✅ Support our channel by getting Fishing Clash on your phone for free https://fishingclash.link/SailingFairIsle! Use our gift code FAIRISLE to get a $20 reward The Azores are definitely one of the must go places for any sailor, in fact we think they are at the very top of that list. After sailing into Horta at the end of the last episode we were met by our good friend Barry (the old sea dog) on the dock and had a great couple of days hanging out with him before he set off on his final leg of his solo around the world passage, well done Barry! There's a full version on the interview we filmed with him here : https://youtu.be/8BBSyDIFHH8?si=Cvn86-Q8QrWri6EK We loved Horta and the Island of Faial, a big thanks to Alan and Lesley who showed us around and welcomed us to their home, the best thing about having a sailing channel is definitely these sorts of connections we make. We have a visit to the island of Pico in this episode and show a little bit of the next Island island we sail to, Sao Jorge, but there's more on that island in the next episode. LATEST ON BARRY (Thur afternoon) Barry hasn't made as good progress as he hoped in the last few days with light winds. He is now under 200nm from Plymouth but is worried that he he does not get wind he will get caught by the remnants of hurricane Erin which is now racing back across the North Atlantic. He has a contingency plan to make for safe harbour in France, but if the forecast is correct then he should be getting some south in the wind soon which should allow him to get in to Plymouth at the weekend. 🎵 Music licensed from Lickd. The biggest mainstream and stock music platform for content creators. Praise You (Radio Edit) by Fatboy Slim, https://lickd.lnk.to/iQmcKMID!Sailing+Fair+Isle License ID: 5omZ6kYbmbR If you want to use music from famous artists, try Lickd to get track credits and unlimited stock music: https://go.lickd.co/Get-A-Free-Trial

When we arrived in Horta a few weeks ago we were met at the dock by our friend Barry 'the old sea dog'. This was a surprise because although we knew he was a bit behind with his videos (he's in South Africa in his current videos) but we didn't know quite how far! So we managed to overlap for a few days with Barry in Horta and had a lovely time hanging out with him, mainly in the pub! Peters sports bar is one of the most famous sailing bars in the world so it seemed appropriate. Obviously with such a monumental milestone just around the corner we sat down for an interview with him to discuss the 9 years he's been circumnavigating the world and filming his exploits. As this video goes out (Weds 9th Aug) Barry is 900nm from Plymouth where he will make landfall back in the UK. Barry will try to give updates on his social media as he gets close, but dealing with all that at sea while you're sailing single handed is not the easiest thing so we will try to keep everyone informed on our facebook as well. At the moment Barry thinks it will be around the 20th August, so if you're in the area we know Barry will really appreciate anyone who turns out.... especially if they buy him a beer!

This is our second Atlantic crossing but the first going from West to East which can be a much more challenging route. Thanks to constant up to date and detailed weather modelling we managed to have over a week of perfect sailing positioning ourselves just to the South of a slow moving front which supplied us with 15 knots on the beam in calm seas. On this passage you have to deal with different weather zones though so not quite the whole trip was like that! Arriving in the Azores has been a dream for us for a long time. It really is a must visit destination for any sailor. These are magical islands and we are enjoying every minute of being here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle 🎵 Music licensed from Lickd. The biggest mainstream and stock music platform for content creators. Never Ending Story (12'' Dance Mix) by Limahl, https://lickd.lnk.to/i9Ex5xID!Sailing+Fair+Isle License ID: M3O1zG3Em5n If you want to use music from famous artists, try Lickd to get track credits and unlimited stock music: https://go.lickd.co/Get-A-Free-Trial

We have a last tour of Bermuda before setting off on our second Atlantic crossing, this one looks like it could be tricky! If you are looking for new Mainsail cars then we can't recommend Ronstan enough. Check them out at http://www.ronstan.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle 🎵 Music licensed from Lickd. The biggest mainstream and stock music platform for content creators. On the Beach by Chris Rea, https://lickd.lnk.to/LsuvTDID!Sailing+Fair+Isle License ID: 4OevQl67n0k If you want to use music from famous artists, try Lickd to get track credits and unlimited stock music: https://go.lickd.co/Get-A-Free-Trial

I had been meaning to build a J-Pole Antenna for oue AIS for years. I had heard they perform very well and do away with the complexity of having a splitter in line which can compromise the VHF and the AIS if things go wrong. Well of course with the constant list of must do jobs that all cruisers have that particular job got pushed to the back until this week when we are preparing to cross the Atlantic and my AIS was playing up (it had been glitchy for a while) I tested everything and could not find a definite fault so decided to do away with the splitter and build a separate antenna for the AIS. J-pole designs are very simple and as we had some old spare copper tube from replacing the gas pipe onboard last week so this was the time to do it. It only took a morning and I'm very pleased with the results so I decided to share. Here is the page for the J-pole dimensions calculator: https://m0ukd.com/calculators/slim-jim-and-j-pole-calculator/ Hope it's some use for you guys. PLEASE REMEMBER TO SUBSCRIBE!!!

Many people just use Bermuda as a quick staging post on a West East Atlantic crossing. We think that is a massive mistake as Bermuda is one of our favourite places. Now that The Bahamas have hiked their cruising costs to thousands of pounds per vessel, Bermuda may be a better bet at just $70 for a 6 month permit. Plus , Bermuda really does have everything. Great anchorages, lovely walks, crystal clear water with healthy reefs... and we haven't even mentioned proper beer and excellent food, you can get a fantastic curry here! If you're interested in making a J-pole antenna here's the calculator for the dimensions you will need: https://m0ukd.com/calculators/slim-jim-and-j-pole-calculator/ Check our Ryan and Sophie sailing here: https://www.youtube.com/@UCeB8v6Yo60cTcmRUilSVZhA People have asked about the clamp I showed in the video, so here's a link... https://www.mantusmarine.com/product/mantus-rail-clamp/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle

The first leg of an Atlantic crossing is often the most tricky. Coming West the trade winds from the Canaries to the Caribbean are pretty reliable but getting down the the Canaries from Portugal can be a challenge. It was for us as you can see in Ep104 when we got hit by a force 9 gale. Similarly getting to Bermuda 850nm off the coast of America is not a stable trade wind area, it's subject to storm fronts coming off the Eastern seaboard of the US and even hurricanes looping up from the tropics. So we had to pick our weather window carefully. Thankfully we got it right, so this video is all about what life is like offshore when things go well! We are having a lovely time in Bermuda, a really stunning island with wonderful people. If you want weather routing advice Chris Parker is the go to expert, his website is below with all the details: https://www.mwxc.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle

Having sailing Fair Isle full time for 8 years and 25,000 miles we know we can cope without electric winches so we had the eWincher down as a 'nice to have' item rather than a 'must have' But there were certainly occasions when we would have loved to have the speed and power one of these winch handles gives you. After 6 months of use I can tell you we are very glad we went this way and the eWincher has become a very valued item on the boat, we wouldn't want to do without one now. If you want more information on the eWincher go to: https://theyachtrigger.com/products/ewincher-2?srsltid=AfmBOooDACDxc_6Ha7Bo6MCmjix7mtwiudfOAilShgZk-RUvkQSnCqmG ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle

We are now in the really nice bits of the Bahamas, we did have to spend a day fixing a potentially boat destroying fault, but we are enjoying the prettiest spot so far this side of the Atlantic. Eleuthera is a lovely region and the jewel in the crown is Harbour Island which is difficult to get to off the beaten track at the end of a tricky reef system called the Devils Backbone. We were very glad we made the effort though, a lovely village with a long pink sand beach and a fully protected anchorage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle

We keep hearing good things about the Mantus anchors and we told you in last week's episode we've had major problems with the Ultra swivel so it was definitely time to test out a Mantus anchor while we are in the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas.This first test was an eye opener, we subjected the anchor to more abuse than we've ever done before with a vicious snatch test with no snubber, real gear breaking stuff, so have a look and see how well the Mantus manages. The popularity of our anchoring videos 'Anchoring 101' https://youtu.be/M06kq7pffZo and 'Which Anchor' shows that lots of you care about your anchors! We've now had half a million views on those videos and we appreciate all your valuable comments. If you are interested in looking at Mantus anchors this is their website (they do quite a few other interesting things too, not just the anchors and swivel, so have a look!) https://www.mantusmarine.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! Check out Steve's excellent anchor test videos on SV Panope here: https://www.youtube.com/@flygoodwin RIGHT TO REPLY Since the last episode "A testing time in The Bahamas" https://youtu.be/M06kq7pffZo we have had some feedback from Erkutay Yucel, Ultra Products West. He is critical of experts, particularly from Ketten Welder, who say some types of stainless steel are superior to others. "I know our friends in Ketten Welder use it as a marketing tool, claiming that duplex stainless steel is superior to 316Ti and 316L in warm waters. However, we couldn't find any scientific evidence that demonstrates a difference in performance between a 30-degree average water temperature and a 20-degree average water temperature. There isn't even a difference between the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, as 90% of our customers use our products in the summer in the Mediterranean when the average sea water temperature is 30 degrees, which should be the yearly average in the Caribbean”. Erkutay Yucel, Ultra Products West Our experience is that we have had no corrosion on our duplex chain, nor on the Ultra Anchor which is a mixture of duplex steel and 316L. It is just the swivel which has corroded so badly.

With packages delivered and the major boat jobs done, we are finally getting to see the best parts of the Bahamas. We are not just sitting around drinking cocktails though! We have some serious anchor testing to do, and what better place with the crystal clear waters and variable sea beds here. The anchor we are testing this time is the Mantus M2 (105Ib model) if you want more info on their gear this is their website... https://www.mantusmarine.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle RIGHT TO REPLY We have had some feedback from Erkutay Yucel, Ultra Products West. He still maintains the pins in the Ultra anchor swivel never drop out, whether or not loctite is used. He is also critical of experts, particularly from Ketten Welder, who say some types of stainless steel are superior to others. "I know our friends in Ketten Welder use it as a marketing tool, claiming that duplex stainless steel is superior to 316Ti and 316L in warm waters. However, we couldn't find any scientific evidence that demonstrates a difference in performance between a 30-degree average water temperature and a 20-degree average water temperature. There isn't even a difference between the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, as 90% of our customers use our products in the summer in the Mediterranean when the average sea water temperature is 30 degrees, which should be the yearly average in the Caribbean”. Erkutay Yucel, Ultra Products West

Andros is not a well travelled cruising ground, but it has a lot to offer. It's the largest island in the Bahamas, in fact it could fit every other island in it's space with room to spare. It's known as the 'family island' and is very friendly it also has an abundance of natural water and an amazing geology that supports it. More cruisers should visit Andros even if it's just a stop to check in and out if you're coming from the States, definitely a better option than Nassau. Do check out CMP they do all sorts of good stuff and are very helpful: https://cmpcordage.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle

Regular viewers will be familiar with Heidi and Franny as we interviewed them 3 years ago at the Annapolis boat show when they were first looking for a catamaran and we have stayed with them on board in Annapolis for the last two boat shows. Since then they purchased a Fountaine Pajot, Saona 47 and have been living aboard. We caught up with them cruising the Bahamas so wanted to interview them again to find out if boat ownership and cruising was panning out they way they expected. Heidi and Franny have their own You Tube sailing channel which you can check out here... https://www.youtube.com/@HeidiandFranny ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle

Everyone tells us we can't afford not to come to the Bahamas. It has the clearest waters at the perfect temperature. Strings of fabulous islands and perfect trade wind sailing in protected waters. However, there's a way to come to the Bahamas and that's well provisioned with a fully functional boat. Having just spent the last 6 weeks in Cuba with very little opportunity to resupply and with more things breaking on the boat than in the previous 8 years put together, it wasn't the best preparation! So we're feeling the full force of the Bahamas hugely inflated prices and battling to find a way to get the spares we need to get Fair Isle back in tip-top condition. It's all part of cruising life! You can check out Heidi and Franny's site here ... https://www.youtube.com/@HeidiandFranny ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle

It's the last of the Cuba series, but it all happens in this episode. We sail the whole Northern coast of Cuba, hide from a storm, dock in over 30 knots of wind (without the bow thruster), run out of food and then see the other side of Cuba (it's a shock!) Then we make for the Bahamas, catch the biggest Mahi Mahi ever (which couldn't have come at a better time), sail 100nm in 5 metres of water, navigate 17nm of sand banks to get into the 'Tongue of the Ocean' and end up in the clearest water we've ever seen. Not a bad week! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle

A big part of cruising is fixing things as you go along and you can bet things will go wrong at the most inopportune moments. We've had more things break in the last month than ever before and we are in the one place in the Caribbean that you can get no help and no parts, Cuba. So we are on our own, we are also very nearly out of food, so the struggle begins to get things fixed and get to the Bahamas. I promised the recipe for the thai soup so here it is: Thai Soup Ingredients Serves: 8  * 1 tablespoon vegetable oil * 2 tablespoons grated fresh root ginger * 1 stick lemongrass, minced * 2 teaspoons red curry paste * 1L chicken stock * 2 tablespoons fish sauce * 1 tablespoon light brown soft sugar (if using a can of lychee then add the syrup instead of sugar) * 3 (400ml) tins coconut milk * 225g fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced * 450g prawns, peeled and deveined or pieces of chicken, seasoned * To serve * 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice * salt to taste * 4 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander MethodPrep:35min  ›  Cook:30min  ›  Ready in:1hr5min  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir the ginger, lemongrass and curry paste in the oil for 1 minute. Slowly pour the chicken stock over the mixture, stirring continually. Stir in the fish sauce and brown sugar; simmer for 15 minutes. 2. Stir in the coconut milk and mushrooms; cook and stir until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the prawns; cook for 5 minutes or until pink and opaque. If using chicken fry this first after seasoning. 3. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice and salt; garnish with fresh coriander. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle

After running aground in the last episode sailing through Southern Cuba, our luck doesn't really get any better this week. Cuba is not the place to have things fail as there is no way of getting anything here directly and importing spares is very difficult. We are lucky that we carry a good selection of spare parts with us, but we have a hydraulic failure, a water maker failure and a gas leak that we cant deal with without specific help and we also have our mainsail cars falling apart and needing some creative jury rigging. Added to this we are running very short of food and water. Cuba is a large country with a long coastline and we know that we cannot get provisions in most places here, in fact the last time we found anywhere at all to buy food was 3 weeks ago. We are catching fish though and the few locals we see barter for lobster so despite everything we are really enjoying our time here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle

The Cuban coastguard doesn't have a boat. One sailor we spoke to here was told that if he wanted his boat pulled off the rocks they would have to hire a boat from Jamaica. So, this is not the place to find yourself hard aground! Added to that, we can 't get spares here. When we ran aground the hydraulics took that moment to blow a pipe so we have no bow thruster nor windlass to help. Two things that would have been handy to extract us from the bar we are firmly beached on. We try various ways of extracting ourselves, including kedging off, using our new electric eWincher. We really are on our own as we haven't seen another boat in a week. Cuba is an amazing place! Come here but come prepared. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle

Don't miss this weeks episode!

Cuba is without doubt the friendliest and most fascinating place we've been in the Caribbean - but somewhat surprisingly, there are hardly any tourists here (and they could really use more!). Cruising here on a boat is not like other countries. Officially you can only stop and go ashore at the 6 government run 'Marin' marinas so visiting the cities is often best done by road. We've all seen the tourists pictures of old American classic cars from the 50s and 60's and you might think it's just a few cars being set up for pictures, but it's not. There are literally thousands of them. Yes the lines of pink Cadillacs in Old town Havana are there to try and attract the few passing tourists ($15 for an hour tour around Havana) but these cars appear in varying states of decay all over Cuba, most with random Russian parts to keep them going. There is limited information available about Cuba online and I have to say most of what we had read turned out not to be accurate. Food is a real problem here, there are no shops really. There are some markets in towns and in the cities where tourists might be there are restaurants with limited, not very good food. Everything is super cheap by our standards, but you will struggle to spend money because there's really not much to spend it on. Cuba will really surprise you in so many ways, we love it here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE - IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATREON: We couldn't make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us! https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle