Antigua Inbound Day 13

Hi everyone,
And then there was silence, and it was good.

At noon today we were at 11 04N 047 42W steering 35M, sailing under NO reefs and NO furls at 3 knots.  The wind was 6G8 from the E.  Our noon to noon run by the log was again 105nm.  900nm to Antigua.

Sailing gently over a calm sea

Yesterday's motoring continued into the night.  Stultifying.  We took the opportunity to head W towards more wind.  And at 0300 there was a little more.  We shutdown the engine and were under sail again.  Since then we've been doing 2.5 to 3.5 knots, constantly adjusting course to keep the apparent wind on the beam.  Any further aft and she stops.

One item which kept us busy for a time while motoring yesterday afternoon was the failure of our Vesper Cortex's GNSS receiver.  We're on our second antenna and the warranty replacement antenna has now died.  Or has it?  Perhaps its the cable or the Cortex itself.  It started alarming around midday yesterday and so our AIS has no position.  That means can't transmit it and so we're invisible to other vessels.

In case it was the antenna we swapped back to the old one.  It is mounted on the aft part of the 'goalpost'.  One needs to climb outboard of the pushpit rails to get to it.  In the end it was a simple task, but didn't solve the problem.

Replacing the Vesper Cortex's GNSS antenna

When the engine was finally shutdown at 0300 this morning the quiet was deafening.  Since then we've enjoyed a slow, relaxing sail in partly-sunny conditions.  Most cruisers would struggle to make 3 knots downwind in these light breezes, but Zen Again manages it even with her 1st reef sized mainsail.

The weather outlook shows the breeze increasing steadily overnight and tomorrow.  Looking forward to increasing our noon-to-noon runs!

Trust all's well where you are.

Antigua Inbound Day 12

Hi everyone,

And then the champagne ran out.

At noon today we were at 10 39N 046 00W steering 255M, motoring at 5 knots.  The wind was 6G8 from the E.  Our noon to noon run by the log was 105nm.  980nm to Antigua.

Motoring over a nearly glassed-out sea

Yesterday afternoon the champagne sailing continued, but with an ominously decreasing wind.  By midnight we were struggling.  By 0300 this morning we were doing only 2 knots and the sails were slatting badly.  On went the motor.  And it's still going 12 hours later.

On the positive side the batteries are now fully charged and we had Starlink on all day.  The latter allowed us to catch up on news etc, albeit for a price (since we have Mobile Priority turned on).

In calm conditions like this we motor at about 1500 rpm.  This gives the best speed:dB ratio.  OK speed and not too loud.  At any RPM the engine is noisy on any small boat so it ain't fun.  At present the wind is from astern and matching our speed so we're motoring along in a self-generated cloud of diesel fumes.

Hopefully the 'blue hole' will fill in with breeze soon.  Here's the current situation with the big depression to the N to blame for the light winds in our area...

Into the Blue Hole

By Tuesday we should certainly be back sailing.  Tomorrow's outlook is uncertain.  Meanwhile our little Craftsman CM3.27 is purring away nicely.

Trust all's well where you are.

Antigua Inbound Day 11

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 10 17N 044 30W steering 290M, sailing under NO reefs and NO furls at 5 knots.  The wind was 11G14 from the NE.  Our noon to noon run by the log was 125nm.  1100nm to Antigua, so we're at the halfway point (depending on how you measure it).  At noon we had logged 1359nm and 1365nm over the ground.  So we are now inbound!

Chasing the Sunset

Champagne sailing continued yesterday afternoon and overnight.  Twas very pleasant sailng indeed.  Winds were lighter than the day before but still sufficient to keep us moving nicely.  We can't recall an instance where we've sailed Zen Again under full sail for over two days.  Literally fantastic.

We found ourselves sailing parallel to our track from December 2021.  Back then we also had a long period of light winds and had to sail well S to avoid being becalmed.  This year we ended up very close to that track and actually went about 50nm further S.

Eventually the wind backed sufficiently for us to lay Antigua so at about 1030 this morning we gybed.  Always nice to be heading directly towards one's destination!

PredictWind ECMWF GRIB of winds at 1200UTC today

Our firends on OCC sv Metzi chose a more direct course for Antigua.  They ended up 'in the blue' with little wind.  But their route is much shorter so it's an interesting comparison of strategies.

This morning we had a zoom call with family members.  We spanned four generations and half the world.  Starlink really is an amazing system.

Trust all's well where you are!

Cape Verdes Outbound Day 10

Hi everyone,

At noon today we were at 11 43N 043 14W steering 240M, sailing under NO reefs and NO furls at 5 knots.  The wind was 9G12 from the E.  Our noon to noon run by the log was again 136nm.

Sunrise chasing the waning moon

Yesterday morning we ran the engine for several hours to charge our batteries.  We'll have repeat this every few days.  Its good to give the engine a run at least once a week.  With only half of our solar panels exposed to the sun its hard to feed Starlink!

In the afternoon the champagne sailing conditions continued.  A lovely beam reach in 10G15 winds over 1.5m sea and swell and under an almost cloud-free sky.  Unusually we held on to the full main overnight, only putting a single furl in the yankee.  Zen Again was loving it and we sat on 5.5-6.0 knots all night.

It was another spectacular night too.  The moon rose around 0300 local time and there's not much left of it in this lunar cycle.  Still a thrill to see the Southern Cross!

Sadly the weed continues so Kami the autopilot is earning his keep.  We tried running the hydrogenerator for a couple of hours overnight.  I had to clear it of weed about every 5 minutes and eventually gave up and stowed itt.  The wind is probably too light for Kazi and she earned her rest.

We were saddened to hear of the fatalities in the Rolex Sydney Hobart.  The first since the infamous 1998 race.  We know one of the crew on one of the yachts involved this year.  Like any competetive sport, sailing has risks.  Sail safe everyone!

Trust all's well where you are.

Cape Verdes Outbound Day 9

Hi everyone,
And they're off!  No, not only the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet.  So are we!  We are truckin', albeit in a dying breeze.

Hard Life!

At noon today we were at 12 48N 41 22W steering 240M, sailing under NO reefs and NO furls at 6 knots.  The wind was 11G15 from the ESE.  Our noon to noon run by the log was again 121nm.

Yesterday afternoon we continued SW under reefed main and varying furls in the yankee.  There was a good sea running, as there had been throughout the passage.  About 2-3m comprising a 1m sea on multiple swell wavetrains.  Quite uncomfortable, especially as the wind decreases. 

Last night was a beautiful night.  No moon until the early hours when it rose as about an eighht moon.  Prior to that the milky way was amazing in a nearly cloudless sky.  In the early hours we could see the Southern Cross to port, the Big Dipper & Polaris to starboard and Orion ahead.  Twas a nice night and the seas were gradually dying down.

Champagne Sailing

Today has been champagne sailing.  No rain squalls.  Nice breeze, slowly easing.  Plenty of weed but we're on Kami (autopilot) which handles the loaded up boat's weather helm best.  Before lunch we set full sail and Zen Again is loving it.  Not flat water, but the flatest we've seen for some time.

Each afternoon, conditions permitting, we eat cake.  Yesterday we started on our Christmas cake.  Nic fed ours with Rum, lots of it.  The aroma of rum fills the cabin when we open the box.  The aroma of the Caribbean!

Trust all's well where you are.

Cape Verdes Outbound Day 7

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 13 58N 037 54W steering 280M, sailing under 1 reef and 1 furl at 5 knots.  The wind was 13G17 from the NE.  Our noon to noon run by the log was again 113nm.

Yesterday afternoon was lovely with a bright sunny sky with scattered small cumulus.  We made good but not great progress W.  Last night was spectacular, initially with no moon.  At last we spotted the Southern Cross.  Previously it's been obscured by the Saharan dust.  So naturally we sang:

Under the Southern Cross I stand

A sprig of wattle in my hand

A native of my native land

Australia, you <expletive> beauty!

That's by Western Australian legendary wicket keeper Rod Marsh.  See here.

Just after dawn we spotted a dolphin following close behind us.  He/she hung around for quite a while.  Later we had a tropic bird trying unsuccessfully to land-on.  Such pretty birds.

We struggled with lightish winds this morning.  And then the weed came.  Huge clumps of it, some approaching the size of a tennis court.  Inevitably a lot was caught by the WindPilot water vane.  The water vane weak link sheared and the vane lifted up.  After that we tightened the bolt (as previously suggested by WindPilot).  But the weed accumulated again within minutes and rendered the water vane useless.  ie Aircraft crash when their the wings cover in ice for example - same concept.

We had to switch from WindPilot 'Kazi' to autopilot 'Kami'.  Kami's working well on his lowest gain setting but still moves the rudder far more than Kazi.  Hei's more noisy and consumes electtricity.  An advantage of the autopilot is it doesn't care as much about sail balance, so we shook out a reef.  Faster!

Later in the morning we ran the engine for an hour.  Initially it was to give it a burst astern to 'blow off' weed on the prop.  Then we let it run to charge the batteries which have been slowly discharging.  That's partly due to the Saharan dust and also since half of them are vertical at sea and don't catch much sunlight.

Our friends on OCC sv Metzi departed Mindelo one day before us, putting themselves 150nm ahead.  After 5 days they were about 350nm ahead.  Now, in lighter winds, they are about 300nm ahead.  It's not a race.  They're a Moody 44 with an IRC TCF of 0.99.  Ours is 0.91. So they should be 8% faster than us.  But it's NOT a race!

Trust all's well where you are.  Happy Christmas Eve!

Cape Verdes Outbound Day 6

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 13 40N 036 00W steering 270M, sailing under 2 reefs and no furls at 5 knots.  The wind was 14G18 from the NE.  Our noon to noon run by the log was again 116nm.

Running from the Sunrise

Yesterday afternoon we had a good sailing breeze and a mostly sunny sky.  The wind gradually eased overnight but stayed in the NE, allowing us to continue W directly towards our destination.  During the night a few small rain showers came over.  They delivered a little more wind and a few spots of rain followed by much lighter wind in their wake.

This morning turned into a boat-jobs session.  This included cleaning the solar panels (while tethered), using a boat hook to clear weed off the WindPilot's water vane, removing several flying fish from the deck and wiping the Saharan dust off the dodger 'clears'.  We also dunked one of our waterproof cameras overboard on a selfie stick to check for weed...

Weedy Prop, Clean Hull (so far)

On our last E-W N Atlantic crossing we ended up with the hull festooned with 1" gooseneck barnacles.  We're hoping that won't recur but suspect it will.  There's a lot of weed in the water and it appears to harbour the larvae which become gooseneck barnacles.

Reverting to our normal 3 hour watches has been a change for the better.  During the day we're prretty relaxed with them but at night we stick to them and rest well.

As usual we're eating well on Zen Again.  Lunches have featured sandwiches initially, then quiche and most recently tuna, the latter two with salad.  Dinners have featured chicken & pasta, tuna & veg, spicy tuna & potato, then mince beef, all with veg.  Dessert is canned fruit with 'libbies'.

Trust you're eating well!

JS8Call HF/SSB Chat

 Hi everyone,

This is a technical post!

JS8Call is a popular Amateur Radio software application providing “keyboard to keyboard chat” over HF/SSB.  It was created by Jordan Sherer, KN4CRD, initially in 2018 and for general use in 2020.  It now has pseudo-standard frequency ranges in most MF/HF Amateur bands.  In addition to chat it supports transmission of position reports, short emails and SMSs.  It also supports message relaying.  It supports multiple concurrent chats in a single 3kHz “channel”.

Chatting to a Ham station 2500nm away on 25W

JS8Call was written primarily for licensed Amateur operators.  However the app allows use of non-Amateur callsigns and frequencies.  So HF/SSB-equipped bluewater cruisers with Marine HF/SSB equipment and licenses can use the app.  The range of JS8 far exceeds that of voice HF/SSB, and at much lower transmit power levels.

To learn about JS8Call, RTFM (Read The Fine Manual) downloadable here.  Note that JS8call is the app and JS8 is the Jordan Sherer-designed 8-FSK modulation scheme.  Both are designed for use in weak signal propagation conditions.

The section below describes our JS8Call setup.  The subsequent section describes potential use of JS8call in Marine Bands, allowing non-Amateur operators to use JS8call.

Setup

Setting up JS8call is very simple with a modern Amateur HF/SSB rig.  These rigs include USB sound cards and serial ports.  The only tricky part is setting audio levels on computer and HF/SSB.  Marine HF/SSB rigs lack the integrated sound card.  See the Marine Bands Use section.

But first take a look at Jordan's Getting Started page here.  I filled in the JS8Call Settings pages as below.  You will need to modify for your station-specific information (most importantly callsign and location) and preferences.

General/Station Settings

Set your callsign and your location!  Location is defined in an Amateur-standard format called Maidenhead Grid Locator/Square.  See the Marine Bands Use section below.

General/Behavior Settings

General/Networking&Autoreply

Radio Cat Control Settings

Set these to suit your HF/SSB.

Radio Rig Options Settings

Set these to suit your HF/SSB.

Audio Settings

Set these to suit your computer peripherals (eg sound card & serial cable).

Note that your computer’s and HF/SSB’s audio settings must be setup too.

Reporting Settings

The API allows use of “add on” software for various purposes including reporting.  We don’t currently use the API.

Frequencies Settings

The default frequencies are for Amateur-band use, so do NOT use them without an Amateur license.

See the Marine Band Use section below for information on JS8Call Configurations which help avoid transmitting on unlicensed frequencies.

Saved Messages Settings

These messages provide a quick and easy means of sending common messages.  Most important for us is the @APRSIS message which sends our position into the APRS network, ending up at www.aprs.fi.

Notifications Settings

These settings define events which trigger an audio notification on your computer.

UI Settings

We left these settings at their defaults.

Marine Bands Usage

Use of JS8 on Marine MF/HF channels is NOT formally approved.  However an array of 3kHz channels are defined for fax, data and other special transmissions.  Their use with JS8 appears legitimate.

What is needed is agreement in the cruiser community on which of the several channels in each marine band should be the default.  Some are used for other purposes which we should not disrupt.  As with voice channels, check if the channel’s busy before transmitting.

Here’s an image showing a subset of the 8MHz Marine Band Fax/Data/Special channels.  Three of them were in use, and not for JS8.  So care is required.

Several fax/data/special channels in use
(and not for JS8)

Interfacing

This is the toughest part of using JS8Call.  Cables are needed and they are probably not commercially available.  They are not difficult to make but require careful research of which HF/SSB connector pins to use.  One alternative which comes with cables for many Icom Marine HF/SSBs is a Tigertronics SignaLink.

Fundamentally, four connections are required:

* Serial port between computer and HF/SSB to control frequency, mode etc

* PTT (push to talk) from computer to HF/SSB, sometimes using a serial port control line

* Tx Audio from computer to HF/SSB

* Rx Audio from HF/SSB to computer

Here's a home-made cable for an Icom IC-M710.  It connects a USB Sound Card to the HF/SSB's Remote jack.

Partial cable harness for Icom IC-M710

Position

Current position is necessary when using JS8Call.  Other stations need to know your location to judge their performance.  Position is entered using a Maidenhead Grid Locator/Square string.  Programs exist to convert between latitude:longitude and Grid.

I use a python script to do the translation.  It connects to our boat’s WiFi hotspot which carries NMEA0183 data including position.  It samples the position and converts it to Grid, displaying it on screen, as below.

Running the Script

Heartbeats

Heartbeats are JS8Call’s mechanism for stations to check how well their transmissions are working.  Sending a HB should elicit a set of replies from stations, with each giving the SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) of your signal at their location.  These are very useful in judging which band is working best at any given time.

To send a Heartbeat simply click on the HB button and wait a few seconds for the transmission to occur.

Group Calling

JS8Call supports a range of groups.  They provide a means of ‘focussing’ your calls.  For marine use the @MM group (for Maritime Mobile) is suggested.  Other alternatives are the standard regional groups such as @DX/OC (for Long Distance, Oceana).

After transmitting a group call you may get a response.  You can then start to chat with that station directly.

Chat

JS8Call calls this “direct messaging”, meaning one station sends a message specifically to another.  All stations can read all direct messages in the channel/band they’re tuned to.  Direct messages are the way to ‘chat’ between stations.

In addition to looking for stations on the air using a Group Call you can directly call a specific station by typing in their callsign and clicking on the SEND button.

Direct messages are not quick.  Think SLOW keyboard!  But they are reliable and effective at long range.  Think about your messages and keep them short.  This ain’t WhatsApp!

Position Reporting

JS8Call supports several position reporting methods.  We use APRSIS in which numerous Amateur shore stations monitor JS8 and forward @APRSIS messages via the internet to aprs.fi  This allows anyone to view your position reports.  We maintain this as a backup to our satellite-based Starlink and Zoleo Messenger.

JS8Call position reporting is only available to licensed amateurs since the monitoring stations are on Amateur bands.

Power

We generally use 25W transmit power when bluewater cruising.  When in coastal waters we often reduce this to 10W.  In contrast we use 50W on voice channels.  We usually get 2-4x the range with JS8 compared to voice.

The IC-7300 screenshot below shows a well-formed JS8 transmission.  Note the nice ’tight’ signal and high peak.  If your signal is broad and low your audio levels are poor or (in the case of IC-7300s) you have set your Rig Options => Mode to USB instead of Data/Pkt.

Good Tx Signal

Gotchas

A problem emerged in setting up JS8Call for marine bands use.  We could define marine band frequencies within the app.  But when changing to any of them a Rig Control Error occurred, sometimes with an Audio Error too.  This was with JS8Call controlling our IC-7300.

The workaround to the problem was to program the marine band frequencies into the IC-7300.  We could then switch to MEMO mode (JS8Call controls the rig in VFO mode) and JS8Call 'followed' the manual changes we made.

No doubt other issues will emerge!

Configurations

With everything up and running we cloned our default JS8Call configuration.  We renamed the old to our Amateur callsign and the new to our Marine callsign.  Then we tidied up the Frequencies settings to help avoid accidental transmission on the 'wrong' frequencies.

This post has briefly summarised JS8Call.  It is a very capable app.  RTFM to learn more!  There may be problems using it in Marine Bands, and it may prove impossible.  But we're having a go!  It would be great to be able to chat with non-Amateur bluewater cruisers on Marine Bands while on passage.

Overall we find JS8Call a very useful tool.  We have run it on MacOS and on Windows (both natively).  I am a licensed Amateur.  Systems like JS8Call make it even more attractive for cruisers to be so.

Cape Verdes Outbound Day 5

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 13 38N 033 55W steering 260M, sailing under 2 reefs and 2 furls at 6 knots.  The wind was 17G20 from the NE.  Our noon to noon run by the log was 116nm.

Yesterday afternoon the winds were light and progress slow.  And we were still zigzagging down our route in the ENE wind.  The Saharan dust was further diminishing and in the evening we could see the stars.  By 2100 our course was approaching SSW so it was time to gybe.  Happily our new course was 270 and the wind direction had backed to NE.

Last night we gave up on the 6 hour night watches.  We gave them a good hard go, but they were doing me in!  So we're back to our 3 hour watches 24/7 which have stood the test of time for us.

The moon has now waned to half so it rises at midnight.  It's nice having half a night with the milky way and half with moon light.  Except that for much of last night we had clouds passing overhead, some delivering drizzle.  Just enough to turn dust to mud!  Oh, and we rescued two flying fish overnight!

The morning the wind filled in nicely and 'rescued' our noon-to-noon run.  Best of all our gybe S seems to have put us in some positive current.  Nice!

Overnight I did some more trials of JS8Call, software which controls our HF/SSB to 'chat' boat to boat or coast station.  It also provides position reporting.  I chatted with a ham operator in Cape Cod in the US, about 2500nm away.  Very clean signal and we chatted for 10 minutes or so.  More on JS8Call in a technical post soon.

Trust all's well where you are!

Cape Verdes Outbound Day 4

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 14 12N 032 02W steering 230M, sailing under 2 reefs and no furls at 5 knots.  The wind was 12G16 from the ENE.  Our noon to noon run by the log was 117nm.

A Dusty Day at the Office

We gybed SW mid-afternoon yesterday.  As you can see from our track we're zigzagging WSW in the hope of staying in wind.  The Saharan dust haze continued with about 1nm visibility.  Overnight the haze seemed to slowly diminish.  By dawn the visibility was up to 2nm and by noon was better still.  Certainly not entirely gone yet.

We've now seen a couple of tropic birds.  They're beautiful birds and seeing them indicates you really are in the tropics.  We're also seeing quite a few small shearwaters and flying fish.  And we've started to see small clumps of Sargaso weed.  On our previous E-W North Atlantic crossing the weed was terrible, forming balls around the propellor and leading to gooseneck barnacles all over the hull.  Hope it's not as bad this time!

We've finished our shop-bought bread now, and our first pre-departure baked fruit cake.  Next we have a ginger cake to see us through to the Christmas Cake.  Looking forward to that!  If conditions permit Nic may well bake some of her awesome bread rolls.

Planning for our haul out in Sint Maartin is proceeding well.  We've booked with a recommended yard and found a shipwright to do our thru-hulls.  Just looking for a mechanic to do our cutlass bearing and shaft seal.

Trust all's well where you are.

Cape Verdes Outbound Day 3

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 15 26N 030 43W steering 300M, sailing under 2 reefs and no furls at 5 knots.  The wind was 14G18 from the ENE.  Our noon to noon run by the log was 122nm.

Towards the Hazy Sunset

Visibility has continued to be poor, down to 1nm at times.  Everything is turning brown with the Saharan dust deposited.  Thankfully the wind is holding in, albeit fading for a few hours at a time before returning.  The WindPilot vane gear is managing it very well.

We gybed SW yesterday to keep putting a little more S in our position.  Our hope is to get far enough S to avoid a big windless hole predicted to form to our W in a week or so.  As you can see from our PredictWind track (link at top-right) we're zig-zagging our way WSW.

Last night the moon was pale through the dust, and few stars were visible.  It was cloudy for part of the night.  Happily the dust usually stops rain storms forming.  We're missing the clear skies and hope they eventually return.  We haven't seen any Sargaso weed yet, and that's a totally good thing!

Trust all's well where you are!

Cape Verdes Outbound Day 2

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 15 17N 029 04W steering 230M, sailing under 2 reefs and no furls at 5 knots.  The wind was 12G17 from the ENE.  Our noon to noon run by the log (now cleared of weed) was 127nm.

Into the Haze

Since yesterday afternoon we've been sailing in a heavy haze of Saharan dust.  Our sheets and rig all have a coppery tinge.  Visibility has reduced to 1-2nm, almost like a light fog.  At sunset yesterday we could look directly at the sun as it set through the dust.  And last night the 3/4 moon was dim, and so were the stars.

Our new 6 hour watches at night are working out well.  The last hour's hard yakka but we're getting used to it.  We have Starlink on for 30 minutes morning and evening to download the latest weather.  We also check our emails, social media, news etc.  We can't leave it on continuously since it draws too much power.

With the comfortable sailing conditions we have plenty of time on our hands.  That's allowed me to get Winlink Express running on my 'work' computer, a Mini PC.  Winlink Express allows for email over HF/SSB which used to be our primary means of receiving weather GRIB files.  Around 2015 we added an Iridium Go which provided email/GRIB via satellite but no internet.  We kept Winlink going as a backup, running on our Macbooks in a Parallels Windows VM.  That stopped when Apple computers changed from Intel to ARM CPUs - I never got the device drivers to work.  So I've finally capitulated and use my work computer to run the HF/SSB.  And with Starlink we have broadband internet - awesome!

The Mini PC also runs JS8call software for digital keyboard to keyboard 'chatting' with other cruisers over HF/SSB.  I'm hoping to try this out with other equally-geeky cruisers!  In the mean time our daily Impromptu HF/SSB voice net continues, currently only with OCC sv Metzi.  They are a Moody 44 and striding away from us at 20-30 miles per day (as they should!).

On a less geeky note we started sea-water bucket showering today.  That's always a milestone in a passage.  The water is 27C so just a little refreshing.  Our procedure is one bucket to wet down, then lather up, then another bucket to rinse, finishing with a little fresh water to wash off the salt.  Marvellous!

Cape Verdes Outbound Day 1

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 16 43N 027 20W steering 220M, sailing under 2 reefs and 1 furl at 5.5 knots.  The wind was 14G19 from a little E of NE.  Our noon to noon run over the ground was 131nm.

Farewell Cape Verdes

Yesterday evening we finally cleared the lee of the Cape Verde islands.  We emerged into nice NE winds of 15G20 winds - perfect for us.  The outlook is for winds to gradually lighten over the next week, with very light winds extending southward across our route.  So we'll need to move S at some stage to stay in the best wind.

In the Acceleration Zone

Last night we ran the first edition of the Impromptu Net on our HF/SSB radio.  We started on 8297 and moved to 6227 then 4149kHz.  We spoke with OCC sv Metzi about 150nm ahead of us and sv Gabber in Porto Santo, about 1000nm away.  It's always fun chatting with other bluewater cruisers on the SSB.

This morning winds continued more or less unchanged.  We're settling in to our long passage rythm, this time trying 6 hour overnight watches.  In the past the longest we've done were 4 hours.  So far so good.

We have another article in Yachting Monthly magazine.  It describes our mainsail handling systems.  Available at a newsagents near you!

Improve Your Mainsail

Trust all's well where you are.

Cape Verdes Departure

Hi everyone,
At 1000 local time today we departed Mindelo on Sao Vicente Island in the Cape Verdes. A couple of hours later we were in the acceleration zone between Saao Vicente and Santo Antao islands, sailing under 2 reefs and storm jib at 7 knots. The wind was 25G35, funneling between the islands. By mid-afternoon the wind had almost died leaving a very confused sea. We battled through that into the gradient wind clear of the island's lee. Now sailing W at 5.5 knots in a nice 15G20 NE breeze.

We really enjoyed our unexpected stay in Mindelo. The marina is excellent and has a great vibe with so many sailors preparing to cross the Atlantic. The town is nice too with many good bars, restaurants and ice cream places. Also good for fresh fruit & veggies.

The main reason for our stop in Mindelo was to carry out emergency repairs on a leaking thru-hull. This was done with the help of friends and happily we avoided hauling out of the water. Hauling out is extremely expensive in Mindelo. The leaking thru-hull now has a fibre-glass plate sealed over it, plus a lot of sealant applied internally. So far so good.

Trust all's well where you are.

Canaries to Cape Verdes Passage Summary

Hi everyone,

This post summarises our passage from Pasito Blanco in Gran Canaria to Mindelo in Sao Vicente.  On departure our intended destination was Antigua.  Unfortunately a leaking thru-hull seal forced us to divert to Mindelo.

Full Moon Arising over Mindelo

First some plots...

Track

Arrival

Graphs

Here are the vital stats for the passage…

• Distances/Speeds

• Route Distance = 870 nm

• Logged Distance = 974 nm

• Track Distance = 774 nm (under-reading due to fouling)

• Duration = 7d11h days

• Average boat speed = n/a

• Average VMG = 4.9 kt

• Average day's run = 130 nm

• Best day's run = 144 nm (over ground)

• Minimum boat speed = 4 kt

• Maximum boat speed = 8 kt

• Weather

• Minimum wind speed = 10 kt

• Average wind speed = 20 knots

• Maximum wind gust = 31 kt

• Apparent wind angle range = 120 to 150

• Seas up to 1.5m

• Swell up to 2.5m

• Overcast, then broken cloud then clear skies

• Engine

• Total = 1 hour

• Driving = 1 hours (100%)

• Charging = 0 hours

• Consumption

• Water = 50 litres (7 litres / day)

• Fuel = 2 litres

• Failures

• Water ingress into head compartment from leaking thru-hull seal

• Stars

• The boat!

• WindPilot vane gear (steered 95% of passage)

• Tides Marine SailTrack (made reefing sooooo much easier)

  * Rolly Tasker mainsail

  * Starlink (despite 15-30 minute initial connection times)

The first two days of the passage had the strongest winds due to the Canaries' wind acceleration zones between the islands and in their lees.  The leak worsened and we decided to divert to Mindelo, at which point we gybed south.  The leak was a gradual seaping of water, needing the bilge sponging out every 3 hours.

Conditions gradually cleared up from mid-level overcast to scattered rain showers to scattered small cumulus.  Happily CAPE was low so the rain showers couldn't develop into thunderstorms.  We dodged several rain showers but caught one which delivered 30 knots of wind briefly.

We sailed mostly under double-reefed (trisail sized) main, furling the yankee to suit.  For a couple of brief periods we swapped to the storm jib / staysail in or near rain showers.  In light patches we moved up to a single reef, made so much easier by the SailTrack.

One day a French yacht Heol came up behind us and manoeuvred into hailing distance.  We had a brief chat then off they went towards Martinique.  We also chatted with several yachts via VHF including OCC sv Hasel James whose crew we have since met in Mindelo.

Southbound

A quick chat at sea with French sv Heol

Land Ho!

Overall it was a great sail.  Once clear of the Canaries it really felt like trades winds sailing.  Good breeze, small cumulus with occasional squalls, nice temperature and Zen Again eating the miles.

Sao Vicente Ahead

Nearing Mindelo Harbour

We arrived in Mindelo at last light and anchored off the marina (clear of the ferry channel) in darkness.  Despite the leak it was a fun passage.  We'll now make emergency in-the-water repairs (since hauling out in Mindelo is extremely expensive) before resuming our voyage across the Atlantic to Antigua.

We stayed in Mindelo only for a few days.  Most of that was consumed with repair work.  The marina is excellent.  Lots of boats preparing to cross the Atlantic with everyone cheerful and excited.  We did see a little of the town...

Marina's Floating Bar

Waterfront View

Marina from the shore

Save the Turtles!

Christmas lights

Dinner ashore with cruising pals

Nice beach

Better beer

Trust all's well where you are!