Another successful Transatlantic Passage

 

 

 

The sight of birds always tell you that land is close

 Every since Christopher Columbus first sailed to the Caribbean, the route he sailed has been the route to sail.  Known as a trade wind route, it takes advantage of the trade winds that blow in a steady east to west direction.  Closer to the equator these are the prevailing winds, but in the winter they blow a bit stronger, carrying sailboats across the Atlantic to enjoy the winter in the warm Caribbean.

 

Martinique - Landfall December 18, 2023

As it turned out this year you had to go all the way to Cape Verde latitude in order to pick up the trades.  And even down that low, where you should be solidly within the trade wind belt, the winds were light.  We fiddled for days trying to get the best sail configuration for downwind sailing, but with 15 kts or less of wind it was slow going.  As if contending with light wind were not enough we were beset with problem after problem.  First, came the battery issues which we figured out and took the dead battery out of the series.  But then the Balmar battery monitor never worked right - so we had no way to know for certain how low the charge on the batteries were getting.  So we took to running the engine for about 30 minutes every 3 hours through the night.  And then the engine died again.  Turns out the pre-filter went bad again!!  We spent the entire night trying to deal with that issue.  The next day I contacted the Yanmar fellow in Gran Canary and he told us how to bypass the pre-filter.  We had switched to charging the batteries at night via the generator.  But then after we filled the gas tank on the generator, it quit working... bad fuel.  Thank goodness, we were able to bypass the pre-filter and use the engine to charge the batteries once again.  

The piece of fiberglass that pulled away and the pulley

 

After days of light winds, we hit a completely windless patch.  PredictWind was routing us around the "no wind" patch but we decided to not stray from our course and just motor through that area.  We had not used the engine except to charge the batteries, so we felt we had enough fuel to get through that area.  Turns out we did have enough fuel and once through we picked up some 20 plus knot winds.  Perfect!  Only problem was the cross swell.  We were headed west, but the swell came from the north.  That made for a very rolly ride.  We were within150 nm of Martinique when we lost our steering.  The swell had been rough.  We were actually trying to track down a noise that we were not familiar with when we looked in the "kids room" and found that the pulley for the starboard steering cable had pulled completely from the hull!!  My goodness, we never expected that to happen.  So now we had another project - we had to fiberglass the pulley back to the hull.  We had no way to steer manually, but were able to steer with the autopilot.  This was no easy project!  It took an entire day to repair.  By then we were seeing land... thank goodness.  We had been at sea for 18 days and were ready to stop.  

At anchor - repairing the cable

It was mid-morning when we reached Martinique.  We had the pulley re-attached to the hull, but still could not steer manually until we had the cable connected to the steering wheel.  And we had to be stationary to complete that job.  Fortunately, there is a huge anchorage at the southern end of the island.  We were able to anchor there away from other boats and fix the cable.  Due to our many difficulties we tried to get into the marina at Le Marin, but that did not work.  We had no option but to go on to Fort de France where we had reservations.  By this time we were excited about a good dinner and shower.  As it was, by the time we reached the marina it was dark and we were told to pick up a mooring ball outside the marina and wait till morning.  So disappointing... we were low on food and hungry.  We somehow managed to scrounge around and find something to eat. We all retired early, hoping to get into the marina early. 

Martinique coastline

That whole process was slow, but we were happy that Bill was going to make his flight.  He needed to be home for Christmas and everything was working out well for that to happen.  Michael and I ate a big lunch and then went to catch up on sleep.  Welcome to the Caribbean!

Trouble...

 

Sunset at sea

Our good friend, John, arrived in Lanzarote on the 16th of November.  On Friday the 17th, we rented a car and all of us went to check out of the country.  Fortunately for us, they give you some time to leave the country after you officially "check out".  So on Saturday I cooked us all a big Thanksgiving dinner and on Sunday we departed.  It took us a bit longer than John, as we needed to fuel up and the marina had several boats tied up in front of the fuel pumps.  We had to wait for folks to move their boats before we could pull up to the pumps.  

Sunrise at sea

Fueled up, we left intending for our next stop to be Martinique.  But that was not to be.  We were motor/sailing as the wind was light when the engine suddenly died.  Michael thought the fuel filter was dirty, so we changed both the primary filter and the pre-filter.  Once the filters were changed we started the engine back up but after about 15 minutes the engine died again.  He changed the filters a second time and we decided to divert to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to have a Yanmar mechanic take a look at the engine.  Las Palmas has all the resources a boater would need, however accessing those resources is trying.  The marina is packed with no room for boats that need assistance.  The marineros were unbelievably rude.  If it weren't for the Yanmar fellow that I had been communicating with I don't know that we would have received any assistance at all.  Fortunately, he called the marina to let them know a mechanic was coming to assist us so reluctantly they let us tie up at the reception area.

The pre-filter with pump

The mechanic came over within an hour and diagnosed the issue.  On the pre-filter there is a little pump with a membrane.  If the pump malfunctions fuel is unable to get into the pre-filter and the engine is starved of fuel.  Sadly, they thought it would be a couple days before they could obtain the part.  As we were contemplating what to do regarding this setback the Yanmar guy called and said he found the part in his shop!!  What a stroke of luck.  The next morning the mechanic came and replaced the part.  We were on our way before the dust settled.  

Mindelo, Cape Verde

Again our intention was for the next stop to be Martinique, but yet again that was not to be the case.  After departing Las Palmas we got our sails set and went to shut off the engine.  And then we heard the navigational warning over our VHF:  "Extreme navigational hazard" near our position.  There were several migrant boats between the coast of Africa and the Canary Islands and they were all adrift.  Meaning no-one was in command of the vessel.  Those vessels do not have navigation lights making them impossible to see at night.  We had no choice but to run the engine and try to put as much distance as possible between us and the migrant boats.

Cape Verde

Concerns about our fuel consumption and the sudden failure of our solar controller forced us to make another stop that we had not intended to make.  Seven days after leaving Las Palmas we arrived in Cape Verde.  Our goal was to get fuel and replace our solar controller.  We had another bit of good luck in that there was space at the marina for us.  We were uncomfortable with anchoring as we would have felt unsafe leaving the boat unattended.  Safely tied up at the marina, we set out to obtain a new solar controller.  Unfortunately, the solar controller did not get replaced as quickly as the engine was repaired but we did get it done.  Two days were spent in Cape Verde and then we were once again on our way.  This time the next stop is definitely Martinique!  There is nothing but miles and miles of ocean between Cape Verde and the Caribbean, 2066 nautical miles to be exact.  

 

 

Another Transatlantic Passage

Entering the Gibraltar Strait at sunrise

 We have been sooooo busy, that I have neglected writing.  So to catch up... for the first time in years we left the EU during the summer and not the winter.  We went back to the US and I returned to work for the summer.  Between work, passage planning and helping our son with his new house there was no time left for anything else.

The Convoy

We returned to La Linea, Spain in October and have been prepping for another transatlantic crossing.  Our plan is to sail to the Caribbean in December and then eventually back to the US.  As many of you may know Orcas have been causing all sorts of issues for sailboats in the Strait of Gibraltar and along the coasts of Spain, Portugal and Morocco.  They have been "attacking" sailboats causing considerable damage and sinking some boats.  There is so much to think about and plan for when crossing an ocean, so the added stress of Orcas gone wild is just too much!  But it is what it is and we had to prepare for the possibility of an attack.

Sunset at Sea

Our Orca plan changed so many times that we lost count.  In the end, we joined four other boats and left in a convoy.  We stayed close to each other and hugged the coast of Spain all the way through the Strait of Gibraltar and for several miles after that.  All in all we went many miles out of our way, but it got us through "orca alley" without mishap.  

Landfall in the Canaries

 Once we got past Orca danger we all went our separate ways.  After a five day passage we reached the Canary Islands.  We are now at a marina on the island of Lanzarote.  I would like to say we are resting but that would be a lie.  We have been busy repairing what was broken on the passage and cleaning up.  Our plan is to leave here on the 20th for the Caribbean.  It is a three week passage.  Depending on the sailing conditions we may stop in Cape Verde to refuel.  Our tracker is up and running for those who have been watching.  Next post from the Caribbean.
 

Catching up with old friends in Barcelona

Barcelona Port

After double and triple checking the weather, we departed for Barcelona on June 2nd.  It would be an overnight sail with the expectation that we would arrive early in the am on June 3rd.  Barcelona is a big city and a big port.  Twenty to thirty miles out we started seeing considerable ship traffic.  And not just commercial ships but also several pleasure boats.  There were quite a few sailboats trying their best to make some headway with less than five knots of wind.  It was clear that they were just out sailing, not destination bound.  

Barcelona port entrance

 It was still dark as we approached Barcelona so we waited outside the port for enough light to enter.  There were several cargo ships at anchor and several coming into the port - time to stay alert!  

Me and my friend, Brenda - Barcelona Cathedral

As in much of Europe there is no shortage of beautiful cathedrals in Barcelona.  But the most iconic cathedral is the eclectic Sagrada Familia.  It is doubtless the most unusual cathedral we have ever seen.  The four of us walked to the Sagrada Familia, but did not go inside due to time constraints.  Michael and I had scheduled a tour of the cathedral for the next day, but sadly our friends cruise ship was only in Barcelona for a brief period so they did not see inside the church.  That is the way with cruise ships, they prefer that you spend the majority of your time on the ship.  

Sagrada Familia

 Sagrada Familia is the largest unfinished Catholic Church in the world.  Construction began in 1882, yet some question whether it will ever be finished.  There are serious obstacles in the path of completion, one of which is the inconvenient fact that there are now apartment buildings in the space where the rest of the spires are to be built.  The folks that live there are not agreeable to having their homes torn down to make room for the church's completion.  To say that the church is controversial would most certainly be an understatement.

Sagrada Familia

 

Even if you don't care for Antoni Gaudi's design that mixes Gothic and Art Nouveau styles, the attention to detail is admirable.  Some call the church "hideous" and some think it is "genius".  I think everyone can agree that it is in a class all its own.  Gaudi wanted the inside of the church to look like a forest - the pillars are to represent trees.  And he wanted a lot of natural light via the stained glass windows.  

Sagrada Familia

 

The inside of the cathedral for us was jaw dropping.  Definitely a must see if in Barcelona.  If it is ever finished we will make a return trip!

 

La Rambla

  Michael and I walked and walked and walked all around Barcelona.  After our second visit to Sagrada Familia we decided to stroll down La Rambla.  An iconic pedestrian street that was the site of a terrorist attack several years back.   Barcelona has been on my bucket list for some time - we were very happy to spend a few days there.  The weather was nice.  It was crowded but not Venice crowded.                                   

La Rambla

We have to arrive in Gibraltar by June 26th and still have a few places we want to visit along the Spanish coast.  And... Barcelona is very expensive - we can't afford to stay at the marina too long and there are no suitable anchorages (unless you are a cargo ship).  So we will be moving on to Valencia which should be our last overnight sail.  After that it will be short hops down the coast.  Looking forward to some more leisurely sailing😀.
 

 

Leaving Italy...

Mahon Harbour

 We were very sad to have to leave Sardinia so soon.  There is never enough time it seems.  I will refrain from complaining about the Schengen restrictions yet again... I have complained enough.  Much as we would love to linger longer in Italy, we are now headed to Spain.  From Sardinia to Menorca, the closest island in the Balearic Islands of Spain, is another overnight sail.  The trip started out fine... but as the night wore on the weather took a turn.

Mahon, Menorca - Spain

Being very sensitive to lightning following our near direct lightning strike, we became very alert when we started to see lightning off in the distance.  We turned on the radar to locate the storm cell and then we promptly diverted our course.  No way were we going to sail through a storm with lightning after just getting Talaria repaired a couple months earlier.  

 

Mahon, Menora

Diverting would mean we would get in later in the day, but still on the day we intended.  In the end, we went about five miles around the storm and when we saw a path to get back on course we took it.  For sure, we got rained on but we avoided the lightning, so although wet we were happy.  By the next afternoon we spotted Menorca and started in the harbour entrance at Mahon.  The small island of Menorca is not the most popular but definitely the closest from Sardinia and the first opportunity to check in to Spain. Although now short on time we lingered a day to have a look around the town of Mahon before heading to Barcelona.

Mahon Harbour

A high school friend that I have not seen in 10 years is on a cruise and will be in Barcelona.  Since we are in the area we decided to try and make it to Barcelona while her cruise ship is in the port.  So we can't linger in Menorca too long, but plan to stay in Barcelona for a few days.  

 

Island of Menorca

On the day we set out to leave there was a fellow in a kayak beside Talaria.  We were motoring out of the harbour and he was just out kayaking.  He started talking to us about coming from the US and then asked if we were heading to the next island, Mallorca.  After we told him we were heading to Barcelona he said "be careful, there will be heavy storms".  Now mind you we are very diligent about checking the weather, but I had not checked the local weather forecast.  Instead I used a weather app we use often called "Windy".  Windy was not forecasting the storms at the same intensity as the local forecast. 

Mahon, Menorca

 We were thinking "how did we not see that?"  So... we decided to at least get to the other side of the island.  Initially, we were going to go to a marina but there were visible storms in that direction. Instead, we made the decision to just stop at an anchorage that looked okay.  It was raining but the storms were all ahead of where we were stopping and not moving our direction.  Several other folks had the same idea.

Anchorage - Menorca

 The rain finally stopped and it was a quiet night.  Early the next morning we pulled the anchor and set sail for Barcelona with blue skys. 

Sardinia

Fish farming in Sardinia

It was only about a six hour trip the next day to reach Carloforte but we still left fairly early as we wanted to visit the town a bit.  It seemed we were the only ones out on the water that morning. But then as we were coming out of one bay and into another, we noticed a power boat coming at us fast.  Both of us thought it was a pleasure boat running wide open and our thought was "that guy is going to wake us and it won't be pretty".  Michael was giving them the "what the hell" look as they got closer and closer.  As soon as we saw the guns though, we thought uh oh... we better slow down.  As it turns out it was the Italian Military warning us that they were getting ready to start live firing exercises where we happened to be sailing.  They told us what course to take and to stay on that course for five miles... after that we could resume our plotted course.  No problem ... we are changing course!  We had no desire to be shot on that particular day (or any day)!

Sardinian Coastline

Our first impression of the Sardinian coastline was that it appeared very Spartan.  As unpopulated as Sicily is populated.  It is both pretty and rugged.  Up near Corsica is apparently very beautiful but we will have to come back for that visit.  It is very clear to us how folks would just want to linger here for a long time.  The isolation is appealing and the water is such a clear vivid blue.  

 

Coming in to Carloforte

Carloforte is a small, charming town.  They were having a "tuna festival" so there was a lot of horn honking going on by folks in funny costumes.  We replenished our grocery supplies, got fuel, did a bit of exploring and then went to find the Guardia Costiera to "check out" of Italy.  That involved a bit of fuss and paper shuffling but we managed to get it all accomplished in about 30 minutes.  

Sardinia coastline

The town of Carloforte is on the side of the Isola di San Pietro, as opposed to the tip of the island.  I puzzled over which way would be the quickest for getting around the island and the closest for our course.  I decided against going the way we came in, choosing instead to go around the other way.  There was a fishing boat coming around us as we were starting to come around the island.  They were staring at us... we thought it was because of our American flag.  Our misconception was soon revealed by Port Control,  who was then calling us on the VHF radio.  The path I had chosen ran right through a "restricted area".  About the time Port Control called we started to notice the huge fish farming operation going on in the area.  So thats why they were staring!!  Again we were given a heading to follow for five miles away from the fish farm ... after that we could get back on our course.  

Fishing boat

Maybe its just as well it was a brief visit to Sardinia ... we haven't had the best of luck navigating the area so far :).  Once out of the fish farming area we got on our course to Menora, Spain - another overnight passage. 

 

187 nautical miles in 31.5 hours

 

Teulada, Sardinia

I will not lie - we are sometimes lazy sailors.  When the wind is not right: either not enough or from the wrong direction we will turn on our engine and "assist" the sails somewhat.  Especially, when we have a long way to go.  We got a late start from Trapani, as we had to wait on the fishing boat to move away from the fuel dock, which meant we would get in late the next day after an all night sail.  We raised our sails as soon as we got away from the harbour but the wind was light and variable.  On went the engine as we wanted to maintain at least five knots of SOG (speed over ground).  If not, we might have two nights out and not one, or we may be trying to identify an unfamiliar harbour at night.  We did not want to do either of those things.  

 

Sardinia Coast

 Sailing in the Med is different from sailing in the Atlantic.  For one, in the Med, there are numerous big ships and smaller boats as well.  When you get way offshore in the Atlantic there is no-one and nothing around - just ocean from horizon to horizon.  Which sounds scary but in many ways there is less danger.  The water is very deep so you won't run aground, you won't run into the lee shore in a storm, you don't have to dodge huge tankers and cargo ships, there are no fishing buoys to watch out for and no fisherman dragging huge nets.  Providing the weather is okay, you can just relax and enjoy the ride.  If the weather is not good, you just deal with it or try to avoid it. Since there is no "safe harbour" to get to - there is also no time pressure.  Ditto for time pressure getting to a harbour before dark, as again, there is no harbour at all.  So time is not so much an issue... you set your sails and go and deal with what Mother Nature throws your way.  If you are well prepared and are sailing at the right time for where you are, everything should be fine.  Of course, there are occasional tragedies, however many, many sailboats cross oceans and have uneventful passages.

The water coming into Carloforte, Sardinia

It is hard to describe the brilliant, teal blue color of the water in Sardinia.  It is so perfect, you can't keep your eyes off of it.  Sailors are adept at watching the water anyway, they are drawn to the water like a lover.  The depth of color gives a sailor clues to the actual depth of the water - the lighter color is deeper and the darker is shallower.  Very useful information for all sailors, but definitely for sailors of old who did not have all the fancy gadgets we have today.  

Sardinia Coast

We sailed from Trapani, Sicily to Teulada, Sardinia in a bit over 31 hours.  It was around 1630 when we arrived and we were tired.  I try to take a couple pictures wherever we are, but I failed to do so here.  Just too tired.  We got all tied up and checked in and then we ate something and went to sleep.  Or at least thats what I imagine we did ... I honestly cannot remember the marina or what we did for dinner.  That is how tired we were... and I have no photos to jog my memory.  I remember the discussion we had when trying to find the harbour hidden behind a rock but thats about it.  It was just a stopover for the night - nothing more.  Next day we are heading to Carloforte, that is where we will go to check out of Italy before heading to Spain.