Photos of Grenada

Photos of Grenada. Click here to view the photos.

Mooning the Mjolners

And now the time has come. Two sailboats leave Hillsborough bay on Carriacou, Grenada after checking out with customs and immigrations, enjoying a good roti and having one last little play on the beach. Pjotter towards Union Island and Mjolner towards Tobago, our paths taking us in opposite directions knowing that it will be a long time before they will cross again. I cannot adequately describe how sad and heavy we felt as we watched their small white sails disappear over the horizon. Suffice it to say that Seb and I were both truly sobbing almost until we dropped anchor in Clifton bay on Union Island and became teary again when Emma and Macsen awoke from their naps with a ´Where is the Mjolner?´ and a ´Sophia is…?´ respectively. Enough said.

Our First Real Taste of the Caribbean

Arrived in Grenada, anchored in Prickly Bay, and after the inevitable customs and immigration check-in we took our dinghies over and lunched appropriately at Da Big Fish. ‘Da’ is often used to replace ‘The’ in Caribbean ‘patois’ and seems to make things big and important. Macsen is picking up some of the local vocabulary and uses it often to describe motoring about in the dingy, one of his favourite activities. Several times a day we witness him rushing outside, jumping up and down and pointing frantically at the Spikkel´s outboard and pronouncing ´Da Motor´ with almost desperate enthusiasm. Once on board the Spikkel, he grasps the tiller, stands tall and again pronounces ´Da Motor´ with great clarity and aplomb.

Prickly Bay was very busy so we sailed the next day just a few nautical miles through some tricky reefs to Hog Island, an almost deserted island with a wooden shack named Roger’s (ramshackle) bar that is apparently sometimes open from 1800-2000 and sells beer. Just next to the bar we found a large rusty barbeque and Seb and Jeroen gathered enough wood for us to cook up a good feast. We hoped for some fishy treats for the grill the next day so we set the crab trap and spent the evening fishing from the boat. Sadly nothing bit and the only inhabitant of the crab pot the next morning was a very disgruntled but beautiful moray eel. We released it carefully and it glided back into the deep.

True Blue Bay was our next anchorage, also a short sail away. From here we rented a car and toured the twisty roads of the main island of Grenada. Grenada is of volcanic origin and is very mountainous and has rich soil. Stopping first at the Annandale Waterfall, a lovely botanical garden complete with a 10 meter waterfall, we enjoyed a swim in the natural pool (ahhh, a fresh water shower). Grenville was the most interesting stop on our itinerary. They were celebrating the 37th anniversary of the independence of Grenada and the streets were full of people in the country´s vivid national colours of green, red and yellow. The market was also in full swing and strongly and surprisingly reminiscent of the market in Georgetown, The Gambia. The island is famed for its spices (particularly nutmeg) and the smells were terrific. Our trip concluded with dinner in a beachfront café near the capital St. George´s. Grenada is a lovely island with a very sad recent history of devastating hurricanes (2004 and 2005, destroying 90% of the houses on the island). You notice this in the state of the buildings and nature and in the determination of the people to rebuild.

True Blue was also the site of our last ladies´ and boy´s nights with the Mjolners for a while. We did ourselves proud with the boys coming back to the boat in the wee hours of the morning and the following night, ladies night, ending with a surreptitious nighttime slide down the waterslide in the pool. Wooohooo! Our last days in Grenada were spent exploring the adjacent islands of Petit St. Vincent (illicitly as it actually belongs to St. Vincent and the Grenadines), Petit Martinique and Carriacou. Lovely snorkeling, swimming, castle building, frolicking on the beach and generally eating and drinking, laughing and enjoying ourselves a great deal.

Photos of Trinidad & Tobago

Photos of Trinidad & Tobago. Click here to view the photos.

Toodle-Pip Tangaroa

The Mjolners decided to join us on our sail to Grenada so that we could delay the agony of separation for another 10 days. Hurray! I must give thanks to Caroline for the suggestion and to Jeroen, Luise and Sophia for taking it up so enthusiastically.

Departed Trinidad in the evening of February 1st along with the Tangaroa and Mjolner for a 70 nautical mile sail to Grenada. We travelled at night and close together as there had been a report in December of pirates from Venezuela in the area. There is a large and very brightly lit oil rig almost exactly halfway between Trinidad and Grenada. Just as we passed this floating Christmas tree we heard Wierd’s voice over the VHF channel 71 with a wonderfully moving speech bidding us good-bye. As they signed off we saw the Tangaroa turn 90 degrees and head off towards Los Testigos, Venezuela on their way towards Panama. They will go through the Panama canal in March on their way to Australia where they will remain for six months while Wierd fixes a few hips (he is a surgeon) before flying back to the Netherlands. They were one of the original musketeers and the first fellow ‘vertrekkers’ that Seb and I met in the early days of preparations. You don’t often find people with whom you have such a common approach to life and we are very happy to have spent time with them. Fair winds Tangaroa!

Scotland Bay and Steel Band Semifinals

To break up our rather prolonged stay in Chagauramus we headed out five nautical miles to Scotland Bay to get away from it all for a couple of days. Scotland Bay is a beautiful bay surrounded by mangroves and rain forest and we had been told that howler monkeys could be heard echoing through the bay at night. A trip to the shore uncovered a much less pleasant view. The entire shoreline was covered with mounds of rotting garbage of every imaginable kind ranging from the expected beer bottles to corroded car batteries to old baby prams. Disgusting. The garbage is interspersed with signs ironically requesting people not to litter. As a final bonus the shore line also has several (generally well marked) deadly machineel trees. These tree are extremely dangerous and you are warned not to touch the leaves, not to stand under them in the rain and certainly to avoid eating any of the fruit.

Scotland Bay was not without its upside. We had a few wonderful ´last evenings´ with the Mjolners and a good celebration of our friendship. We also enjoyed a glass of wine on a beautiful boat named the Plane Song with her owner Bruce. This is a lovely 38-foot boat from 1978 that he has carefully restored to its original beauty with the support of Shannon Yachts in Bristol Rhode, Island where she was designed and built. A little before my brother´s time there but a nice coincidence nonetheless.

Headed back to Chagaramus to take in some of the final pre-carnival celebrations. Along with the Tangaroa and the Mjolner we went into the Queen’s Park Savannah to see the semifinals of the Panorama Steel Bands. There were over 25 bands competing in small, medium and large (up to 100 players) band categories. It was a great sphere with cold beer, good food (yum…doubles) and jolly music. Trinidad is clearly a country that takes their carnival extremely seriously.

Pjotter Afloat

Jan-Bart and Monique flew out of Port-of-Spain for a 6-week trip back to the Netherlands on January 24th. It was sad and strange to say goodbye to one of three crews with whom we had crossed an ocean. We spent a great deal of time together in the days preceding their departure as their boat was located two boats down in the row from the Pjotter and they frequently came along to support, consult or help us with our small repairs.

Pjotter was re-launched with her newly fixed keel on the 26th and was tied up near to the Mjolner and Tangaroa in the Powerboats marina. After a rock and rolly evening spent listening to our lines stretching and pulling we were shocked to hear a great crack and rushed outside to see that a section of our toe-rail had been torn off by the pitching of the bow in the marina. Horrors! We immediately loosened the lines and headed out on a futile search for a mooring buoy before reluctantly moving the boat over to the more sheltered waters of the Crew’s Inn marina. Here we spent a couple of comfortable nights and lovely days by the pool. We also had some fabulous barbeques using their 3-meter diameter circular grill (under gazebo for those infrequent rainy moments). This is the first marina I have ever been in that delivers a newspaper to your boat every morning and we had our very own garbage bin!

'Zilte Wereld' interview

In the last issue of the Dutch sailing magazine 'Zilt' a short interview appeared of our trip and the Atlantic crossing in particular. The magazine can be downloaded here.

Towards Trinidad and on the Hard

Uneventful overnight journey from Store Bay. Arrived in Chaguaramus Bay, near Port-of-Spain around 0930. Put the boat on a temporary mooring and headed in with the Tangaroa to do a bit of research. Seb had discovered a small hole in the fiberglass at the back of the keel while doing an inspection dive in Pirate’s Bay (probably created in the shallow waters of The Gambia). This meant the boat needed to come out of the water for repairs. Chaguaramus is a cruiser’s dream at this time of year. The chandleries and well-stocked, there are an incredible number of boat yards and people around who can fix almost anything you can dream of breaking or needing on your boat. Amazingly, the Pjotter was out of the water and on the ‘hard’ by 1400 that afternoon, just a few hours after our arrival. After this it took no time before we were visited by a rigging specialist (confirming that all is in order), a refrigerator specialist (able to fix rather than replace what we have and include a freezer!) and a fiberglass specialist who took a look at our keel damage and agreed to show us how to fix it on our own! We were also able to rent an apartment for the time that the boat is out of the water and we moved ourselves in there in the afternoon. A very gratifying day’s work.

Our days in Chaguaramus Bay look like this. Breakfast in our apartment, overlooking the bay, one of us stays on monkey duty and the other wanders up to work on the boat. We meet up again for lunch and the work continues until 1600 at which time we head off with Jan-Bart and Monique (s/y Victory), Caroline, Tamar, and Suze (s/y Tangaroa sans Weird) and Bas, Reina and Kim to the pool for a swim (and often a beer). BasReinaKim have a beautiful 53-foot aluminium ship named Kim that they spent the last four years building and are now finally enjoying. Kim is also the name of their 4-year old daughter and she and Emma have become good friends. We have recently also been joined by the Mjolners (yippee!) and they are now taking part in the abovementioned activities with great enthusiasm.

Store Bay, Crown Point Hotel, Englishman’s Bay, Pirate’s Bay

We met up with my parents and Emma and Macsen again at Crown Point Hotel in Store Bay in Tobago. They had been enjoying the pool, beach and view for a few days and we joined in vigorously. Emma is learning to swim and Macsen is incredibly comfortable in the water (more than we are with him in it perhaps). We spent our few days there eating on the terrace, choosing between swimming in the pool or wave jumping and castle building on the beach and romping around in the grass in front of the apartment, all the while keeping the Pjotter, bobbing on a mooring buoy in the bay, well in sight. Idyllic.

Our initial plan was to sail the 20 miles from Store Bay to Pirate’s Bay in a day. We all piled back onto the boat and pulled up the anchor in Store Bay and heady out into a very bumpy sea. The wind was directly against us and we were unable to point very high so we needed to sail way off course in some of the nastiest, choppiest waves that we have experienced. A terribly uncomfortable ride and a really unfair one to subject my parents to after our wondrous stories of comfortable downwind sailing. Decided to drop anchor in Englishman’s bay about halfway as we were all sick of the horrible motion. Englishman’s bay is really beautiful and a good relax on the beach upon arrival compensated pretty quickly for the sail. Unfortunately, the swell in the bay was very rolly at night and none of us got any sleep. Headed out again for another horrible sail to Pirate’s Bay again with wind against and a terrible sea. Fortunately it was a short ride and we arrived in time for lunch. We were all eager to get off the boat so we headed into the little town of Charlotteville and plonked ourselves down for some BBQ-fish at Jane’s Restaurant, which seemed to be solely owned and operated by a large man named James and we never did meet Jane.

We spent a lovely few days lounging around on the beach in Pirate’s Bay, watching the fisherman fish, the pelicans fish and the beautiful big frigate birds souring overhead. It rained for a short period every day, just enough to freshen things up or give us a shower on our longs rows back from the shore. Nana and Dadcu left us early in the morning on January 10th and although Emma knew that they were leaving she spent ½ hour sulking on the steps when she woke up to find their beds empty. Very sad and cute.

The four of us, on our own again, rented a very old car from a rather strange company in Charlotteville and spent a day exploring the small island of Tobago. The roads were twisty and turny and the view beautiful and we drove along alternatively enjoying the views and hoping that the muffler wouldn’t fall off.

On January 13 we headed off to meet the Tangaroa in Store Bay as we planned to head on together to Chagauramus Bay in Trinidad that evening. Our sail to Store Bay was only 20 miles and we had wind from behind and current with us so we cruised along at a comfortable 6,5 knots in fairly flat water and warm sun. To make this short trip even more perfect we caught seven small tunas on the way. Before we were out of Pirate’s bay we had already heard the zzzing of the line two times and pulled in one fish. This was exactly the sail that I would have liked to share with my parents. They will have to visit again soon.

Photos of Suriname

Photos of Suriname. Click here to view the photos.

Store Bay, Tobago

We are on a mooring in Store Bay at the moment but we are staying in an appartment at the Crown Point Hotel. Nice to have a swimming pool and shower at hand. Tomorrow we will sail to Pirates Bay in the North of the island.

Land in zicht!

It is now 0918 local time (UTC-4) and we can clearly see Tobago and Trinidad vaguely on our port side. Only 60 hours after we left Paramaribo. We are expecting to drop anchor at Store Bay, Tobago in about two hours from now. It has been our fastest journey ever. We cannot wait to see the monkeys again!! Maybe that's why..?

207 Miles in 24 Hours!!!

This is a incredible 24hour record for us. Generally we calculate using a 24 hour average of SOG of 5,5 knots per hour, or 132 miles per 24h. Our record during the Atlantic crossing was 157 nm per 24 hour. This new record is thus approximately 30% faster with an average SOG of 8,6 knots.

As soon as it became dark last night we experienced high winds of around 26-30 knots gusting significantly higher. Made good progress with our second 24h distance of 178nm. We are on our final tack and hope to see land in the course of the morning. We expected our 480nm sail from Paramaribo, Suriname to Tobago to take us 3,5 days and it looks like we will arrive within 2,3 days!

Christmas and New Year’s Suriname Style

The red bag arrived on January 30th. On our way back from Raleighvallen we were dropped off at the airport to make one last effort to track it down. Following a one hour wait and several negotiations with various bureaucrats “I’m sorry the customs window is closed, you will have to come back tomorrow between 8-2 etc.etc.” we were saved by a very kind agent (named Michela) who took us out to the warehouse for ‘suspended’ luggage, pulled out the red bag and handed it over to us (after filling in about five detailed forms). Hurray!

‘Christmas Day’ was thus on January 31st for us. As a final step on the 30th, Emma and Macsen carefully hung their Nana-made stockings under the spray-cover with great excitement and bundled off to bed “while visions of sugar plums (and fireworks) danced in their heads.” Mom and I then decorated the boat and arranged a huge amount of packages under a tiny fake Christmas tree on loan from the Mjolners. Emma and Macsen woke on the morning of the 31st, scurried outside and opened their stockings with great glee while sitting in their underwear in the warm sun in the cockpit. Dad and Seb then headed off to take on the last step of the (almost endless) Suriname Customs and Immigration process. Upon their return we had a champagne breakfast and proceeded to tackle the mound of presents around the tree. This is the first year that Macsen is aware that packages contain new and interesting things and we could hardly keep up with the two of them as they tore through the papers together. Very excited and happy monkeys.

For an entire week before the 31st you hear practice fireworks going off all around you in Suriname. This is a celebration that is taken very seriously and each family or community purchases huge amounts of fireworks and there is great competition along the river to put on the most magnificent show. We sat in the cockpit sipping our postprandial wine gazing in amazement at the wild array of truly spectacular fireworks all the way along the shore as far as the eye could see. And they just kept on going. The show reached its crescendo at midnight (as expected) and we popped our champagne and enjoyed them. Wonderful new kind of Christmas and New Year’s Day.

On the morning of January 1st we all bundled into a taxi and headed off to the comfort of the Torarica hotel in Parimaribo. After a lovely day by the pool Seb and I bid a tearful good-bye to Nana, Dadcu, Emma and Macsen and bundled back to the boat alone. They would all travel the following morning (very early) by plane to Tobago and Seb and I planned to leave on the Pjotter and sail with the two of us on the evening of the 2nd.

It’s A Jungle Out There

On December 26th, the six of us boarded a very rickety old propeller plane to fly inland for a 3-day tour of the rain forest. After a stunning if slightly nerve-racking flight, we arrived on a tiny grass airstrip in the middle of the jungle, picked up our luggage and headed towards a rather primitive lodge in a beautiful location called Raleighvallen on Foengoe Island in the Central Suriname Nature Reserve. Our guide was somewhat unprofessional (having slept through our introductory talk), the group size was a bit too large and the fast paced seven hour walk and climb on the first day through the sauna of the jungle was grueling (Dad, Seb and I alternated carrying Emma and Macsen the entire time). That aside it was a great experience. The jungle was breathtaking and the guide explained the various medicinal and nutritional uses for an amazing variety of plants and trees. We heard a great mixture of bird calls and almost caught a glimpse of the elusive toucan. At night, we took a walk to find tarantula spiders and then lay in bed (with our mosquito nets more carefully tucked around us) listening to the incredibly loud and eerie cry of the howler monkeys. Swimming in the river was a refreshing if slightly worrying experience as half of the group swam while the other half stood next to them and fished for piranhas! Apparently they won’t attack unless you are bleeding. The tour ended with a long and lovely drift down the river, a stop at the village where our guide grew up (sadly much of which was destroyed in the ‘80s during the civil war) and back to Domburg to the Pjotter.

Arrival of Nana and Dadcu and A Non-Traditional Christmas Celebration

My parent s arrived late on the night of the 22nd and we spent the night in the same hotel so that we could greet them first thing in the morning. They arrived safely but with a certain amount of stress as the bag with all of the Christmas things was lost along the way! This meant no Christmas stockings, no decorations and no presents!!! It was wonderful to see them again and after a solid hotel breakfast we had a relax at the swimming pool and spent the day wandering about in Paramaribo. Emma and Macsen were immediately happy with their Nana and Dadcu so we left them behind for another night in the hotel and Seb and I headed back to the boat in Domburg.

My parents moved onto the boat with us on the 24th. We agreed to temporarily ignore the fact the it was Christmas and decided to wait and celebrate as soon as lost luggage arrived. This was carefully explained to Emma who seemed perfectly happy to wait with Christmas until we could do it ‘properly’. Somehow, celebrating Christmas in a warm land felt a little different anyhow so none of us were too concerned about being a bit flexible with some of our regular family traditions. As such, we decided to join in the Christmas BBQ on December 25th with the other boats at Rita’s restaurant. There was a festive atmosphere at Rita’s, masses of delicious food on the grill and mountains of nasi and salad. Each boat brought along a pot-luck contribution and the variety was wonderful. The BBQ was attended by crew of all of the boats in the bay including some of our best cruising buddies; Mjolner, big Pjotter, Tangaroa, Victory and the Zilvermeeuw. This made it a lot of fun and gave my parents the opportunity to get to know a lot of the people we are spending time with at the moment. I couldn’t even count the number of children there but there were many and Emma and Macsen spent the evening running around, giggling and having a wonderful time as well. Merry Christmas!

Photos of the Atlantic crossing

Photos of the Atlantic crossing. Click here to view the photos.

Arrival - After 14 Days at Sea

After 13 days at sea, in the last 24 hours the tension and the excitement began to build. Our feelings were a bit mixed, eager and elated to see land but mixed with a little pang that our cosy days alone at sea were coming to an end. Seb and I both felt strangely nervous the entire night, perhaps a reaction to the (often unfounded) warnings about unlit fishing boats, pirates etc. coupled with nervous excitement we always have when arriving in a new and unknown country. The depth of the water went from two kilometers to 60 meters and we did keep a careful look out for fishing boats. At 0700 on December 21st, we saw land for the first time…it looked much the same as expected. Suriname has a low coast line and the skyline only became clear as we rounded our waypoint buoy around seven miles from the head of the Suriname river leading in towards the capital Paramaribo.

Dropped anchor in the choppy river alongside the Torarica hotel (where we planned to meet my parents on the 22nd) in Paramaribo with current of three knots and pumped up the dingy as we bobbed about uncomfortably. The monkeys were napping. Our plan was to go to shore for the first time together so Seb and I spent some time tidying the boat. Both of us were feeling extremely grumpy as we clattered about and cleaned and after one good blow up we decided to sit outside and talk a little about what was amiss. Expectations. We both had been nursing a romantic image of our arrival on land; running and rolling in the grass, popping champagne corks, laughing and waving while cheering people rang bells and threw lays over our shoulders. Instead, no one had noticed our arrival, we couldn’t go on land because it was naptime, we were lying in an extremely uncomfortable anchor spot (probably dragging our anchor) in the boiling sun, spending our time mopping up the last of the murky salt water in the bilge, cleaning out the fridge and gathering the laundry. Let down.

After approximately two hours of wobbling about and two cranky attempts to re-anchor we decided to move the boat further up the river to Domburg where we heard that we could anchor more safely (and comfortably). Jeroen and Babette (s/y Zilvermeeuw) happened to see us from the shore in Paramaribo and we picked them up to sail with us. Just as we headed out the Victory arrived and we sailed up the river together to Domburg. In Domburg, we finally had an arrival toast. This toast was followed by a delicious nasi dinner at Rita’s restaurant, located next to the dinghy landing in Domburg. Every night at Rita’s there is an informal gathering of Dutch sailors from the approximately 15 boats lying there. The food is delicious (and incredibly cheap), the Djogos (one litre Parbo beers) are cold, the company really ‘gezellig’ and the sphere is superb. This is more like it!

Day 14: Land in zicht!

After being at sea for almost exactly two weeks we can see the contours of Suriname! It is now 0948 UTC (0649 local time) and we will be at the entrance of the river in about an hour. Our plan is to drop anchor in front of the Torarica Hotel. Apparently they have a swimming pool and sauna... Champagne is in the fridge but we have to concentrate on these last few miles first.

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Day 13: 06.41.010'N 052.49.973'W, 153nm (24h)

December 20, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 148nm
Wind and waves: ENE 15-20kn, 2m
Sails: Reefed main and reefed genoa, wing and wing

Our engine stopped working with a very slow and lazy sounding chug,chug,blub, bluuub a couple of days ago. Given that the winds have held strong and we get much of our power from the solar panels this did not present an immediate issue but needed to be resolved relatively quickly as the autopilot and the refrigerator were zapping too much electricity for the solar panels to manage alone. Seb discussed the problem with the other boats and hauled out his trusty diesel engine manuals and went to work. It quickly became apparent that it was either air in the fuel lines or clogged diesel filters. Yesterday was a relatively rough day and to spend >6 hours upside down in the engine room breathing diesel (and occasionally sucking it out through a siphon to remove the air) is a wholly unpleasant experience. In addition to this is the mental angst of what we will do when we arrive in Parimaribo if we have no motor. This we resolved with our kind friends from the Victory who agreed to sail the approach (and if necessary tow us) together. After a lot of sweating and swearing and several attempts to start the engine after various fixes Seb did finally manage to get every last bit of air out of the fuel lines and with new filters our engine ran for 3 hours last night just like a charm. Whew!

Apart from that we are starting to cautiously plan our arrival. We are now approximately 24-30 hours away and, if all goes well, expect to arrive at the entrance to the Suriname River sometime tomorrow morning. The two kilometer deep waters that we have been sailing through have become 60 meters and we are starting to see more ships, signalling that we are closer to land. Feelings are a mixture of thrills, happiness, amazement, excitement, exhilaration (perhaps I am getting repetitive), a bit of nervousness and a tiny bit of sadness that our wonderful intimate family journey is coming to an end.

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Day 12: 07.15.703'N 050.22.987'W, 141nm (24h)

December 19, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 298nm
Wind and waves: NE 19-26kn, 3,5m (rough)
Sails: Reefed main and reefed genoa, wing and wing

Our first real squall hit us late this morning. We had seen the tell-tale signs on the horizon, black clouds and on the radar, streaks of green depicting raindrops falling on the ocean surface. After rolling away the genoa and cutter Seb took the helm and hand steered us through. The bright sun dimmed, the waves became choppier and we were suddenly in a downpour of rain. The winds picked up quickly to >30 knots. The squall had a calm and refreshing quality about it as the rain blocked out other noises and flattened the waves a little and gave us and the boat a good cleansing. Within 15 minutes the squall has passed and we sailed further in the brilliant sunshine. I hope that we are able to prepare as well for every squall we come across and that they all treat us so kindly.

The winds in general are higher at the moment and the waves are large and relatively short and confused giving us again a rather uncomfortable ride. Our speed through water ranges from 7-7,5 knots but for some reason we seem to still have 1,5 knots of current against us!!! Frustrating! If we continue at the our current pace, however, we do expect to arrive in Parimaribo sometime during the afternoon of Monday, December 21st!

Our fresh fruit stock is finally dwindling. Macsen ate an horribly black and mushy banana today, none of the rest of us were willing to touch and that is the last of our bananas. I have been amazed at how much fresh fruit and vegetables we have been eating and how well it has all kept. We have thrown little away and still have apples, oranges, cucumber, eggplant, carrots, tomatoes and kiwis.

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Day 11: 08.38.166'N 048.32.687'W, 143nm (24h)

December 18, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 427nm
Wind and waves: NE 15-20kn, 3m
Sails: Main and genoa, port tack

What is 1,2m long, 6,6kg and on board the Pjotter in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? The beautiful, big fish that Seb caught yesterday evening (with a little help from me wielding the gaffing hook). It was 1845 (UTC -3) (which is when post-dinner rush hour starts) when the fishing rod let out a loud zzzzzing and just kept on zzzzinging! Seb put the brake on but line continued to feed out. With a glint in his eye and a look of grim determination Seb picked up the rod and stationed himself on the roof of the cockpit to begin the fight. Two days ago, the last time we had a bite on the rod, Seb spent a great deal of sweat trying to land a large fish only to have it slip the hook and swim away after 45 minutes of effort. I juggled cleaning up dinner, trying to get the monkeys to bed, taking photos and films, gathering equipment and shouting tips and words of encouragement. Emma and Macsen were having nothing of going to bed and were both determined to see the fight come to conclusion. After only 1/2 hour the fish neared the boat, Seb handed me the rod and started pulling the line in by hand. "You have to gaff him by the base of his jaw" was the only instruction I got before wielding the hook through the gills and pulling while Seb heaved the wriggling mass over the high side of the Pjotter. It was a beautiful fish and seemed enormous lying there on our deck. It's sides were a iridescent blue and it had a distinctive fan-shaped back fin and tale resembling a tuna but the flesh is white rather than red. We think it was a Wahoo. It is now a lot of lovely little filets stacked in our refrigerator. We had fish sticks for lunch (very popular with E&M) and our plan for the coming two days include sushi-ed, stir-fried, curried and grilled Wahoo. Delicious!

Our second visitor yesterday afternoon was a storm kestrel. This friendly little brown bird with webbed feet and a long bill started to fly around the boat at around 1800. It finally worked up the courage to land on the cockpit railing and rested their quietly during the entire fish catch, enduring excited points and chats from a thrilled Emma and Macsen. It stayed with us until 2200 at which point it quietly flew away.

The winds have picked up again and we seem to be enjoying the typical trade winds of 15-20 knots at 150 degrees off our targeted course. This allows us to sail at 6-7 knots and we are making very good headway.

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Day 10: 09.35.065'N 046.27.017'W, 131nm (24h)

December 17, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 563nm
Wind and waves: NE 11-17kn, 3m
Sails: Main, genoa and cutter, wing and wing

'The Washing Machine', 'Hotse Klots', 'The Klotsbak', 'Neptune's Sneeze' are some of the names coined by various boats to describe a very strange phenomenon that generally catches us about twice per day. You can be sailing along on a sunny day on a relatively calm sea when suddenly the boat starts to be thrown around on short choppy waves coming from all directions, crazy currents, white caps on the waves accompanied by loud whooshing noises. All this with no change to the wind or sky. Not scary as the waves are small but very distinct, uncomfortable and surprising. The most strongly supported theory is that these are eddies caused by interactions between warm and cold water rivers running through the ocean and reacting with one another. These rivers move not only along the surface but also move up and down in various depths. The water temperature can vary between 27 degrees on the surface to 4 degrees in the depths and the volume of water varies as a result, reducing with the increased pressure in the depths. The largest temperature difference is found between 50-100m deep (no more sunlight). This temperature difference causes various vertical currents of expanding and contracting water movements which manifest themselves in the crazy eddies we experience on the surface. Ancient mariners used to think that this effect was caused by sea monsters fighting just under the surface. Thanks to Jimmy Lengkeek for the scientific explanation. We do still glance apprehensively over the side of the boat from time to time in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the mighty deep sea dragon.

Other than the sea dragons we are sailing in relative comfort. The waves are large but incredibly long and rolling so the movement is rhythmic and comforting, rather like sailing on a dynamic English countryside. Much more comfortable than the short choppy waves that we experienced in some of our coastal sailing. We expected to have 0,5-1,5 knots of current with us for much of the journey from the equatorial current running east to west, but alas, we seem to have only current against us to date. Perhaps in the coming days.

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Day 9: 10.45.743'N 044.36.550'W, 138nm (24h)

December 16, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 690nm
Wind and waves: NE 6-9kn, 2m
Sails: Halfwinder, port tack

Winds have become even lighter and we have hoisted the halfwinder for the first time since it fell under the boat. There was a slight tear (10 cm) that needed to be taped and it was a bit of a fiddle to get it back into the snubber but it's flying again and looks beautiful. It has also added a solid 1,5 knots to our incredibly slow 3,5-4 knot average of this morning. The electric autopilot (Otto) has been in use almost constantly in the last few days as we have been on an course directly downwind. Willy the Windpilot, our wind steering system, does not seem to hold us on as steady a course as Otto and this weaving course causes the sails to flap and the boat to loose speed. Rather a disappointment as Willy the Windpilot does not use any electricity and Otto the Autopilot draws quite a few amps, 24 hours a day. Generally our electricity system is self sustaining as long as there is sun for the solar panels to charge the batteries. Unfortunately, due to the additional draw of the autopilot we are forced to run the engine for a few hours every couple of days in order to top up the charge on the battery, not a big deal but it makes an awful noise and uses diesel.

The monkeys had a long bath in the cockpit this morning and had a great time playing with Seb's fishing lures (without the hooks). The weather has become sweltering and there is no breeze to refresh us. The cabin temperature at the moment is 33 degrees. The weather reports predict slight increase in the winds by lunchtime tomorrow. In the meantime, we sit and steam and stare out at the water hoping to see a whale.

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Day 8: 11.39.674'N 042.34.478'W, 128nm (24h)

December 15, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 822nm
Wind and waves: NE 10-15kn, 2,5m
Sails: Main, genoa and cutter sail (amidships), wing and wing

Still light winds and sun so although we are slower the waves are longer and it is much more restful to travel. We saw the Victory sailing close to us early this morning, fun to see a boat that you know well at such close quarters after a week at sea. Jan-Bart and Monique have trouble with their rudder and as a result their autopilot no longer works. They have been steering day and night by hand for the past two days and expect to have to continue in this way for the duration of the voyage. This is an incredibly physically and mentally taxing thing to have to do requiring 24 hour focus. They are managing well under the circumstances and Jan-Bart even saw the upside in that he got to spend his entire watch last night outside and was able to see over 100 falling stars in the meteor showers. That is a lot of wishes. I stayed outside for about an hour of my watch and only saw about ten, still very beautiful.

After our celebration from yesterday we are now back into our daily routine. We make a plan for the day every morning and discuss the weather and sail configuration to be sure that we cover all that needs to be done and have enough activities to break the monotony for the little ones. Our days run more or less along the following lines:

0800 Emma and Macsen wake, play games and read while Rhiannon bakes whatever needs to be baked for the day
0900 Communication via SSB with Mjolner, Victory, Tangaroa
0930 Breakfast (generally yogurt and cereal)
1000 Morning activity (bath time, crafts, puzzles, games, etc.)
1100 Fruit Time (an excuse both to move into the cockpit and get some vitamins)
1200 Lunch (bread with various things on it)
1230 Emma and Macsen to bed; Seb and Rhiannon perform daily deck inspection, laundry, dishes and any general maintenance
1430 Afternoon activity (face painting, tent building, dress up, games, etc.)
1600 Afternoon Treat (another excuse to move to the cockpit this time to eat something unhealthy)
1800 Dinner
1900 Rhiannon to bed
1930 Emma and Macsen read books and to bed by 2000
2015 Evening communication via SSB with the other boats

Every now and then we toss in something new or special such as a visit from Neptune who bangs on the outside of the boat and leaves presents for Emma and Macsen. We have never seen him but he manages to time his visits perfectly to know just when they (or we) are getting bored of frustrated.

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Day 7: 12.13.031'N 040.30.433'W, 138nm (24h)

December 14, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 940nm
Wind and waves: NE 10-15kn, 2,5m
Sails: Main, genoa and cutter sail, wing and wing

The wind has gone down a little and the movement is more restful. Our sails are out in full, including the cutter genoa, and we are heading straight downwind with the sails wing and wing. Although the wind level often dips down to 10 knots we are still travelling at 5-5,5 knots so making progress in the right direction. And...more exciting news...we have reached the halfway point!!! Yipee! It is an amazing feeling to be exactly in the middle of the ocean and nice to be moving closer to land rather than farther away.

Given that this is such a special day we have prepared a half-way celebration. Our lunch consisted of fresh-baked scones, whipped cream and jam and lemonade for Emma and Macsen. The monkeys painted fish for Neptune yesterday afternoon and left him little messages (Emma certainly in the hopes of getting some presents). Seb and I have done our best to turn the living room into an aquarium with cut-outs of fish and seaweed hanging from the ceiling. When Emma and Macsen wake up from their naps they will (hopefully) be delighted to walk into this fishy world and hunt for special presents left by the fishy henchmen of Neptune. This will be followed by our daily tasty snack time. I baked cupcakes this morning for the occasion and Seb and I are looking forward to popping a bottle of champagne (only one glass each...). Ahhhh! Yum.

The Elena crew had given us a large can of Cassoulet au Confit du Canard (duck stew) that they had purchased on a trip to France and they promised that it would amaze us. We decided that the halfway point was just the occasion for opening this treat and we cooked up a nice ratatouille as accompaniment and settled in for dinner with our champagne (our first alcoholic beverage in a week). Seb and I were both a little skeptical about eating a canned stew but it was absolutely delicious. The four of us sat in cockpit and toasted the halfway point, watched the sun set and tucked into an amazingly yummy meal. A great day!

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Day 6: 13.23.157'N 038.46.758'W, 143nm (24h)

December 13, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,166nm
Wind and waves: NE 16-18kn, 2-2,5m
Sails: Main and genoa, port tack

Our world is still weebly wobbly. The seas tend to lull us into a nice rythm only to send us a choppy wave from at least 30 degrees off the norm to make sure that we are awake...wump. We try to get as much sleep as possible under the circumstances. Our clocks are set to UTC -2 and will adjust 1 hour every 3 days until we are on Suriname time, UTC-4. With our new watch system I go to bed at 1900, Emma and Macsen go to bed at 2000 and Seb takes the first 4-hour watch until 2300. My first watch spans 4-hours from 2300-0300. Seb takes 0300-0600 and then I take 0600-0900. The monkeys generally wake up again at 0800. In theory, Seb and I each get 7 hours of sleep. There are also slight opportunities to catch cat naps while on watch. Our egg timer is set to count down 15 minutes. Fifeteen minutes is apparently the time it takes between the first sighting of a tanker on the horizon until it is close to you, making it wise to perform visual checks every 15 minutes. Both the AIS and radar systems have alarms and they are set to go off when a ship comes within 12 miles.

So far we have come within three miles of five ships in the last five days, significantly less than during the rest of our passages. Two tankers on AIS, two fishing trawlers not on AIS, and this afternoon we glimpsed the mast on the horizon of a fellow sailor. It took only minutes before we contacted the sailboat on VHF and we were soon chatting about plans and perceptions of the crossing. It turned out to be a catamaran named Luar, manned by a delivery crew. They also left Mindelo on December 7 and are heading for Trinidad. They were enjoying the sunny weather and the wind. We bid good-bye with vigorous wishes of good winds, safe sailing, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Day 5: 13.052.374'N 036.36.282'W, 157nm (24h)

December 12, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,295nm
Wind and waves: NE 18-23kn, 2-2,5m
Sails: Main and genoa, both reefed, starboard tack

The movement of the boat is quite uncomfortable due to the wave patterns and you really need to think where you can hang on and what you need to catch before moving or much less, opening a cupboard. The wind has also increased slightly and with reefs in both our main and genoa we are still traveling at 6,5 - 7 knots so making faster progress at the moment than expected. Life goes on on board and although Seb and I sometime feel tired of the wobbliness, Emma and Macsen seem to think it is rather fun and don't complain at all. We saw out first dolphins today. A pack of about six that stayed with us for the whole afternoon. Seb and I took turns sitting on the bow (with lifejacket and lifeline) watching them as they jumped through the waves. They were able to perfectly synchronize their movements and I have never seen such a show.

So far the weather outlook appears to promise a continuation of the weather that we have had to date. We download weather faxes, grib files (wind direction and strength) and wave information daily via the SSB. We are also extremely fortunate and grateful to get daily personal updates from Wierd's (Tangaroa) uncle, Jimmy Lengkeek. Jimmy and his wife Tineke cruised the world for six years on their sailing boat 'Gabber' and have written several books (which we used a great deal in our preparations) and it is wonderful to have such an expert supporting us. He sends us information on the weather systems over the Atlantic and the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) an area with very light or nonexistent winds also known as the Doldrums. And analysis from various weather sources (ie http://www.sailingweatheronline.com/) on what we can expect. He has also given us some great information on squalls, where you can expect them, what they look like and how to prepare ourselves. On a daily basis we report our 1200 UTC position and the actual weather we are experiencing back to Jimmy. Every morning at 1100UTC there is an update call via SSB with the Tangaroa, Mjolner and Victory in which we discuss our positions, weather, sail trim, fishing successes and generally review how we are doing and feeling. Emma and Sophia have also used this as a forum to sing songs to each other.

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Day 4: 14.23.007'N 033.59.814'W, 147nm (24h)

December 11, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,449nm
Wind and waves: NE 14-18kn, 2m
Sails: Main and genoa, starboard tack

Past the 1/4 mark last night at 495 miles, no champagne until we get to the halfway point. A depression in the north Atlantic seems to be sending us some nasty waves that are hitting just aft of our beam. This makes for a very wobbly ride but we were warned to expect this. We have still been able to maintain our schedule on board and have indulged in some fabulous meals and treats. Yesterday we made French toast, baked brownies and Seb made a delicious lasagna for dinner. This morning I baked fresh bread and we smeared it liberally with butter. We may all be a few pounds heavier when we reach Suriname but the rocking motion of the boat keeps our muscles toned.

Today is shower day for the whole family. The monkeys often have a bath in the cockpit in salt water and then are rinsed off with fresh water. We shower with solar showers that consist of a large heavy plastic sack with a spigget. This sack is black and when placed in the sun the water becomes nice and warm (sometimes too hot). These are hung in the cockpit and they provide a rather good shower. The boat does have a shower in the bathroom but we prefer al fresco. Our dishes and clothes are also washed in salt water and rinsed with fresh water from the showers or directly from the tanks. In total we have 350 litres of fresh water in the tanks, 80 litres of bottled water for emergencies (eg. tank contaminations) and an additional 250 litres of fresh water in jerry cans. We have gained a very solid awareness of our water consumption in the past six months and are amazed at what we have become used to.

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Day 3: 15.07.39'N 031.38.96'W, 143nm (24h)

December 10, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,592nm
Wind and waves: NE 12-15kn, 1.5-2m
Sails: Main and genoa, wing and wing

I almost broke my toe banging it against the wall when Seb called out for me to come outside. Bad things are reputed to happen in threes so after our leaky oil filter and broken main sheet and block we must have been due. Yesterday we were cruising at a comfortable (and very fast) 7-8 knots with the halfwinder when it suddenly collapsed and sank slowly into the water. Seb and I detached the snubber and pulled it in and then coaxed the huge sail out from underneath the boat where it was caught between the keel and rudder - no small task in bumpy waves. Luckily neither the relatively fragile sail or snubber was damaged. Further inspection led us to a chafed/ sheered through halyard. Unfortunately we cannot figure out the cause of the break and are reluctant to hoist the halfwinder again using our reserve halyard. As such, we are cruising along at 6 knots with the main and genoa out wing and wing. It is a little less comfortable and a bit slower but it keeps us on course and we are making good progress.

Other than this setback all is well on board. Emma and Macsen seem to have settled well into the routine and we try to keep their days (and ours) filled with a variety of activities to keep them busy. The days pass fairly quickly and it is a really cosy atmosphere and we are really having fun (more than I expected). We saw our first boat in three days last night when we came within three nautical miles of a well lit fishing trawler, amazing in the middle of this big ocean.

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Day 2: 15.52.47'N 029.22.68'W, 146nm (24h)

December 9, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,731nm
Wind and waves: NE 15-18kn, 1.5-2m
Sails: full main sheeted in, halfwinder as spinnaker

The wind and waves have stayed quite steady and the movement of the boat is quite rhythmic and relatively easy to get used to. The night was relatively slow as the winds went down and we went off course a little so we didn't have to continue directly down wind in light winds (slow and the sails make loud clapping noises). This morning we hoisted the halfwinder. It is symmetrical so, although it is not cut with the same ball shape as a spinnaker, we are using it as one to allow us to go directly down wind. We are thus back on course and making very good progress with boat speeds averaging >7,5 knots. Unfortunately, we still seem to have just over a half knot of current against us so that translates into a slower speed over ground of 7ish knots. Still very speedy for us and we are happy to be able to do this in relative comfort.

Seb and I are using a 3-hour on/ 3-hour off watch system starting at 2000 when the monkeys go to bed. As such we each get 6 hours of sleep in total. To date we feel relatively well rested and can catch up with a nap when the monkeys nap. Emma and Macsen are doing well and do not seem to feel restricted by our tiny wobbly world. They have just had a bath and splash about and are down for their afternoon nap. I'm off to do the daily inspection of the deck to make sure that everything is in order and nothing is broken, about to break or chafing.

We haven't been fishing yet but four flying fish have flown up onto the deck. I was able to save one of them by tossing it back overboard but the other three were found too late for resuscitation. We were able to get a good look and fold out one of the wings which appears to be shaped like a bird wing but made up of the same materials as a fish fin - a bit like a cartoon fairy wing attached to a little fish. Strange but very pretty.

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Day 1: 16.17.58'N 027.03.31'W, 121nm (<24h)

December 8, 1200 UTC
Distance to go: 1,866nm
Wind and waves: NE 15-21kn, 1.5-2m
Sails: full main, genoa and cutter

After lots of hugs and kisses from the Tangaroa and the Mjolner and amidst tooting horns we cast off our lines and, with huge butterflies in our stomachs, we motored slowly out of the Mindelo harbour. Unfortunately we were not able to spend much time dwelling on what we were about to undertake as within three miles the engine alarm went off telling us there was a problem with the oil. Seb checked inside the motor case and indeed, seven litres of motor oil were now swimming around underneath it. It was almost immediately obvious that it was caused by a missing cap which allowed the oil to leak and Seb fashioned a new one, mopped up the oil spill and refilled the oil. We spent the next few hours double checking this solution and it now appears to work perfectly.

While Seb was mopping the oil (and the monkeys were sleeping), I was outside trimming sails and setting our course. We were heading out between the islands of Sao Vencente and Santo Antao and there was a strong acceleration effect causing gusts up to 35 knots. One of these gusts also brought a change in wind direction of 30 degrees and caused us to gibe. The mainsail also tried to gibe but fortunately it was blocked (as always) by a sturdy preventer. The pressure from the gibe did however break the block on the mainsail sheet and the remaining sharp edges sheared through the mainsheet. And it happened in seconds.

The block and mainsheet have now been fixed and we are cruising along with 15-20 knots of wind coming in at 150 degrees, the waves are relatively comfortable now and the sun is shining. We are following the rhumb-line course to Suriname, are making good progress and have started to enjoy ourselves. Emma and I made necklaces inside (thanks to Riet and Marcel for the materials) and Seb and Macsen sat outside making drawings. Not bad so far.

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Out of office

And now the time has come. The boat has been cleaned and inspected, weather checked, passage planning and route reviewed and discussed, water, diesel and food has been stowed. Tomorrow morning (December 7th) we will pick up the last fresh fruits and veggies and cast off for our biggest adventure yet. Although we will be officially out of office for the coming 14-15 days we will do our best to keep the blog as up to date as possible with our position, speed, experiences and state of mind (and of course the number of fish we have landed).

Photos of Cabo Verde

Photos of Cabo Verde. Click here to view the photos.