Yacht Zen Again: Curacao to Santa Marta Passage Summary

Saturday 5 November 2022

Curacao to Santa Marta Passage Summary

Hi everyone,

We arrived in Santa Marta at 1700 local time yesterday after a pretty good passage. The weather window we took turned out very well. The seas were often boisterous due we think to wind against current, but there was plenty of wind to keep us powering along.

Westward!

Here are the usual plots...

Overall Track

Arrival Track

Passage Graphs

Our track took us N of Aruba which suited our preferred broad reaching angle and kept us in deep water. We could have gybed a few hours earlier but we kept to our strategy of a single gybe in the passage. As we passed the cape we had periods of counter and favourable currents. The sea state made these changes pretty obvious with boisterous seas during counter-currents.

Here are the vital statistics...

Distances/Speeds

Route Distance = 390nm
Log Distance = 396nm
Track Distance = 385nm
Duration = 3 days 1 hour (73 hours)
Average boat speed = 5.4kt
Average ground speed = 5.3kt
Average day's run = 133nm (through the water)
Best day's run = 137nm (5.7 kt)
Minimum boat speed = 4 kt
Maximum boat speed = 7 kt

Weather

Minimum wind speed = 5 kt
Average wind speed = 17 knots
Maximum wind speed = 28kt
Apparent wind angle range = 120 to 170
Seas up to 2.0m
Swell negligible
Thunderstorms nearby, then heavy rain showers, then sunshine

Engine

Total = 4 hours

Failures

None

Stars

The boat!
Starlink for accessing GRIB files and email
SailnSea SailingGen hydro generator charged our batteries from 25% at start to 100% after 2 days
Icom IC-7300 SSB for 12 hourly position reporting net with friends

Starlink performed very well. We used it for two 30 minute periods daily, primarily to get email and download GRIB files. It connected every time we powered it up on the passage. We now appear to be using the ground station in Colombia since the ads on youtube are in Spanish!

Our new Vesper Cortex AIS system also performed very well. We were picking up AIS signals from vessels way inland...

AIS targets 100nm up river!

Unusually for us we sailed most of the passage under yankee alone. Although the winds weren't especially strong the seas were often confused and this configuration seemed best for the WindPilot.

Sailing under Yankee alone

As we approached Colombia the wind started to die. We hoisted the main, first with two reefs, then one, then none, with more and more yankee. Eventually it was clear we'd need to motor in to arrive before dark so the engine got a 3 hour run.

Colombia Ho!

On arrival in Santa Marta Bay we called Port Control on VHF 16. They gave us permission to proceed to the marina. We then called the marina on VHF 72 and they had us wait outside while they sorted out a pen assignment for us. The wait stretched so we tied up at the fuel dock for a short time. We got into our pen on D jetty shortly before rain started.

Approaching Santa Marta

The marina handles clearing in and out for yachts. They certainly did an efficient job for us, with everything completed overnight. The marina is neat and tidy with good showers and very cheap laundry facilities. We spent this morning doing our laundry and tidying up the boat.

Later we walked into town which is right beside the marina. We went with the Ceruleans to the Mobistar office where we arranged SIM cards and prepaid plans for our phones very cheaply. Very pleased that Nicki spent the last year studying Spanish! We followed that up with coffee and later with lunch. Prices are really cheap and the coffee and food is good!

SIM & 8GB deal for 25,000 pesos (about AU$8)

There's a strong police presence in the city. Sadly quite a few apparently homeless folks on some streets. The city is busy and has a nice vibe. The marina appears to have very good security. Looking forward to exploring the city over the next few days, after which we hope to start touring inland.