> Winds have now died off completely. Mainsail is down and we are motoring towards Barbados and then on towards Bequae. Dolphins this morning much to everybody’s delight, and a few smaller fishing vessels in the area. >
> In the afternoon we caught a good sized tuna, which put up a nice fight before we landed it on deck. Unfortunately as we were finishing the cleaning we observed some worms in the meat. Whilst I was keen to freeze it and cook it well on the bbq, everybody insisted I throw it back overboard. Later in the afternoon I saw some large tuna jumping around the boat, but unfortunatily none took a fancy to our lure. >
> We are starting to see a few smaller fishing boats, they look like steel tuna boats, about 30 ft long and painted blue and white. We are still 200nm from Barbados so they are a fair way offshore to catch the big fish. >
> Most of the afternoon was spent sorting through remaining food to clear some space in the saloon cupboards and remove the extra food storage boxes from the saloon. While sorting the food we gave the bilges and cupboards a good clean, another job ticked off that we would normally do on arrival after a long voyage. >
> Kids were kept busy re building their Lego. Max and Issy are getting very good at building from the plans that we kept, and it keeps them entertained for hours, with the occasional help from Mum or Dad to find that missing piece. >
> We began to measure up the material for the awning but found we did not have enough to make the awning the size we want, so will use the material that we were given to make up cushion covers instead. I found some webbing onboard that we can use to repair the old awning until we can have a new “Taj Mahal” awning made. Due to the sorting of food and bilges taking longer than we expected the awning sewing repairs will need to wait until tomorrow. >
> The wind has returned this evening, however it is shy off the bow but slowly swinging to the north. Hopefully in the next few hours the wind will be at a suitable angle for us to resume sailing. >
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> Yesterday evening the wind died off completely. The forecasted evening breeze did not eventuate so we spent a lovely evening sitting on the cabin roof listening to music and watching the sun set. >
> The setting sun lit up the stormy clouds in a spectacular light show. To the East the rising moon completed the scene. >
> Just as we were putting the kids to bed the breeze developed into a trickle from the south so I deployed the Genoa again. At midnight when I woke up for my watch we had a nice consistent breeze from the south and we were reaching along at 5-6kts. Mid early morning we were doing 5.5-6.7kts. >
> I downloaded a new weather forecast GRIB file and put it into the system. The winds we were sailing with were not forecasted in the previous grib but showed true on the new GRIB, driven by a huge depression to the 800nm to the north with a low depression of 982mb, I was glad our route had us below 15*N or we would be experiencing 20kt headwinds at the moment, further north, closer to the centre of the low we would be 50kt winds! Instead we were enjoying a nice reach in 10kts. The wind stayed with us until Midday today when it started to drop off. >
> This morning Emilie and the kids went on deck and called to the dolphins to come. We have not seen a dolphin on this passage since before Cp Verde. The call magically worked and a pod of bottle nose dolphins came swimming towards Sunday Island and stayed with us for half an hour. >
> For the rest of the day we experienced rain squalls and variable wind giving us a lot of time down below. With only three days to go until Bequae we are making the most of the calm to do a bit of spring cleaning and maintenance so we can concentrate on having fun on arrival to land. One big job before we arrive is to sew a new awning, this has been an ongoing project but we need to bite the bullet now before anchored in the Caribbean sun. >
> Check out our position at http://cms.winlink.org:444/maps/positionreports.aspx?callsign=vk7hew >
> Yesterday afternoon we hoisted the Code 0. A large sail, cross between a big Genoa and a Spinnaker that flys from its own forward stay. We were pleasantly surprised when the wind swung further south, giving us a true wind angle of 130 degrees at 10kts and Sunday Island happily sailing at 5kts. >
> Later in the evening the wind came back to the ESE, and dropped to 8kts, so we started the engine, but kept our speed of 5.5kts with the help of the code zero, main and missen. The breeze remained with us until the morning when it picked up again allowing us to turn off the engine, prior to the any breeze completely disappearing for the rest of the day. >
> This morning the kids began decorating their Christmas gingerbread cookies. I taught Issy how to make a paper chain like I used to make when I went to primary school and Issy proceeded to make a paper chain as long as the boat. Kids also drew and coloured in stockings and other decorations so the saloon is getting a Christmas vibe. There is rumour that we will be getting a Christmas tree however unless its deck cargo I’m not a fan of trees on boats! I think I will loose my battle and we will have a decorated Christmas tree in the saloon shortly after making landfall! >
> At midday big rain clouds were approaching and everybody stripped off for a shower on deck and to clean the boat. With sails down and calm seas it was a good afternoon for some maintenance, including polishing of stainless, and removing the bird poo from our visitors yesterday. I also took the opportunity to go up the mast and re run the lazy jacks and courtesy flag halyards that had come detached over the past week of wind. >
> During the afternoon we came across a mini ecosystem. There were Portuguese men-o-war, flying fish, and small tuna boiling in the sea. The tuna were too busy catching flying fish to notice our lure trailing behind Sunday Island, so no fish as yet today. The kids remained up the bow even in the rain watching the fish, jelly fish and flying fish passing by. >
> Emilie has mastered the art of making bread and her latest loves would match that of any bakery. Emiilie is certainly making use of the new Espace Ocean Chef oven baking cookies, foccasia and various other assortments. Tonight we try cooking Pizza in the oven for the first time! >
> We hope to get a bit of breeze tonight once the rain clouds disappear, otherwise the weather forecast shows no wind until we reach Barbados. It is a good chance to fully charge the batteries and fill the tanks up with water from the, but we would prefer to be sailing! >
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> Winds are light 8kts from the East as we sail wing on wing towards the Caribbean. We are making 4kts slowly towards our destination. >
> Last night we had two hitchikers land onboard. Two white birds that look to be of the kingfisher family, but have longer necks and legs like gannets landed onboard shortly after midnight and roosted on the missen boom. This morning they moved to the bow of the boat and strutting about making them selves at home. >
> Fishing line is out with a green squid lure hoping to catch some Mahi for dinner. >
> A hot mid Atlantic day. Air temp is 32*C, Sea temp is 28*C. Wind has dropped below 10kts as forecasted, and we are trying to use the last of the wind before it drops off compleatly. Our days run is now only 125nm from midday to midday. >
> Going further south does not avoid the light winds, so our course is now west towards the Caribbean. We may stop in Barbados for a few days and wait until the wind picks up again. This shortens our crossing by 100nm. >
> Time for some fishing!
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> Yesterday afternoon we were experiencing squalls bringing rain and variable wind. The wind changed in direction 90* and strength from 0 – 30kts depending our location in relation to the squall. Squalls differed in their intensity, however most sucked the wind away whenever they were in the vicinity. We approached the evening with caution putting a reef into the mainsail and having all sails ready to furl away quickly if required. The conditions are very common closer to the conditions of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) or doldrums. >
> Our speed dropped below three knots and it was hard to maintain course and our battery voltage was low so we started the engine and motored into the early evening, stopping the engine when the wind returned. >
> Our watches were busy changing sail configurations and settings from poled out, to a close reach as required. Sailing the boat and trimming Peter the Aeries to ensure we were going the right direction took constant attention. >
> The squalls and variable wind remained until 0400 this morning when the squalls finally disappeared opening the sky up to a beautiful clear night with shining stars and constant wind. I trimmed the sails for a broad reach, with wind from a true wind angle (TWA) of 120* and our course of 245*T then fell asleep exhausted in the cockpit at 0530 towards the end of my watch waking up with a start (not realising id fallen asleep) with the dawn light at 0645. Emilie and the kids were still resting below and Peter was keeping SI on course. >
> Our course of 245* will hopefully take us south of the worst of the low pressure trough, allowing us to sail more and use the motor less. If our weather routing is correct we will only need to motor for two days for the remaining 900nm (7- 8 days to Bequae). We have 70% or 350L of Diesel remaining, this gives us 750nm of motoring left, or 7 days of slow motoring (4.5kts) left if required. >
> The increased intensity of watches means less time for Emilie and I to relax and sleep. In addition to our six hour on six hour off watches we must keep the kids safe and entertained, cook, clean, school, navigate, check weather, maintain the boat and fix any odd items that come up through the day. At the most we will get 5 hours sleep in a row if not disturbed by the children or a sail change. On average we both get about 7 hours of broken sleep per day. It is quite exhausting on the mind and body and Emilie and I work hard at noticing simptoms of tiredness in the other and encourage each other to sleep. It is tempting some times to do extra hours in a watch to let the other sleep, however, from experiance this develops a dangerouse pattern where watches get out of sync, and hence our sleep patterns get out of sync, so we are strict to maintain our watch times, and concentrate on letting our partner sleep when they are off watch. >
> This morning the sun is out, drying this mornings washing hanging in the rigging, and topping up our batteries. Water maker is on to make the most of the solar, I see Albacore Tuna jumping next to the boat chasing flying fish. During the kids “recess” the fishing rod comes out. The kids have selected a rather large blue squid lure for the day. Too big for Albacore tuna, and hopefully a perfect size for Mahi. >
> The wind swung towards the east over the course of the morning and we poled out the Genoa. We enjoyed a lunch of prawns, couscous and falafal in the cockpit.. >
> Check out our position at http://cms.winlink.org:444/maps/positionreports.aspx?callsign=vk7hew >
> Sunday Island is experiencing squally conditions today. Wind ranging from 10kts from 090 to 30 kts from 180. The holiday is over and now we need to work a bit to make the most out of the wind we have. >
> We have been talking about how much Sunday Island needs a wash down after the dust that settled everywhere in Cp Verde, and now we have torrents of fresh water flushing the boat from top to bottom with every squall. >
> Our Freezer has been getting increasingly warmer, and today I found the compressor had stopped working when the batteries dropped below 12.4V. I discovered a voltage drop of 0.5V between the batteries and the switchboard so I disconnected the compressor from the switchboard and re wired the compressor directly to the batteries. Now everything seems to be working well and the freezer is coming back down in temperature. . I have checked all the connections at the battery and switchboard and everything looks ok, I can find no stray currents, so I will need to conduct an investigation in Bequae of the wiring will need to to find out why there was such a big voltage drop between the batteries and the switchboard. >
> Its the 1st of December today so the kids had a day off school and started their advent calendars and made a few decorations for the boat. We also baked ginger bread men and assorted other shapes. >
> Everything on deck is saturated wet, and down below is dry as a bone but steamy in the 31*C heat. I took the opportunity while I was re wiring the freezer to lift the floor boards and I was happy to find bilges all dry. >
> Peter the Aires wind vane is handling the squalls well, even when the apparent wind comes to 90 degrees at 26kts, but there is a lot more action on deck increasing the work load of Emilie and I. I’m sure we are going to be working for our supper for the next few days. Lucky Peter does not require any food or rest. >
> Half way to Bequae!
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> Today we reach the half way point in distance between Mindelo and Bequae. We have had a good run over the past week, making 1100nm in seven days, averaging 160nm per day at 6.5kts >
> A few stats for our voyage so far:
> Distance sailed: 1098nm
> Distance motored: 2nm
> Sail changes; 1
> Gybes: 6
> Tacks: 0
> Max wind: 28kts
> Min wind: 8kts (in lee of Cp Verde)
> Max temp: 29*
> Min temp: 25*
> Yachts seen: 3
> Fishing boats seen: 6
> Aeroplanes seen: 10
> Diesel Consumed (battery charging): 42L
> Bags of rubbish: 1 (still not full)
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> Looking at the stats we are surprised how little plastic we have consumed on our voyage. Most of our stores were bought in bulk and transferred into smaller reusable Tupperware containers or jars as required. All fruit and veg was purchased from the market without plastic wrapping. Food waste has been tossed into the ocean for fish to eat. Cans unfortunately must remain onboard as many have a plastic lining on the inside (of course!!!) taking up much of the waste. Jars are re used. Bread, muffins and treats etc has been baked. We have not been buying. >
> It would have been nice to not use as much diesel on the voyage, however our solar is not working as well as we hoped. We have managed to bring our engine running for battery charging down to two hours per day by reducing the freezer temperature to -10* instead of -18*. This is a trial and we will need to check the temperature of the food in a few days to ensure the temperature is consistent to the bottom of the freezer. >
> Kids have been busy being kids. Making cubby houses and playing games around the boat. It is fantastic to see how well their imagination works even in the middle of the ocean where some kids would suggest there is nothing left to do. Leggo gets a lot of use too, and some days we find a small village in every part of the boat. Thankfully not much Lego ends up on the floor so our feet are still in tact! We never hear the kids say “I’m bored” as there is always something to do. >
> With the wind and forecasted wind becoming lighter, this morning we changed our headsail from the Yankee to the 110% Genoa. We have started to see a long swell from the NNE identifying a distant low pressure system, but this will be too far away to give us any strong wind. Last night we saw a few squalls pass by us indicating a change in the conditions from what we have been experiencing over the past week. >
> We see a lot of light brown weed running in line with the wind and current. The weed gets caught around the Aires wind vane occasionally and needs to be pulled off with the new gaff. We wonder where the weed comes from, perhaps it is plucked from the bottom by a giant squid or some bottom dwelling fish as its too fresh to have drifted all the way from land. I will research this when we next have Internet and would be interested if anybody has an answer (if so please email Lyn with answer so she can forward it on hewsonlj@gmail.com) >
> The weather for the second half of our voyage shows light winds for the final 700nm due to a low pressure trough passing between us and the Caribbean. At first we thought we could sail south of the trough, but over the past few days the forecast trough has been getting bigger. So we will most likely complete the voyage under motor. We can only receive GRIB’s for 7 days through our system, so there is a slim chance the weather forecast will improve with time. On a positive note, we motor at 5kts which is perfect for fishing so we hope to arrive in the Caribbean with a freezer full of Mahi and Tuna. >
> Check out our position at http://cms.winlink.org:444/maps/positionreports.aspx?callsign=vk7hew >
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> A good days run of 166nm. We have gybed to the WSW to try to skirt around the low pressure trough that is forecasted to form closer to the Caribbean. Wind is forecasted to increase today to over 20kts so we may expect gusts up to 28kts this evening. >
> No boats seen at all since the fishing boats we saw the night before last. And no fish or dolphins either. >
> Last night I was sitting in the cockpit when a wave traveling at a different angle to the others, or perhaps a big sleeping marine animal hit us on our quarter. Sunday island jolted sideways. It was quite an impact and left me wondering what it could have been. >
> Every day we plot our positoin on a large North Atlantic planning chart on the forward bulkhead. Every day we can see we are getting closer to our destinatinon and soon we will be half way. >
> We are now operating our radio through the Caribbean network 8P6BWS in the Caribbean on 18096.6khz with a good signal coming through in the afternoons. >
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> Another good days run of 170nm from Mindelo to Bequae with fantastic sailing conditions. To top off a great days sailing, we enjoyed a beautiful meal of Mahi Mahi for dinner last night. Everybody’s favourite meal! >
> I finally managed a decent link with the HAM radio station EA8URF in the Canaries. The HAM operator Roque had the courtesy to email me and tell me that my signal was coming through well to his station, however he could detect we were not receiving well. I sent Roque EA8URF an email thanking him for his services to the HAM network. >
> Yachts are not designed around a radio station, and the SSB radio was only fitted in Palma, so there is a lot of RF interference with the radio due to Sunday Island being an aluminium yacht and the close proximity of the switchboard to the radio. With fridges, freezers, autopilot etc all running and Solar power topping up the batteries this creates a lot of RF interference that prevents the received radio frequencies from getting back to the radio. To continue using SSB over future years efficiently the wiring of the boat will need to be adressed to rectify the problem. Installing a SSB on an aluminium yacht is more technical than on a wooden or GRP yacht, so to have signal 2000nm from the nearest station is a blessing in itself. >
> The wind has shown a familiar pattern. In the afternoon the wind begins to swing to the north, so we take the pole down and set Sunday Island on a broard reach with a True Wind Angle of 140 degrees. In the late afternoon the wind swings back to the ENE so we pole out the Yankee again. In the early evening the wind begins to increase about 23kts, so I place a reef in the mainsail before getting my head down and Emilie taking the watch. At midnight I take the watch and the wind is normally around 21kts, before easing in the early morning before sunrise and I take out the reef. And so the process repeats itself day after day. >
> Forecasted winds at 50*W become fickle above 14*N due to some interferance with the low pressure above it disturbing the pattern from the North Atlantic High and resultant trade winds. We have altered our course further south to avoid the light winds, so our course is 260*T instead of the rhumbline to Bequae of 268*T. This new course should have us skim the edge of the interferance and give us adequate winds to continue sailing to Bequae. The course alteration is a comprimise as we sail at 6-7kts but motor at only 5kts, however the distance traveled to skirt the interferance is greater so we need to find a balance of the two to decide on our best route. Sailing too close to our rhumbline will result in us motoring for two days, but sailing too far south will put an extra day of sailing onto our voyage. >
> Overnight we passed three more large fishing vessels not on AIS. Because the fishing vessels are so large they are well lit with lights and show up well on the radar, however their smaller dories and nets do not. I am glad Emilie and I agree to keep watches at night. Some cruisers simply go to bed and poke their head up to look about every couple of hours. Colliding wth one of the big fishing vessels or their numerous long nets could end our voyage, so it is important to keep a good lookout. >
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