Jobiska’s Journey

What a year – best laid plans of mice and men!
Lorraine and Chris Marchant
A Christmas Message
We have never done a Christmas card letter like this before but as it has been a very unexpected and unusual year I’m tickling the keys. Covid, of course, has taken its toll on us all one way or another.
Our plan last year was to sail our boat Jobiska to the US where we would berth it in Florida for a few years and fly back there to escape British winters. This would enable us to sail around Cuba and the northern Caribbean which would be new to us. We booked the boat into a safe haven in southern Florida far inland via a canal where we could keep the yacht relatively safely during hurricane seasons.
Leaving Lowestoft in July 2019 we followed the route that we’ve taken before across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. We visited the smaller Channel Islands and France before crossing the Bay of Biscay to Spain and on to Portugal & Maderia, next the Canaries where Peter joined us for a great couple of weeks. From there we were excited to sail to the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa again where we renewed our acquaintance with a sailmaker, now a Port Captain, who had repaired our mainsail for us ten years earlier at the start of our circumnavigation in Gryphon II.
We arrived in Grenada just before Christmas where we were joined by Peter and Harriet for nearly three weeks. We had a wonderful 8 weeks of sailing through the Windward and Leeward Islands, first with them, then with cousins from New Zealand. It was all very enjoyable; we visited some beautiful places although the weather was definitely more unreliable than the three times we have sailed there before.

My cousins left from Guadeloupe at the end of February having explored the French Carib islands with us. Guadeloupe was to mark a change for us although we didn’t realise it at the time. Carrying on north to the British Virgin islands Covid quickly started to be an issue. Although we enjoyed our time there, we began to realise that we would soon be sailing in a pandemic. There was increasing news of cruise liners being refused entry to island ports and harbours, they were being described by some media as floating petri dishes with nowhere to go.
Hoping to get to Cuba for a quick visit en route to Florida 2,000 miles north-west, we got daily news of many islands closing their borders and we knew we must make an abrupt change of plan although still aiming to fly home from Florida in April.
Borders were closing around us but the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British protectorate, were open to yachts transiting from islands where there were no Covid cases so we sailed the 450 miles west to Grand Turk and Providencia. Cruise ships were banned and flights curtailed but we were checked in and found an excellent tiny marina where there were just a few other boats so social distancing was easy. We could have gone on to the Bahamas as they were still open to yachts but we were afraid that they might close borders before we arrived so we stayed put. Good decision as we soon realised that all yacht movements would be stopped whether in good marinas, bad anchorages or something in between. We were so lucky, Turks and Caicos had almost no cases, the marina manager lent us his car for shopping, we could swim and walk the island as long as we socially distanced. Some other crews we had met, particularly those stuck in Guadeloupe, could only anchor out and were being confined to their boats, not allowed to swim or to go ashore, except for pre-booked supermarket trips.
Wonderful as the Turks and Caicos are, we were trapped. We got news that Brits were newly banned from entry into Florida, but in any case Covid was starting to rage there, so we didn’t want to go. We were very safe in Turks and Caicos and spent eight fairly idyllic weeks. However, the hurricane season was approaching, also there were illegal migrants beginning to arrive in small boats and dinghies from Haiti where Covid had taken a hold. We had to get out and the big crunch came.

Our decision, of course, was to sail Jobiska back home to UK. 4,500 miles we never expected to sail again as we would have sold Jobiska in the States in a few years time, had all gone to plan. This journey is not a joy, the weather gets rougher and colder going north and east, the logistics of such a long passage are fairly daunting and in fact it was worse than we expected. Bermuda was closed to us as they were quarantining yachts at anchor for 14 days then allowing only two days ashore, the anchorage there is very open and rolly. No thanks to that then as we had heard the same thing was happening in the Azores, which is a much more important stop. As it turned out we had stiff east winds for a few days, followed by very light winds from the north east and were driven further north to within 500 miles of Newfoundland; we thought we might have to seek refuge there, aaghh! We experienced some despair feeling that we would never get to the Azores.
We heard of yachts behind us that had started from further south which were beating into the wind and being driven backwards. It was unusual weather indeed as we were expecting to pick up the westerlies to blow us home as we got further north; they didn’t arrive. We were cursing Covid as no doubt you have done at times.
With a slight wind change and by much manipulation of our course we eventually made the Azores after 25 days, 20 of which had felt quite gruelling. All islands were closed except for Faial’s port of Horta, which we had read before we left, was allowing boats stay at anchor for two days to take on water, fuel and possibly supplies under quarantine but not landing. Our biggest issue was to carry enough water as we had no water maker on Jobiska having never expected to undertake this very long passage again. However, we arrived to a rapidly changing policy on the island which was Covid free. We were Covid tested within five days and allowed our freedom when we got the expected clear results. It felt marvellous, quite celebratory despite our tiredness and the circumstances.
We were greeted by two wonderful guys from Peter’s Café Sport, famous with yachtsmen all over the world. Not only did they make us feel welcome but they did our shopping for us until we were allowed ashore. We were so grateful and will never forget their help and friendly care. However, our greatest concern was our children. We had short satellite phone calls with them when sailing but now rapid phone calls established their good health. They are both very pragmatic and Peter, who lives in China, was taking it all in his stride. Doesn’t stop us worrying about them.

We have spent time here in the past, we love the beautiful Azores and the Azoreans love the Brits but time and chance were against us on this occasion. We just wanted to recuperate for the next leg of our voyage so only spent a couple of days exploring Faial. With full fuel and water tanks, a full fridge and lockers, we set off for Blighty. It got colder and quite rough, it was cold and wet being on watch in the cockpit but after 12 days we celebrated seeing a dull brown shadow of landfall, then the white cliffs of the south coast.
Information was very confused when we arrived in British waters in July, we couldn’t get a straight answer from Border Force or the Coastguard as to how and where we should check in. Not wanting to risk being trapped in quarantine on the boat somewhere despite having been in isolation at sea we decided to sail straight to Suffolk via a few isolated anchorages where we could sleep and avoid more night watches. After an eventual 15 days of isolation on the waves we did another 14 days of quarantine at home. Thank goodness for very good neighbours and home delivery, after a year away our cupboards were utterly bare.
Jobiska is a centre cockpit yacht which we’ve not had before and thought would be great but both decided that a rear cockpit is more our cup of tea especially for sea fishing. Having agreed on that we are currently selling Jobiska and have a keen buyer. So in 2021 we shall probably be boat hunting again but no more sailing big oceans. Global warming is definitely affecting world weather patterns, flying is off the menu for us now and Covid has demonstrated that it’s impossible to know what on earth will happen next.
Our other great joy in life was our border terrier Benbow and we now have Bruno, a ten-week-old border, that is giving us much pleasure and a lot of fun, we hope he will like sailing. So here we are just out of lockdown and heading for Christmas same as you.
Enjoy, stay well and we hope 2021 is a much better year for you whatever you decide to do.
Very best wishes from us.

Getting Ready for Ocean Sailing
28 June 2019 | Lowestoft
Lorraine Marchant
We bought our Moody 38, then called Salute, in Holland in 2017 and sailed her back to the UK in a chilly November that year. Almost our first decision was to change the name; this could be our last sailing boat so we decided on the same name as our first and she is now Jobiska but very different to her namesake, a Vega 27, in which we crossed to the Caribbean in 1981. The name Jobiska comes from the Edward Lear poem ‘The Pobble Who Has No Toes’ (1872).
The current Jobiska is boat number seven and like several of her predecessors, especially our last one Gryphon II in which we circumnavigated, we have spent time preparing her for the sort of sailing we want to do. This will be our third crossing to the Caribbean so we knew more or less what we wanted to do with the budget we had. A month-long shake-down cruise to the Channel Islands in 2018 enabled us to get to know the boat and as we had predominantly poor weather, she was well tried. We had never sailed a centre cockpit boat before but felt very happy with the experience and really pleased with the after deck which is perfect for fishing and outdoor life in hotter climes.
Our priorities for this trip were the re-rigging required by our insurance company as ours was nearly 10 years old, power generation and upgrading of some electrics, protection from the sun, back up auto-steering, servicing the sails, increasing deck stowage and making water/sun proof bags for the large jerry cans of fuel to be kept on deck. Then the domestic safety and comfort side of things such as changing the fancy-dancy ruched curtains for something we are happier to live with, bulking up the insulation of the fridge, sorting shelving and stowage especially for large books such as our cruising guides, technical manuals and the like. This was all achieved with hours of hard work and the help of a number of other people who did sterling work for us:
The rigging was renewed first then the old solar panel arch on the stern replaced with a large bespoke stainless steel one which also makes the after deck feel very safe and provides great places to mount life belts, etc. The enormous steering wheel we had was cut down (a surprise that this could be done with no problems) so that we can move to the rear of the cockpit with ease. Thanks Tim, Kingston Rigging.

We had a bimini made, which fits perfectly under the boom, with additional side and back panels to protect us from UV exposure and also gives us a giant tent over the cockpit for wet weather in anchorages and moorings which is bound to be appreciated at some stage. Thanks Colin, Stormforce Covers.
Fitted cushions were made for the cockpit. Thanks Martin, Comfort Afloat.
Various electrical work/advice has been very helpful including sourcing and advising on the fitting of a new auto-pilot, the old one still works fine but that will be our back-up. Thanks Kevin, KM Electronics.
Very many thanks to the kind friends who were there when we needed them for help with hauling the boat for anti-fouling, help with getting up the mast for various reasons and being around to lend a supporting hand. Finally to those who will be looking after things whilst we are away and to our children who are always encouraging and supportive.
Thanks to you all.
Moving Onboard
30 June 2019 | Lowestoft
Lorraine Marchant
We were really grateful to our friends and now neighbours Melanie and Terry who loaded up their car with our final bags and boxes for stowing and delivered us to Jobiska in Lowestoft. This was great as it meant we didn’t have to juggle with car and train journeys, they could see the boat and we could make our parting goodbye at the waterside.
Sunday was a day for tweaking the stowage and ensuring that everything on board would stay in place no matter what the angle of the boat. By tea time we were able to welcome Judy and Harry aboard to say goodbye, they came bearing a basket full of wonderfully fresh home grown produce from their allotment with a message to avoid scurvy at sea. Now Jobiska’s fruit basket, it had been given once before when we left for our circumnavigation in 2009 and was returned six years later. So it was such a pleasure to have it on board again, rather like a good luck charm.
Off to the South Coast
01 July 2019 | Brighton

Chris Marchant
The start of our southward voyage. Whatever course we may need to follow along the way, from now on we shall be heading south.
Leaving our berth in time for Lowestoft’s 05:00 hrs bridge opening we left the harbour in the company of 3 other Cruising Club yachts. 10 hours and 90 miles on saw us past the Thames estuary, past Ramsgate and the east Kent coast then round the corner to Dover where we spent the night outside the main marina with a berth in the tidal basin. This meant we could make the next early start needed to catch the tide for Eastbourne and we left at 04:45a.m. Eastbourne was easier with a later tide taking us the last 19 miles on to Brighton where we looked forward to meeting up with our daughter Hattie who lives about 10 miles from the marina there.
After a happy few days we moved on to Gosport to pick up some new cockpit cushions and then onto Lymington where we did some final chandlery shopping, buying a new shower for replacing a leaky one and doing some other last-minute shopping.