harry
@sysop.ooo
sysadmin sailor slacker programmer
currently cruising Iberia in my BCC 28, Indigo
currently cruising Iberia in my BCC 28, Indigo
Looks like I’ve got a passenger for my coastal putter south to the Rock 🐦⬛
November 9, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Looks like I’ve got a passenger for my coastal putter south to the Rock 🐦⬛
I’m beginning my tour of the antique Med in Astaroth - Rota - a Bronze Age haven of the Tartessians, where I ⚓️’d last night. Rich from the tin trade, Tartessos was fading when Tyrians founded Gadir - Cádiz - across the bay (around 1100 BC).
A king of Tartessos paid for the walls of Phocaea!
A king of Tartessos paid for the walls of Phocaea!
November 9, 2025 at 10:11 AM
I’m beginning my tour of the antique Med in Astaroth - Rota - a Bronze Age haven of the Tartessians, where I ⚓️’d last night. Rich from the tin trade, Tartessos was fading when Tyrians founded Gadir - Cádiz - across the bay (around 1100 BC).
A king of Tartessos paid for the walls of Phocaea!
A king of Tartessos paid for the walls of Phocaea!
The hooligan Orca pod found me! All well, no major damage to Indigo or I.
2 of them snuck up on me 15nm west of Sines at around 8:30 pm. For 15-20 minutes they bumped Indigo’s rudder & spun us around.
Honestly it felt playful. Except they each weigh about as much as Indigo herself, & swim faster!
2 of them snuck up on me 15nm west of Sines at around 8:30 pm. For 15-20 minutes they bumped Indigo’s rudder & spun us around.
Honestly it felt playful. Except they each weigh about as much as Indigo herself, & swim faster!
November 4, 2025 at 11:02 AM
The hooligan Orca pod found me! All well, no major damage to Indigo or I.
2 of them snuck up on me 15nm west of Sines at around 8:30 pm. For 15-20 minutes they bumped Indigo’s rudder & spun us around.
Honestly it felt playful. Except they each weigh about as much as Indigo herself, & swim faster!
2 of them snuck up on me 15nm west of Sines at around 8:30 pm. For 15-20 minutes they bumped Indigo’s rudder & spun us around.
Honestly it felt playful. Except they each weigh about as much as Indigo herself, & swim faster!
We’re in Portugal 🇵🇹!
Docked in Póvoa de Varzim after ~65nm overnight. (Wanted to gain miles before a southerly Force 6 traps me for several days.)
Experimented with a new reefs - making 1/5th of the Genoa into a pretend yankee balances a 3 reef main + full stay well, when close hauled in 30 kts ⛵️
Docked in Póvoa de Varzim after ~65nm overnight. (Wanted to gain miles before a southerly Force 6 traps me for several days.)
Experimented with a new reefs - making 1/5th of the Genoa into a pretend yankee balances a 3 reef main + full stay well, when close hauled in 30 kts ⛵️
October 30, 2025 at 4:39 PM
We’re in Portugal 🇵🇹!
Docked in Póvoa de Varzim after ~65nm overnight. (Wanted to gain miles before a southerly Force 6 traps me for several days.)
Experimented with a new reefs - making 1/5th of the Genoa into a pretend yankee balances a 3 reef main + full stay well, when close hauled in 30 kts ⛵️
Docked in Póvoa de Varzim after ~65nm overnight. (Wanted to gain miles before a southerly Force 6 traps me for several days.)
Experimented with a new reefs - making 1/5th of the Genoa into a pretend yankee balances a 3 reef main + full stay well, when close hauled in 30 kts ⛵️
Back from a little time inland exploring Galicia.
I read two sublime new novels on the road - both poetic, incipient classics, & both stories of voyagers: Orbital, of astronauts (Samantha Harvey), & I Cheerfully Refuse, of an odyssey on Lake Superior (Leif Enger).
I actually read them both twice.
I read two sublime new novels on the road - both poetic, incipient classics, & both stories of voyagers: Orbital, of astronauts (Samantha Harvey), & I Cheerfully Refuse, of an odyssey on Lake Superior (Leif Enger).
I actually read them both twice.
October 28, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Back from a little time inland exploring Galicia.
I read two sublime new novels on the road - both poetic, incipient classics, & both stories of voyagers: Orbital, of astronauts (Samantha Harvey), & I Cheerfully Refuse, of an odyssey on Lake Superior (Leif Enger).
I actually read them both twice.
I read two sublime new novels on the road - both poetic, incipient classics, & both stories of voyagers: Orbital, of astronauts (Samantha Harvey), & I Cheerfully Refuse, of an odyssey on Lake Superior (Leif Enger).
I actually read them both twice.
Riding a bus in the Galician countryside. The translated announcement informs me that in a few minutes we will arrive at our destiny. Concerned.
October 21, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Riding a bus in the Galician countryside. The translated announcement informs me that in a few minutes we will arrive at our destiny. Concerned.
Tacking into a rare southerly wind off the coast of Galicia.
Presently rounding Isla Ons at the mouth of the Ría de Pontevedra, bound for Vigo (or Porto if the wind would kindly veer a few degrees).
Making 3-3.5 knots in 12-14, against the tidal current and moderate swell ⛵️ #sailing
Presently rounding Isla Ons at the mouth of the Ría de Pontevedra, bound for Vigo (or Porto if the wind would kindly veer a few degrees).
Making 3-3.5 knots in 12-14, against the tidal current and moderate swell ⛵️ #sailing
October 20, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Tacking into a rare southerly wind off the coast of Galicia.
Presently rounding Isla Ons at the mouth of the Ría de Pontevedra, bound for Vigo (or Porto if the wind would kindly veer a few degrees).
Making 3-3.5 knots in 12-14, against the tidal current and moderate swell ⛵️ #sailing
Presently rounding Isla Ons at the mouth of the Ría de Pontevedra, bound for Vigo (or Porto if the wind would kindly veer a few degrees).
Making 3-3.5 knots in 12-14, against the tidal current and moderate swell ⛵️ #sailing
Thank you dad and uncle @ricktalk.bsky.social for all that Maine fog experience. Certainly calling on it this morning in the Ría de Muros e Noia 😶🌫️
October 17, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Thank you dad and uncle @ricktalk.bsky.social for all that Maine fog experience. Certainly calling on it this morning in the Ría de Muros e Noia 😶🌫️
Anchored for the night beneath the other end of the earth, Fisterra, which turns out to be surprisingly close to the first, Finistère. Who knew!?
October 15, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Anchored for the night beneath the other end of the earth, Fisterra, which turns out to be surprisingly close to the first, Finistère. Who knew!?
Reposted by harry
What's going on? Why have this anchor surfing ahead of the boat?
Here's a first tip we found useful when visiting glacial inlets. When there are a few bergy bits here and there, it can be useful to dangle the anchor so that it just skims the water.
1/3
Here's a first tip we found useful when visiting glacial inlets. When there are a few bergy bits here and there, it can be useful to dangle the anchor so that it just skims the water.
1/3
October 12, 2025 at 6:03 PM
What's going on? Why have this anchor surfing ahead of the boat?
Here's a first tip we found useful when visiting glacial inlets. When there are a few bergy bits here and there, it can be useful to dangle the anchor so that it just skims the water.
1/3
Here's a first tip we found useful when visiting glacial inlets. When there are a few bergy bits here and there, it can be useful to dangle the anchor so that it just skims the water.
1/3
Reposted by harry
From the ancient acropolis of Sami, Kefalonia
October 12, 2025 at 8:32 AM
From the ancient acropolis of Sami, Kefalonia
Apparently two yachts here in Camariñas marina were beset by the notorious hooligan Orca pod last night, just outside the Ría & just an hour after I anchored. (Also one of them has crewman from Colorado!)
Either I got lucky or my hopeful hypothesis - that they avoid long keel boats - is true.
Either I got lucky or my hopeful hypothesis - that they avoid long keel boats - is true.
October 12, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Apparently two yachts here in Camariñas marina were beset by the notorious hooligan Orca pod last night, just outside the Ría & just an hour after I anchored. (Also one of them has crewman from Colorado!)
Either I got lucky or my hopeful hypothesis - that they avoid long keel boats - is true.
Either I got lucky or my hopeful hypothesis - that they avoid long keel boats - is true.
We’re off the Galicia! Departed with the evening ebb so as to pass the notorious Raz de Sein around midnight, at slack water.
After the Raz, expecting 300 nm of sun & following winds across Biscay ☀️⛵️
The moon set over Brest as we left. Waning gibbous & just past harvest full 🌕 #sailing
After the Raz, expecting 300 nm of sun & following winds across Biscay ☀️⛵️
The moon set over Brest as we left. Waning gibbous & just past harvest full 🌕 #sailing
October 8, 2025 at 8:44 PM
We’re off the Galicia! Departed with the evening ebb so as to pass the notorious Raz de Sein around midnight, at slack water.
After the Raz, expecting 300 nm of sun & following winds across Biscay ☀️⛵️
The moon set over Brest as we left. Waning gibbous & just past harvest full 🌕 #sailing
After the Raz, expecting 300 nm of sun & following winds across Biscay ☀️⛵️
The moon set over Brest as we left. Waning gibbous & just past harvest full 🌕 #sailing
Went to a country fête in Brittany this weekend - Breton folk music & dancing on a small farm. Both footwork & French severely tested 😊🕺
October 6, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Went to a country fête in Brittany this weekend - Breton folk music & dancing on a small farm. Both footwork & French severely tested 😊🕺
Anchored deep in the roadstead of Brest, in the mouth of the river Aulne.
It’s a well protected place to chill while the remains of an Atlantic hurricane batter Finistère. (It’s also a mothball anchorage for the French navy!)
My neighbor is Thomas, a Breton I met sailing in Scilly :)
It’s a well protected place to chill while the remains of an Atlantic hurricane batter Finistère. (It’s also a mothball anchorage for the French navy!)
My neighbor is Thomas, a Breton I met sailing in Scilly :)
October 2, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Anchored deep in the roadstead of Brest, in the mouth of the river Aulne.
It’s a well protected place to chill while the remains of an Atlantic hurricane batter Finistère. (It’s also a mothball anchorage for the French navy!)
My neighbor is Thomas, a Breton I met sailing in Scilly :)
It’s a well protected place to chill while the remains of an Atlantic hurricane batter Finistère. (It’s also a mothball anchorage for the French navy!)
My neighbor is Thomas, a Breton I met sailing in Scilly :)
Goodbye Ushant! I’m off to touch the Brest of France, hon hon hon
(French voyageurs named a resplendent mountain range of the Rockies “The Grand Tetons.” When it comes to prurient puns, they started it, so far as I’m concerned.)
(French voyageurs named a resplendent mountain range of the Rockies “The Grand Tetons.” When it comes to prurient puns, they started it, so far as I’m concerned.)
September 30, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Goodbye Ushant! I’m off to touch the Brest of France, hon hon hon
(French voyageurs named a resplendent mountain range of the Rockies “The Grand Tetons.” When it comes to prurient puns, they started it, so far as I’m concerned.)
(French voyageurs named a resplendent mountain range of the Rockies “The Grand Tetons.” When it comes to prurient puns, they started it, so far as I’m concerned.)
I’ve repurposed my old 40w solar panel as a mobile charger for my outboard. Hoping for much longer riverine expeditions in the future!
September 29, 2025 at 8:57 AM
I’ve repurposed my old 40w solar panel as a mobile charger for my outboard. Hoping for much longer riverine expeditions in the future!
Goodbye 🇬🇧!
We’re catching this cold front’s northerly to Ushant 🇫🇷 - it’s an excellent weather window, lasting just long enough for the <=20 hour passage.
Indigo & I depart from Mullion (pic), a small cove just north of The Lizard 🦎
Expecting a rainy but safe overnight crossing ⛵️🌧️ #sailing
We’re catching this cold front’s northerly to Ushant 🇫🇷 - it’s an excellent weather window, lasting just long enough for the <=20 hour passage.
Indigo & I depart from Mullion (pic), a small cove just north of The Lizard 🦎
Expecting a rainy but safe overnight crossing ⛵️🌧️ #sailing
September 27, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Goodbye 🇬🇧!
We’re catching this cold front’s northerly to Ushant 🇫🇷 - it’s an excellent weather window, lasting just long enough for the <=20 hour passage.
Indigo & I depart from Mullion (pic), a small cove just north of The Lizard 🦎
Expecting a rainy but safe overnight crossing ⛵️🌧️ #sailing
We’re catching this cold front’s northerly to Ushant 🇫🇷 - it’s an excellent weather window, lasting just long enough for the <=20 hour passage.
Indigo & I depart from Mullion (pic), a small cove just north of The Lizard 🦎
Expecting a rainy but safe overnight crossing ⛵️🌧️ #sailing
An Uber scheduled one hour from now in my current market costs ~10% more if the pickup time is an even number.
September 23, 2025 at 11:18 PM
An Uber scheduled one hour from now in my current market costs ~10% more if the pickup time is an even number.
Reposted by harry
Millennials are middle aged now but not me. I stayed young somehow
September 1, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Millennials are middle aged now but not me. I stayed young somehow
Rafted up in the Wet Dock, Penzance Harbour
September 12, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Rafted up in the Wet Dock, Penzance Harbour
Goodbye Scilly, isles of the rainbow.
We’re bound for Penzance, 30nm. Making 7-8 years knots in 20-25 - running with genoa alone.
We’re bound for Penzance, 30nm. Making 7-8 years knots in 20-25 - running with genoa alone.
September 11, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Goodbye Scilly, isles of the rainbow.
We’re bound for Penzance, 30nm. Making 7-8 years knots in 20-25 - running with genoa alone.
We’re bound for Penzance, 30nm. Making 7-8 years knots in 20-25 - running with genoa alone.
Anchored in 30 knots; happy for my big ‘ol plough ⚓️ & 240ft (~70m) chain. Spot is not as protected as hoped!
I’ll move soon - once high tide opens the downwind channel (as I expect the large classic ketch will too).
Hangman’s scaffold on downwind rock matches anchorage’s present vibe!
I’ll move soon - once high tide opens the downwind channel (as I expect the large classic ketch will too).
Hangman’s scaffold on downwind rock matches anchorage’s present vibe!
September 10, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Anchored in 30 knots; happy for my big ‘ol plough ⚓️ & 240ft (~70m) chain. Spot is not as protected as hoped!
I’ll move soon - once high tide opens the downwind channel (as I expect the large classic ketch will too).
Hangman’s scaffold on downwind rock matches anchorage’s present vibe!
I’ll move soon - once high tide opens the downwind channel (as I expect the large classic ketch will too).
Hangman’s scaffold on downwind rock matches anchorage’s present vibe!