Atlantic – Sailing Yacht Coriander

Christmas and New Year in Barbados 2022

Barbados was first discovered and settled by the Troumassoid people from the mainland of South America in around 350 to 650 AD.

There was a second wave of settlers, the Arawaks, in around 800 AD and a third in the mid-13th century, the Amerindian settlement. This settlement came to an end in the early 16th century.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to discover the island in 1536 on a voyage to Brazil. The Portuguese navigator Pedro A. Campos named it Os Barbados meaning “bearded ones” after the fig trees which had a beard like vines dropping from their branches.

We discovered Barbados at 14:12 on the 23rd of December 2022 after our Atlantic Crossing from the Cape Verde. We made landfall at Port Saint Charles and had a celebratory G&T and a bite to eat before putting the outboard on the dinghy and heading ashore to check in. Customs and immigration have an office next to Pier One restaurant and we were able to use their dinghy dock while we completed formalities.

I mentioned our experience on arrival in my blog on our crossing but I’ll repeat some of it here for anyone who hasn’t read that post yet.

I’d tried to dress relatively smartly in a collared shirt and new khaki shorts. We entered the office, only for the customs officer telling me I’d broken Barbadian law as any type of attire that could be construed as military was strictly forbidden. Like a chastened schoolboy I was sent back to the yacht to change.

By the time I returned Gill had completed most of the paperwork and I only had to sign the forms.

Health, customs and immigration are in the same room with 3 desks but only one chair so you had to carry the chair from desk to desk which we found amusing.

After my faux pas the officers were extremely friendly and helpful. They directed us to the ATM so that we could get some Barbadian dollars to have that Caribbean rum that it’s famous for. On the walk into town past the beach and through the palm trees I had a grin from ear to ear – we’d arrived!

We returned to Coriander after cocktails and the locally brewed Banks beer which were delicious. We spent the rest of the afternoon putting the sails away and changing Coriander back to a cruising boat from a voyaging boat.

We had an early night in our cabin for the first time in almost 16 days and slept well without any rolling or boat and wave noises.

We’d chosen Barbados for our landfall because it is the closest to the Cape Verde islands and it is 50 miles to windward of the main island chain and to go out to it would involve a 50 mile beat to windward which could be pretty unpleasant and which we probably wouldn’t do.

Early on Christmas Eve we moved down to Carlisle Bay at Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. We anchored off the beach near the entrance to the Careenage.

The Careenage is the natural harbor that runs from the Caribbean Sea the short distance to the center of Bridgetown.

It has been transformed from a place where schooners were once turned on their sides for scraping (i.e. careened) to a small marina.

According to our charts there is a convenient place to tie up dinghies just beyond the first bridge.

We tied to the steps next to the motorboat

We decided to head into town and padlocked our dinghy to the steps where our chart suggested and headed in to town.

It being Christmas Eve the town was heaving. It was strange in a way to be walking around in shorts and t-shirt in hot sunny weather with Christmas music blasting out and crowds of people wearing Santa hats.

The atmosphere was amazing. Everyone was having a good time doing last minute Christmas shopping and we did the same, buying presents and food and drink for the Christmas Day meal. Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures that day but this is a typical street scene in Bridgetown.

We had another early night and when we got up on Christmas Day, Owl and Pussycat were coming into the anchorage to anchor next to us. They’d slowed down overnight so that they would arrive in daylight.

We dinghy’d across to Owl and Pussycat to help Mike and Claire put their sails away and launch their dinghy and fit the outboard. We sat down for a celebratory drink but after a couple of drinks Mike felt faint. Claire put Mike to bed and we returned to Coriander having finished our drinks with Claire. We’d half prepared Christmas Dinner but it was no problem to postpone it until the 26th by which time Mike had made a full recovery – see below 👇

Christmas lunch on Boxing Day on Coriander

After lunch we all dinghy’d into town to see what was going on. We found out that in the Caribbean, nothing was open over Christmas. The bustling town that Gill and I had witnessed on Christmas Eve had become a ghost town.

While Gill and I had been exploring on Christmas Eve we’d come across a dominoes tournament, sponsored by the local brewery, Banks. We’d had drinks and ham cutters for lunch while watching some very passionate domino playing which seemed to involve slamming the dominoes down with as much force as possible.

We recalled that the tournament was over several days and with hopes high we set off for Freedom Park where the tournament was being held. The sound of voices and music confirmed that we’d be able to get drinks and relax watching the action.

Freedom Park was opened in November 2021 on the eve of Barbados becoming a replublic.

The site was chosen because it was the location where the national hero, Clement Payne, held public meetings encouraging the poor and disadvantaged to demand better working and living conditions.

The colonial government saw him as a security threat and deported him from the island in July 1937. This was the final straw and four days of rioting followed, in which 14 people died and 47 were wounded.

The riots led the colonial authorities to act, thoroughly investigating the conditions in Barbados and other British Caribbean colonies. Many of Payne’s suggested reforms were subsequently implemented. July 26th – the day of the riots – is observed in Barbados as a day of National Significance.

Barbados has a history of slavery like many of the islands of the Caribbean and plaques detailing some of what happened are all around the town.

It’s was pretty harrowing walking around town reflecting upon the history of the islands and what had transpired to create the cultural diversity we see now.

With Christmas Day being on a Sunday, the holiday extended and extra day so Tuesday saw us at the dominoes yet again. This time for the finals. I never thought I’d be grateful for a domino’s tournament, and especially not at Christmas.

It had been a pretty emotional few days, we’d achieved a major ambition of crossing the Atlantic, had a hectic few days in a new country and of course missed family back in the UK having a completely different Christmas to us and having to catch up and wish happy Christmas over the phone.

It was quite surreal being in summer holiday mode with Christmas images suggesting cold and snow all around.

Each tree is dedicated to a member of the commonwealth

By Wednesday everything opened so we again ventured into town. When Mike and Claire had last visited Barbados they had discovered a rum shack in the town centre. Gill and I had passed it on Christmas Eve and it had been rammed. To be honest it was pretty busy every time we went there. It consists of a shed with a couple of fridges in it and some pretty rough benches and music blaring out of a couple of speakers.

You don’t order individual drinks, unless it’s beer, but instead buy a bottle of rum and a bottle of cola and a dish of ice. The rum comes in half and full bottles. We fully approve of this system and it was very cheap.

Not all ours, at least not that I remember

The locals got to know us, and us them, striking up interesting conversations about life on the island. It was great to be part of the non tourist scene and see life as it really is. We drank and danced with them on several occasions. We’d arrive and they’d make room for us, buying drinks and we’d buy drinks in return.

We’d been told about a Caribbean delicacy called a roti. It’s effectively a curry wrap / pancake which I had to try. We seemed to descend on the perfect place…

The rotis are potato and curried protein with a choice of chicken, beef, lamb, goat, shrimp or fish with other islands offering conch or other fillings. It’s extra if you don’t want potato or you prefer your meat without bones! They are delicious and huge with one roti doing 2 meals. They often ask if you want pepper – warning, they mean very hot pepper sauce 🌶️🌶️

The second of January is race day at The Garrison race course in Bridgetown. It’s a well attended event with the local community. We paid the general entrance fee which let us in to all areas except the paddock and grandstand.

Our shaded seats in the stand next to the grandstand

The racing is taken pretty seriously with lots of betting in the different horses. We had friendly bets on each race for drinks and although I started strongly I faded badly towards the end.

We decided to take a trip into the centre of the island, to Welchman Hall Gully. It’s named after its first owner, a former soldier from Wales called General William Asygell Williams, Welchman being a corruption of Welshman.

We took a local bus up into the hills through magnificent countryside, passing magnificent mansions and run down shacks showing the huge contrast in wealth on the island.

The gully is in the remnants of a collapsed coral limestone cave. The deep sides and narrowness makes it impractical to grow crops here and it is the last remaining place to see many of the original plants of the island.

From the entrance it’s around a mile along a path and then back again on the same route. The technique is to look left on the way down and back with the exhibits being labelled in that order.

The path through the forest

The walk ended with a climb to a lookout point with fantastic views of the island.

And a handy sign reminding us of our previous home.

We left the gully and walked down the road to find a bus stop. The bus was waiting but the driver was in the bar next to it. He indicated that the bus wasn’t going for a while so of course we joined him in having a drink. We started chatting to the locals who told us that there would be a party the next night and would we like to come along, they’d even arrange transport. Tempting as it was, we declined their kind offer as it was a long way from Bridgetown and we’d other plans.

Our final Friday in Bridgetown saw us heading to Oistins for the famous and not to be missed “fish fry”. The guide book said to take a bus from the central bus station so off we went. We joined the queue and the locals said a bus would be coming soon. When it hadn’t arrived 20 minutes later, Mike and Claire made the sensible decision to head to the road out of town and flag a ‘Venga bus’. These are similar to the ones I described in the Cape Verde post, just louder and faster. We decided to wait on the bus under a sign reminding me of home.

After an hour the bus eventually arrived. By that time it was rush hour and the bus moved at a snail’s pace. We’d arrived at the bust station at 4pm, it was now 5pm and the fish fry was due to start at 6pm. It’s only 4 miles from Bridgetown to Oistins but the bus still hadn’t got there at 7pm. It would be an understatement to say I was pretty fed up. We gave up on the bus with a mile to go and walked the last mile.

Amazingly we found Mike and Claire seated at a restaurant on the edge of the fish fry. They’d got a venga bus and were there in 20 minutes. While our bus had to follow the main road which was its’ route, their bus had used the back streets to avoid the traffic.

I’d calmed down after a couple of beers and we had terrific jerk pork and ribs with fries and coleslaw. It was delicious. The fish fry has dozens of stalls to choose from, all competing for your custom. There are organised tours from the cruise ships and large hotels with their guests given vouchers for a particular stall. These are easily recognised by the huge queue and best avoided. We went to ‘Annies’ and highly recommend it.

After the food we took a walk around the stages and other stalls. I should say that this event has expanded from just a few stalls selling fried fish to the second largest tourist attraction in Barbados. There are multiple drinks stalls, 2 stages for acts and bands with everything from steel bands to Michael Jackson impersonators.

Several of the stands were grilling huge lobster.

We went on Friday when it is the busiest but it now takes place every day of the week.

Gill met a giant.

We decided on the 7th of January to move back up the island but first Claire and I wanted to snorkel in the marine park where there were several wrecks that had been sunk to make an artificial reef. Mike dinghy’d us over and tied to a mooring buoy, unfortunately in the rain, while Claire and I jumped in. We got to see turtles feeding on the sea grass and swam over the wrecks which were teeming with sea life. The visibility wasn’t great and the pictures I managed to take were out of focus due to the light reflecting off the suspended particles and the camera focusing on the particles.camera f

We upped anchor at 1pm and anchored off the beach at Reeds Bay, Lower Carlton at 3pm. It was a great swimming beach with plenty of beach bars to chose from. We could have anchored at pretty much any of the bays along the coast but were happy with where we were.

Gill and I went ashore for something to eat and a couple of drinks. We decided to go to Simones as her menu seemed to have more of what we like. Unfortunately she was just shutting up because a coach party had taken most of the food she had. We were about to turn away when she offered to cook us burger and fries and give us a couple of beers while we waited. She even set up a table for us next to the sea. With service like that we couldn’t really refuse and the food was excellent.

After a couple of days here we decided to move back up to Port Saint Charles easy to check out and sail up to Martinique. We had a couple of days and walked to Speightstown, the nearest town to the anchorage. It had decent supermarkets and nice restaurants along the front. It’s possible to take your dinghy along or anchor off but the walk isn’t far.

We cleared out with customs and immigration in the morning as you have to pay port dues while the office is open and take the receipt to customs. You then have 24 hours to leave.

We had a meal at Pier One, a huge pizza, as we needed to spend our remaining money because you are not allowed to take Barbadian currency out of the country. The pizza was superb and enough to take half each back for a snack on the overnight sail to Martinique.

We had a great final afternoon around the pool and beach before raising anchor at 5pm on the 11th of January 2023 for the 90 mile sail to St Anne, Martinique.

We’d had 3 wonderful weeks on Barbados, our first Caribbean island. It had rained more than I expected but that didn’t really matter because they didn’t last long and everything dried within minutes. The island was very green and lush, maybe the rain had something to do with that. Everyone we met was incredibly friendly and helpful. The bus rides were unforgettable, everyone greeted everyone when getting on and off the buses, the music was loud and the drivers were in a hurry – we loved them. We were completely relaxed after our crossing and looking forward to experiencing the other islands

No Stress in the Cape Verde islands

On the 10th November 2022, after a passage of 5 days, 6 hours we approached the island of Sal in the Cape Verdes.

The Cape Verdes are a group of ten islands. They have a rich and diverse history that spans centuries, encompassing a blend of cultures, influences, and struggles. From their volcanic origins to their pivotal role in transatlantic trade, the Cape Verde Islands have a captivating history that has shaped their identity and cultural heritage.

Formed through intense geological volcanic activity, the islands emerged from the depths of the ocean, creating a rugged landscape. The earliest settlers of the islands were seafaring peoples who navigated the challenging waters to establish communities.

In the 15th century marked Portuguese explorers established a strategic presence on the islands, using them as a crucial stopping point for transatlantic voyages. Unfortunately, Cape Verde became a hub for the slave trade, serving as a transit point for enslaved Africans en route to the Americas. The islands’ strategic location also made them a vital refueling station for ships traveling between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

As the islands played a central role in the transatlantic slave trade, they became a melting pot of cultures. European, African, and indigenous influences converged, giving rise to a unique Creole identity. This cultural fusion is evident in the islands’ music, language, cuisine, and architecture. The Cape Verdean Creole language, Kriolu, evolved as a means of communication among the diverse population and is still spoken today.

The 20th century brought about significant political and social changes to Cape Verde. The islands were considered an overseas province of Portugal until 1951, when they were granted the status of an autonomous region. The quest for independence gained momentum, leading to a protracted struggle against Portuguese colonial rule. In 1975, Cape Verde finally achieved independence, with the islands’ first president, Aristides Pereira, leading the way.

Following independence, Cape Verde embarked on a journey of nation-building and development. The islands faced various challenges, including economic hardships, limited natural resources, and a reliance on foreign aid. Despite these obstacles, Cape Verde managed to achieve remarkable progress in areas such as education, healthcare, and gender equality. The tourism sector has became one of the most significant contributors to the islands’ economy.

The islands motto is ‘No Stress’, you’ll see and hear it all of the time.

Anyway, back to our voyage. It had been a great downwind sail under poled out genoa.

Our route through the Cape Verde islands

The swell as we sailed towards the anchorage at the port of Palmeira was quite large and slightly towards the anchorage which led us to wonder how sheltered it would be.

As we approached the harbour we could see lots of yachts anchored, with the outer yachts rolling quite alarmingly. We resigned ourselves to having to join them as the anchorage sheltered by the breakwater looked rammed.

We heard a call of ‘English boat, English boat’ over the VHF and, being the only ‘English boat’ that we could see moving, answered. It was Jai, the local, go to, boat boy and having answered him he led us to a great anchoring spot in 3m right at the front of the anchorage and completely sheltered, for the princely sum of €10. A bargain in my opinion.

Anchorage with Coriander the 6th yacht from the left

Jai was able to supply water and diesel, take your garbage and arrange pretty much anything you might need. He patrolled the boats, looking after the ones who’d paid for his services. He is honest and hard working.

The origins of Sal’s history stretch back to ancient times when North African and West African settlers first inhabited the island. Evidences of their presence, including artifacts and remains, tell stories of their simple yet enduring way of life. The island’s renowned salt pans became a defining feature, leading to its name “Sal,” derived from the Portuguese word for salt. In the mid-15th century, Portuguese explorers such as Diogo Gomes discovered Sal during their voyages.

Gill and I went ashore to check in with customs and immigration. As we approached the steps at the end of the fish dock where all of the other dinghies were, young lads came forward to help us out and offer to watch our dinghy for €1. This turns out to be a great service as the room by the steps is very restricted and really only 2 dinghies could tie up there. The young lads help you out of the dinghy and the move it along the dock where it is too high for us to get out. They watch out for you returning and have your dinghy back to the steps ready for you. I don’t know how they remember which dinghy belongs to which sailors but they never got it wrong. We were happy to leave the dinghy ashore with them for full days and evenings ashore without having to worry about thefts.

Steps clear of dinghies at the fish dock

The immigration officer wasn’t there when we first went to the office but the policeman we asked phoned him and we were asked to come back in an hour. Gill and I went for a wander around Palmeira. We’d holidayed on Sal in November 2008 and visited Palmeira on a tour of the island and it hadn’t changed much.

The shack on the fish dock was new but the ‘no stress’ donkey was still there.

We returned to the port office and the both the customs and immigration officers were there and we checked in without any problems in about 10 minutes. The policeman remembered us and he made a point of greeting us with fist bumps any time he saw us in the 12 days we were there.

Along with Mike and Claire from Owl and Pussycat, we decided to see a little more of the island, travelling on the frequent and very cheap mini buses. The drivers tour the town looking for custom until the bus is full and he’ll then set off to the destination at breakneck speeds as he is also in competition with the other bus drivers. We never had to wait more than a few minutes and found it very entertaining.

Our first outing was to the capital of Sal, Espargos. We wandered around the small town, had drinks in the town square and then decided to have lunch in a restaurant called Esplanada Bom Día. Gill and I couldn’t believe it was the same restaurant that we’d stopped at on our tour of the island years ago and it hadn’t changed at all.

We’d come to sample the capucha, a stew with potato, beans and a protein, usually chicken, pork or fish. I’m not particularly fond of fish stew and was relieved to hear that today’s stew was meat. It looked delicious on arrival but it wasn’t for me. Although it was a meat dish, it had been cooked in a fish stock. Still, I’d tried it.

The afternoon got better when a band set up and we spent a very enjoyable couple of hours listening to the music and dancing along with the locals.

Our next bus trip was to Santa Maria, the resort Gill and I had stayed at in 2008. A lot of it looked familiar but it had been built up and modernised. What was once a small fishing village is now a tourist town complete with a promenade and restaurants that were out of character with the original town

There is still a small fishing industry and it was interesting to go to the pier and see the locals landing their catch with sun bathing tourists on the beach to either side.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Palmiera but it was time to move on. We checked out of Sal with the intention of spending a night anchored off Santa Maria and then proceeding to Boa Vista.

Unfortunately the weather gods didn’t play ball with the wind and swell making the anchorage untenable. We had a fast sail to the Boa Vista anchorage instead along with Owl and Pussycat

We dropped anchor at Sal Rei on Boa Vista on the 7th of November. The anchorage behind Ilheu de Sal Rei was sheltered from the swell with lots of room. We anchored pretty much where the anchor symbol is in 3.5m. We then had to dinghy ashore to check in.

The town of Sal Rei had a lot of money spent on it in the early 2000s in order to attract holiday makers. The roads were all cobbled and fountains were erected on pretty much every corner. Unfortunately the tourists went to the all inclusive resorts built to the south of the huge bay and now the roads are falling into disrepair and the fountains are clogged with blown sand.

That isn’t to say the town isn’t pleasant, it’s just a bit run down. There was building work going on so perhaps they’re trying to repair things.

Boa Vista became a hub for the transatlantic slave trade. The island’s natural harbor and convenient location made it a center for slave auctions and the shipment of enslaved Africans to the Americas. Traces of this dark period can still be seen in the historical sites and structures that dot the island’s landscape.

The four of us headed to the police and customs building to be told none of them were present, you had to make an appointment. The police on the desk offered to call them and we were told to take a seat and they’d be there in 20 mins. 20 mins later they appeared and we checked in very quickly. We were given their personal phone numbers to call them when we wanted to check out.

Boa Vista is a fabulous spot for all wind sports and there are kitesurfing, foiling and wing foil centres all along the beach. 20 years ago I’d done a lot of kitesurfing so I signed up for a 2 hour session. In my day I’d kite surf all day and think nothing of it.

The wind was blowing in excess of 20kts and I was a little surprised when the instructor started inflating a 14 sq m kite. For reference, back in the UK I’d probably have chosen an 8 or 10m kite for those winds. He said not to worry as modern kites de-power very well.

Suitably kitted up we got into the rib and headed to the next bay where the wind comes over the low lying land and over the flat sea. I clipped the kite to my harness and did a bit of body dragging and kite control at the instructors request to show I’d done it before and he passed over the board.

I was up straight away, pleased that I’d remembered how to do it. I like quite a lot of pressure on my kite bar and pulled it towards me as I hit a wave and was immediately launched, followed by a crash.

There are 4 lines to the kite, the 2 attached to the front of the kite go through the control bar and to the harness, providing the pull, the 2 lines to the rear are attached to the ends of the control bar for steering.

Modern kites have no bar pressure at all, instead powering up when you pull the bar towards you and de-powering when you push it towards the kite. This went completely against my instincts from years of kiting. I’m used to pulling the bar for more control and whenever I did this I ended up crashing.

After an hour I was wiped out. I made my way back to shore to where Gill was waiting, so much out if breath I couldn’t speak. I’d really enjoyed myself and I’m going to practice while in the Caribbean.

There is a fort on Ilheu de Sal Rei which we decided to visit, along with Mike and Claire, followed by sundowners on the beach. The fort was complete with canons and great views over the anchorage. It was pretty obvious why it was there.

On the 26th of November we decided we’d leave Boa Vista and head for Mindelo on Sao Vincente. The port we’d leave from for our crossing to Barbados. I called the port police to arrange for Mike and I to meet them to check out, with the intention of heading off the next morning and sailing overnight.

Mike picked me up in his dinghy as our outboard was playing up and we landed on the beach next to a beach bar. The police were at their office and checking out went smoothly. ‘Unfortunately’ the tide had gone out on our return to the dinghy and the way to the water was over some pretty rough rocks. Hoping that it would start coming in again we decided to make use of the beach bar. A few beers later, the tide had come in sufficiently to head back to the boats. I’d been able to message Gill and Claire to appraise them of the situation but I’m not sure we weren’t suspected of planning it all along.

We left the anchorage at 11:00 for the overnight 140nm sail to Mindelo on Sao Vincente. It was a faster sail than we’d anticipated and we put 2 reefs in the main and 3 in the genoa to reduce speed so we didn’t arrive in the dark. We turned into the anchorage and dropped the main at 8:00 on the 28th.

The anchorage was pretty busy and we ended up anchoring at the back of the pack. Mindelo is a very sheltered anchorage so it wasn’t a problem, just a long dinghy ride into town.

The small marina has a floating bar with a dinghy dock. After Owl and Pussycat had arrived and anchored the 4 of us went ashore to check in and enjoy a well earned drink. The customs officers were very friendly and helpful but the immigration police must have had a bad day and were very officious and offhand. All of our papers etc were in order, I’d hate to have to confront them if anything was out of order.

The marina is at the end of a pier where the local version of boat boys hang out offering their services for everything from taxi rides, tours of the island or promises to procure pretty much anything you may want. We’d learned by now that it was best to choose one, agree a small service and promise to go back to him if anything else is needed. The other boat boys then leave you alone when you mention the name of the guy helping you.

Mindelo has a number of supermarkets stocking most of the things you may need to top up provisions prior to the Atlantic crossing. It also has an indoor and outdoor fish, fruit and veg markets which are open every day except Sunday. We found the markets to be very expensive compared with the supermarkets. I suspect there is a tourist price and a locals price.

The indoor market has a very good butcher and it’s better to get there early because he has a tendency to sell out of the best meat quite quickly. You also can’t be sure what meat he will have on any given day.

The town is a mix of grand mansions from the Portuguese colonial times and rougher shacks and run down buildings.

We arranged a tour of the island with the boat boy we’d seen. It started with a trip to the highest point on the island, Monte Verde at a height of 750m, where we were treated to some stunning views.

The plants are kept watered through a water catching mesh. There are often clouds capping the hill and a network of mesh causes dew to form and run down the mesh to be captured and used for irrigation.

An enterprising chap has created the Cabana de Cha at the top where he sells a number of drinks including grog that he’s distilled himself.

From Monte Verde we descended to sea level at the beach at Salamansa. It was pretty quiet apart from a few children selling shells and one person kite foiling. The children go to school for half a day each weekday with half attending in the morning and the rest in the afternoon.

Our next stop was Baia das Gatas. There is a huge music festival held over several days here but obviously not while we were there.

There is a swim platform at the end of the pier so naturally Claire and I took the opportunity to cool down while Gill and Mike took photographs.

Our next stop was Pria Grande where sand blown from the Sahara is forming sand dunes. The road has to be cleared on a regular basis and the dunes are gradually covering more of the rock.

Our next stop was for a late lunch followed by a visit to a turtle rescue facility. The tank was being cleaned and the turtles looked pretty distraught.

We made our way back to Mindelo through the central valley where most of the islands fruit and vegetables are grown.

We’d been waiting for a weather window to cross the Atlantic for a couple of weeks and the time was fast approaching when we’d have to renew our visa having been in the Cape Verdes for almost 30 days. It was also into December and if we didn’t leave soon we wouldn’t be across the Atlantic before Christmas. The weather a couple of weeks earlier had been perfect but a serious of storms in the North Atlantic had stalled the trade winds.

On around the 6th of December the weather routing software we use suggested that we could leave and head 250nm south and be in decent trade winds to take us over if we left on the 8th December.

With a target date set, we topped up with fuel and fresh produce and set off on the biggest adventure so far.

While in the Canaries there had been a lot of negative chat about how safe the Cape Verde’s are, how welcoming or friendly the locals are and how pushy the boat boys are. All I can say is the we never felt threatened in any way, even out at night. The locals are very friendly and helpful. There are plenty of secure anchorages. There are plenty of options to provision.

You have to remember that most folk here are pretty poor but they are hard working and want to earn a living. I’m pleased we visited and maybe helped in a limited way.

NO STRESS!

Our time in the Canary Islands on our Atlantic crossing

As you may have read on the earlier post describing the sailing part of our crossing, we made landfall in the Canaries at La Graciosa, the northernmost inhabited island in the Canaries with probably the most sheltered anchorage in the Canaries.

We’ve holidayed in the Canary Island many times, pretty equally spread between Tenerife and Grand Canaria. This time visiting on our yacht would give us the time and opportunity to see some other islands and re-visit our favourite places .

We anchored along with several other yachts at Playa Francesca, one of the only coves where anchoring is allowed. We turned the engine off at 10:30 on the 26th September 2022.

We’d read that anchoring at La Graciosa was restricted and you now had to get permission to anchor there and it was limited to 3 days. We emailed to apply for the permit but didn’t receive any reply from any of the offices which the pilot book listed. We decided to take a chance and it appears that no-one bothers any more.

Approaching the anchorage the weather had been cold, wet, windy and rolly but turning into the cove we were perfectly sheltered and a reef off the entrance killed all the swell.

The anchorage is gorgeous with beautiful clear water and a sandy sea bed. It’s nestled under a spectacular multi coloured hill which was frequently visited by tripper catamarans with hikers going up the well worn trail to the summit

It was a short walk to the laid back town of Caleta de Sebo which was also the port with frequent ferries to Lanzarote. There were several small hotels and apartments for tourists who seemed to stay just for a few days. There are a few restaurants, 3 mini markets and a small but excellent bakery.

We ate at the restaurant overlooking the port and can highly recommend the Ibérico pork.

We rested up here, reluctant to leave the gorgeous anchorage and island, spending our days swimming, walking and enjoying the company of Mike and Claire on Owl and Pussycat.

We’d tried to get a marina berth in Arrecife on Lanzarote as our good friend Malc had his yacht berthed there. They didn’t have any space, despite Malc vouching for us and asking at the office. We instead managed to get a berth at Marina Rubicon at the south of the island.

On the 3rd of October we motored the 35nm to the marina and went to the reception dock. We were initially told our berth would be ready at 2pm because the yacht currently occupying it had engine problems and was being worked on. Unfortunately the yacht couldn’t be repaired in time so we were put on the catamaran dock instead. This turned out to be ok as there was plenty of room and it was quiet as it was away from the more touristy areas.

The marina is modern, clean and well run. There is an abundance of boutiques, bars and restaurants catering for the many tourists who flock there.

There is also an excellent Indian restaurant and anyone who knows me would understand why we ate there 🌶️🌶️

The four of us hired a car for a day to tour the island. We firstly went to the Mirador Del Rio which is at the top of some really impressive cliffs overlooking La Graciosa.

A mirador is a lookout point and there are many of them throughout the Canaries. This one is a bit special because it is built to look like it’s part of the cliff.

Inside it’s on 2 levels and pretty spectacular

La Graciosa from the mirador. Caleta town is in the middle and the anchorage at the far left.

We then drove down to the east coast and visited Jameos del Agua.

Los Jameos del Agua is located inside a volcanic tunnel produced by eruptions of the Corona Volcano. Los Jameos is located in the section of the tunnel that is closest to the coast. Apparently it owes its name to the existence of an interior lake caused by infiltrating sea water.

Looking into the lake there are multiple small white spots which give the impression of looking at stars. They are in fact albino crabs.

It was very spectacular with a restaurant at one end, the lake in a tunnel and then what looked like a fancy swimming pool.

The continuation of the tunnel beyond the pool had been made into an auditorium

After leaving Los Jameos we continued down the coast to Arricife where we met Malc for a late lunch.

On the 6th of October we topped up at the fuel dock, left the marina and anchored just outside before our overnight sail to Grand Canaria. We had to leave our berth by 12 or pay for an extra day but didn’t want to leave for Grand Canaria until 5pm so that we’d arrive in daylight.

It was a pretty windy and rolly crossing, we had 2 reefs in the main and 3 reefs in the jib. We furled the jib to slow down at 4:15 am and approached the very busy port of Las Palmas with several other yachts while it was still dark at 7am. We lowered the main and as dawn was breaking entered the port, taking care to follow the marked route past Las Palmas marina and into the anchorage just beyond it. We were settled in and sails tidied by 8:15am.

Claire and I went to the Marina office in Coriander’s dinghy. The anchorage is managed by the marina and you have to check in and pay a daily fee.

Whilst checking in, we were offered a berth in the marina. It surprised me that there were berths available after our experience in Lanzarote and the time approaching where yachts gather for the Atlantic crossing season starting in November

The marina is owned by the council and because of that the rates are very cheap. It was only a little more expensive than the anchoring fee. We didn’t fancy moving immediately having sailed overnight without any sleep and on conferring with Mike and Claire we decided to move into the marina the following day.

For around 10 years on the trot Gill and I used to come to Gran Canaria in November to watch the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) leave for the crossing from Gran Canaria to St Lucia in the Caribbean. The sight of 240 yachts leaving the marina and setting off was fantastic to us. Now Coriander is berthed at the same marina as we prepare for our crossing, albeit we’re leaving from a different marina as we aren’t on the ARC but will be going around the same time.

We decided to explore the town a little. Although we’d been to Las Palmas many times, we’d always chosen to stay at a resort on the south of the island and we only saw the marina.

I was surprised to find that Las Palmas was a holiday resort too with a long stretch of beach on the west side of the island which was a world away from the industrial port I’d always associated with the town.

Las Palmas with the industrial port to the right and beach resort to the left.

There is a long promenade with cafes and restaurants catering for all wallets and tastes. There are statues regularly spaced along the promenade. I was especially impressed with this one.

While in the marina we noticed that Hugh Mair was there on his yacht Mairmade. We’d met and had drinks with Hugh and his wife, Claudia in Cartagena, Spain on our way out of the Mediterranean. Hugh and Claudia were crossing the Atlantic with the ARC and Claudia was currently back home in Dallas, USA. We invited Hugh for drinks on Coriander that night, along with Mike and Claire. We had a great evening and agreed to go for a meal together the following night at the old market.

The old market, as the name implies, is what used to be the market but the stalls have now been replaced with tapas stalls serving an amazing array of food. The nice thing about this type of eating is ordering an array of different tapas and sharing so that you get to try things you may not order normally.

The following day we decided to go to the old town to see the cathedral and the house that Christopher Columbus stayed in on his voyages to the Caribbean. It should be said that all of the islands have something similar and try to claim him.

We decided to go into Casa de Columbo. Inside there is a mock-up of his cabin on the ship he was master of for his first of four voyages to the Caribbean via the Canaries, the Santa Maria. I was amazed that it wasn’t much bigger than Coriander and his cabin, although taller, wasn’t that much bigger than our cabin. The Santa Maria was 58 feet long compared with our 50 and only a foot and a half wider.

The 2 ships accompanying him on the voyage were the same length and width as Coriander!

The house is pretty impressive with elaborate woodwork and some amazing artwork.

There was the opportunity to get a virtual realty tour, guided by a Columbus avatar of his landfall in Grand Canaria. Claire and I gave it a go to the amusement of Gill and Mike.

The courtyard was home to some pretty noisy parrots.

The final highlight of our time in Las Palmas was our visit to the Van Gogh immersive experience. It consists of an exhibition of his life story which is very interesting, covering the different periods of his life and explaining how his mood influenced what he was painting and the style of the paintings.

You can also be part of the paintings:

The immersive part of the experience is where his paintings are brought to life by animating them and setting them to music and projecting them on all around. It was absolutely amazing. Gill hadn’t particularly wanted to go but she loved it. There are several of the exhibitions in cities around the world so if you get the chance I highly recommend going.

We left the marina on the 14th of October and returned to the anchorage to be ready for a 5am start the next morning for a passage from Gran Canaria to Tenerife.

We left the anchorage in darkness and motored out of the port and round the north of Grand Canaria so that we could have the wind behind us all the way down and across to Tenerife. The Canaries are renowned for the acceleration zones where the wind funnelling between the islands become very strong and we didn’t fancy going across one between Grand Canaria and Tenerife. By going round the top we were able to avoid the final part of the voyage being into the strong winds.

We had booked into Marina San Miguel / Real Club Nautico on the south of Tenerife. We arrived at the port to complete chaos. The marina didn’t answer calls by radio and couldn’t give instructions when we phoned them. We entered the marina twice hoping to find a reception berth but there was nowhere to tie up. We later found that there was no room available at all.

It was too far to go to La Gomera in daylight so we decided to head 4 miles back to an anchorage we’d passed at Punta Roja. As the name suggests we anchored under a huge red cliff off a gorgeous beach. We probably had a better night in this calm anchorage and saved money.

The next morning we upped anchor and sailed to Marina La Gomera, situated in the port of San Sebastián, the capital the lovely island of La Gomera.

We had to contact the port authority to get permission to enter as yacht traffic isn’t allowed if ferries are about to enter or leave. Permission was given and we then called up the marina. The welcome couldn’t have been more different. They answered our VHF call immediately and we were guided into our berth where the marianos took our lines and helped us tie up. Mike and Claire were berthed next to us.

We’d booked in here for 2 weeks which would give us time to complete preparations for the voyage to Cape Verde and provision.

La Gomera is a small island to the west of Tenerife. It is very mountainous and not touristy.

Like the other islands it claims Christopher Columbus as it’s own. Monuments to him are found throughout the island.

San Sebastián is a lovely town with a nice beach, plenty of restaurants and bars as well as a couple of decent supermarkets.

There were plenty of very nice buildings in the town. It was on two levels with the main town in the valley and many residential houses at the top of the valley side overlooking the port.

There is the Torre del Conde in the middle of the park in San Sebastián.

The tower’s orientation, at the mouth of the ravine of La Villa, indicates that it was built to defend the Castilians from the aborigines and pirates. Beatriz de Bobadilla, Hernán Peraza’s wife, ran for refuge there after his execution. There were three attempted assaults by the aboriginal warriors, skilled in stone throwing, in which they had been trained since they were children. The aborigine hero Hautacuperche was so dexterous with stones that while he threw them with one hand against the tower, with the other he caught the arrows of the Castilians and returned the arrows to them. Hence, the soldiers identified him as the chief and killed him. It was at the time when reinforcements from the Castilian Crown arrived to defend the territory.

The statue of Hautacuperche is located at Valle del Rey. Gill and I walked along the beach there to check it out.

Gill and I took the ferry from San Sebastián to Los Cristianos on Tenerife. We’d been there on paragliding holidays while in our 30’s and visited Gill’s parents when they used to spend 4 months at Adeje over the winter so the place had a lot of great memories for us.

The ferry left at 6:30am in the dark, returning at 6:30pm, again in the dark. We wandered to the beach to watch the sun come up.

It was then time for a coffee before tucking in to a full English to set us up for the day.

By now the sun had come up and the holidaymakers were making their way to the beach.

We’d seen the yachts anchored off the beach on our way to La Gomera. It looks pretty tranquil but they were rolling enough to be uncomfortable.

After breakfast we walked along the promenade that now takes you from Los Cristianos, past Playa de las Americas and on to Adeje. A distance of over 5km.

We passed the famous Veronica’s nightclub complex which those of a certain age will remember.

Veronica’s and O’Neils where our daughter worked!

And on to visit the pub and restaurant we used to frequent.

Of course we visited them again this time for lunch and a pint.

We then walked the 5km back to Los Cristianos and up into the main town to visit the hotel we’d stayed at in the past and get a chippy supper for tea.

It was now time to get the ferry back and rest our sore feet.

We’d noticed that a marquee and stage was being set up in the square. Notices went up to say that a music weekend was being staged so of course we went along to see what was happening. The first night had to be one of the strangest bands I’ve seen. The locals loved them. They were singing in Spanish so we couldn’t really tell what they were singing about.

They came down to the audience and led the dances. Most of the songs seemed like catchy folk songs. Gill and Claire certainly enjoyed it.

The highlight of the evening for me was when they finished with the strangest version of ‘ Highway to hell’ that I’ve ever heard. A great night but not what I expected.

We hired a car to see more of the island. It’s very hilly and amazingly picturesque. We drove out of San Sebastián and climbed into the interior of the island. The views were amazing.

Unfortunately Mike doesn’t really like heights so we headed down to the town of Santiago, it being much closer than the road back to San Sebastián. It was also a modern wide road. Mike and Claire had previously holidayed there so we walked to see the hotel they had stayed in. Mike decided to take the ferry back to San Sebastián and Claire, Gill and I would make use of the car to visit Valle Gran Rey,

We drove down to the town to look at the anchorage.

It was time to head back. We went back over the top of the island and were blown away by the scenery.

One place that had been recommended to visit was the Laguna Grande, the big lagoon. We followed the signs and parked up, expecting to see a spectacular mountain lake. This is what we saw

It turns out that when it rains a puddle forms where the ground is brown. That’s the lagoon!

Our time in the marina was coming to an end. The marina was fully booked and they couldn’t extend our stay so we sailed to the Valle Gran Rey anchorage, stopping off at Playa de Chinguarime on the way.

Was stayed at Valle Gran Rey from the 1st to the 5th of November when we got a weather window to set sail for the Cape Verde islands.

Crossing The Atlantic 2022

As the title suggests, this post is about our voyage across the Atlantic from Gibraltar to Barbados via the Canaries and Cape Verde.

Gibraltar to Canaries

Started 22 Sep 2022 9:50am

Trip Time 4 days 2 hours 23 minutes

Dist Travelled 645.64 nm

Average Speed 6.15 kts

Max. Speed 9.85 kts

We left La Linea Alcadesia marina along with Mike and Claire on Owl and Pussycat and went to the fuel dock in Gibraltar to fill the tanks and jerry cans with duty free fuel. We’d put the 9.9hp outboard in the sail locker for the crossing and the dinghy was strapped on the davits / arch ready for whatever the crossing might throw at us.

There was no wind and calm seas as we left so we motored across the shipping lanes to the Moroccan side of the strait. The mountains were stunning.

Mountains of Morocco and a very calm sea

It was a very slow, 2-3kt motor against the current to pass Tangier, the forecast had decent winds once we were past the lighthouse at Cap Spartel.

Cap Spartel lighthouse, we’re in the Atlantic

In many ways it was a blessing that the seas were flat and the winds light because the conditions to exit the Mediterranean can be pretty challenging. We’d had a bit of a pasting on our way into the Mediterranean 5 years earlier so happy not to get a repeat.

Once round and into the Atlantic ‘proper’ we raised full sail and we’re on our way. The seas were slight and the winds allowed us to lay a decent course off the coast of Morocco. Our intention was to stay quite close and in shallow waters to stay clear inshore of where orca attacks had been, although they should have been well to the north of us.

We had anti whale pingers rigged ready to deploy and thankfully they weren’t needed.

The first days sail was pretty good and fast on slight seas. We had high hopes of a fast crossing under sail. Unfortunately the wind gods gave out and we ended up motor sailing from 5pm until 9:30pm when more wind arrived and we could turn off the engine and sail properly.

At least that meant the seas stayed slight and we could rest quite easily, not that sleep comes too easily on the first night of a multi night passage. We’ve found that it takes us 3 days to get into a rhythm where sleep comes easily off watch.

Dawn broke the next day and we ran the gen set to top up the battery banks. Our first days passage was 150.4nm. We continued under sail until 6am on the following day (24th) when the wind eased and the sea became sloppy causing the sails to crash and bang. We furled the genoa and dropped the main and motored for the next 8 hours until the wind again returned and we could hoist the sails and carry on. We’d covered another 170nm.

We were then able to sail in decent winds through the next couple of days, covering 150nm through to the 25th and 140nm on the 26th. We reached the anchorage at Isla Graciosa at 10:24 on the 26th, with Owl and Pussycat following us in a couple of hours later.

Approaching the Canaries , more like Scotland

I commented at the time that the final 24 hours were like sailing in Scotland – cold, rain showers, breezy and choppy seas. It had been a good introduction to Atlantic sailing but without the long swells I’d been expecting to encounter. The winds for us were generally lightish with 10-14kt true wind speed. That would have been ideal if we were going across the wind but downwind it borders on being too light in rolly conditions, even with the gybe preventer holding the boom out. Without the preventer though I estimate we’d have motored 50% more.

Given that this blog is about our crossing, I’ll describe our time in the Canaries and the other landfalls in separate posts.

Canaries to Cape Verde

Started 5 Nov 2022 7:24am

Trip Time 5 days 6 hours 38 minutes

Dist. Travelled 788.05 nm

Average Speed 6.18 kts

Max. Speed 10.12 kts

We seem to love early starts when we’ve a long way to go. We lifted the anchor at Valle Grand Rey on La Gomera and, along with Owl and Pussycat, motored for the next 5 1/2 hours to escape the wind shadow that the canaries are famous for. The weather routing software that I use had suggested 2 hours but it has proven to be overly optimistic.

The motor went off just after 1pm and we were amazingly able to sail for the next 5 days. We’d high hopes that this would be what Atlantic sailing would be all about. The wind went astern on the 7th, 2 days into our journey so we poled out the Genoa, dropped the main and ran downwind in 20-25kts of wind for the next 3 days. It was very simple stress free sailing. We had to run the gen set for 3-4 hours each day, usually a couple of hours at dawn to top the batteries up after the overnight sail and an hour or so before starting watches to ensure they were topped off before dark. We had reasonable daily runs of 154, 170, 132, 155 and 146nm.

We turned in to the anchorage at Palmiera on Sal to be met with the sight of lots of yachts at anchor with the outer ones rolling quite a bit in the swell. We were resigned to joining them when the call of ‘English boat, English boat’ came over the radio. We answered and one of the boat boys came out to guide us to a spot near the front of the anchorage in 3m and more importantly completely sheltered by the breakwater.

We anchored and turned the engine off at 12:40. The wind had been steady, the seas and swell from astern and slight to moderate meaning we slept well, had no issues, cooking had been problem free. It had been a very enjoyable crossing. Owl and Pussycat had taken a slightly different route but followed us in an hour or so later.

One point of interest was the huge shoals of flying fish that kept us entertained by day and dodging them as they flew aboard at night. The morning ritual of throwing 15-20 or so of them over the side will stay in my mind. We have a very strict rule about not leaving the cockpit at night so we’re unable to retrieve them until dawn when we were both on watch. The downside for us is that they stink!

When they landed in the cockpit we put on rubber gloves and threw them back.

Not all crossings stop at the Cape Verde islands, either because of time constraints and a desire to be in the Caribbean as quickly as possible, or because they have heard they are unsafe. Our experience is that they shouldn’t be missed. We felt totally safe in the 3 anchorages we used, Palmiera on Sal, Boa Vista and Mindelo. The people were very friendly and helpful and the islands live up to their motto of ‘No Stress’

Cape Verde to Barbados

Started 8 Dec 2022 12:30pm

Trip Time 15 days 1 hour 15 minutes

Dist. Travelled 2,253.1 nm

Average Speed 6.32 kts

Max. Speed. 11.88 kts

We waited too long to leave and had watched 2 weeks of excellent conditions go by, only to have a week of storms to the north of us in the North Atlantic destroy the trade winds that had looked to be set. There was either no wind or the wind was from the wrong direction. With the time fast approaching where we would have to extend our visa to stay and miss Christmas in the Caribbean a weather window appeared which would have us routing 250nm south to get to where the trade winds were filling in.

We checked out and up anchored along with Owl & Pussycat at 12:30 on the 8th of December, expecting a slow journey south to reach the wind and fully expecting to celebrate Christmas on passage.

We sent the following message to family and friends on the Garmin InReach satellite tracker and messenger , affectionately known as ‘Gizmo’

Whoa we’re going to Barbados 🙂 That’s the aim at least. Estimate 14 to 20 days. Will post an update each day. On unlimited message plan so feel free to contact

We’d gone from the ‘Recreation’ plan which included 40 messages of 160 characters to be sent or received, with a charge of 50p per message over that, to the ‘Expedition’ plan with unlimited messages for an upgrade cost of £20. On the crossing we used 337 messages so it was worth the upgrade in many ways.

Anyway, I digress. We put full sail up and had a good sail until 17:45 when we encountered the wind shadow of Santa Antao so the genoa was furled and the engine went on. At around this time we received a radio call from Owl and Pussycat to say they were going to return to Mindelo because the pump on their water maker wasn’t working and they didn’t have enough water on board to make it across in comfort. We had a spare pump and offered to let them have it so they could carry on. They accepted and we agreed to rendezvous the following morning as by now it was getting dark.

We were treated to a great sunset and motor-sailed until 7 the next morning when the sun came up and we could rendezvous with O&P. We dropped all sail, put the pump in a waterproof flare container and streamed it behind us on 100m of floating line while motoring at tick over. Mike closed in on the container and Claire was able to hook the line and pull the pump onboard. I then dropped the line at my end and Claire pulled it in, line and container to be returned in Barbados. By 8:30 the transfer was completed and we were both back on our way.

We raised sails at 8:42 and headed south. Our 24hr run was 130 miles, slow progress and not heading west.

Over the next day we motor-sailed for a total of 7 1/2 hours and sailed the rest of the time. While the engine was on, we made water to ensure both tanks were full. Sailing was slow but the seas flat so we were fully rested, able to sleep ok and cooking and showering easy. 107nm in the next 2 24 hour periods was pretty poor by past standards. It wasn’t helping that we had a lot of growth on the hull from out time anchored in Mindelo which really hampered our light wind performance, especially when we were fully loaded too.

We agreed a call schedule with O&P at 18:30, with a backup of 19:00 if 18:30 didn’t work, via SSB radio each night. 18:30 worked well and we found out Mike had got the watermaker working and all was good. It was great to be able to chat and also a safety boost knowing another boat was nearby(ish). This carried on throughout the crossing though the distance apart increased towards the end of the crossing.

We do a 3 hours on, 3 hours off watch system on night passages, alternating who starts first so we do our fair share of all the shifts. We start at dusk which was about 8pm when we left the CVs. We have a warm drink at handover and a brief on what’s happened and any traffic to watch out for. We also do sail and course changes at this time to avoid disturbing the off watch crew mid watch,unless something urgent comes up.

I always say to wake me if anything at all is troubling Gill or she thinks we need to alter sail, rather than worry. Always better safe than sorry, especially so far from land.

When still daylight we reduce sail if we think there is a chance we may have to do it in darkness, again, much easier, though we have been caught out and had to reduce further very occasionally.

We motored for 5 hours on the 11th and managed to get into the trade winds as forecast. We turned west around noon and didn’t put the engine back on (apart from 48mins which I’ll mention later) until we reached Barbados 12 days later.

We were under full sail with 14-16kts of steady winds at 120T, champagne sailing.

We continued with full main fully out on a preventer from the 11th to the 16th, furling the jib to reduce sail as required. This worked well with the wind remaining under 20kts behind the beam and apparent winds of 12 to 16kts.

The faster passage through the water was removing a lot of the growth below the waterline and Coriander was sailing very well with 7 to 8kt average speeds.

By now the wind had gone from NE’ly to pretty much E to ENE which meant sailing a more northerly course in order to keep the genoa from being blanketed by the main and maintain boat speed. Our good friend and fellow sailor Malc, who had his boat in the Canaries, helped by using our daily position report and and the PredictWind weather routing app to advise on the fastest, and more comfortable route to take, again the InReach messenger enabled this.

We gybed downwind for a couple of days, mainly on the tack taking us further north with shorter periods heading south so we didn’t end up too far north because the winds were still light to the north and the swell caused by the storms tracking across were larger the further north we were.

On the 15th of December we celebrated 1000nm into the crossing with a beer. We are generally a dry ship on passage but a small beer at a time like this was deserved in our opinion

Gizmo showing 1,000nm in 169 hours – 7 days 1 hour

On my watch at 4am on the 16th I noticed that the main wasn’t setting correctly, I could see that it was a problem with a batten so I quickly rounded up and dropped the main before resuming course under genoa alone. When daylight came I was able to go to the mast and see that the slider that the batten socket attaches to had broken. We carry spares and I was able to slip the sliders below the broken part out of the slot, replace the broken slider and attach the batten pocket to the slider.

By using a line attached to the halyard I could then raise the sliders one by one to feed them back in without hoisting the main. Once all were back in and the slider gate closed we started the engine (for 48 minutes), headed into the wind and raised the main, this time with one reef in it as the wind was consistently in the high teens, low twenties.

I was very pleased with how we calmly resolved the problem without getting worked up about it. Also very pleased no damage was done!

We realised that Barbados was now directly downwind so took the opportunity to rig the spinnaker pole and pole out the genoa and make a direct course. We were doing around 7 kts most of the time, very occasionally surfing down the larger swells at over 11 kts.

We tried to keep the sail area such that the boat speed matched the speed of the waves giving a much more comfortable motion. Most of the time we were able to do this. The reefed main and ability to reef the genoa while still poled out worked very well.

On the morning of the 18th we got our first squall. We saw our first rain in months and were initially pleased as it washed a lot of the dust we’d accumulated in Cape Verde islands off the boat and lines.

The squalls were over in around 20-30 minutes but the associated winds were a bit of an issue. They increased the wind speed by 5-10 kts and varied in direction. Whenever a squall appeared we furled the genoa and ran downwind to keep the apparent wind as low as possible. This technique worked well with no problems except I had to hand steer as the autopilot didn’t react quickly enough.

At night we were able to detect an approaching squall by watching for the stars disappearing behind us and we also noticed there was always a lull in the wind 5-10 minutes before it hit, allowing us to adjust sail accordingly.

The squalls stayed with us all the way to Barbados with 1 or 2 in the late afternoon and a couple through each night, almost invariably on my watch for some reason.

We hadn’t expected to see any other vessels on our crossing so we’re surprised to see a convoy of 5 yachts on a course converging with us. We called them up to exchange news and generally chat and it turned out they were a Dutch sailing club who we’d seen leave Mindelo 2 days before us and were heading to Suriname. They’d sailed the rhumb line and vindicated our choice to head south.

As an aside we also saw 2 fishing fleets, 2 other yachts and 3 cargo vessels on the crossing.

On the 21st we were just sitting down for our evening meal when there was a big bang and the spinnaker pole flew up. We quickly put our meal to one side and furled the genoa. Getting the pole back on board we found that a 10mm SS shackle which had the downhaul attached had broken. It was simple to replace, with a larger one, and once again pole out the foresail. We could then enjoy our, by now cold, meal.

At just after 6am on the 23rd December we sighted Barbados through the rain

We had decided to go around the north of the island and check in a Port Saint Charles. We took down the spinnaker pole at 13:13, lowered the main and turned the engine on to motor to the anchorage, dropping the anchor, turning the engine off and completing our crossing at 14:12. We had a celebratory G&T and had a bite to eat before putting the outboard on the dinghy and heading ashore to check in. Customs and immigration is in an office next to Pier One restaurant and we were able to use their dinghy dock while we completed formalities.

By the time I returned Gill had completed most of the paperwork and I only had to sign the forms.

Health, customs and immigration are in the same room with 3 desks but only one chair so you had to carry the chair from desk to desk which we found amusing.

Coriander anchored just to the right of the catamaran

Below are the position reports I sent on the crossing

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On Christmas eve we moved down to Carlisle Bay at Bridgetown where Owl and Pussycat joined us on Christmas Day morning, having had to slow right down the previous night to arrive in daylight. Celebrations ensued.

General Thoughts

Watches

We do 3 hours on, 3 hours off from dusk to dawn. We didn’t change ships time on crossing as it would mess the log up. We advanced the watch start by 1 hour every 400 miles west to have watches starting at dusk each night. During the day we still had watches but they were pretty ad hoc. We’d also snooze during the day if one of us was tired.

During the final 10 minutes of night watches we’d boil the kettle, prepare a handover list – targets, conditions, next 3 hours plan or conditions and have a general chat while having coffee or soup.

Sail Plan

It’s downwind. We sailed with wind 120-130 degrees behind until we could go directly downwind with poled out genoa and main on the boom brake. If the wind suddenly decreased we would reef as it was almost always proceeded by a squall.

We were conservative with the main, preferring to have it possibly over reefed as we could let out and reef the genoa more easily and reefing etc not as straightforward at night. Note in mast reefing would have changed this approach, we’ve slab reefing.

Genoa heavily reefed for the squall ahead

We changed position of reef / jib lines every other day to reduce chafe. We still had some but it was limited.

Communication

The Garmin InReach was a godsend. We could keep in touch with family, friends and M&C. Also Malc for weather routing advice. We were also able to download marine weather reports for waypoints ahead.

We kept to a schedule of posting at 12 noon ship time each day. This was good in some respects but as Owl and Pussycat were we’re doing the same, though not by any arrangement, it was worrying when they were a couple of hours later on one occasion, they were doing some jobs and sent their report when they were finished, but we were thinking of turning back to where we thought they would be, about 150nm to the SE of us.

The SSB worked very well up to 240nm apart. Very reassuring to chat and great for moral.

We were able to pick up Chris Parker for weather routing and general synopsis as soon as we left Mindelo. We found it more useful the further west we got.

Starlink will be a game changer.

Weather

From CV we had 3 days of light winds to start and had to route 250nm south of the rhumb line to get into decent winds. The swells were large, 3-4m at times, and often on the beam but the wavelength such that they weren’t a problem. Waves were occasionally 2m but from behind so, again, not a problem.

The weather routing worked this time, we met some yachts half way across that had left Mindelo 2 days earlier than us and sailed the direct route.

We waited too long to leave CV. The weather during the first 3 weeks of November was perfect for a quick direct route and we,expected it to stay that way and we were enjoying our time there. The weather then turned against us and we had to wait until early December before it was ok to leave.

The last 4-5 days of the crossing we experienced squalls. They were always preceded by a sudden lull in the wind. The winds then increased to 20-35kts, often accompanied by heavy rain and sudden wind shifts. They were short in duration, maybe 20-30 mins. My tactics were to head downwind, hand steering to keep the apparent winds lower and resume course when they were past. It seemed to work pretty well with no real stress on us or the boat. We didn’t look out for them using radar but in retrospect I think we should have. They were easy to spot through the day and at night we watched for the stars disappearing.

Provisioning – food

We provisioned for 10 days more than our pessimistic crossing time. It was pretty easy for 2 people and we had lots of food to spare once we got across.

We checked the fresh veg etc daily and ate what was looking like it would go off and ruthlessly threw away anything that was going off. We had plenty of tinned food on board for backup.

Bread was the thing we missed, we had part baked bread for the second week and long life wraps for after that.

Cup-a-soups were great for overnight warm drinks without caffeine that could stop us sleeping off watch.

We’d taken snacks for between meals and were lucky enough to have a freezer so were able to prepare and freeze meals so that they could be cooked quickly with minimum uses of pans and gas for cooking.

Meals such as stews which could be eaten out of a bowl were good because the times we could sit at a table to eat without the plate sliding onto our laps due to the rolling or heel we’re pretty few.

Champagne for celebrations on arrival.

Provisioning fuel and water

We carry 600l of water in 2 tanks. That easily lasts the 2 of us 3 weeks of normal use. We also have a watermaker to keep the tanks topped up.

In addition, we carried water in containers for emergency use if we lost our tank water or had to abandon ship and enter the life raft.

We carry 240l of fuel in the tank and we had 200l in jerry cans. On the crossing we used 180l, mainly running the generator.

Life on Board

Life on board revolves around the watches and meal times. We had enough reading materials and more for the crossings, music to listen to and games to keep us occupied.

We split the journey into phases and awarded ourselves small treats when they were achieved

e.g. covered 500nm, 1000nm, halfway there, 500 miles to go

It’s amazing how good a beer tastes after a week or so without one 🙂

I’d taken noise cancelling headphones for off watch at night and would highly recommend them. They drowned out the wind, sea and boat noises and enabled a good sleep off watch. Gill preferred ear plugs which were equally effective.

Our master cabin is forward which is great at anchor or in a marina but not so good at sea due to the movement, it’s not unusual to be airborne. On the crossing we mainly slept in the aft cabin which was ok unless it was likely to be particularly bouncy or we were watching squalls. We tended to avoid the saloon so that the on watch person could turn on the light to make a coffee.

If we were anticipating squalls, the off watch person slept in the cockpit to be available. We are lucky that it’s large enough to stretch out and is very comfortable.

Having the watermaker was fantastic, we showered every day without having to worry. We always ensured that on of the tanks was full so that if there was a problem with it, we had ample water to get to our destination.

Running the gen set each morning also allowed use of appliances to make coffee (Nespresso machine), make toast when we still had bread and heat water for washing and showers, as well as topping up the batteries.

We walked the deck each morning checking for chafe, ensuring everything that should move did, and things that shouldn’t, didn’t. It was also at this point that the flying fish got thrown back.

Breakages

In all we got off pretty lightly. We sailed the equivalent of 2 seasons sailing in just a few weeks.

We broke a batten car. The cause was pretty obvious, a nut which secures the bolt attaching the batten socket to the batten car had come off, this allowed the bolt to work loose and the resulting stress on the rest of the car broke the plastic. Luckily we have spares and were able to lower the sail and replace it. A more thorough checking regime may have spotted it but it is also a poor design and I’m going to replace them all with a more secure design when we take the sails off in Trinidad. The spare cars I have are much more secure, the bolt screws all the way through the plastic car and is secured with a lock nut.

We lost maybe 6 hours due to reducing speed having lowered the main and waiting for daylight to effect the repair.

We snapped a SS shackle on the end of the spinnaker pole which the downhaul was attached to. It went with a bang but was easily replaced. We don’t know what caused it to fail but we replaced it with a larger one.

I noticed that the fitting at the end of the spinnaker pole was loose so I drilled out and replaced the rivets with longer SS ones as a precaution.

Power

We have solar panels and an Air Breeze wind turbine providing free power. To supplement them we have the engine alternator and a 6kw generator.

In the Mediterranean the solar kept the batteries charged without any problems during the summer months. The long sunny days providing ample power.

To my surprise, once we got south of the Canaries the solar could no longer keep up with our power demands. I put this down to 2 factors:

The days are shorter, to the extent that in the Caribbean it’s pretty much 12 hours daylight and 12 hours of darkness. This means that the time available for the solar to charge the batteries is reduced and the time when the batteries are providing power is increased. This is evidenced by seeing the ah drawn overnight increasing by 50% compared with what we experienced in the Mediterranean.
The water temperature is much warmer though the air temperature is similar to the Mediterranean. Our freezer has a water cooled compressor and I believe it has to work harder to keep the freezer at the correct temperature.

Doubling our solar capacity is on the job list this year so we don’t need to run the generator each day.

The wind generator has provided a lot more power while in the Caribbean but was not so good on the crossing as we were sailing downwind which reduced the apparent wind speed.

Reflections on the crossing

It was much easier than I’d expected. Yes, we were lucky that we hadn’t experienced any really adverse weather or serious breakdowns. How much this was due to boat preparations, checking the weather and choosing relatively benign conditions and our experience I couldn’t really say but I’m sure they had a bearing on it. We also carry a good range of spares and the tools to fix non major problems.

It was a bit of an anticlimax because of the above. The crossing from CV to Barbados was no worse than the Gib-Canaries or Canaries to CV, just longer.

We got into a routine and enjoyed the crossing. The nights were tiring but we could catch up on sleep through the day. I didn’t really want the crossing to end in some ways. The stars were amazing, the flying fish and dolphins a joy to watch and, perhaps because of the ability to communicate with family and other boats we weren’t too phased by the distance.

It was a lot colder at night than we expected. Socks, jogging bottoms, fleece and occasionally jacket were needed. It warmed up very quickly as soon as the sun came up.