We arrived in Barbados just before midnight on 22nd of December 2021, from Cape Verde. Our journey to get here started from Leros in Greece on the 29th of July and took us through the Aegean into the Ionian sea, across the boot of Italy, through the Aeolian Islands, to Sardinia and the Madalennas, then to Spain, briefly revisiting the Balearics before schlepping along the Costa Del Sol and the Costa Blanca and into Gibraltar, for some major electrical work. Then it was back to Spain and to The Canary Islands before our unplanned side trip to Cape Verde, and then our Atlantic crossing to Barbados, our 6th country in 2021 and just 5 months! We have travelled over 6,641 nautical miles in that time. And so here we are - ITIKI and crew are a little worse for wear, but we made it and now it’s time to s…l…o…w d…o…w…n……
We are in the Caribbean islands, we are on island time, and even though we have things to do and problems to fix we have to go with the flow and accept that this is going to take time. Also it Christmas and there are public holidays to work around, and unlike Australia everything closes for these and on Sundays. Slow down, breathe, relax, accept the pace…
Barbados lies 80nm to windward of the rest of the Lesser Antilles, and hence missed out on a visit from Columbus & Co. Instead it was “discovered” by the Portugese in 1536, on their way to Brazil – they were impressed by the bearded fig trees on the island and named it Isla de los Barbados (the island of beards!) – and the name has stuck. The English set up a colony in 1627 and the island remains strongly attached to its English traditions, including language, the police uniforms and Anglican churches. Sugar was the main source of income and wealth generation through the 1800s and of course this relied heavily on the slave trade of course - the Islands current inhabitants being descendants of these African slaves.
So here we are in Bridgetown, Barbados, anchored off a long and beautiful white sand beach of Carlisle Bay with the most spectacular turquoise and crystal clear water. Before we can relax completely though, we need to complete some formalities.
There are a couple of cruise ships approaching the port so we head around to the customs dock inside the port at around 9am. As described in the pilot book, the dock is a high concrete one with huge fenders, better suited to cruise ships than small yachts. We do our best to position ITIKI so that she is not banging up against these monsters and end up mooring in front of some fellow Aussies on SV Tuleta, who have been circumnavigating for several years. They have been waiting on the dock since arriving from Madeira the previous evening. We wait on the boat until the officials come to us with paper forms to fill out. One of these forms is required in duplicate so carbon paper is provided – when was the last time you saw that stuff? Of course, I put it around the wrong way so had to fill the 2nd form out by hand! It took about 3.5 hrs to get cleared. We could get free WiFi on the dock and download our Covid PCR test from Mindelo. These along with our time at sea and vaccination status meant that we did not have to undergo further quarantine. We can go back to our anchorage now and continue catching up on sleep.
Bridgetown is a busy and bustling place. People are wearing masks in the street and everyone is militant about temperature checks, hand sanitising and crowd management indoors. It’s very busy in the supermarkets and shops. English is the official language here and everyone seems friendly, happy and helpful. Cruise ships have returned and the tourist hoards are everywhere. Christmas is around the corner and perhaps it’s the festive spirit. There are people wearing santa hats and reindeer horns, which seems so out of place in 30C heat – but then again we do it in Australia! There are some really spectacular hairdos as well, mostly on the women but some of the men too! Braids, dreadlocks and cornrows interlaced with colours and beads, no two styles alike. The hairdressers here must be real artists!
I am inspired to get a haircut while I am here, too short for dreadlocks or braids so I opted for a very short and practical cut! We also found a few street vendors selling some fresh produce and bought a few things, but it’s quite expensive – did I just pay A$14 for 1 pineapple?!
Christmas day was celebrated in the usual way, (well apart from spending a couple of hours cleaning the boat). We had the oven on most of the day making it even hotter! I made bread and then we went ashore and had a walk along the beach and swim in the surf. Did I mention the water colour here is amazing! It’s pretty warm too, about 26C! Christmas lunch is roast chicken, roast potatoes and pumpkin, Moroccan carrot salad. Oh and some French Champagne! The obligatory after lunch nap was followed by swimming off the back of the boat and then Christmas pudding with homemade custard around 5pm - and we are completely stuffed and exhausted – well we are still catching up on sleep after an Atlantic crossing!
Boxing day morning and Team Cushla (that we met in Mindelo) arrived late last night and swung by to say hi! It was lovely to see them.
We are slowly getting ITIKI back in order after the crossing, mainly cleaning and fixing a few small bumps and bruises. We got the spinnaker out to take a look at the damage. It’s fairly extensive but actually not as bad as we thought. Mainly the bottom half. The wing seems fine fortunately, but it will probably have to wait until we get to Martinique, where there are more experienced sailmakers. With public holidays over Christmas and new year it is difficult to get much done, we spent quite a bit of time on the phone to Garmin, who were fantastic, trying to diagnose our autopilot problems. We would then go out of the anchorage to try to recalibrate according to their suggestions and report back to them on our next call – unfortunately nothing worked though and Garmin kindly agreed to replace the Reactor 40 under extended warranty (thanks Covid!) - so we just need to figure out how to get it to us!
Conscious that it has been 6 months since our last Covid vaccinations, we did a bit of Googling and managed to get a Pfizer booster shot courtesy of the Barbadan government. A very straightforward and easy process and no cost! How good is that.
We also found the local produce markets at Cheapside, which does seem a little cheaper but still expensive compared to Europe. Pretty much everything is imported, and any local produce is also expensive because of the effort and chemicals it takes to grow anything.
We tried to hire a car but it seems everything is booked out over the Christmas period so we mainly explored around Bridgetown. Of course, Barbados is a former British colony so Cricket is a thing here. We tried to visit the Legends of Cricket Museum but it was closed, a victim of Covid. Walking on a little further we were able to visit and do a short tour of Kensington Oval which is the international cricket stadium in Barbados. It has an interesting history as it used to be a sugar plantation. Cricket was segregated along racial lines until the ‘70s. Sir Garfield Sobers and Joel Garner are two of the legends of West Indian cricket and both are from Barbados. The English cricket team are playing here on the 20th of January, but we will definitely not be here for that one.
As we sit in the same spot in our anchorage each day we have been watching the tourist boats coming and going, depositing their clients in the water briefly before moving on to their next stop. We took the RIB over to investigate and found there is a small wreck not far from us, which has a lot of coral growth and plenty of fish. We snorkelled over that for a bit and then moved to an area where there are turtles and swam with them, as well as the hoards from the day tripper boats.
We saw in the New Year with a cocktail and tuna steaks on the BBQ. Didn’t quite make it to midnight but did wake briefly to see the fireworks.
The celebrations just keep on coming as before you can blink, its Keith’s birthday. Its also a Sunday so we weren’t expecting much to be open. We walked along the beach as far as we could, cut through the Yacht club and around past the fort and racecourse and then back down towards to beach. There are reefs and a fair bit of surf on this point. We came across a resort with a beach bar and stopped for a rum punch and Mai Tais and ended up staying for the buffet lunch, which was good value and very nice. They even brought out a cake and sparklers for Keith and sang happy birthday! We had a couple more rum punches just to make sure they were ok, then a swim before a “white knuckle” bus ride back to town. The celebration continued the next day as we had Andy and Julie (from team Cushla) over for dinner for Keith’s birthday. They are a lovely couple and looking at getting married in Barbados. Julie made a chocolate cake for Keith.
Finally our thoughts are turning to leaving Barbados and heading to St Lucia to meet Debs and Martin, who will bring our all important autopilot component. Any movement between countries these days means one thing – yes the dreaded “brain tickle”. We got a taxi to the Covid testing place which we thought opened at 9:30, but there was already a huge crowd. Waited 2.5 hrs to pay for the test with only one person handling payment. Then we wait to register and get a tube, then we wait to get the test. 3 hrs in total and B$100 each for PCR tests. We were exhausted after that and the day is half gone, so we abandoned our plans to head to the east coast by bus. The results will be emailed to us so we head up to Port St Charles in the north of the island. Its only 10nm further north, but as we will be hand steering to St Lucia we want to make the trip as short as possible. We hand steered under gennaker and main and as the boat was well balanced it wasn’t too bad. Went and spoke to the Port Police and organised our check out tomorrow, then walked in to Speightstown which is about 2kms south. It’s much less developed than Bridgetown but quite a few tourists at the beach bars along here. We stopped for a rum punch.
The next morning we checked out of Barbados as we will be leaving at 4am the following day. We upped anchor and moved a couple of miles down the coast to anchor off The “Just Chillin” beach bar in Speightstown. The café is run by a lovely English lady called Linda! After sampling their warm hospitality and yummy rum punches yesterday we decided to take the dinghy ashore and have lunch there - lobster linguine, absolutely delicious! Oh and of course we had a couple of rum punches. We bought some rum from the supermarket and had a lazy afternoon on the boat. A few weeks later we discovered that anchoring is not allowed in this area… Ooops!
Speightsown, Barbados to Vieux Fort, St Lucia; 84nm
Today’s challenge: Get up at 4am, hand steer 84nm to St Lucia. Keep speeds above 7kts VMG so we arrive in daylight, do 2 loads of washing and fill the water tanks. Well apart from the 7kts VMG we managed all of the objectives, arriving just on sunset at the anchorage. Started just after 4am, motoring for a short while until the breeze was settled. We took a punt on a 2 headsail goosewing but it proved difficult to steer in the dark and not quite the right angles. Furled the genoa and then continued with the just the gennaker until daylight, and the put the main up (1 reef) and reached with that before goose-winging. Seas were very confused again with 3 different swells, breeze shifting from 75 to 110 degrees and at times a northbound set of 3kts which felt like we were going sideways to St Lucia. At one stage on the chart-plotter the boat was pointing at St Vincent. We thought it was because of the issues with the heading sensor, but actually it was probably correct as we were fighting the current. We saw a cruise ship on the horizon and on the chartplotter - Celebrity Reflection. We were monitoring them as we were under sail, hand steering to shifty winds and they were just on the edge of our 1nm separation comfort zone. They called us on the radio and said they were altering course by 5degrees to avoid us and asked us to hold our course (?!). We thanked them as this gave us a 1.5nm separation when we finally did cross them. The breeze was up and down, dropping to as little as 10kts at stages, although fortunately not for long as we completely forgot we had 1 reef in the main. We could finally see land about 25nm out, as it was very hazy. As we got closer to St Lucia the breeze started to fill in again and we could gybe the headsail and reach in to our destination – the anchorage at Vieux Fort on the southern tip of the island. We dropped anchor in the middle of the wide bay, opposite the breakwater, about 5 minutes before sunset. We have made it to St Lucia! What a relief. Friday night cocktails were in order!
1 Comment
The Cape Verde islands are a volcanic Archipelago around 400nm off the westernmost point of the Atlantic coast of Africa (which is also called Cap Verte). Colonised in the 15th century by the Portuguese, the islands have played a major part in the slave trade and have also been an important stopover on key Atlantic shipping routes. Cape Verde was incorporated as an overseas department of Portugal, but its inhabitants continued to campaign for independence, which they achieved in 1975. The official language is still Portugese, there is a local Creole, and English and French are also widely spoken.
What we saw of the Sao Vincente island was quite beautiful and the people were incredibly friendly and helpful. The atmosphere was laid back and it seemed reasonably safe in terms of security (of course with the usual travel precautions). We did manage to take a day tour of the island of Sao Vincente, which was really lovely. We skirted around the coast as well as up through the mountains.
We can also verify that the is a reasonable medical centre here, although Google Translate will come in handy if you need their services. The officials at the port were also very helpful and efficient. Here is a short slide show of our time in Sao Vincent
The second part of our journey takes us to the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, as well as a side trip by ferry and hire car to La Gomera.
From our anchorage at the southern end of Fuertaventura we had to motor all 47nm across to the the capital of the island of Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, as the breeze was too light to sail. The anchorage is a strange one inside the port, between two busy marinas (full of ARC boats). We are overlooking a container terminal and facing a beach. It’s an odd spot, noisy but very sheltered and calm which makes a nice change. It will be a good base for exploring and the ongoing task of provisioning. The marina manages the anchorage so we have to go in, check in and pay a small fee but we are able to use some of the facilities including the dinghy dock.
We spend a couple of days exploring the town of Las Palmas and topping up provisions. We head downtown to the shopping area and have morning tea, then have a hair raising, high speed bus ride Centro Historico (or old town) and end up having lunch there. I visited the Cathedral whilst Keith visited the Columbus museum. Had a lovely 3 course Menu Dia at a small café before a massive supermarket shop to keep filling our pantry and fridges for our crossing and beyond.
The following morning we left early to head 33nm south to Plasito Blanco, on the south coast of the island. We had light conditions at first but the breeze picked up later as we and we could sail under main and gennaker, mostly goose-winged and up to 20kts TWS (that acceleration zone again). As we approached the SE corner of the island we could see the famous sand dunes of Maspalomas. These are quite extensive, over 400 hectares, and quite important ecologically. There is one large peak on the northern end and there are walking trails throughout the dunes. We pass reasonably close to these to take a look before turning the corner and finding a spot for the night. We anchored between the marina entrance and a 1980s beach resort, (reminiscent of Maroubra) and overlooked by a golf course, an oasis of green amongst the lunar volcanic landscape.
The next day Keith and I went for a walk to find some lunch. Made the mistake of walking up to the top of the cliffs and trying to skirt along the edge of the golf course to get to the 80s resort at the beach, but it was all fenced off so we had to double back and walk along the rocks. Saw Martin and Soni in the RIB, they were looking for Martin’s flip flop which fell off the boat. We had tapas at the ‘80s beach resort and wandered along to Maspalomas (near the sand dunes) where there are more restaurants and resorts and had afternoon tea. On the way back we were walking along the beach and amazingly found Martin’s lost flip flop half buried in the sand. Who would have thought! Fortunately he had not thrown the other one out yet!
We managed to organise a car, which is no mean feat with so many boats and people around. Picked up the car at Playa Ingleses and headed into the hills. The scenery is quite spectacular, roads are windy and there are heaps of mad people riding bicycles up hill and down on the narrow winding roads. There is a big event coming up so I guess they are practicing. We had morning tea at Fataga on a terrace overlooking the volcanic hills. It’s still very dry in this area, although there are a few more trees than other islands. We head further north along the winding roads, stopping at a few viewing points for photos of the breathtaking scenery. Next stop is Roque Nublo, the second highest peaks on the island, which is a 20min walk up to a plateau to see these amazing vertical rock formations. The view is fantastic and we can see all the way across to Tenerife and its highest peak, La Tiede. The winding roads continue and we stop for lunch at Tejeda. Again fantastic views of peaks and rocks, looking back to Roque Nublo where we have just been. From here we start heading towards the coast, with a quick detour via Pico las Nieves which is the highest point on the island. There is an observatory here, or maybe a military installation and again spectacular views. We continue to wind our way downhill and can see Las Palmas and the airport in the distance. We finally get to the freeway and decide to head straight back to the boat.
The following day is an easier one on the road as we just head along the coast. There are some really heavily developed areas with some very ordinary looking resorts. We finally get to Mogan after a detour/double back thanks to a road closure, and stop for coffee and cake. This area is well and truly over developed for mass tourism, with resorts lining the hills around even the tiniest of bays. Most of them are not particularly upmarket or attractive. After a supermarket stop we head to Maspalomas for lunch, intending to have a walk through the dunes but the wind direction has changed and strengthened so Keith and I head back to the boat while Soni and Martin take the car back. It’s a very bouncy RIB ride back for all of us!
We spent the time here ticking of our list of jobs to prepare for the crossing, a lot had already been done but there always seems to be more to do. The provisioning frenzy continued as well. That said we still had time for a little bit of sightseeing. There is not much happening around the marina area, which is part of a big resort complex with golf course and numerous apartment complexes, but you can walk along the coastal boardwalk to the nearby town of . We did manage to find a café run by a British lady that served an excellent Sunday Roast (oh how we miss lamb) with Yorkies!
Tour of La Gomera.
This small circular island is a mere 17nm from Tenerife at its closest point. It is only 22km in diameter and its highest peak (Alto de Garajonay) is a mere 1,487m. It is the greenest of the islands we have visited so far, with thick forests which are often shrouded in mist. We took a taxi to Los Christianos, and from there ferry to La Gomera, picked up a hire car and headed off along the narrow, windy roads. Had a traditional Canarian lunch via Google translate. It was fairly heavy, starchy and frankly a little weird. The visitor’s centre in the National Park was well worth a stop to and we learned about the Gomeran whistling language (Silbo) which was used to communicate in the hills between villages. It helped to find missing goats or communicate local news. We could also see how villagers used a long pole to travel on foot through rough and rocky terrain. From the north coast we could see views of La Palma, the island with recent volcanic eruptions and evacuations. This is as close as we will get. Then its back to San Sebastion for a look around the town before catching the ferry and taxi back to ITIKI.
Tour of Tenerife
Picked up a hire car from the airport and did a tour of Tenerife. First stop Mount La Teide. At 3,715m above sea level it is the highest point in Spain and the highest of the Atlantic islands. We drove up towards the peak, had lovely morning tea and cake at a small village along the way. The road then takes us down into and through the main crater with numerous photo stops along the way. It’s an incredible and quite diverse landscape, not completely devoid of vegetation but pretty dry. There are areas of lava flows, lunar landscape and vertical rocks, once molten outflows but now left behind after erosion of the surrounding soil. It was very chilly up top with clouds often descending to cover the peaks and descending down into the crater. It wasn’t possible to go to the peak of La Tiede as the cable car was not operating due to high winds, which is a regular occurrence. Then down to Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife, for lunch and a wander round.
And so our time in the Canary islands has come to an end. Whilst the main reason for coming here was to use it as a staging point for our Atlantic crossing, it has been well worth a visit and we could have easily spent more time here. Given the time of year it was sometimes cool at night, and the water was also a little cool for swimming, but certainly clear, clean and refreshing. It was a good place to provision, although the fruit and veg was not always the freshest and a lot of it is obviously imported. It was busy with patrons of the ARC which at times was frustrating. Apparently, it does get less busy closer to Christmas as the ARC boats depart, emptying the marinas and returning their hire cars, however there is now a January rally so perhaps that doesn’t last too long. Don’t forget you can read about our Atlantic Crossing – first attempt and second attempt – in my previous blog posts.
Arrival, Lanzarote and Fuertaventura
The Canary Islands
In the 1400s the Spanish laid hands on the group of islands, which sit off the South West coast of Morocco, and have kept them ever since. Initially they used them as a bunkering station for their expeditions around Africa and to the Americas. Christopher Columbus launched numerous expeditions from here. The origins of the name of the islands is not clear but it seems to have nothing to do with the bird. Possibly related to the ferocious dogs (Canis in Latin) kept by the early inhabitants, The Guanches. It may also be related to the name of the Berber tribe (Canarii) that the Romans sent to the islands as slaves. Those Romans sure get around!
Cooled by constant NE winds the climate is fairly mild and the water is a cool 23C when we arrive. The winds make for interesting sailing and do rather dictate your itinerary through the islands. Acceleration zones around the southern corners of the islands are common and windspeeds build significantly in these areas. Anchorages protected from the N quadrant are a must, but may still get the swell wrapping around the land!
The islands are volcanic in origin and a matter of weeks before we arrive in the area the island of La Palma, in the NW of the group has suffered serious eruptions leading to evacuations and loss of homes. We decide to give that one a miss. The Canary Islands are the main staging point for the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) for pleasure boats to cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean in company and with some shore support. After a couple of quiet years and cancellations due to Covid, the rally is proving very popular again and despite offering several departure dates is booked out well in advance. While we won’t be joining them they certainly make their presence felt - all of the boats and crews involved fill the marinas and bars, keep the workshops busy, book out the rental cars and generally boost the local economy before heading off mid-November.
Getting there - 28 October to 1 November
The journey south from La Linea in Spain (just across the border from Gibraltar) will be our longest crossing in ITIKI so far at 584nm! The crossing of the Bay of Biscay from La Rochelle (FR) to A Coruna (ES) was “only” 361nm and took us 2.5 days. We are expecting 4-5 days although winds are going to be lighter than we would like, but after almost 2 weeks in a marina (getting our new batteries fitted) we are keen to get going. Landfall and first anchorage will be Playa Francesca, on the small island of La Graciosa, which sits at the northern end of the Canary island group, just off the coast of Lanzarote. We are ready to depart a bit before noon after a final shore run, but we are not off to a good start. Initially the starboard engine MDI (electronic engine starter) would not switch on – we just had a blank screen so it looked like it had failed, which has been a common problem for some time with the Volvo engines. There have been a significant number of recalls under warranty with some FP owners going through multiple failures. Fortunately with some jiggling of the wires and a dose of electrical spray we got it to light up and could start the engine. Phew.
We came out of the straits of Gibraltar under full main and Gennaker goosewinged. The wind and swell stayed mostly behind us with gusts of up to 28kts (TWS), but averaging 18s. We were making good time and sailing well, although there were lots of ships to dodge coming out of Gibraltar, but we are soon past the worst of it and on our own. Over the last 3 years this area that has been increasingly “plagued” by Orca “interactions” with smaller vessels, including yachts. The animals have been ramming the rudders and causing extensive damage, often disabling steering and we were concerned about having a confrontation*. Fortunately though they seem to have migrated further north over the last few weeks and we see nothing. It’s not long before we are out of sight of land and feel like we are well into our journey. There are four of us so we are doing 3-hour watches, with a couples’ shared watch in the middle of the day. This leads to a changeover so we do not do the same watch times on consecutive days. With 4 people it is a luxury to have 3 hours on and 9 hours off! I can even sleep down in our cabin, despite the noise of the autopilot and creaking windows.
* If you are interested in knowing more about the Orca “interactions” check out this article in Yachting Monthly by Andy Pag. We met Andy and his partner in Mindelo and again in Barbados.
We lost the breeze during the night as forecast so motored some, sailing when we could. The starboard engine MDI has gone dark again, hopefully just a loose wire after all of the activity in the engine bay recently, however it needs investigation during daylight. The fuel gauge also showing empty, despite being full of duty free fuel… Water temperature is already up to 22oC.
We mostly motored during the day with the breeze light and on the nose. We were eventually able to sail but it’s still a bit choppy. We got the starboard motor going with the bypass switch (the one we fitted in Hammamet), and then the MDI came alive. Also got the fuel gauge working, that was just a case of a loose wire at the nav station. Now just need to get this fishing rod into gear!
We motored into light headwinds through the night. At least it drowned out the whine of the autopilot so sleep was possible. Heady unfurled at 06h45, not breaking any speed records but at least not burning fossil fuels. There is a nasty chop which we don’t quite have enough speed to power through. Everything is damp and clammy but we are otherwise fairly comfortable.
We had the main and the genoa up all day with windspeeds of up to 15kts true. Our boat speed was constantly being knocked off by the short chop on top of the groundswell. We even put in a tack which must be the 4th one we have ever done! Had some dolphins visit us before sunset and play in front of the boat for a while. Breeze (and chop) eased in the early evening and we changed to a 2 Volvo reach chasing, some more breeze.
We motored again through much of the night with very low windspeeds. Dropped the main which started flogging and driving us nuts. Dimly lit and unlit fishing buoys appear without warning and sometimes too late to dodge them. We are off the coast of Essouira, a fishing port in Morroco that we visited back in 2019. The lack of wind is very frustrating. We appear to be just on the edge of some new breeze though so hopefully it will fill in. Fortunately the swell is not too uncomfortable.
Later in the day we finally found some breeze and the kite went up around 3pm. So good to have the engines off. The fishing rod is set up but apparently we are missing a stainless steel tracer to stop the fish with sharp teeth (?!) from taking our expensive lures. Hmmm not sure Tuna is going to be on the menu this trip! We dropped the kite at the midnight watch change as the watch crew are not yet night certified in the Parasailor, having only seen it for the first time today! We changed to gennaker and came up a bit.
Shifty winds during the night so sails were goosewinged by our morning watch change. Light conditions continued during the day but we are still sailing. A good opportunity to see what the solar panels can pump into the new batteries today without the engine running, although it is looking a bit cloudy.
We sighted land at 13h24 local time at 35nm to go to our anchorage. Sunset is fairly early here though and there is no twilight to speak of so its dusk as we anchor and Google Earth is helpful in picking a sandy spot to drop the pick in the dark.
We thought that this was a great shakedown cruise in preparation for our upcoming Atlantic crossing, although in hindsight it was actually a bit too easy. Still it was a good introduction to ITIKI for our crew. The watch system worked well and we used a whole range of sail configurations in a variety of wind conditions. The IridiumGo and PredictWind weather forecasts proved useful and easy to use and relatively accurate. We did not have really strong winds so no reefing was necessary, and we hope that the swell across the Atlantic will be at a better angle and longer period than the short chop that we have had. It was a good way to ensure everyone has their sea legs, getting sorted with sea-sickness management and nerves as well as getting familiar with the boat and how things work.
We spent a couple of nights in the anchorage just recovering on the boat, no one felt like going ashore initially. The boys tried to fit the port prop anode, which we lost in the marina in Spain, but no luck. Seems it needs some modifications as it is not quite the right shape. The water is not that warm here so there is a limit to how much time they can spend in it. It’s exhausting trying to work underwater with a mask and snorkel, and getting covered in anti-foul in the process.
We went for a short walk ashore the next morning to check out the volcano and coastal caves then headed to Lanzarote. We intended to anchor outside the marina but the anchorage looked a bit dodgy and very industrial. Further south we went to our second choice but we were waved away by an enthusiastic police woman. It turns out this port area is now being used to process the many refugees that are making the journey from Morocco and Western Sahara to the Canaries. Hmm, running out of options we consult Navily and go a little further south and anchor of the beach at Playa Concha, 23nm from our initial anchorage. It’s a reasonable spot and fortunately a calm night.
We tried to rent a car to do some touring but it seems there is just nothing available, with all of the ARC boats in town. Soni and Martin have rented a motor bike to tour the island though so we head to the fuel dock at Marina Lanzorote to refuel and check in. Keith stays on board while we go and check in at the passport office. This involves a taxi ride around to the other side of the port. Meanwhile the fuel pump breaks down so Keith also jumps in a taxi and comes over to the passport control. That was handy, very quick and no dramas at all, even with my obvious Schengen visa overstay (I have 2 stamps in my brand new passport!). The fuel pump is still not fixed when we get back so I walk up to the supermarket and buy way too much stuff, struggling to carry it back. By the time I get back the pump is fixed and Keith has been booted off the dock so we do a radical "touch and go" on the end of one of the marina arms, helped by a friendly local without a word of English! We head south under gennaker to a protected bay to wait for the intrepid travellers who will take a bus south to meet us. The weather is quite unsettled and we get some rain squalls along the way. We also experience the infamous“ acceleration zone” at the SE corner of Lanzarote (or exhilaration zone as one sailor has put it…). These acceleration zones are areas known for localised, higher windspeeds and are often popular with kite surfers. We good boat speeds before turning the corner into a more protected area. The Rubicon anchorage is just outside the marina and is quite popular.
The next morning we take a short trip ashore at Marina Rubicon for cake and coffee as well as a few provisions and then we head east away from the noisy town anchorage to a beach anchorage called Playa del Pozo. We are expecting some stronger northerlies over the next few days so need to plan carefully for those. It’s definitely winter weather now, cloudy and cool. Water temperature is 23C although it's not that tempting to go in as it is pretty cool when you get out.
Keith drops us on the beach, which is challenging as there is a bit of surf running. The 3 of us take a walk ashore along the beach and over the headland to one of the most famous beaches in The Canary Islands - Playa de Papagayo. The cliffs around it are quite high and spectacular, the water crystal clear. There is a large vein of volcanic rock running through the beach which almost looks like a steel plate. The beach is very crowded and the landscape is seriously dry - not a blade of grass to be had anywhere!
A strong N’Easter is now blowing, but it’s just a short distance (7nm to be exact) to go to our next destination of Caleta de la Rasca on Lobos, a small island off the NE corner of Fuertaventura. It’s a secure anchorage but it’s very bouncy and quite exposed. We try to go to visit the lagoon area on the south east corner of this tiny island but it’s too exposed and dangerous to go in the RIB, so we cross the bar of a smaller bay on the NW corner and bring the RIB up onto the beach. From here we can walk around the southern end of the island, which has a volcanic crater at the south west corner. Otherwise it is rocks, rocks and more rocks, it’s almost as if someone has come along with a bulldozer, created a path of rocks and made piles of more rocks either side. Still not a sliver of greenery in sight. There is a small restaurant and “beach” here but not much else, although we can visit the lagoon area more safely by foot than in the RIB.
We left our anchorage early after a very rolly night, and its 57nm to our next stop. We were able to sail under Gennaker initially before changing to the kite. The winds are certainly very consistent in this area with 15-20kts TWS NE most of the way. The northern part of Fuertaventura’s coast has a large area of sand dunes, quite the dessert scene, with a dramatic volcanic backdrop. The rest of the landscape is volcanic, much as we have seen before. We were wondering if the sand that has accumulated has blown in from the Sahara. We anchor off the town of Morro Jabel, north east of the marina and again it is very rolly and gets worse as the breeze drops overnight. There certainly is a dearth of protected anchorages in these islands so we are getting used to being rocked to sleep!
The next leg of our journey will take us due west for 253nm from Santa Marina, Salina in the Aeolian islands, to Carbonara East (or Villisimius) on the South East tip of the island of Sardinia. In our first season we travelled down the west and along the south coasts of Sardinia before crossing to Sicily. This time we will head up the east coast and across the north coast to complete our circumnavigation. We have planned some “chill out” time in La Madalenna, the island group between Sardinia (IT) and Corsica (FR).
It was a very rolly night at anchor so we were up and away just before 4am, 1 hour earlier than planned. It was a little bouncy until we turned the corner at the top of Isola Salina and started heading west and it was a very dark night. As expected we motored a lot of the way initially as there wasn’t enough breeze to sail. Later in the day we went past the western most of the Aeolian islands, Alicudi and Filicudi and much later in the evening Ustica, which is a nature reserve. The night was uneventful with very little boat traffic and the skies cleared to reveal a breathtaking star scape. It's impossible to photograph this on a moving boat, but without the light pollution of the towns there are so many stars and galaxies to see. We had the main up and got something out of it and tried to unfurl the gennaker several times, keeping it up as long as we could get good boatspeed and stay on a reasonable course. We were keen to arrive in daylight as always. There was a beam on swell knocking off our speed and wind was just a bit further aft and a bit too light to be ideal, so we end up burning a fair amount of diesel in the end.
We arrived late afternoon with the sun behind a massive cloud so the beach anchorage doesn’t look as welcoming as it did in the pictures. Still we know it is a wide sandy beach with good holding so we find a spot in the middle and settle in. We are the only yacht anchored (does everybody else know something we don’t??) It's late in the day but there are still a few people on the beach and a few smaller boats moving about but after a long passage we crash early and sleep very well.
We have a slow start the next day with breakfast and swimming in the beautiful clear waters. We can see the anchor from the foredeck very clearly and its well dug into the sand! This is always a good sight! With some easterly weather on the way we decide to head around to the other side of the Cape Carbonara, from Carbonara East to Carbonara West, and anchor in the bay outside the marina. This is another wide, sandy spot and the again anchor digs in well. In the afternoon we walk up to the main town of Villisimius in search of supermarkets. It’s a 2.5k hike and with all our supplies a long walk back. We find out later there is an hourly bus service, which we will take tomorrow when we come back for dinner and (for me) a much needed haircut!
Ashore from our anchorage there is a shallow lagoon that lies between the eastern and western sides of the spit. The forecast easterly is blowing quite strongly now so it is not as pleasant in yesterday or on the beach. There is a ruined Spanish tower on the eastern point but it’s a bit of a goat track to get there so I walk around to the old fort on the western side of the point. Later in the day we catch the bus up to town and I go for my haircut. This is an interesting experience in Italy, not least due to the language barrier (I show photos of a previous cut). The salon “Perruchia di Linda” had attracted my attention for obvious reasons. There are two other clients in the salon and the loud, animated and uninterrupted discussions keep me amused and in fear of my eyesight as scissors and other sharp objects flail around in the air in tempo with the conversation. I make it out alive and with a pretty good, and economical, haircut but need a drink! We enjoy dinner in town and then try to figure out the bus timetable for our return.
The weather remains unsettled and our anchorage becomes rolly overnight, lucky we are getting used to that! There are some strong northerlies coming so we decide to head north while its lighter and find a protected bay to wait it out. The northerly winds are strengthening just as we arrive, after dodging rain squalls all along the way. We have travelled around 50nm north along the east coast and found an anchorage in Porto Frailis, a bay just to the south of the town of Arbatax. It has a camping resort on one side with a beach club and there are plenty of restaurants around. The swell wraps around the point though and waves are breaking onto the beach. We have a good spot in the south east and less rolly than neighbouring boats and quite bearable in a cat.
I head ashore in the afternoon for a reccie and check out the opening times for the fuel dock in the town, as we are getting quite low. Keith has to drop me off on the rocks as there is nowhere to land the dinghy. There are some really interesting looking pink rock formations around the harbour entrance so I take a look around those before returning to our anchorage. There is an old fort on the point overlooking our anchorage so I walk up there to take a look. It’s in ruins but remarkably there is a ladder to climb up into it (no such thing as OHS here!). Getting picked up from the slippery rocks with the swell is pretty challenging too but Keith nudges the RIB into a gap between waves and I leap aboard. I am getting good at this.
We up anchor and motor around to the fuel dock, arriving at 7:30am the next morning, fortunately just beating a big powerboat in. We refuel quickly and we are on our way to Olbia, which is 74nm north. We manage a little bit of sailing with the main and gennaker along the way, but again mostly motoring as the breeze is just too light. At least we are not flogging into it. There are some interesting looking islands to the east of us just before we enter Olbia harbour and they look to be very popular with charter boats and day trippers, but sadly not for us to visit today. We arrive at Olbia late afternoon and anchor in front of the town quay. We are too tired to go ashore and after a few nights in a rolly anchorage, this one which is deep inside a well-protected harbour feels like being on land.
The next morning we pick up a hire car to explore inland Sardinia a little. Firstly we visit Porto Cervo, playground of the rich and famous, just out of curiosity really. This is the heart of the Costa Smerelda with its famous and exclusive yacht club. The town turns out to be just one big resort/coastal strip mall with every high end brand name represented and it looks so fake. We wander along for a bit, have morning tea and decide we hate it so time to move on. We drive along past the famous Yacht Club, the marina is disappointingly empty of gin palaces and there are not as many big luxury boats around as we expected. Perhaps they have gone out for the day.
We enjoy the drive through the country side and stop are some ancient ruins. Firstly the Giants’ Tomb (Coddu Ecchju). This is a collective grave that probably held the remains of the dead from the nearby village of La Prisgiona. It is thought to date back to the Nuragic Age around 1800 BC. The next stop is at a Nurhage, the ruined village of La Prisgiona dating to the 14th century BC with its round stone dwellings around a central stone keep.
We visit a couple of villages in the hills, which feel somewhat deserted apart from the odd clutches of men sitting in cafes watching the world go by. After a quick bite to eat Google Maps takes us into tiny hilltop town of Tempio Pausiana. We obediently twist and turn our way through ever narrowing streets, thankful we are only in a Fiat Panda as we watch a guy in a jeep try and do a 16 point turn to get out. Just as we pull your wing mirrors in and breath in deeply, we arrive at the central Piazza and the view opens up, phew! This place is quite remarkable, really a place that time has forgotten. There are not many people about and it doesn’t feel too lively. It’s all stone - buildings with stone facades, stone churches and stone roads – there is no shortage of stones in the hills of Sardinia so why not use it. We wander around soaking it up, and then go in search of a winery. Again Google takes us on a bit of a detour (4 minutes faster) and we find ourselves on a dirt road, flanked by dry stone walls, wine grapes and then trees covering the road. Oh and no phone signal. Thankfully we emerge back on to the main road and arrive in Monti. We find a winery, well actually a coop, but no tasting because of the “pandemico” so after a brief description from the manageress we buy a few bottles on spec and hope for the best. That’s it for the day, so we head back to Olbia, via Lidl of course, and take our loot back to the boat in the RIB. We have dinner ashore finally having a wander around Olbia which itself is quite lively and animated. Plenty of tourists and locals out and about too.
Our next destination is La Maddalena, which is the island group off the North east corner of Sardinia. It’s only a short hop north to get to the French island of Corsica, (although we did not have time for that). It is a national park area and a special permit is required to visit, which we managed to get online. It's half price if you pay in advance (ie double if you turn up without one!) and the park rangers come by our boat every day to check on us.
We are up reasonably early and head out of Olbia Port, motoring up the coast to arrive at Cala Coticcio on the island of Caprera (which means goat I think). It is already quite busy; it is one of those iconic “must visit” anchorages and we squeeze in amongst the throngs, thinking we probably won’t stay the night. The daytime comings and goings are incredible, an entire fleet of charter boats comes in and just drop anchor anywhere, professional skippers stay on board and then they are all gone after a couple of hours.
We paddle around the bay once the bulk of the charter fleet leave. The water is an incredible blue, crystal clear, and it really does deserve its reputation as the “Tahiti of the Maddalena”. Fortunately only a handful of boats stay the night and it is relatively peaceful.
Once the craziness of the day starts again we up anchor and head around to the bottom end of the Caprera island, to Porto Palma. Here we can see lots of sailing school boats which is really lovely. We stop here for lunch to watch for a while; its well protected but nothing special so we head around to the western side of the island to Cala Stagnali and like the vibe of it so here we stay. Ashore it’s a nice walk up to the Garibaldi House (Garibaldi is the father of modern Italy) and this is where he retired to. We share the bay with one other boat for the night, which of course has to anchor nice and close (and swim naked off the back)!
We will have westerly winds now for the next 4 days, not really strong but enough to keep us on the eastern side of the islands. That rules out a couple of places we would have liked to go but there are plenty more to explore. We go around to the southern end of Santa Stefano island where there is a lovely long bay, Cala di Villamarina. I walk up to what looks like a disused quarry, lots of rusting equipment, piles of stones and randomly a large statue of a fisherman’s head and shoulders overlooking the bay. After lunch we headed over to Spargi island, checked out a couple of anchorages before deciding on Cala Ferrigno. Initially we anchored and tied to a rock, (swimming lines ashore which I thought I had done for the last time in Greece!) but then another boat left the large granite dock and we tied alongside that instead. I went for a walk up into the hills to an abandoned farmhouse, with great views across the channel. Got chatting to the couple of the other yacht here, an Italian guy with an American wife who live in Singapore. We joined them for drinks later in the evening.
We left our dock relatively early to head across to Budelli Island. This is another popular daytime spot so we wanted to get in before the day trippers. Found a nice spot and chilled for the day, watching the many comings and goings, taking a RIB tour of the area in the afternoon but it was very choppy thanks to the westerly.
After breakfast we jumped in the RIB and went over to see the Spiaggia Rosa (or pink beach). You can’t walk on it, swim in it or take the RIB ashore so we park the RIB nearby and walk over to look at it. It really doesn’t look very pink to be honest. We get some drone shots to get a better look but I really might have to photoshop them so it looks pinker.... After morning tea we up anchor and motor across to Santa Maria island where there is a reasonably popular beach anchorage, Cala Santa Maria. The larger tourist boats disgorge the seething masses here who just seem to hang out at the small, crowded beach. We took the RIB onto the beach and walked up to an old lighthouse (described back on the beach as “rotten”). Nice view across the island group but the lighthouse was indeed in ruins, as was the scaffolding holding it up. Got back to our RIB and as we were pushing off from the beach we were told off by the lifeguard for leaving it there. Oh well, better to ask forgiveness than permission sometimes...
Back to ITIKI for lunch and then on to the next stop. We checked out a couple of possible bays to anchor in but they were rejected and we headed to Giardinelli island. It’s a whole 11nm from last night’s anchorage. The water here is more of a greenish colour but still crystal clear. The bay is full of power boats and RIBs but by 5:30, magically they are all gone and we have the bay to ourselves. We stay here for the next couple of days sheltering from the westerlies and waiting for our weather window to head west to the NW tip of Sardina. We have very much enjoyed our time in the Madalennas, such a lovely cruising ground with short distances between some very different anchorages, and pristine waters. We continue to push west though and leave in the early morning, navigating around the rocks in the dark, following our entry track on the chart plotter as it is poorly lit. We motored most of the 66nm to La Pelosa at the NW tip of Sardinia, and arrive just as the wind turns to the east. It’s not well protected here and pretty rolly, but we are getting used to this and it means another early morning start to get to Menorca in the Balearics.
Our third visit to Italy in ITIKI started in rather dramatic circumstances as you may know. We crossed overnight from Ionian Greece to the sole of Italy’s boot. From there we made our way up through the Messina Straits to the Aeolian islands before heading on to Sardinia and the Maddalenas, before crossing to the Balearics (Spain). We actually didn’t make landfall at Sicily, although we came pretty close to it.
This leg of our journey started after a sneaky last night in Greece, after officially checking out. It was an early morning departure 06h00 for a 186nm journey across to the toe end of Italy. Specifically, to Marina Rocella Ionica, which is a well-worn path for cruisers heading westward. We were expecting good pressure to start with so playing it safe (have we finally learned?!) we put one reef in the main and the genoa. Seas were very lumpy initially and we didn’t get a lot of breeze until we got away from the island but then we made good speeds and shared watches throughout the day. About 3pm Keith noticed that our first reef-line (the new Dynalite one) had chafed through the outer sheath at the (very smooth) cringle. It looks like the core will hold though. Once it comes time to shake it out we will need to be careful that it doesn’t peel the core like a banana, as happened with the gennaker halyard, which we had to cut. As evening approaches the breeze drops (as forecast) and we swap the genoa for the gennaker. We then need to go to full main and one engine. We keep that configuration through the night and into the next morning. We try a couple of times to switch motors off and sail again as we get a bit of breeze, but it doesn’t last and is taking us off course so motors go back on. We are keen to ensure we arrive in daylight.
We start to see the lights of Italy in the early hours of morning, about 40nm out and this is when it seems like our passage is almost over. We have made better time than we expected and should be in mid-morning. Our arrival is a bit more dramatic than we expected though and at 10nm out we see the sorry sight of a Bavaria 50 very low in the water, looking like it is in trouble. The main is up and strapped on but no headsail. As we get closer we can see that despite it being in reasonable condition otherwise, it has been ransacked and windows stove in, blankets and clothing scattered over the deck. Water is pouring into the foredeck hatch. It’s all I can do to stop Keith from jumping aboard to close the hatch. The boat could be a crime scene and not something we want to get involved with. It’s likely stolen and scuttled and this open hatch is probably not the only problem. We call in a Securite over the radio and wait for the Guarda Costiera to arrive about 10 mins later. By the time they get there though the boat has completely disappeared below the surface and we are in 80m of water. They seem to know about the boat already. We find out later that they took some migrants off it and probably just left it there, which is a shame, and also a shipping hazard! There are a collection of these stolen boats in the marina itself and they probably didn’t want any more of them, hoping it would sink without a trace before anyone noticed. We settle in to our Marina berth and of course our first night in Italy is celebrated with pizza, pasta and chianti at a local restaurant.
We really have no reason to stay in this area so we move on the next day. This was one of those days we went from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C and then back to Plan A again! This part of Italy is well known for its lack of safe and protected anchorages, but if conditions are calm you can get away with anchoring in some places. Initially we were going to anchor at a spot called Bova Marina (not a marina but that is just what they call coastal towns), on the south western end of the toe. We were still getting Southerlies at this stage and although we had a nice time sailing the anchorage was quite exposed. The forecast showed light northerly coming out of the Messina Straits (the channel between Italy and Sicily) so we decided to head across to Taormina on the Sicilian side and make our transit north from there. As we got to the very tip of the toe another change of plans. As the northerly in the strait was only 5kts (allegedly), we decided to head up to Regio di Calabria on the eastern side of the channel. There is an anchorage just north of the (€220 per night!) Marina at Regio di Calabrio called Galicio that looks ok. Well the forecast of 5kts from the north turned out to be BS. More like 20-22 and awful short chop. We persisted with it though, covering our recently cleaned boat with salt yet again. We had so much spray coming over the coach house that I had to close the saloon doors. We had fun dodging a huge fleet of windsurfers and kite surfers who were enjoying conditions more than us! The airhorn was ready to blast anyone who was not paying attention as although we were under motor, they are much quicker and more manoeuvrable than us. Then thankfully the breeze backed off. It’s amazing how 17kts feels like a relief after slamming into 22kts. Its 14kts by the time we anchored at Galicio and dropped to nothing from then on so we had a very calm night, albeit listening to 80s music from the beach club ashore – that would have been ok except for someone yelling in Italian over the top of it (possibly an aerobics class). There were also local fishermen coming and going all night in small dinghies around us. Apparently the pilot books say you can’t anchor in the Messina Straits, most people take this to mean anywhere between Italy and Sicily, but it’s really only means the short section at the north which is the narrowest point and includes the shipping channel. Anyway, as we don’t seem to have an Italian pilot book we didn’t know this until much later. By the end of the day we have done 64nm, not quite what we planned!
We departed again at a leisurely 8:30am for a “short” 40nm hope across to the Aeolian Islands, off the NE corner of Sicily. This group consists of several volcanic islands, the most well-known one being Stromboli, which is still quite active and regularly puts on a light show at night.
We motored north up into the Straits hugging the starboard shore. The Straits are not as busy with shipping as we expected, that said we had a nervous moment as a car ferry decided to leave just as we were passing by and we had cruise and cargo ships both over take us. We radioed VTS for permission to cross the channel and in no time we were turning the corner and pointing towards Isola Volcano at the south end of the Aeolian Island group. The wind gods are feeling happier today after giving us a beating yesterday and we get the Parasailor up. The angles are a bit flukey but as we get further from the coast it becomes more consistent. Later we change to the gennaker to get a better angle to our destination. Even without the main we get along at great speeds and better angles. We approach Volcano from the western side checking out a couple of anchorages, but end up opting for the town harbour anchorage, Baia di Pontente. It's already very crowded but conditions are calm and we squeeze ourselves in.
We go ashore early in the morning and walk up to the rim of the crater of the volcano of Isola Volcano (wondering how they decided on the name for this island???). Lots of acrid sulphur on one side but it’s quite spectacular and great views across to the island of Isola Lipari. Looking down into the crater it was a heart shape. We walked around the small town for a bit and then as we were heading back to ITIKI the police were doing the rounds of the anchorage telling everyone to move on. I guess they need to turn the crowds over. The weather is lovely and calm so we pick up an anchorage on Lipari’s west coast, all of 3nm away, one of the rare white sand “beaches” (Punta Di Levante) in this volcanic area, although still a bit on the deep side. Boats come and go all day, fishermen come by to sell their catch and we have a beautiful sunset.
Overnight we had a couple of storms pass through. Winds were not strong but they brought some rain and we had to bring all of the cocktail deck cushions in. Early morning brought a stronger westerly with a big swell and backwash from the cliffs which saw waves going over the transom. This is called getting “pooped” and it’s not very nice. ITIKI is bucking up and down like a bronco on our anchor. It’s raining moderately so we quickly get the bimini clears up and beat a hasty retreat in big seas around to the east coast of Lipari, with me holding the crockery drawer closed until we turned the corner around the south of the island and got out of the swell. We anchored at Punta di Capistelo on the southern part of the bay around the town of Lipari, a bit too close to another mono. Not a great anchorage, very rolly, too deep, probably rocks and weed and we did not feel happy about leaving the boat to visit the town. We chat to the guy on the mono and he recommends an anchorage on the island of Salina which is protected from Westerlies so we decide to give it a go. As we head north past the white sand beach on the north east of Lipari we see a Saba 50, Double Shot. This is Andy and Mel and their kids who were on the dock with us at La Rochelle and came to our baptism. How funny to see them after so long! We have a quick chat but by now its blowing strongly from the north, so we head across to Salina. We have travelled all of 15nm today, including our detour by Lipari town.
'The anchorage outside the Marina di Salina is not quite what we expected, still a bit deep and steep but that is par for the course around volcanic islands. Still it's protected enough, we have it to ourselves and it turns out to be a good choice. I go ashore for a wander and Keith stays on board to make sure ITIKI is settled in the anchorage. We were expecting storms overnight but nothing eventuates and we have a calm night.
We walk around Salina the next morning and decide to take the ferry over to Lipari Town for a couple of hours, rather than move to a crummy anchorage for the night. We have lunch in Lipari town and enjoy walking the streets of the old town, up to the castle. Museums are closed but wander into the church, have a gelato and head back on the ferry again. It is a pretty town with colourful houses and plenty of tourists. We decide against heading up north to Stromboli, the most active volcano in the group. It’s quite a way north and conditions are not so favourable. Anyway we also have heard that the volcano is not really doing much in the way of spectacular fireworks at the moment, so we are probably not missing out.
Our nicely protected anchorage has become very rolly overnight with a change of conditions so we were up and away just before 4am, 1 hour earlier than planned. We have a long passage of 253nm to the south east corner of Sardinia for the next part of our Italian adventures.
Mindelo to Bridgetown Barbados, 2069 nm
Well I think my last post about the first attempt to cross the Atlantic frightened a few people. Sorry about that. We had already made it to Barbados safely when I posted it. The actual crossing was nowhere near as bad, but as they say, it's all relative. Perhaps I was desensitised!
It was a very rapid turn around to find our crew and ramp up our mental preparation again, probably better to get straight back on the horse though. But we made it!
In summary:
We sailed 2069 nm from Mindelo, Cape Verde to Bridgetown, Barbados. During the 11.5 day crossing, from 11th to 22nd of December 2021 inclusive, ITIKI averaged 7.55kts and saw windspeeds mainly between 18-24kts true, with occasional gusts of up to 30kts. Maximum boatspeed was 14.8kts surfing one of the many waves that followed us accross. Sail configurations varied from Genoa alone, Genoa and main (broad reach and goose-winged), Parasailor® (winged-spinnaker) and goose-wing of 2 headsails. With a crew of three for the crossing we maintained a watch system consisting of 3 hours on / 6 hours off per person, until the last 24hrs, when the autopilot failed and the vessel had to be hand steered. In the last 5 hours, from 6pm, Alana and Keith maintained a 30 minutes on / 30 minutes off watch, hand-steering alternatively. The sea conditions were rough and confused and it was challenging to hold a proper course in darkness. Read on for a blow by blow description.
Day 1 Saturday 11 Dec 2021
Well the morning has arrived. Woke with a bit of a headache after not drinking enough water yesterday and well a cosmo and wine and a late dinner. Anyway we can not stall this any longer... We checked out with the port police yesterday and put Alana on the crew list. We had our Covid test at 8:30am yesterday but can’t get the result until 6pm tonight so hopefully the plan to have it emailed to us (and Pam as a back up) works well! We called home and watched the crazy Russians leave in their “floating” tent. We pull up the anchor which is no mean feat having dug into mud in 40kts! Oh and the starboard engine MDI is officially dead. No amount of fiddling and spraying and harsh words can bring it back to life. Thank goodness for the bypass switch. Finally it’s up and we head over to the fuel dock and have to hang around for a bit waiting for another boat but finally get in and top up our tanks. We head out into the bay and put up the main and unfurl the genoa. The acceleration zone lives up to its name. We have up to 30kts behind us but its steady and manageable as is the swell. Once we passed the end of Sao Antao we got the confused seas that earlier departing sailors had reported but still good pressures in the mid 20s. Found a light patch with swirling winds which we were in for a while with TWD clocking to 320! and our speeds dropping right down to 1.5kts VMG. We have pushed north to climb just above course and are now on a beam reach with winds in the low 20s, but the beam on swell is not very nice. Alana is quite seasick and can’t stand watch so we leave her to sleep and get her sea legs. Keith and I share watches through the night and we have left over pie for dinner.
Day 2 Sunday 12 December
Morning comes and we are keeping the same sail configuration with 2 reefs in main and genoa initially reaching and then Goosewinging. Apparently the Dutch call this “milk maiden” after those white hats they wear. Alana is up and about and recovered her appetite. We changed to 1 reef in the main and full genoa goosewinged and breeze was holding in the high teens. We are sailing fairly conservatively. Keith has just removed this mornings’ catch of flying fish from the deck and the lazy bag. That’s going to get really smelly as there are scales all over the main! Shook out the reef in the afternoon and kept the Goosewing overnight, but it was challenging to fill the headsail when the breeze kicked around to TWD90s as it forced us up into the swell. Distance from departure at midday: 178nm
Day 3 Monday 13 December
Had a great sleep after coming off watch at 3am. Had been up briefly when the auto pilot switched off by itself and Alana called out for Keith. About 7:30am Keith and I decided to take the main and genoa down and put the kite up as we have true wind in the low 20s. Well that wasn’t easy, tried initially to furl the genoa close hauled but had to pull away to do it. Then tried to drop the main on one engine (the starboard MDI has finally failed) but that was not possible either. Finally put both on and got it down. Launched the kite after much checking and double checking and found it was inside out! That is a first. It went up and opened out beautifully but we were both left staring and wondering why the wing was not flying out the front. It did get a bit wet, but…. Then I looked at the tapes and realised the green one was on the left! It had to come down which was difficult in itself, and be rotated sheets and braces re-tied, but launched again pretty well. Thought we were in for a wine glass for sure but 20kts quickly opened it up. It’s been up all day and we are making some great VMGs but the swell is pretty big and we are moving around a lot, making daily living activities quite difficult and very noisy. Still I managed to make bread. Oh and Keith found a flying fish in the drain gutter for the anchor locker. We had a pod of dolphins come by for a while and Alana clipped on and went to the front but they did not stay long. Alana hasn’t sailed with a kite before so this is a first. Distance from departure at midday: 361nm
Day 4 Tuesday 14 December
We have kept the kite up all night. A couple of times for both Alana and me the boat has rounded up and lost the kite. Initially we thought it was the autopilot but probably just a round up and the autopilot could not correct quickly enough. Keith has one episode during the day as well. Today’s catch was only 1 flying fish, lodged between the jack stay and port aft bathroom hatch. Keith launched “Flying fish crash investigation” which concluded, based on physical evidence (ie slime and scale trail) that the fish had landed on the port bow and flapped his way back along the deck until running out of steam in his final resting place, wedged on Alana’s bathroom hatch. Of course a sea burial was in order. We raised the spinnaker halyard about 5cm to avoid chafe. It’s still not all the way up (it came down a fair bit after the hoist as I took it off the winch not realising it was not cleated at the mast, so we have a fair bit of scope to keep doing this.) Keith made water and also rocked the soft shackle on the brace pulley. Otherwise not much to report as the routine of eat, sleep, watch and repeat continues. Excellent conditions continue through the day. The swell has settled into a nice rhythm, and my 3pm watch is almost hypnotic. A gentle follow sea and nothing else around. Makes me suspicious of what might be in store for us… Distance from departure at midday: 561nm 09h06 day 3 to 09h05 day 4 a 201nm run, yeeha a new 24hr distance record for ITIKI
Day 5 Wednesday 15 December
Good progress overnight however still a few wind shifts to deal with. Through the night we have a little rain, not enough to wash the boat or clear away the grey clouds. Keith gets some unsettled winds as we parallel a rain squall. By morning the breeze is shifting through 50 degrees! TWD of 130! Seriously Hughey?! Bring back the trade winds please! I am now hand steering with the auto pilot buttons to keep the kite full. We seem to be sitting under our own personal dirty black cloud that is supplying this odd weather pattern. It is sucking our breeze away. Not only has it dropped in strength it has changed direction , shifting through 50 degrees! Not your typical trades. We finally broke away from that pattern as Alana came on watch at 9am and we have gone back on course. We have sun through the clouds and getting 5-800W from the solar. We had soup and a glass of wine for lunch and then gave the boat a wash, retrieving another flying fish in the process. The afternoon continued much the same with lighter breezes. Keith prepared a BBQ and just as it was time to serve the boat rounded up and he had to hand steer to settle the kite so dinner was not quite as smooth as planned. The boat settled but after a few more hiccups we decided to restart the instruments. It seems after a big wind shift we need to take a little more time to steady the kite before the autopilot can take over again. Distance from departure at midday: 735nm
Day 6 16 December 2021
Lighter airs continue as do relatively small seas. About 0245 I heard an unusual twang and decided to shine the torch down the side of the boat to check on it. Noticed that the soft shackle that holds the turning block for the starboard brace had broken (we rocked it yesterday) and the princess seat was acting as the turning point. Fortunately not a huge amount of pressure in it. Keith was up quickly and able to replace it with a spare so no huge drama. We think these soft shackles are the ones that Mr Messo made when he was on board a few years ago. We have a warm but partly cloudy day and shifty breeze throughout the day. We are not breaking any speed records and falling below our course again. If we want to keep the kite up we need to stay high so Keith trims on and we once again challenge ITIKI and learn how she performs. Sailing a bit shy-er to the breeze also gives us a bit better speed too. Fortunately the swell is still manageable despite the occasional slap under the bum. We are well into the rhythm of the journey and getting close to halfway. Distance from departure at midday: 900nm
Day 7 17 December 2021
As we were falling too far below course with the kite and were concerned about ending up in Trinidad and Tobago! We have changed to a 2 sail reach to climb up so we can re-hoist the kite and run away with the conditions we expect closer to Barbados. Getting the kite down was a challenge in these conditions and she fought back! We unfurled the genoa to 2nd reef to blanket the kite but this did not really help until it was down a fair way. Keith really struggled to control it and lost control of the down-haul. In hindsight a bigger ease of the sheet at the same time as the brace could have helped in the strongish wind. Also a full genoa would probably have helped as well. Coming head to wind to hoist the main was also fun with the swell and we dived down some pretty big waves, but we were able to hoist it quickly to 2nd reef point and at with this combination the rest of the day and through the night. Just as dinner was about to be served the auto-pilot had its now increasingly familiar glitch and would not steer our course. Had to hand steer for a while before she came back and cooperated again. This happened a couple of times through the night watches. Alana is very good hand steering, all of that time in dinghies has clearly paid off! I need more practice! Distance from departure at midday: 1089nm
Day 8 18 December 2021
Saw a cargo ship this morning, first vessel of any kind. As we have the scale set very wide on the chart plotter so I first saw it on the horizon, rather than the plotter. It came within 1nm which is ironic as we have not even seen a single boat since day 1. This morning we had some pretty rough and confused seas at it was quite uncomfortable. Also strongish winds of 22-26. After our quest to gain height was successful we are sailing the rhumb line again. This morning we evaluated whether to relaunch the kite, using the 15 minute rule, plus GST… it’s no mean feat changing configuration in these conditions. We are 3 crew and hoisting the kite means dropping the Main head to wind etc. in 3m seas. Wind has been consistently more than forecast so we decide to play it safe and keep the reefs in the main and goosewing the headsail to try and come onto course. We are still a little bit below it and of course as soon as you put in a conservative configuration the breeze backs off. It’s not really fast but it is still more comfortable with the not inconsiderable swell. It has been hard work playing the angles with the shifty breeze, which is where the kite would have been more flexible. Still a bit below course as well, so if the conditions remain consistent we may need to reconsider the kite. It was Nick’s surprise 80th birthday party today and we gave him a call during the proceedings, it was about 9pm local time. He was 3 sheets to the wind and reckons it was a complete surprise! Sounds like a great party and too bad we missed it. Distance from departure at midday: 1269nm
Day 9 19 December 2021
We carried the goose wing through the night with a few challenges keeping it trimmed in shifty breeze and a 3 way cross sea. There were a few unintended gybes and we all had some moments of hand steering as the auto pilot can’t always keep up with the shifts and waves knocking the boat off course and then not wanting to re-engage. At times the waves lift us slowly and gently out of the water, turn us one way or the other and deposit us down into the trough. It seems like a slow gentle force but leaves you in no doubt who is in charge. We had some short, sharp and intense rain squalls through the night with moments in the 30kts. Fortunately short lived, but some work to do to recover onto course. Radar stayed on most of the night but they appear out of nowhere so quickly. At least the boat is nice and clean now! This morning we have re-launched the kite which will be much easier to manage in the shifty winds. At 10:20 we have 628nm to go, if I am not mistaken this is the start of the Sydney to Hobart. Our aim is to beat Rani’s time. First 6 hour sked , in the short handed (3 crew) short legged (2 crew are only 5’2”) division we are equivalent to just off Kiama and doing well in the cruising multihull apartment division. Kite’s up and doing 9 kts, skipper just woken up to sit down to apple crepes whipped up by the other off watch crew. I guess just like any other ‘Hobart’ race crews… Well we were getting along quite famously there for a while but the sustained strong winds combined with one too many shifty gusts and we have torn the Parasailor (kite) quite badly this evening. Thankfully she came down quickly and cleanly and is now safely stowed until we can get her repaired. For the evening and overnight we are reaching with the Genoa, still seeing gusts of 27 kts. Our VMGs are quite respectable with this configuration and it’s a comfortable ride, with standing up to 27kts gusts. We enter a period of mourning for the kite. Distance from departure at midday: 1441nm
Day 10 20 December 2021
By mid-morning the breeze has settled into the high teens, low 20s and the strong gusts have stopped, or should I say “paused”. Our genoa-only configuration is a bit limiting and our speeds are falling. The sail is strapped out as far as possible to the side so it is almost like it is poled out. In the early afternoon we try a new combination of goosewing, with the gennaker out to port and genoa to starboard. This was a bit challenging to configure as we had to gybe the genoa, then discover some problems with the gennaker sheets which meant furling to sort those out and then hoisting it behind the genoa. This configuration gives us increased flexibility of wind angle and also increased our speed by 1-2kts. Conditions are now perfect for the Parasailor of course… We keep this configuration for the rest of the day, still very confused seas and at times some larger waves coming through that throw us off course. We all have our fair share of hand steering moments, at least its good practice! Virtual Syd2Hba Sked #2: Well we are 32 hrs into our “Sydney to Hobart” race and 6nm south of Gabo Is. Checked in and all good. Still with the goosewing of genoa and gennaker. VMGs steady at 8.2kts and the wind forecast is finally delivering on predictions, well at least for wind strength if not quite direction. Wild Oats would have probably finished the race by now as leader of the demi-catamaran division, and Ricko and the boys would be having a few at Customs House, having moved out of their 3 star (pipe cot) accommodation. Meanwhile on ITIKI dinner was spaghetti bolognaise, served with freshy grated parmesan and a glass of Spanish Verdejo. The off watch crew are now retiring to their queen sized cabins after a nice hot shower in their own ensuites… Distance from departure at midday: 1613nm
Day 11 21 December 2021
With 3 crew and 3 hour watches, 3 hrs on and 6hrs off, we are rotating our actual watch times on a daily basis. Yesterday the clocks changed back 1 hour, we think to Barbados time but not sure. Keith and Alana split the extra hour so I did dinner. I have just started the 6am watch. We have carried our goosewing through the night. It was a beautiful clear night, so many stars and a full moon. Thankfully also a night without strong gusts or squalls. We have our autopilot on “Apparent wind hold” to keep the sails full despite the 15 degree wind shifts. The most challenging thing is the confused seas. A big wave can quickly push us off course and the autopilot needs some help to recover quickly. We have just ticked over to 299 nm to go and still making good speed. Distance from departure at midday: 1793nm
Day 12 22 December 2021
Overnight the autopilot was switching off with increasing frequency and in the morning Keith hand steered for over 1.5hrs before a brief 20min reprieve when the autopilot made a comeback. This proved temporary though and it seems that with 120nm to go we are going to have to hand-steer the rest of the way. We re-evaluate the shifts to shorten them and ensure we share the load. My hand steering experience is limited and despite a rapid improvement I am not good enough to hold a course in the 23kts wind in the pitch black so Keith and Alana share the last few watches, exchanging after 30 mins. At least we can see a glow on the horizon of the lights of Barbados which helps, until the moon comes up. We keep good speeds up (8.5s), however it’s really hard work and the wind direction is in the 90s-100s so not helping us come down to the bottom of the island. With about 4nm to our waypoint we drop the sails and start motoring on two engines. Thank goodness we have detailed charts this time as the southern end of the island is fringed with reefs. We have to head around to Carlisle bay on the SW corner. Those last few miles seem to take forever. We anchor a fair way out and after a calming nightcap to unwind we collapse into bed. We will tackle the check in process tomorrow when we are fresh. Distance from departure at midnight: 2069nm
So how does it feel to be a trans-Atlantic sailor? Was it what we expected?
From the skipper: Initially a great sense of satisfaction ‘having made it’, as the adrenalin wears off exhaustion quickly fills the void as you collapse into a deep and restful sleep. I guess like most ‘firsts’ you first ocean crossing is very significant and memorable. Whilst having clocked up 10’s of thousands of nm along the coasts of NSW, Qld, Vic, Tassie and SA nothing quite compares with a crossing of one of the world’s major waterways. With coastal there is always a ‘run to’ not to far away if needed. Whilst one never stops learning when at sea, an ocean crossing opens up a whole new world of experiences. First mate: Despite numerous overnight passages, including a 5 day passage from Gibralter to Canaries, our trip down from Tenerife to Cape Verde was the best preparation possible for the eventual Atlantic Crossing. We could really experience how ITIKI performed in adverse conditions – we looked after her and she kept us safe. We had a few problems but we stayed calm when things went wrong, made good decisions and were able to solve issues underway. My own confidence has grown enormously but I remain conscious of my limitations and will never be complacent about the sea and the weather. Keith and I are a good counter-balance to each other, we complement each other’s styles and work well as a team.
SIDE-TRACKED ON THE WAY TO BARBADOS…
Although I have at least 5 half written blogs on the go, and a long list of excuses, I really feel the need to push this one to the top of the pile and share it. Our passage from Tenerife to Cape Verde was not an experience I would ever want to repeat but I/we learned a lot and it turned out to be a great preparation for our eventual Atlantic crossing, mentally more than anything but in practical terms too. Writing about this passage whilst it was fresh in my mind has certainly helped me to process and learn from the experience and to quickly take on board what I needed to prepare to move on and get my head into the right space. More on that later!
Day 1: Friday 26 Nov 2021
After confirming at 11pm last night that our insurance was all good to go (thanks James!) we woke early and with some nervous anticipation. The weather was better than yesterday, still cloudy but the wind was not howling and no sign of rain. It’s a cool 20C though so we have all the back clears down. We prepped to leave the marina berth, I called home and we headed across to the fuel dock to fill the tanks. Then we were off! Our first day was a baptism of fire with a bit of everything before lunch time. We motored initially and even put the fishing line out for a while. Had a huge pod of dolphins come to say farewell which was just fantastic. Then put the main up and gennaker coming into a rain squall. When the squall died so did the rain so the sails went away. The breeze seems to drop down when Keith and I are on which is frustrating. Lucky it did though because the 1st reef-line had come out of the sail and boom completely and after trying to feed a mouse-line through with the cable poker we gave up and used the 3rd reef-line to bring a new mouse line through the boom and take it and the 1st reef line back. Minutes later the breeze started building again and we needed to put the main up. Timing is everything! The starboard engine MDI did not come on. This is now officially a recurring problem. Martin suggested some electrical spray onto the connectors and that, and a bit of jiggling, got it sorted. Coming to La Gomera we came into a weather front with 26kts (gusting 30kts) on the beam and a 2-3m short swell, which was really uncomfortable. ITIKI’s hull was taking a hammering and the noise was something else! Not to mention the cumin seeds taking a tumble out of the pantry and spilling all over the floor! 2nd reef went in for the first time since the Meltemi. We had to foot off which meant making the decision to go south of Hierro Island. The breeze and swell backed off considerably as we left La Gomera behind. From there we were dead downwind and goose-winged with the genoa and have shaken out the reefs. 2 reefs go back in for the for overnight watches though in case of squalls. Soni and Martin had the 6-midnight shift and were surfing at 12+kts. Soni valiantly cooked a delicious spag bol but sadly was the only one that couldn’t eat any. The swell is brutal, there are at least three patterns, and giving the boat and our nerves a beating! Distance from departure at noon: 22nm
Day 2: Saturday 27 Nov 2021
10 mins after Keith came on watch the breeze had dropped from 14s to 6s and the frustration and flogging started. We tried chasing it for a while but we were heading too far south and finding nothing. At the start of my shift, at 3am, we re-looked at the forecast and decided we must have sailed into a wind hole, which was further north and lighter than we expected, so we gybed and slowly the pressure built until we had high teens/low 20s. We kept the apparents around 100-110 mark as we had a full genoa although 2 reefs in the main. It stayed consistent throughout my watch. Soni and Martin had some lighter breezes and shook out the reefs and changed to the gennaker. Today’s drama was when Martin noticed that small piece of the main sail track that you use to remove the cars, a section about 10cm long, had fallen off! He wasn’t sure if it hit the deck but I grabbed Keith and he found the missing piece in the lazy bag – phew! That could have been a major as dropping the main would mean losing the batten cars and bearings. Some time ago we found a mysterious grub screw inside the boat which we now know was from this part of the main track! Holy crap. Keith was able to refit the missing track and tighten everything back into place. Lucky it didn’t happen at night! Seas are still quite big (2-3m) and although the groundswell is longish (7-8 s) there is a fair bit of wind chop and cross swell on top of it so we continue to get smacked under the hull on a regular basis. Sometimes it sounds like an entire infantry battalion are running upside down under your bridge deck! It’s pretty unnerving. Weather has been fine, partly cloudy and temperatures in the low 20s. We changed our clocks to 1 hr earlier to fit with the timezone and each couple did an extra half hour on our shared watches to compensate. Winds were getting borderline for the gennaker so it has been furled around 3pm and 1 reef in the main for our night-time configuration. We are a little slower however it is much more comfortable. I slept very little yesterday, what with the swell and the creaking and adrenalin. Distance from departure at noon: 176nm
Day 3: Sunday 28 Nov 2021
Came off watch at midnight and slept really well albeit on and off until 6am when Keith went back on watch. It was another very bouncy night in terms of the swell but we covered a lot of miles. The breeze has lightened somewhat but the swell remains quite big and with a counter chop coming from another direction. We goose-winged the genoa to try to come further south as the wind was taking us north. Making good progress. The boys have done a check of the rudders, engine mounts, RIB, life-raft and the main track that came out yesterday as everything has been shaken around. Martin has done something to his knee and it looks like he could have an infection so we have started him on broad spectrum antibiotics from our medical kit. Distance from departure at noon: 372nm
Day 4: Monday 29 Nov 2021
We have come up on port tack and making our way south now, initially aiming to try and pick up some better winds or get into the trades. This also means Cap Verde remains a possible alternative port and we discuss this with Martin, whose knee is very red and hot. He consults his Dr overnight via sat. phone and the verdict is to head to Cape Verde. It should take us 3 days and we make the definitive turn to due South at 9:40am. Breeze is in the low to mid-20s with some gusts up to 30. The swell is on the beam and quite big and uncomfortable but not dangerous or slamming. We just have to ride this one out and hope Martin will be OK for the next couple of days until we can get him to a Dr. Unfortunately we don’t have the detailed charts for Cape Verde - so hopefully we will arrive in daylight. Keith went to retrieve the pennants on the mast, concerned that they might get caught in something and found the port Princess seat on the trampoline. That was screwed on pretty tightly in Leros so must have taken a big hit from a wave underneath to get it off. We had one rogue wave come over the top of the coach house and swamp the cocktail deck and helm station and gave us all a fright, particularly Soni who was on watch and got drenched. Distance from departure at noon: 545nm
Day 5: Tuesday 30 Nov 2021
So this morning Keith was excited to find we had caught our first fish! Poor little beggar was lying on the cocktail deck in a state of rigor mortis. He was no bigger than the fish we were using as lures. He must have been tossed on board in the rogue wave that drenched Soni yesterday afternoon. Martin’s leg is looking worse if anything, not sure the antibiotics have been much use and his mobility is more limited. He will not be able to do watches tonight so the 3 of us split those. He has been advised to up the dose of antibiotics. We have been in touch with the marina and they are expecting us and will help with an ambulance if we need. We have a relatively calm afternoon so Keith decides to turn on the water-maker. This is one of the downsides of having the water maker in the foredeck hatch, he needs to clip on and go in there to do everything. We managed to fill the tanks but just as he goes back to turn everything off a wave hits us and swamps the locker and the fuse trips. I made a potato tortilla for dinner, Martin stayed in bed with his leg elevated overnight. The conditions remain pretty awful, but we have seen that ITIKI is performing well and we have kind of gotten used to the situation. A state of acceptance but certainly not enjoyment! It’s now a mission to just get there ASAP and get help for Martin. Distance from departure at noon: 734nm
Day 6: Wednesday 1 Dec 2021
Keith had sustained gusts of low 30s for the second half of his watch and Soni for the first half of hers. Breeze had settled by the time I came on watch but the swell is at its worst. Still this awful cross swell and it just slams us unexpectedly. We are getting a fair bit of water over the port side and also lots of banging on the left side of the starboard hull and under the bridge deck. The belly button (aka cockpit drain) has turned into a geyser – Keith was standing on it when a wave came up underneath and he got a spray up the leg of his shorts! ITIKI continues to perform exceedingly well and now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, with just over 100nm to go at 9:30am. Martin made it out of bed mid-morning, feeling somewhat like the creature from the black lagoon – but also better for having rested his leg. Its not looking much better however, still very hot and swollen. He increases the antibiotic dose again.
Its now clear that at this pace we will be arriving at night, between midnight and 2am! It's a dark, moonless night. This is an unfamiliar and apparently wreck strewn harbour, some of the wrecks are not lit. We have no no internet to get Google Earth. Fortunately Martin had Open CPN and a GPS device on his computer. This was a godsend as he could at least provide Keith with bearings to get us past a large islet near the commercial port and into the marina area. It was a challenge to find the marina and fuel dock in the dark as it doesn’t have its own entrance or mole with navigation lights, it just sits in the corner of the harbour. The security guards were waiting for us expectantly and answered immediately on VHF, waving us into the fuel dock with their headlamps. The marina has floating docks without piles (just anchored to the seabed) and they are bouncing around incredibly in the strong winds. We manage to tie up and get settled. There was an ambulance waiting for Martin which the marina had organised. One of the young guys even gave Soni some local currency to get a taxi back to the boat. Soni and Martin returned a couple of hours later, having been given instructions to return to the hospital in the morning. Needless to say stiff drinks were in order. It was a stressful unpleasant and at times downright frightening journey - we are all very sleep deprived and running on adrenalin but we made it safely and help is at hand and that is what is important. We made the right decision to divert here, and some valuable lessons have been learned from the experience.
Distance from departure: 1016nm
So what lessons have been learned, re-learned or re-enforced.
1.Alternate destination planning For each of our longer/overnight passages I have prepared a “Float Plan” (credits to SV Starry Horizons for their template). This plan details information about our boat and safety equipment, crew list, emergency contacts and planned voyage, including alternative destinations. It’s filed with our land based “safety coordinator” in Australia, who is our primary point of contact with AMSA should we set off our EPIRB. I had listed Cape Verde as an alternative destination, never giving any further thought to what a diversion there might look like. We are crossing the Atlantic, there really are no feasible alternatives and returning against the trade winds and swell would be pretty awful. We had talked about heading to Cap Verde for a week or so and departing for the Caribbean from there, as many cruisers, including one of the ARCs does. However as we had decided against it so we had not done any detailed research and had not purchased or downloaded the detailed charts for the area. Our chart plotter only had the base map for Africa zone, which is very basic. I did know there was a marina in Mindelo on the island of Sao Vincent, and some fellow cruisers had stayed there and used it as a base. We were able to contact them and get the email address for the marina, then make contact with the marina via Satellite (Iridium Mail) to arrange our arrival. Arrival in an unknown port can be challenging enough but when you are without charts, which show navigation lights & beacons, wrecks, rocks, currents and back eddies etc. well that really adds to your woes. So lesson #1 is to better research alternative destinations. Downloading google maps or google earth for the area, even screenshots and verbal descriptions would have been really helpful. As would emergency or marina contacts. Fortunately the arrival went smoothly. 2.Meals for first night out The first night out can be tough, depending on how close to land you are the winds can be stronger in acceleration zones and seas can be lumpier close to land. Add to that any first night nerves - cooking a complex meal from scratch can be challenging and lead to sea-sickness or injury. Important to have something relatively light and easy ready to go, preferably one pot meal that can be eaten from a bowl at the helm if necessary. In fact for our “Take #2” there are several ready made meals already in the freezer! 3.Managing sea-sickness – no heroics Like I said the first night out can be challenging after being in a marina or anchorage for a few days. Rough conditions and/or first night nerves can challenge the strongest stomachs and on a dark night when the horizon is gone it is even more difficult. Hopefully not everyone is affected, Keith and I have well and truly gotten our sea legs over the last 6 months but there are no guarantees on that score. If a crew member is badly affected they will need time out of the watch system to get it under control. That may mean taking medication and/or taking some time out to sleep it off without the pressure of having to do a night watch. Day watches however are usually beneficial if they are up to it. It's not wise to try to soldier on and even cook meals. It doesn’t really do anyone any favours to prolong the adjustment time. 4.Thank goodness for Satellites We had the IridiumGO installed when we commissioned ITIKI but have never actually connected it or subscribed to a service. I bought 5 SIM cards from PredictWind (a NZ company) when we were back in Australia and activated our first subscription in Gibraltar. I chose an unlimited data package so I would not have the extra stress of counting how many minutes I have used downloading weather files etc and am so pleased I paid the extra for this. Can you imagine trying to coordinate a rescue, calling emergency services etc and then running out of credit??! Importantly, having local marina contact details and emergency contacts for the arrival port and alternative destinations would be really useful to prepare in advance. 5.ITIKI is a great boat! We have done over 10,200 nm in ITIKI since she was launched. While we obviously try to avoid going out in adverse conditions we do sometimes find things are not as forecast and we face some challenges. Strong winds, big seas etc. The trip down from the Canaries was by far the most challenging conditions mainly because they were sustained for so long. Having seen how the boat performed really did re-enforce for us how well built and solid she is. She sails well even in reefed down conditions. Whilst the waves and swell might knock her around she rarely rounded up, coping very well with constant adjustments by the hardworking autopilot. Our confidence in her has just continued to grow and we feel well attuned to her performance.
How do we move on from this?
We were pleased to be able to get Martin safely to Mindelo and into the expert care of the Medico Centro and Dr Carlos. We had of course hoped that a few days on IV antibiotics would have seen him ready to resume the journey, but sadly it was not to be. The recovery would be a lot longer and we all agreed that the risk, not only to Martin but to all of us, was too great to continue. This was indeed a heavy blow, albeit not entirely unexpected. The reality of our situation starts to sink in. So here we are in Cape Verde, a small island archipelago off the coast of Africa. The last staging post for an Atlantic crossing. We have lost our very experienced and highly regarded crew and dear friends. We were sleep deprived, stressed, shell-shocked after the horrendous journey down from the Canaries and left very much wondering WTF do we do now?! Keith has injured his shoulder in the fall off the boat onto the dock, and will eventually need surgery. Personally, I was feeling a lot of self-doubt and anguish. The ARC had reported to several yachts abandoned, including one death. We were not the only boat who diverted to Cape Verde unexpectedly either, with one of our dock mates reporting having been contacted by a cargo ship and being advised to divert due to adverse weather conditions. Various other boats reporting damage, gear failure, crew sickness or just having a shit time. What on earth made me think I could do this?! So we try to turn our minds to Plan B and for me it’s a steep climb out of a big hole to get to where I need to be mentally to restart our journey. Our options are fairly limited, but still there are always options. It’s a couple of weeks before Christmas, preparations for the Sydney to Hobart would be in full swing and everyone already has plans in place so getting sailing friends or indeed anyone experienced from Australia to join us for an impromptu Atlantic crossing would be highly unlikely, although we did explore this anyway. We also explored the idea of professional crew based in Europe, however at this time of year they are in high demand and obviously expensive. It would be a long wait for either option. While we had been approached on the docks in Canary islands by numerous people with varying skills and experience, looking for crew/passenger positions to cross the Atlantic, we were now in Cape Verde and there were a lot less people looking. At that time I remember thinking to myself, who in their right mind would take a stranger off a dock, onto their boat and across the Atlantic, to another country… Another complicating factor - as lovely, competent and caring as the Marina staff were, as well run as it is - the Marina itself was untenable in the conditions we experienced. We had gusts up to 30kts coming down into the harbour and the floating docks just bounced and swung more than anywhere I have ever seen. Steel springs, snubbers and mooring lines have been broken and cleats ripped out here. Keith had already injured his shoulder because of this. Also the stress on the boat of the constant snatching and jerking 24 hours a day made it hard to sleep or even relax. This is not a place you could leave a boat for any length of time. However this issue is one that is within our control and we decided to go and anchor out in the bay. Finally we can get a good night’s sleep, think clearly and hopefully get some plans together. I check the various crew finder sites and FB groups and the marina notice board and send out a few messages. We make contact with Alana, a young Dutch girl who came down from the Canaries in the same shitty conditions we did. Her boat decided not to continue on the crossing at this time so she moved into a hostel and waited. We met up and talked and after some initial hesitancy we decided she would be a good fit for us. Keith and I talked a lot about our experience, how the boat had performed and how we had handled our journey so far. We realised (well mainly it was me who needed convincing) that we could actually do the crossing with just the two of us. It would be tough, it would be long, it would be tiring but we could do it. Many couples do long crossings two up, but an extra pair of hands would mean sharing chores, extra rest and extra sleep, which would be a bonus. The weather was settling and the window opening up. Several boats were planning a Saturday departure and this was looking good for us too. And so the three of us, Keith, Alana and Lynda, would set off for Barbados... Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid element. Lithium’s efficacy at both treating and preventing the recurrence of manic-depressive episodes (what we now call Bipolar disorder) was discovered serendipitously by an Australian Dr John Cade back in 1949. It would eventually transform the lives of patients, pharmaceutical researchers and practicing physicians worldwide. It is still a mainstay of Bipolar disorder treatment today. The song Lithium was released as the third single from the album Nevermind by Nirvana in 1992. The title - which doesn't appear in the actual lyric – probably refers to the aforementioned drug. But I digress… Lithium ion batteries have become increasingly familiar to us as a key component of single use and rechargeable batteries, from the tiny button ones in watches to the ones in our phones and cameras or industrial ones that are now becoming more commonplace in cars and homes. Life on ITIKI will forever be divided into before and after Lithium batteries. I have been referring to this momentous change as an “upgrade” from AGMs to Lithium, however “conversion” is probably a more apt description as it has been akin to a religious experience, an awakening or enlightenment. Lithium upgrades are extensively discussed on cruisers fora by (sometimes self-appointed) experts and wannabes (like me) in reverent and serious tones. I feel like I have joined an exclusive club and will shortly be taught the secret handshake. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with AGM batteries and I would have been quite happy to continue with ours had they been in better health post Covid hiatus. However one service battery didn’t make it out of the boatyard at Leros (GR) and another was pronounced dead on arrival in Gibraltar. Rather than replace them with a new set of AGMs (apparently you don’t replace 1 or 2 in a set) we decided to bite the bullet and bring forward an exercise that we had on the “eventually” to do list. My knowledge of electrical systems has increased exponentially since stepping aboard ITIKI (there is so much more to cruising and living aboard than sailing skills). I have to admit to barely scraping through first year physics at uni, I have vague recollections of building a radio by copying the geek next to me. I didn’t know an amp from an ohm and my familiarity with high voltage, mainly came from Bon Scott and bandmates! My learning curve has been exponential. We encountered our first electrical “challenge” off the coast of Portugal on our way to the Med. Quelle horreur! The Bosch washing machine would not work on the genset. Calls were made to our dealer, google was consulted, but to no avail. It was the Bosch technician who visited the boat in Porto to reset the now “frozen” machine who, in halting English, dropped the penny on the problem. We got him to test the machine and power socket with the Genset on. He said something about no power and wrong frequency. More googling and I finally realised why the 5kVa and 4.5kVA genset have the same model number and user manual. It’s the same bloody machine, just set to a different RPM/frequency! D’oh! Who knew electricity had a frequency as well as a voltage and an amperage?! I really should have paid more attention in class. A fairly minor thing to get changed in the end, but really something that should have been picked up and sorted in La Rochelle. Our next valuable lesson was installing the solar panels in Sicily. A fellow sailor who was admiring our panels as they sat on the dock waiting to be fitted to their frame, happened to ask what rating our MPPT (solar controller) was. When we knowingly informed him that it was 150/75 he replied “I guess you will be wiring those panels in parallel then so you don’t blow it up!” Yes of course…. I really need to learn more about this stuff. I started reading, joined a couple of chat forums and started talking to people who knew a bit more about it than me. There are no-end of "experts" in this area and chat forums can be really daunting, so it is important to be choosy about who you listen to. Initially it was all way over my head but it has slowly come together to the point that (with some help – thanks Peter and Martin) I could brief a marine electrician about what we wanted and not be completely bamboozled when his design options came back. Getting Lithium batteries installed is not just a case of swapping out the old AGMs and replacing them with the same amount of Lithium batteries. Lithium batteries need a whole different set of charge management and monitoring systems so that they don’t overcharge, cook or blow up your engine alternators. Of course there are numerous ways to skin a cat (pardon the pun) when designing your new system. You can learn from what others have done but you can’t just copy someone else’s set up and hope for the best, even if they have a similar boat. Importantly, you can’t design a new system without (a) understanding your existing systems (b) understanding your own needs (c) clearly articulating what problems or issues you want to address (d) consulting your accountant! In my time away from ITIKI during Covid, and as part of my efforts to improve my understanding, I had put together a schematic of our energy generation, storage, monitoring and distribution, just as I had done for our water management system. I wasn’t on the boat at the time so didn’t get it 100% correct but this eventually proved a useful tool in explaining ITIKI’s set up to our marine electrician. I had made contact with Dave Campbell from EMS in Gibraltar before we returned to ITIKI as I really wanted to upgrade our inverter to a 3000W so we could run the water maker from it. A fairly conservative ambition as it turned out. At that stage I didn’t know we would be replacing our batteries, but we knew we would be passing through Gib on our way out of the Med and Dave is a Victron agent. It wasn’t long before this small job had morphed into a big one and turns out Dave and his team had the expertise to design and implement all of the changes we didn’t know we needed. Dave had worked on a number of Fountaine Pajots so was quite familiar with the layouts and wiring and all things electrical on these boats. Of course, every boat has something a little different and there will always be curve balls with these kind of jobs, but Dave was up for the challenge. It was important to us to have an experienced and accredited electrician, as well avoiding language or cultural barriers which might hamper open and clear communications. Plus Dave seemed like a really nice guy and someone we could easily work with. A longer stay in Gibraltar was now on the cards. Defining our needs A really key step in this whole process was for us to define our needs. This meant analysing our cruising style and energy usage over the last 2 seasons as well as thinking about the cruising grounds we would be moving into, namely the Caribbean and Pacific. These are warmer climates where we would be using marinas even less and would not have access to the level of technical support available in Europe. Some people do a meticulous energy audit, calculating power usage right down to the very last detail such as the anchor light & courtesy lights. We focussed our analysis on the major appliances such as autopilot, water maker, washing machine, air con etc. How often do we run them, what are their energy ratings and how would we like to power them going forward. From that exercise we defined our key objectives.
I really could not have done this exercise before stepping onto ITIKI pre-launch. I didn’t have enough knowledge about our needs or how they could be addressed and would have made way more mistakes than we already did with our original set up. Having those 2 seasons under our belt was quite beneficial in gaining a better understanding of our requirements and how to manage energy on our boat. Our "Needs Analysis":
So how did we address all of our needs? Well I am still no expert in this area and never likely to be but here goes:
Sounds simple, right? Well yes and no. I guess it depends on how deeply you want to delve into the technical details. Dave was particularly good at explaining to mere mortals like us how things worked as well as the pros and cons of varying options available. Did it all go smoothly and exactly to plan? No of course not, nothing ever does and it is important to expect this. It’s how your installation team handle and communicate this that really matters. Dave made it clear that he was planning an upgrade on a boat he had never physically seen and his advice may change once he did see it and start working on it. Issue #1: Alternator regulators - We encountered some difficulties implementing the original design regarding the alternator/regulator set up, went some way down a rabbit hole before pulling the pin and going to plan B. The construction of the alternator made conversion to external regulation, per the original plan, very difficult. It was not possible to guarantee full control of field current and safety of engine loom wiring if we had proceeded. It would not end up being the “plug and play” scenario we thought it would be. Instead we used 2 x 30A Orion smart DC-DC chargers per engine to optimise and manage the flow of energy between engines and Lithium house batteries, via the starter batteries. Issue #2: Inverter not inverting! At the end of what should have been our last day of the install, we found that the inverter was not inverting. Yes, they tried turning it off and on again, tested and retested but still there was head scratching at the close of play. Was it a hardware problem, a wiring problem or a software problem. Finding another 3000W Inverter in Gibraltar would be challenging, and fitting 2 x 2000W would be time consuming due to space constraints. Sometimes sleeping on it is the best way to solve a problem, those 3am cogitations can be very useful if you remember them when you wake in the morning. The boys returned in the morning with a solution in hand! Turns out it was a software problem, with one too many “smart assistants” in the mix. Dylan to the rescue with some re-programming and voila! We were inverting again. Phew! What about the cost? It is true it is a significant investment and the biggest single one we will probably ever make in ITIKI. That is another reason to plan and research thoroughly and do the job properly. The time required should not be underestimated either. We were doing this on the run rather than in our winter berth, knowing that our electrician could not guarantee an exact start date given the other jobs he was working on, potential delays and set-backs as well as relying on equipment delivery etc. We would need to be in a marina for the duration of the job so we would have power to keep the beer cold. We would also be provisioning for our trip to the Canaries and beyond. The verdict so far
Everything works and we are getting used to running things a little differently. At the same time we had come into autumn/winter when there were more cloudy and rainy days and the angles of the sun was much lower, so we were not getting the same levels of solar power we were used to in mid-summer Med. We had 4 people on board for a significant stretch (instead of 2) for some long passages and we have been doing some longer times under sail, so less incidental power from motoring and more usage from the autopilot whilst sailing. We initially found that we were running the genset a little more than we normally would have to top up the batteries and heat water. Now that we are in the tropics we have found that things have changed quite a bit. Even when we have been at anchor we have been getting more sun on the panels, with daily input between 3.7KWh and 4.3KWh. Add to that the power from incidental motoring, from moving even short distances, means the use of the genset has become more rare. We are now concerned about ensuring it does have the opportunity to turn over and recharge its own starter battery. All in all we are very happy with the changes we made, we can now use our power more efficiently to run our boat the way we want to.
Our friends from Sydney, Team Argonauts (Rob and Kylie on their Saona) managed to escape from Sydney a few weeks before we did. They had left their boat in Hammamet, Tunisia at the end of season 2019, not knowing what was in store for them. They managed to get out of Tunisia amidst some political unrest and we have been following their adventures around Sicily as they head towards Ionian Greece, hoping we would be able to cross paths and spend some time cruising together.
We set out mid-morning from Methoni intending just to head to Pylos (a massive 10nm north) for the night and meet the Argonauts the following day. We have been to Pylos before and enjoyed it. It’s a wide and sheltered bay with a town and castle at in the south. We stopped by the town to provision and then anchored in the north of the bay for the night, picking out a spot for Argonauts nearby so they could join us tomorrow. Just north of us is a spectacular, fan shaped beach and a lagoon that we could reach across a sandspit. We contact with Argonauts, consult the maps and pilot and realise we are much further south of them than we thought, with not much to do our see in between. So we change plans and decide that we will push north for another day and meet them tomorrow, on the southern end of Zakynthos Island.
In order to leave Pylos bay tomorrow morning we would have to go a couple of miles to the south to get around the headland before turning north, so it made sense to anchor in the south overnight. Somehow along the short way to the southern side of the bay we decided to put a bit more distance in the bank, turn the corner around the headland and make our way north to Proti Island a to give us more of a head-start in the morning. I was a bit dubious as it's one of these anchorages that “only has room for 2-3 boats” (there were none showing on AIS…) and we would be arriving at dusk! Oh and we might have to take lines ashore! Fortunately there are only two boats here when we arrive and they are tied back leaving plenty of room for us to swing anchor. It is Sunday evening and there is a church on the island with an Orthodox service going on, we can hear the haunting sound of their chanting. A small boat is shuttling people back and forth from the mainland until quite late and a then a blood moon rises. Magic!
A 5:30am start to leave our island anchorage the next morning as it’s a 50nm schlep north. I am grateful we did not have to take lines ashore, so no early morning swim to release them! I know there are no sharks in the Med, but the thought of swimming at dawn or dusk sends shivers up and down my spine! Winds are light and so we are motoring all the way with a main up for a bit. The last hour it is on the nose, this is why we got up early! We finally spot Argonauts on the chart-plotter and they arrive at the anchorage (Mavratzis Beach) on the south east tip of Zakynthos an hour or so later. It’s great to see them and we have a lovely dinner and way too much wine on board ITIKI, swapping war stories about escaping Australian and, for them, getting out of Tunisia and almost getting booted out of Italy!
We wake to a beautiful sunrise, although it is rare to see an ugly one I guess. Argonauts join us for morning tea on ITIKI and then we head north to Xigia beach, on the east coast of Zakynthos. There are sulphur springs here but it’s not too smelly and the water is crystal clear and turquoise. We explore some caves on the SUPs before heading north to the small village of Agios Nicholas. It's fairly late when we arrive at the anchorage it's quite full. There is a tempting looking spot on the town quay but we are reliably informed that this spot is reserved for a ferry which is due in at 7:30pm. Luckily Costas comes to the rescue in his RIB, confident he will find the best place in the crowded harbour for us. True to his word he brings ITIKI in to a fore and aft mooring very close to the shore, we could practically step off onto the rocks! Argonauts rafts up next to us and we snuggle up cheek to cheek – well we never expected to be getting this close so early on in our cruising relationship! The price for our cosy mooring is a dinner for 4 at Costas’ sister’s restaurant. Everything has its price but it is a nice meal and not at all expensive.
It’s fantastic to experience this place so empty! Keith puts the drone up for a few photos before we start to see the first of the tour boats arriving just after 9. Time for us to move on and leave them to it. We head north, leave Zakynthos and cross to the southern end of the island of Cephalonia, anchoring off a Spartia beach. The colour of the water is just stunning and we settle in for the rest of the day and evening. It’s great to be in some lovely anchorages where we can relax and enjoy, even though we are still on a time clock we don’t have too far to go. The weather conditions are perfect and there is no Meltemi!
The next morning is another early start but it is easy to get up early when the weather is so gorgeous. We have a long way to go today and we want to make a stop or two. We have a great sail up the west coast of Cephalonia, goose-winging the gennaker while Argonauts has their code 0 up. Their angles are a different to ours and they head in closer to the coast, getting smaller and smaller back there... Well, they are a bigger, heavier boat and to be fair they have the Hammamet green beard on their hulls and Rob is onto his 2nd board meeting of the day. Our lunch stop is a stunning beach called Fteri, but it’s as tricky to anchor as it is to pronounce so we leave Argonauts to it and head across the bay to another stunning beach called Myrto. We have our lunch there, have a swim and do a quick drone shoot before heading off to Asos, on the north western side the island. It’s a cute town but the harbour anchorage is way too small for us and the town quay is full of charter boats full so we find a spot outside the habour. Argonauts arrives and anchor nearby. There are high cliffs all around and it’s a great spot to explore more caves on the SUP.
We woke at 3am to the sound of thunder and some flashes of lightning. Got up to move the outdoor cushions inside and then went back to bed. There was a bit of rain but no strong wind. We have a late-ish start the next morning, cleaning the dirty rain off the boat before heading to the village for a wander around. There was quite some damage here during the ’53 earthquake and not all of it has been rebuilt. We walk up the hill to the Venetian fort for stunning views. ITIKI looks so small down in the bay below. We leave mid-morning to head around to the north eastern tip of the island for our last evening with Team Argonauts. Fiskardo is another charming and colourful touristy town. We have to do our first (and hopefully last) tie back of the season. We drop anchor 40m out and I swim the lines ashore like a pro – phew lucky I haven’t forgotten how to do it. We settle in pretty quickly and have time to help Team Argonauts when they arrive. They are relatively new to this but I am sure they will learn quickly. Once we get settled it seems to have gone beer o’clock so we have a very late lunch on ITIKI and then head into town for a quick look around. Dinner ashore tonight will be the last supper with team Argonauts – how time flies!
We farewell team Argonauts, helping them release their lines which is a bit challenging as another yacht has put their line around the same rock and overlapped with theirs. Kylie puts on quite a show for us, firstly falling off her SUP and into an oil slick, and then "nonchalantly" paddling like crazy to get back to the mothership as it pulls away. It was really lovely “2-boating” with them, just a shame we did way more motoring than sailing! We go for a wander around the point up to a Venetian light house, the ruins of a Christian church and then loop back into the main town. It’s a pretty and colourful place, jam packed with restaurants and tourist shops. Plenty of charter boats here too, lining the quays. We head off late morning, try to sail for a bit but we are making slow progress down the east coast of the island. As we turn the corner the wind shifts onto our nose and seems our planned anchorage is not well protected so we end up back at our very first anchorage on Cephalonia, Spartia Beach, completing a 90nm circumnavigation. One more night in Greece and then we cross to Italy.
We leave our lovely anchorage of Sparta Beach mid-morning and head towards Argostoli, one of the main towns of Cephalonia, and importantly a "Port of Entry". We need to refuel, provision and also formally check out of Greece. The town is up a long narrow bay which reaches in towards the centre of Cephalonia island. We tie up outside the Port Police office and are promptly told to move on as we have lobbed into a commercial boat’s berth. We manage to arrange fuel delivery by tanker but have to move to the cruise ship terminal to meet them. Not a great set up for a “small” fibreglass boat. It’s a high concrete dock with big black truck tyres for fenders and menacing steel ladders at regular intervals. The Captain manages to squeeze us on to the wall very well as usual and the tanker is there within 5 minutes of our arrival – great service! I walk back to the Port Police and check out, hand in our transit log (its Sunday, so the police kindly offer to hand it to Customs on Monday) and we are officially out of Greece – well apart from a sneaky final night anchorage on the south west tip… It is a calm night and the spot we chose at Kounapetra is quite spectacular. There is a small beach resort surrounded by cliffs and some old, traditional windmills. Farewell Greece, we have had an amazing time here. Seen so much, missed so much but loved it all – well except the Meltemi... We have a long trip ahead of us, our first overnight passage of the season to get to the toe of Italy. What adventures will be in store for us next??
|
AuthorAfter more than 5 years of (minus time off for Covid) and more than 27,000nm Lynda has finally got the hang of this cruising life Archives
January 2024
Categories |