Welcome...
join us on our adventure!
join us on our adventure!
Follow us as we unravel the wonders of the world onboard
SY Ostara.
Click the tracker button below for our current location and blog.
Where are we now?
15-03-25
Cruising the Carribean! 😎
Cruising the Carribean! 😎
01-03-25
Ostara's arrival at Grenada!
Ostara's arrival at Grenada!
14-02-25
Arrival at Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
Arrival at Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
27-01-25
Arrival at St Helena
Arrival at St Helena
24-11-24
Arrival at Reunion Island
Arrival at Reunion Island
05-11-24
Arrival at Port Louis, Mauritius
Arrival at Port Louis, Mauritius
17-10-24
Arrival at Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Arrival at Cocos (Keeling) Islands
25-09-24
Half Way Point!
Half Way Point!
30-05-24
First Half Adventures
First Half Adventures
Ostara of London
A bird's eye view!
January 2024
December 2023
14-12-23
Our next stop is Dominica.
As we approach, our senses are triggered by the amazing scents coming off the land.
Dominica was greatly affected by a severe hurricane in 2017 and this is clearly apparent as we anchor. Many dwellings still lie in a state of devastation. We arrive too late to check-in so have a relaxing evening and dinner on board.
We are up bright and early the next morning to take the dingy to shore.
After checking in, we have breakfast in Roseau, the capital of Dominica. We are falling in love with this island already. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming.
As we explore, we discover the beauty of Dominica. Natural waterfalls a plenty! We swim in Emerald Pool and are lucky to have it all to ourselves.
After lunch at a local restaurant set in the mountainside by a river, we venture on to Titou Gorge where a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. We don our safety floatation belts and are taken by our guide into the gorge.
Unbelievably, we are the only visitors and are totally awestruck by the beauty of this stunning natural wonder.
The lush landscape of Dominica and Titou Gorge
12-12-23
Time to move on and make our way slowly to Antigua - first stop Martinique! Check-in is very easy at the nearest chandler.
We visited the beautiful cathedral and then stopped for a local lunch before heading back to the boat.
As the bay is just off the capital the night is noisy with music til the early hours!
11-12-23
We spent the next few days trying to catch up with sleep and, as ever, there were boat jobs to be done.
As more and more boats arrived the welcomes became more and more raucous. Horns sounding at whatever time of night or day they arrived!
Rodney Bay is a great place to be - easy to find helpers for maintenance and cleaning jobs, albeit at Caribbean pace!
Lovely restaurants, and to be handed a menu was sheer bliss!
7-12-23
Eighteen days, 4 hours, 39 minutes, 32 seconds and 3.057 nautical miles later we crossed the finish line!!
As we approached, the lush greenness of St. Lucia became apparent.
We all felt very excited to arrive. Our first ocean crossing completed!!
Crossing the finishing line!!
November 2023
29-11-23
Life on board in the middle of the Atlantic ocean began to feel normal (to some degree!) and we adjusted as the routine and rhythm of the days became familiar.
The rolling didn't stop and the sleep didn't start, however, there is a stillness of mind out at sea, at least when the sea is being kind. Even though the boat is a small space to be living in, there is a huge sense of freedom.
The last week in particular went by quickly and before we knew it we were counting down the miles until land.
19-11-23
After weeks of preparation and provisioning for what seems like a small army, we have commenced the ARC Rally!
The send off in Gran Canaria was very special as we had members of our family there to wave us off. Emotional to say the least!
The atmosphere was electric, filled with excitement and anticipation of adventure to come.
The Captain, Joe!
Crew Member, Chris!
Making our mark!
The Crew!
23-11-23
We are now 4 days into our crossing and beginning to settle into the routine of life at sea (that is, apart from the lack of sleep!).
The weather is warm and we’ve had a real mixture of winds - currently light and very pleasant!
We’ve had visits by the dolphins every evening and Joe caught the first fish today. Not big enough to feed the crew but it’s a start!
October 2023
Just as we plan to leave Gibraltar we had 40 knot winds so we decided to leave it another day. The next day arrived - this morning - with gale force warnings. Forecast looking better for tomorrow. Jonathon is here with us for the crossing to Lanzarote and fortunately has managed to get another two days off work and change his flight.
September 2023
September has been a month of endless boat jobs! Preparing Ostara to sail around the world has been a lot of work. She has been re-rigged and re-jigged and is now ready to go. We're in Gibraltar, soon setting sail for Lanzarote.
Ostara's arrival in Gibraltar
Sight-seeing in Gibraltar
St Michael's Cave
The angel lit up in St. Michael's Cave
The Pillars of Hercules
The tunnels
August 2023
01-08-2023
We are now in Palma, Mallorca - a little earlier than expected as we had fridge and freezer problems which, happily, have now been resolved.
The job list is endless but we do seem to be ploughing through it. Not so easy in the heat but we’ll have to acclimatise! 😎
We will soon have Ostara hauled out for a major service of all key parts, hull cleaned and anti fouled and a few last upgrades in readiness for our ocean crossings.
At the end of September we’ll be setting sail for Gibraltar. After that it’s on to the Canaries where we begin our preparation for the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). This will take us from Las Palmas to St Lucia - 2,700 nautical miles, 18-21 days at sea.
July 2023
28-07-23
We've had a busy few days preparing Ostara for her voyage - a wonderful send off and a very late night! Today we set sail from our home marina in Port Grimaud, South of France to Les Poquerolles, Iles d’Hyres.
After a very pleasant and still overnight stop at anchor we set off to Fornells, Menorca, early the following morning.
Such a great place and incredible sea food!
Sunset at Les Poquerolles.
