Currently I am at sea, somewhere in the Atlantic - Below is another podcast update sent in via satellite phone! Please don’t forget I am trying to raise funds to build bridges in Cambodia - More information is available on my Fundraising page.

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Click the ‘Play’ button to hear the latest satellite update:

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If you are running iTunes or similar, you can subscribe the Bridge over the Atlantic podcast here for automated updates. Accompanying each update is my latest position, visible on the Position page. If you have some spare time and feel like transcribing this update as a comment, I’d be most appreciative - Thanks, and I’ll be back online in the Caribbean!

nick

This is the post I’ve been dreaming of writing since the day this project became a reality, when I signed the paperwork for Constellation in August, 2006. I literally cannot believe I’m here, sitting on an island off of Africa, departing for the Caribbean, tomorrow. I’m speechless, which is why I’m writing.

I won’t be speechless forever though, because while I sail across the Atlantic, I’ll be dropping updates back to the site as an audio podcast. Which means, you’ll be able to hear my silly voice telling you all about my adventures via satellite phone, from the middle of nowhere! The podcast will be available to play within each post update over the following month, or you can subscribe via iTunes. Read more about it all on the new Podcast page. Remember, while I’m out there sailing, it’s possible I will be closer to orbiting satellites than I will be to land! Chew on that for awhile…

While you’re chewing, I’ll explain what’s happening, where I’m going, and what I’m doing it all for.

Each voice podcast will be an un-rehearsed update on my trip, including our current position. I expect it will be quite different from my posts up until now, as I will have limited airtime, and speaking is quite different from writing! Very special thanks to Marty at Autosystems for assisting with my satellite communications costs, and also for agreeing to coordinate and manage the technical aspects of website while I’m at sea. If you’re enjoying the podcast, leave a thank you comment for Marty, I know he’d appreciate it! I will leave an update roughly every 4 to 5 days, so if you do leave any comments on the posts, maybe he can even read a few out to me, to keep me going! If you’re feeling really keen and have the time, it would be great if someone felt like transcribing each podcast as a blog comment. This will allow people who can’t listen to the update still keep know what’s going on. Also, if updates suddenly stop, keep in mind there is a far greater chance of technical problems than anything more serious (ie. phone failure, electrical system meltdown, aliens attacking satellites etc).

Within each post, a player will show up which looks like this:

Subscribe to the podcast here (cut and paste the url into the podcast subscribe box of the latest version of iTunes)
Or get notified of new updates via email here.

The most important thing of all though, is what I’m hoping to support via my crossing. For a long time now, I’ve wanted to try and do something good with my trip. So, it is here that I will announce my attempt to raise money to help Oxfam Australia build bridges in Cambodia. I will call this project ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’, and you can read exactly what I’m talking about, how to help, and more on my new Fundraising page. I will not double-post everything here, so I urge you to read the full details of my fundraising campaign via the new dedicated area, if only because I think you’ll quite like the idea! With each significant ocean passage over 1000nm, I will attempt to raise funds for a unique and interesting cause, each one being different and taking part in another area of the globe. You all know I rarely have a dime to my name, but, for this crossing, I would like to forget about my own problems, and use my crossing to generate goodwill for others. If you run a website, consider linking to my new fundraising page, or alternatively, if you have a printer and a large workplace, think about printing off one of these flyers to rally support!

Unless there is an unscheduled stop in Cape Verde, I’ll be back to my normal post routine in some 30 days, live from Barbados - For now, each post will simply be titled ‘Bridge over the Atlantic, Day X’.

Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to read this site, to all the wonderful people I’ve met in the Canaries, and to the sponsors who continually get me out of a jam! Thank you to Martin & Loopy in Barbados for the local pilotage info, Fudgie for everything, and Rich for the weather routing assistance. And last but not least, a big HELLO to all the 3rd graders at Rippowam Cisqua in New York!

Till the Caribbean, moby nick.

While crossing the Atlantic, I will be sending back audio updates with my position and reports from the high seas. You can subscribe to the podcast with iTunes using the following feed URL: Bigoceans | Tiny Boat Podcast (cut and paste the url into the podcast subscribe box of the latest version of iTunes). Alternatively view all my podcast posts here. I am raising funds to build bridges in rural Cambodia - Please read my Fundraising page for more information. Satellite airtime sponsored by Autosystems & phone sponsorship by Ton & Petra of Aquamarijn. Site managed in my absence by Martin!

Thank you very much to Rafael of Tenerife, for phoning me numerous times, SMS’ing, calling Madrid and Las Palmas, as well as dealing with difficult postal and customs employees who claimed they knew nothing - All just to help some Australian he’s never met! Thank you also toPedro #1 and Pirata Paul for walking all over the city with me, working as my private translator; I can’t wait until I can get an automatic translation implant.

Today, I climbed deep into the mountains to find the secret Canarian Customs bunker, containing my long lost solar panels. Hidden like a Norwegian NATO base, I found it, my spirits peaked and the Caribbean glimmered on the horizon. I was escorted by security into a large building, to a small desk in the corner. I showed my DHL receipt and begged the staff to find my parcel amongst the brown cardboard boxes. The Customs staff tried to charge me Canarian Tax, but thankfully my marina receipt and Australian passport was enough to convince them I was genuinly ‘In Transit’, and they handed the enormous box over with ease. I was nearing breaking point, as I started asking friends where I could launch tactical weapons from Constellations bow, in a strike against Spanish Post. I tried everything to calm my nerves, from drinking rum (a present from one of the marina staff), to excessive walking, swimming and yoga breathing. I can stop all that now, and concentrate on doing a lot more of the following:

(thanks again to Daniel & Eva or Ornette.de for the great photos! More here.)

I have some stories about sailing for 40 hours under reefed main and storm jib from the south of Tenerife back to Gran Canaria, working on my tan in a holiday resort, and tales of real Vikings, but as of today, I have a lot of work to do, and no time for story telling! I will try to leave on Monday, weather pending: If you are a weather expert, and have any special thoughts on a Monday departure, please leave a comment or contact me. I have not had a chance to look at the pressure charts, but I’ll begin to over the following days. As for my planned route change, I have contacted the Bermudan embassy, who will not issue me a new Visa. So, I’m off to Barbados, where there is an embassy capable of issuing new Visas. It’s a race against the clock!

Thank you again to Andre of Intertoys for providing the sponsorship of these Solar panels. Thank you also to Eckhard of Soltronik in Hamburg
for helping out with the price and postage. If you’re interested in panels, he’s your man - Very helpful, English speaking, and prompt. The failure for the solar panels to arrive was in no way his fault, but I would suggest never having expensive items posted to the Canary islands, as they are not a ‘normal EU country’ like mainland Spain.

nick!

P.S Thanks to all those who wished me happy birthday! I guess 27 isn’t so bad… I feel pretty much the same as last week, when I was 26 - Maybe my joints are a little stiffer, and my posture bent forward a bit more, but what can I say.