a laundromat in the place shown - it may have changed last week. Pin-pointing where a place is on the map can sometimes be difficult, but if the placemark is not squarely on the exact place, it's at least close. Inevitably there may be a few places I get totally wrong, but then everyone needs to spend time exploring an area and finding out about what is where.
The maps are roughly grouped into ocean passages and roughly follow our route on Skylax.
Mediterranean
Palma Mallorca
Trapani (Sicily)
My annotated Palma Mallorca from Google Earth
My annotated Trapani from Google Earth. The breakwater to starboard has been extended further towards the land since this photo.
North Atlantic
La Sociedad (Graciosa)
Puerto Calero (Lanzarote)
Mindelo (Cape Verdes)
My annotated La Sociedad (Graciosa) from Google Earth
My annotated Puerto Calero (Lanzarote) from Google Earth
My annotated Mindelo from Google Earth (Mindelo Marina is not built in this pic.)
Caribbean
Jolly Harbour (Antigua)
Road Town (BVI)
Point a Pitre (Guadeloupe)
St Maarten: Simpson Baii and the lagoon
Colon Panama
Jolly Harbour (Antigua)
Road Town BVI
Point a Pitre (Guadeloupe) There are lots of pot markers in the approaches so don't approach at night. The channel markers are pretty reliable and the marina staff friendly with no hassles. I've used Point a Pitre as my first destination on an Atlantic crossing on the basis that you get a good run ashore after the crossing.
St Maarten: Simpson Baii and the lagoon
Colon Panama
Flats anchorage: Anchor in 11-14 metres. Soft mud bottom. Anchor chain in here for more than a week or so is stripped of its galvanising in the toxic soup of the harbour.
PCYC: VHF Ch 74. Alongside & stern-to berths. Around 45-55 cents/ft/day. Dinghy dock for $2 a day. This is the only secure place to leave a dinghy. Includes water from a nearby tap. Fuel dock. Railway sledge up to 20 tons. Restaurant and bar. WiFi. Laundry. Tito, a 'fixer' for the canal will be found here, or at least one of his 'helpers'. A tatty but very convivial place and close to supermarkets and hardware shops (take a taxi around $2-3)
Shelter Bay Marina. VHF Ch 74. Around 150 berths up to 40 metres or so. Secure. Fuel barge. Water and electricity. Around 45-55 cents/ft/day. Restaurant and bar. A new marina with a yard and hauling. A bit out of it though a bus runs into Colon and back every day.
If the PCYC lease is not renewed this is likely to be the only show in town.
Pacific
Pacific
Galapagos: Puerto Ayora (Academia Bay on Isla Santa Cruz)
Marquesas: Atuona on Hiva Oa
Marquesas: Taiohae on Nuka Hiva
Tahiti: Marina Taina
Tonga: Va'vau
Tonga: Nukualofa
New Zealand: Opua
North Minerva Reef
Vanuatu Port Vila
Galapagos: Puerto Ayora (Academia Bay in Isla Santa Cruz)
You can see the swell coming into the bay on this google map. Yachts (and local boats) put a stern anchor out at approx. 75 degrees off the starboard quarter to hold the bows into the swell. With the swell the anchorage can be a bit stressy, but with good anchoring kit the holding is excellent in hard black sand. When leaving on Skylax we couldn't get the anchor out for 5 minutes when straight up and down it was that well dug in. You go ashore in water taxis as there is nowhere on the docks to leave a tender.
Marquesas: Atuona on Hiva Oa
Marquesas: Taiohae on Nuka Hiva
Tahiti: Marina Taina near Papeete
Most yachts will anchor off or go into Marina Taina in preference to downtown Papeete. The huge Carrefour hypermarket is an easy walk and you can get 'Le Truck' into Papeete itself.
Tonga: Va'vau
Passage into the group is easy by day and possible by night. If you arrive in the weekend it's best to hole up in Port Maurelle and wait until Monday morning. While passage into Neiafu is possible at night (the skinny bit of buoyed channel is lit and there are leading lights) its probably best to wait until day as a lot of the boats in Neiafu don't display anchor lights. Care is also needed approaching Port Maurelle as any yachts in here may not display anchor lights as well.
Tonga: Nukualofa
Big Mama's YC on Pangaimotu just off Nukualofa proper is the preferred stopping place for most yachts through here. The YC has good food and drink, runs a regular ferry service across to Nukualofa, can arrange most things including laundry, fuel, etc. and to boot there is good swimming off the back of the boat in the anchorage.
Yachts can also go stern-to in the harbour with a long line ashore. You can get water on the fish quay and arrange duty free fuel. It is around a 15 minute walk into town from the harbour or take a taxi.
New Zealand: Opua
New Zealand: Gulf Harbour Marina (Auckland)
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Gulf Harbour Marina is situated on the Whangaparoa Peninsula about 1-11/2 hours by car from downtown Auckland. The marina also operates a ferry service to Auckland and back. It is a bit out of the way and is really more of a safe place to leave a boat in or out of the water while out of the country. You will need a car to get around and even just to pop into Whangaparoa to get supplies.
The yard has pretty good services with a 20 ton and 100 ton travel hoist. There is a riggers, paintshop, boatbuilders, mechanics and fridge engineer, canvas shop, and a cafe. Outside contractors can also work here.
North Minerva Reef
MINERVA REEF
North Minerva Reef is a useful anchorage to get a 250 mile start on the
The passage through the pass on the NW side is straightforward by day although there can be up to 3 knots of current. Most of the reef appears to be free of coral heads inside the reef but procedd with care. Anchor on sand and coral in 8-15 metres under the reef depending on wind direction. Good holding on sand and coral. Good protection although at high tide there can be some slop from the swell washing over the top of the reef.
The following waypoints should be useful but use with care.
Approaches: 23°37’.00S 178°56’.20W
23°37’.28S 178°56’.00W
Pass: 23°37’.33S 178°55’.85W
South Minerva Reef can also be used but is a little more tricky to enter with a dog-leg entrance through the coral.
Vanuatu Port Vila
Australia
Cairns
Darwin
Cairns
Darwin
There are buses from Fannie Bay and Cullen Bay Marina into downtown Darwin. The centre is compact enough so you can easily walk everywhere. Buses stop outside Woolworths for Cullen Bay Marina and Fannie Bay so it is a convenient place to load up with provisions.
SE Asia
Indonesia
Kupang
Nongsa Point Marina
Singapore
Raffles Marina
Malaysia
Admiral Marina Approaches
Penang New Bridge
Indonesia: Kupang
Indonesia: Nongsa Point Marina
To make any sense of this image which doesn't clearly show reefs, islets, the channel or the new pontoon layout, you need to refer to the new plan of Nongsa Point Marina in the Skylax blog SE Asia
Singapore: Raffles Marina
Malaysia
Admiral Marina Approaches
Admiral Marina Approaches
The waypoints S1/S2/S3 and N1/N2/N3 (N3 and S3 are the same) give the approximate waypoints into Admiral Marina. For the actual waypoints you need to go to Indian Ocean Cruising Guide. Use the modified track here over the plan in Indian Ocean Cruising Guide with the southern approach S1/S/2/S3 and the northern approach N1/N2/N3.
DO NOT take Google waypoints as actual waypoints (they never seem to match up to my actual GPS waypoints taken on the spot) but just as a guide for getting into the marina. Both of these tracks (from the S and the N) work, well at least they worked for me. The final approaches into the marina are quite shallow, around 3.5-4 metres in places, and you should proceed carefully.
Penang New Bridge
Penang New Bridge (Penang Second Link Bridge)
In the southern approaches to Penang a new bridge is under construction between Batu Maung on Penang Island and Batu Kawan on the mainland. The bridge will be the longest in SE Asia at 22 km (15 miles) long with 10 miles of the bridge over water (albeit quite a lot of shallow water).
The bridge is under construction and by day you will see the pilings to take the spans. In 2009 the channel for navigation was on the west side with the southern approach at 05 17’.00N 100 18’.30E and the northern approach at 05 17’.35N 100 18’.48E. There are red port hand buoys marking the southern approach and a police boat patrols the area and escorts boats through the channel. At night things could be a little more confusing and it is probably worth anchoring off and proceeding through in daylight.
Completion is planned for 2012 and the air height will be 30 metres.
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