Summer 2013 Plan

The Golden Cloud 26/2/13

What a busy few week's its been since I returned from the land of Ice, and ice, and ice, and oh a bit more ice.

On return from Greenland I decided that this summer me and The Cloud would be going on an adventure. Over a nice cup of tea with a good friend Billy Whitehouse, and then numerous phone calls to charity's and sponsors a plan slowly formulated, and its one I'm now very excited to announce.

Summary: 2300 Mile Anti-Clockwise Lap of the UK leaving 1st of May, doing beach cleans every overnight stop (aim 1000 bags of rubbish) raising funds for Surfers against Sewage, RNLI, Isle of Wight Society for the Blind and The Multiple Sclerosis Society. 

On the 1st of May 2013, The Golden Cloud will depart Ynyslas, and after stopping off in Aberdovey, will head South to do a 2300 nautical mile of the United Kingdom, in an anti-clockwise direction. The route according to passage planning software would take 35 days of direct sailing with a vessel profile similar to golden cloud. However, the plan is not to rush this and enjoy the journey as much as the destination. We plan to do 20-50 miles (~4-7 hours) sailing a day, taking advantage of the best weather and tidal conditions, and staying at anchor when it's not ideal.

The Giants Causeway
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Giant's_Causeway_-_geograph.org.uk_-_133.jpg

The Route plan includes natural beauties like The Scilly Isles, various gorgeous estuaries, Ramsey and Skomer Islands, The White Cliffs of Dover, the North West of Scotland, and the The Giants Causeway to name but a few. 

Seeing the Puffin's of Skomer Island
http://www.coolplaces.co.uk/places/uk/wales/pembrokeshire/st-davids/1596-skomer-island

It also takes in Every Capital of the UK (Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Belfast) as well as the City's of Bristol, Falmouth, Plymouth, Poole, Southampton, Portsmouth, Brighton, Dover, Newcastle, Liverpool, Bangor etc.

A personal highlight will be sailing under Tower Bridge
Source http://www.travlang.com/blog/category/london-travel-guide/

The journey will give us a chance to see this beautiful nation of ours from angles we've never seen it before.

As per normal on the Cloud the journey will be planned as Sustainable, Low Cost and Eco-friendly as possible.

The plan is to live off the sea, fish and forage where possible, we'll even try to grow some veg and mushrooms in the limited space onboard. The plan is to sail everywhere as much as possible without using the motor unless absolutely nessasary (emergency's and tight harbour manoeuvring). All our electric will come from a small solar panel on deck. I'm even looking into changing the motor to a electric one that runs off the panel!

Its planned that we will moor in little bays and harbours instead of marinas and ports, as there is increasing evidence that large marinas are unsustainable, and huge point sources of pollution from oil in bilge pumps, antifoul paints, sewage from sea toilets and litter. We will reduce our impact in this way because the boat has no sea-toilet, all garbage will be recycled where possible and binned, and we will be careful in the use of antifoul paints and bilge pumps. Added to this the anchoring in open bays and smaller harbours means any pollution from us will be a more dilute source and thus more easily dealt with by nature. 

We wanted to give something back as part of the trip ans so we decided that we would collect sea-rubbish, an ever increasing plight on the coastal beauty of the world (we even saw it in Greenland!)

After talking to Surfers against Sewage we have decided to do a beach clean at every overnight stop and aim to collect 1000+ bags of rubbish. We want to do this to add to the cause, but also to make our trip a positive one for the environment, making it better after we leave than when we arrive, and to highlight the issue of sea rubbish to a wider audience. 

Beach Litter Picture
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2009/apr/08/waste-marine-life 

Added to this we aim to raise money for the RNLI for their work for seafarers, The Isle of Wight Society for the Blind and The Multiple Sclerosis Society for the help they gave my dad when he lost his sight with MS a few years ago, and Surfers against Sewage for there work cleaning up the coast.

http://rnli.org 

http://www.iwsightconcern.org.uk/

http://www.wight-ms.org.uk/

http://www.sas.org.uk

http://www.muckbootcompany.com 

And in the past few hours I can gladly announce the 1st Commercial Sponsor for the Project "The Muckboot Company". The Company are supplying the crew with their specialist, hard wearing  neopreyne boots. In Greenland we wore Muckboots for sailing was very impressed, hence going to Muckboot for sponsorship. 


And so the next step! Well were currently looking for crew and sponsorship (personal and commercial) for the journey. A just giving site will be set up shortly after we have discussed things through with the charitys. If you would like to become part of the crew, want to help with your local beach clean, want to help out in the organisation, or have any ideas or offers for sponsorship, Please send me an email on joeberpearce@yahoo.co.uk

Looking forward to a Great Summer!

Come Fly With Me

Come Fly With Me!

The Golden Cloud 03/02/2014

Flying down the motorways of Denmark we started to realise that time was running out. We had about the same amount of driving to do as time before our flight and we hadnt slept properly for 24hrs. Enroute we decided to try our luck in the town of Arhus for a ferry to cut the corner to the island with Copenhagen. On arrival we found the ferry not too dear, and one leaving that evening, added to that as a cargo ferry you got a Free Cup of Coffee, and so into Alun’s primordial soup of a thermos flask went 2 free coffee’s!

With a few hours before the ferry Alun and I made our way into the town centre, and via chatting up the receptionist, we both had 15minutes in the most gorgeous Hotel toilets I’ve ever seen, in the Gold, Brass and Marble encrusted Royal Hotel. 

 After this we walked the gorgeous streets between stunning old buildings, and then downgraded slightly and went to McDonalds for dinner and free wifi!

Back to the van and we waited till our mid night ferry by cleaning the van and swapping gear from bag to bag to even everyone out to 20kg for the Flight to Greenland.

I was amazed to find how little alun took with him, but little was I to know how much he stored in a container in Uummannaq, another in Kangerlussuaq, on Gambo and at Uummannaq Polar Institute, and his reputation for travelling over-light, for example once camping on an ice sheet with a childs sleeping bag!

Cleaning out and packing the van on the dock of the bay

We boarded the ferry to find ourselves the only non-commercial people onboard, I went upstairs to stretch my legs while Alun went to sleep in the van. Upstairs I found only one member of staff who seemed incredibly amazed to see anyone walking upstairs on the ferry, I think I startled her quite badly! For a while she even followed me, I think checking I wasn’t a ghost!

I then found a lovely sofa and slept till we arrived on the otherside. After allowing the boystrous lorrys to get off the ferry first, we drove on through the darkness, to make a final assault on Copenhagen!

We were definitely parked on the front right corner beneath those lorrys

I soon returned to my slumber only waking as Alun parked the van in a random suburb of Copenhagen (I eventually found out it was the street on of Aber Uni’s Doctors had once lived in, and thus he felt he could trust the neighbourhood). Soon we were back asleep for the 2hours before we had to get the train to the airport.

And so we jogged from the van left in this sneaky suburb... the bikes were unlocked so we presumed we could trust it.... and jumped onto the first train. 

About 5 minutes later we arrived at Copenhagen Central, this big bussling central station gave us little clue of where to go but we soon found a platform. Here we were told by a couple of people that the train was running very late and we should get the metro. Having no idea where to get the metro from we waited for the late train.

Alun Confused by Copenhagen Central's dissy lights!

And then we were there at the airport. We sat down sadly the cafe's weren't open in time for breakfast, and I had a coke while Alun raided the Duty Free for the Winter's supply of alcohol! As we approached our departure gate we met up with Tom Clarke of ITN News and his film crew. They were joining us in Greenland for the first week to make a special report for C4 News. We said our hello's and then boarded the plane....

To be continued!

Das Fun Fun Fun of Das Autobahn

Das Fun Fun Fun of Das Autobahn!
The Golden Cloud 03/02/2013

Flying down the Autobahn, Alun and I were singing Kaiser Chiefs and “Da Fun Fun Fun of DAS AUTOBAHN” (our cover of the Kraftwerk song) at the top of our lungs. We had only a handful of miles to the German-Danish Border (and safety?). Suddenly it looked like our game was up. An unmarked police car sped past us, slowed down, then lit up and pulled us in. The sharply dressed plain clothed officer walked up to the window and as Alun wound it down, said in an almost perfect Middle Class English Accent “Good Morning” “Good morning officer, I’m sorry was I going too fast” Alun responded trying to act the innocent, but dobbing himself in! “Oh no no not at all, just a routine check” to which Alun responded in an comically surprised tone “Oh… :S Oh, Great!”

The officer after questioning and checking our papers, looked over Alun’s shoulder at the suspicoulsy large load in the boot. “Whats in the back” he probed. “Ahhh, Yes, I was wondering when you’d ask. Were going on a expedition in the North, its our food for the next few months!” Rather confused the officer asked “For the winter!?! May I have a look?” “Most Certainly” Alun said, obviously looking forward to the officers surprise when he opened the boot.

“Wow that’s a lot of food” staring at the too the roof, 2 tonne, mountain of food, [Kicking Wheel] “looks heavy” “Yes yes it is… Could I interest you in a pringle to lighten the load?” Alun joked “Ha. Ha. Ha. [in a very short german laugh] no I’m ok. Please get in the vehicle” To which Alun attempted to get into the backseat of the police car. “No! Your Car”…“Everything is ok … Good Luck”

The overladen axel of the van

Finally the Danish Border!

 Gleefully we escaped and made for Alborg, humming the tune of the Great Escape.

Not Far to Aalborg

And so on we went up through the bland North German and the boring monotony of the Danish Landscape. We tried to brake the meloncoly by playing “spot the turbine parts” as wind turbine blades, towers, and hubs were zooming past us on the motorway from the factory. I eventually won this game as I was first to spot the massive Turbine Part Holding Bay at Alborg Docks… I think I won by thousands.

A small part of the turbine holding bay!

The joy of winning the turbine game was soon bettered by the feeling of job-done as we drove into the carpark of Royal Arctic Lines container port. They sorted out our papers in a jiffy (signing the container as Danish food to make export easier. We were then led by a floating container (our mini container on a forklift reversing away from us in a way that we could only see a flying container) to a open barn where we got to work unpacking the van and packing the container.

The flying container

And so started an excellent game of rugby pass practise with 2 tonnes of food! Amazingly our hands survived and we only dropped one tin. The Joy in Alun’s face as he finally shut the container door was worth every ounce of effort!

The food mountian

Aluns Joyous Moment

On goes the clip!

Then before we had time to breath we were off again heading to Copenhagen with only 18hrs till check in closed on our flight and 15 hours driving still to do. Before leaving Alborg we picked up a breakfast/lunch/dinner from a service station of Cheese, Danish Rye Bread, and Hotdogs. It was soooooooooo good.

Enroute we decided to try our luck in the town of Arhus for a ferry to cut the corner to the island with Copenhagen. On arrival we found the ferry not too dear, and one leaving that evening, added to that as a cargo ferry you got a Free Cup of Coffee, and so into Alun’s primordial soup of a thermos flask went 2 free coffee’s!

Cutting the corner on the ferry

(To be continued....)

What a Difference a Day Makes!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

The Golden Cloud 27/01/2013

So you may all be wondering why I dragged out a 4 month wait between the last blog and this one. Well I’ve been terribly busy!

In September 2012, Lloyd of the boatyard offered me a chance I felt too good to refuse. Golden Cloud, no matter how much we’ve gone through, with her 5ft8 max headroom is kind of too small. Lloyd himself had a 30ft Snapdragon for sale. It came with 6ft2 headroom, a toilet, 2 double beds, and shower. Seemed too good to be true. Lloyd offered me a fantastic price and a good deal on part exchange. Added to this because of his knowledge that I couldn’t leave the boatyard without his help, he said I could buy “Ob-la-dee” in instalments but could move in straight away!.

Ob La Dee is the big red one in the river

So on a Sunny Wednesday morning, after thinking it all over, I called up Lloyd and said I’d like to go ahead with buying ObLaDee. So started an amazing series of events.

At Lunch time I went to speak to a good friend (Nathan Thomas) to tell him the news. During this conversation Dr Alun Hubbard (of BBC Frozen Planet, and Operation Iceberg fame) overheard, and wanted to give me his 10ounces of advice.

Alun himself could be seen as a familiar face, and a knowledgeable one. As my 1^st year degree tutor he told me during a congratulatory meeting after getting very high results in exams “Joe you obviously don’t have enough fun, Go out get drunk more often!”, I went from a 92% average grade at this point to a 67% final grade in my degree so I obviously follow his advice intently!

Alun has owned the 47ft Sailing Research Vessel Gambo for a little while now, and was one of my first ports of call when I needed advice on getting Golden Cloud. His words in December 2011 were… “A boat is a hole in the ocean that you fill with money” and after hearing what Golden Cloud was like “You can’t polish a turd”. Spurred on by his positive tone I went ahead and brought Golden Cloud. His advice was now again coming at the operative moment.

It was however, not quite as I expected. His words were “If you want to go to Istanbul in a Yacht, take a few months out, join me in Greenland on my research vessel for the winter!”

It was an opportunity of seeing Greenland and learning a lot on boats… I couldn’t resist.

Soon I found myself on a train to Keswick in the Lake District. I was off to buy expedition clothes spending my boat upgrade kitty in the process. Later I met my parents to clear out Golden Cloud, and tell Lloyd…“For now I can’t buy your boat!”

Half packed bag full of gear!

3 days later I was in a van with Alun driving from the Cash and Carry in Aberystwyth to the Container dock in Alborg, Denmark. I manically searched the internet on my phone, in attempt to learn how to fill in a Customs Export Form in time for Dover. Between the M25 and the dock I cracked it and we were on our way.

Over weighed wheel axis!

At Dover

Next day I woke up near just outside Anderlecht, the van’s axel struggling under the load was wearing the bearings in a eery squeeling grinding sound woke me. It was now also my turn to drive. So it seemed a perfect opportunity for Alun to inform me about the issue with the Brakes… Brake hard and they jam open (not braking), you have to brake slowly, and/or engine brake (in an Automatic!)… Great for the first time driving on the wrong side of the road! We had 20 hours left to get to the container port, offload the van into the container, then get to Copenhagen Airport to fly to Greenland at 9am the next morning, I’d best get going.

With only a handful of miles to go before the German-Denmark Border (sounds corny I know!) with Alun back at the wheel it looked like our game was up…. (Continued in Next Blog)

Summer Time When the Weather's fine!

Summer Time When the Weather's fine!
The Golden Cloud 13/7/2012


Again after a little bit of a wait a return to the blog. Summer is started (apparently no one told the weather) and I've been up to plenty of memorable moments!


Sailing on the River Leri (with Nathan Thomas) (Following floods) Isle of Wight Festival (Mum & Dad, The O'Rourke's, Amanda Bright, and the Lovegrove's) (with floods) Wimbledon (With Dave Westmore) (with prolonged rain and abit of flooding) and then moving to North England to work in rivers (Same week as some floods) .... I guess its no surprise that people have started calling me Noah!




Although the international press may have told you the Isle of Wight Festival was a total wash out, in fact by my recent standards it was lovely! Great music, great friends, great times! And Wimbledon well it was just a walk in the park, I don't know why people make out like Wimbledon has a problem with rain!

After a fantastic few week's I have now I have migrated to the Preston area of England for 10 weeks work. The work is in River Water Quality Monitoring, and is for Aberystwyth University/CREH. 


The work is fantastic good fun, and also gives me plenty of time outdoors. It only builds my feelings of wanting to become more sustainable. The Beauty of the wild sections of the river, up in the moors and through the rolling hills. And the contrast of this, to the river's coming out of Urban Areas, and river's that are decorated like Christmas tree's with condoms, pantiliner, baby wipes, and tampons that have floated out through sewer overflows.


It makes you realise how bad our modern, unsustainable, not thinking lifestyles are. It makes you realise, something's got to change.


And so with the money I'm earning from this monitoring to help improve the environment, I will be setting up systems on The Golden Cloud to be more sustainable. Including Solar Panels, hand pumped reverse osmosis pumps for water sources, and onboard propagation for growing my own food onboard.


Fingers crossed I earn plenty of money, and I can put this all into practice.


In other news I'm now on Twitter follow me on @Goldencloud24


Speak soon

Getting a bit choppy

Getting a Bit Choppy
The Golden Cloud 16/6/12


As You may have heard on the national and international news, over the last week or so, the river I call home (the River Leri) has has some serious flooding. Luckily like Noah, I got myself an arc before these floods arrived, and so unlike the villages of Tal-y-bont, Dol-y-bont, Borth and Llandre, as well as the countless caravans who I share the valley with, when the floods came, the water just passed peacefully under my keels!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18378124


The event was quite exciting and kept me onboard for a few extra hours but other than that was just another adventure!!! 


The day when the floods came started like any other at Ynyslas... Windy.
But that day the wind was different, it blew hard and strong, and for once being on the water was quite different to land. Every gust changed my perspective on life, from sea, to sky, to sea, to sky! It was getting a bit choppy.

As I knew I had no chance of paddling ashore as per usual, I decided at that point to row an anchor chain from my boat to shore, that way at least I knew there would be a way out if things went wrong!


In the process of putting in the anchor, I had a bit of a bear grylls style manly moment. A gust of wind (on that day we had gusts up to Force 10!) blew me back on the bank, and as a result I slipped and gashed a hole in my foot. Needless to say in the moment I didn't even notice, but by the time I returned to the boat, it was starting to hurt. So I decided to reduce the gangreen risk, and boiled up some water, put in a dab of flash, and with a scouring pad brushed out all the mud from the river... I must admit it kinda hurt!

The cut post cleaning up, was alot more impressive when my foot was covered in mud and blood with the cut open wide!

Then I settled down with a mug of hot cuppa soup, and got ready to sleep through the storm.


As the night went on, the waters only rose, the tide never went out, Lloyd of the boatyard tried to wake me up by beeping his horn and flashing his lights at me from the bank. He'd been told of what was to come and wanted me to get away to saftey! (although in all honesty I was probably in the safest place!) Needless to say, I slept through it like a baby!


I woke in the morning to the sound of police sirens, then Lloyd tried again, and this time I woke up! He took me to shore, for me to find the area a police cordon and was being evacuated! The flood waters rose all around. We sat on the bank watching it all, as the land around us flooded the boatyard was fine! Maybe I shouldn't be supprised, as Ynys is Welsh for Island, and Ynyslas boatyard was the only land for miles around!

As the morning became evening, and the weather settled, I hoisted my bedding up the mast to dry it out. Tomorrow was another day, and this was just another adventure!

The flood was just another story for the boatyard, but it also brought with it free gas bottles, and firewood, we even saw bikes and tables float by!


Since the floods have receeded, and I've been back to the usual ways, with the exception of the extra fun of collecting tree's from the river and sand bars for firewood!

During my search for firewood yesterday, I also harvested a bucket of Samphire, a small succulent plant highly prized in culanary circles, should go nicely with my dinner!


Onboard the flood showed up a few leaks and a few worries, so I've now wired up the VHF so I can call for help if the worst happens, practised crank starting the engine and rigged up an interior tent so I'm dry from the leaks.


This evening the rains are falling again, and the wind is howling too. Who knows what will float down the river tomorrow!