May 2012 PUERTO RICO - PANAMA

MAY 2012

PUERTO RICO

We see in the new month at Isla De Vieques an island to the south of Culebra.  We stay a few nights anchored in Bahia Salina Del Sur and off  Puerto Real Esperenza.

Next stop is Salinas on the main island of Puerto Rico in another safe haven anchorage this time protected by mangroves.  

Mangrovel Salinas 

Salinas pleasantly peaceful

We have chosen this spot for the security it offers as we want to leave the boat and hire rental cars for daytripping around the area including a return trip to visit Old San Juan in particular the oldest European settlement in the Americas. We ultimately visit San Juan on 3 separate occasions from Salinas as we are using this as the last stop to purchase boat gear and computer kit at reasonable US mainland prices. Not to mention food and our first experience of the mammoth 24 hour Super Walmarts where you can buy everything at reasonable prices from pharmaceuticals to footwear and frozen foods but admittedly not helicopters or Boeings.  

Kindlegarten -Yep we have joined the Kindle generation buying E Book readers from the Best Buy Computermarket in San Juan.  B has the Kindle Touch and P the Kindle Fire and we are in awe at the opportunities to download a huge range of free books and pay books.  The ability to connect via 3G and WiFi anywhere there is a signal makes access simple and the opportunities to download everything from newspapers to magazines makes these devices invaluable for our current lifestyle. 

No Tablet Today - With super sharp stateside pricing on offer we looked long and hard at the tablet computer offerings but concluded they are more suited to people wanting to play games and social network which is not our profile.   The Apple product range are the hot sellers for sure and for good reason, they operate as per specification without fail and do what they say they will do but the Apple locked in regime makes the Android platform products the end winners in our opinion.          So we concluded waiting another year will see the market options more clearly defined and the best Android hardware players filter to the fore. 

True GPS - The real decider for us is which hardware has open access GPS capability to operate electronic chartography without network connectivity.  Our interest is in the ability to place a suitable tablet in a “tough box” and give it a power feed so that can be used as a backup to the ships core navigation system. 

None of the tablet manufacturers clearly specify GPS functionality options and capability we think in part because the Telcos are the major sellers of tablets on discounted time usage plans and they want users to believe they must have a system connection to utilize the GPS capability when in fact many of the tablets can be switched to operate independently.  We did not find one seller who knew what the hell we were on about so we have given up until we get home.  

PUERTO RICO TO PANAMA

We departed our anchorage off Pto Jacinto and inside Gilligans Island and set sail for Panama 1000 miles distant across the Caribbean Sea on a course of 270 degrees magnetic in 15knots out of the east, beam reaching at 7/8 knots in quite big seas which would be with us until 150 miles from Panama.  

Departing Puerto Rico heading for Panama

Add caption

Hand Steering by day

Hand Steering at Dusk - note eye popping concentration

Hand Steering at morn

P tried everything and B read the AP manuals but we were facing a week at sea an hour or two on the wheel and an hour or two trying to sleep.  We have a backup electric hydraulic pump motor which P thinks is the most likely to fail but in reality very difficult to install at sea and anyway we don’t know if this is the problem.  It is an electronic/hydraulic system and It could be one of a hundred things; for example the course computer with gyro compass and where would you start.

Yep hard miles ahead particularly at night and during a week with no moonlight.  Funny how the brain and body adapt but its not a pleasant experience forcing yourself to wake and get up after 2 hours sleep for another 2 hour trick on the wheel eyes popping out of the cranium looking into the black.  We reassure ourselves that this glitch is a walk in the park compared with our friends Roy and Liz on SY Evelyn who had to hand steer 4000miles from the Galapagos to Tahiti last year.                 

For the final 100 miles we were relieved by light winds and flat seas allowing the autopilot to half hold course and we decided on a small detour  70 miles to port to treat ourselves to a break in the San Blas Islands where we anchored for four days in clear shallow warm waters off idyllic tropical islands Cayos Coco Bandero and Cayo Holande swimming and snorkeling without a care in the world.  The local Indians in dugout canoes were our only interlopers bar a few other cruisers in the distance.

First sighting San Blas Islands-Sth America in distance

Local Traders sail toward us

You wana buy bananas

Whats this says Wifi after a week at sea ?

Can we go ashore.... please

Islands everywhere

But this one is our favourite

So next day Wifi gets her wish

On the bow of the landing craft ready to leap for freedom

Territorial reci on the high ground

Digging for you know what.......NZ ?

Musketelle at anchor off WiFi's Island

Navigator taking it all in

Skipper chilling out to

After 30 minutes WiFi ready to evacuate back to her yacht 

Local Kuna Indians trading Mola hand weaving

Young mother brings baby along for lesson in trading

On the way happy having extracted US$40 from Musketelle

Musketelle at anchor off our little tropical haven

Stern view of the aft business end 

We sailed the remaining 70 miles in perfect conditions into the Puerto  Cristobal at the Caribbean end of the Panama Canal anchoring at The Flats where yachts waiting to transit are concentrated.

30 May – Musketelle is officially measured by the Canal Authority for charging purposes to transit the 35 mile long canal which comes out at $750 but with ancillary, immigration and cruising permit, line and handlers charges, security and agents fees the total cost balloons to USD$2,000.  P reflects that it only cost $180 with no ancillary costs for Lion NZ, but that was 17 years ago and hey Uncle Sam ran the show then.                                                                                                               

31 May - Last day of the month we receive email from agent confirming our transit day is 11 June!! The explanation for the delay is there is a backlog of yachts wishing to transit and they only process 2 or 3 per day.    We are contemplating how we utilise that waiting time……resolve autopilot problem, clean tropical growth off bottom, solve a starting battery problem, up the mast to throughly check the standing rigging, change anodes, change engine oils, stock up with fresh produce. Yes we have enough to go on with. 

But if we are lucky we may find a few days to head back around to the San Blas Islands to refresh the body and soul before the big push across the Pacific.    

Apr 2012 ST MARTIN - BVI's - PUERTO RICO

APRIL 2012

SINT MARRTEN -STMARTIN

Physically this island is unique as it has a large relatively deep land locked lagoon that allows vessels including big deep draft yachts to enter through lifting bridges and escape the ocean swells outside. This island is an oddity in that it is half Dutch known as Sint Marrten and half French known as St Martin.  The politics might be complex and disjointed but the nautical business and services are vast and simple to access which is why this tax free island is popular with cruisers.  To make it even better is the well known fact that the canny Dutch seek out the best deals everywhere for everything so pricing on the Dutch side in particular was really sharp with the French not far off the pace.

We get the distinct impression this place is home to a veritable flotilla of eccentric old salts and their craft who have either lost their way, lost their heads or lost their finances.  Each morning there is a cruisers net on the VHF radio with a buy sell or swap session that is pure comedy to tune in to.  Some of these geezers are trying to sell fresh air and others trying buy items for water.   It was sort of double dutch and very humorous but some good deals were hatched and done and all transparently over the radio.  

We chose to anchor off the Dutch side in Simson Bay and dinghy in to the lagoon to shop and socialize. The decider was that outside we could swim in the clear waters and inside not. We  stayed for 3 weeks splitting time between Simson Bay and Marigot Bay on the French side.

The Dink Debacle – Living ashore we have a car to runabout. Living aboard we have a Dink or RIB  (rigid inflatable boat) with an outboard motor. The Musketelle Dink is coming up for 10 years old but with her hypalon inflatable buoyancy hulls in good overall condition she has few years left in her particularly as B made a great suncover back in Australia 2008. The only problem is a recalcitrant leak between the fiberglass hull and the false floor buoyancy chamber which lets in saltwater, dramatically increasing the overall weight.  In Sint Marrten the two major chandleries are in hot competition over everything but particularly RIBs the majority of which are made in Venezuela  or Columbia.  So we go shopping to replace said dink and note the new options have eliminated the false floor chamber. The going rate is around US$3K and we would get next to nothing for our trusty old stead. This does not make sense so guess what.    P digs out the skill saw and chops out the false floor saying it will take a few days and we will have a new type dink for less than $200 for fiberglass and gelcoat.  The $200 was accurate but it took 7 days until finally completed and we were affected by boatbuilders itch as the resulting fiberglass dust permeated every nook and cranny of Musketelle and our bodies.  But we now have a RIB that is 20kg lighter and does not leak saltwater and with the big 15hp Mercury flys across the water compared with the weighty version….and we saved $3k !!   

BVI’s - BRITISH VIRGIN ISANDS

Next stop we are back with the Brits in the BVI’s sailing passed Richard Branson island of Neckar into Bitter End Sound at the north end of the island of Virgin Gorda. We hang on the hook here for 4 days as a weather system passes before commencing our cruise around the islands that make up the BVI’s.  The island and anchorage route place names convey the history of these islands when privateers (pirates)ruled the waves in these latitudes…..

Virgin Gorda -Bitter End

Great Dog – South East Bay

Virgin Gorda - Saint Thomas Bay (The Baths)

Great Camanoe- Low Bay

Cooper Island - Hallover Bay

Tortola - Road Town

Peter Island - Great Harbour

Norman Island - Privateer Bay

Tortola - Sopers Hole

Jost Van Dyke- Foxys Great Harbour

After a couple of weeks in the BVI’s we headed west for the US protectorate of PR.

PUERTO RICO

Isla  De Culebra is an island off the eastern  end of the main island of Puerto Rico and its history is as a US Military base for 40 odd years up until the mid 1980’s.  The town of Dewey is located at a point where a strategic canal with a lifting bridge opens up the Ensanada Honda lagoon to the open sea on the west side of the island.  We anchored in the protected waters of the lagoon and were comfortable leaving Musketelle here to take the 2 hour ferry ride to the port of Farjardo on mainland Puerto Rico on two occasions one of which we hired a car and visited  San Juan the capital. Look at these pics of Old San Juan the oldest European settlement in the Americas.......and still looking good with Spanish style.

Mar 2012 MARTINIQUE - ST BARTS

MARCH 2012

MARTINIQUE

Fort du France - Approaching the wide open bay on which Fort du France is situated we are entertained by a couple of large whales blowing and splashing on the surface.  Our first sighting of whale’s for some years.  Fort du France is a major city by Caribbean standards with a vibrant big town feel.  The 18^th century fort on the waterfront is the outstanding feature with the surrounding city spreading back to the hills.  A huge modern glass encapsulated high rise tower was under construction and is clearly a statement structure to challenge the old.  For the cruiser the luxury of anchoring right in the center of town with a new 300m long dinghy dock to tie up alongside and go shopping.  Talk about opening the waterfront up and being user friendly to sea going folk……we can think of many cities that call themselves cruiser and boater friendly that could learn from Fort Du France…… read Auckland and Sydney.

St Pierre - To visit requires anchoring in deep water among numerous wrecks sunk during the volcanic eruption that devastated  St Pierre in the 1890’s.  St Pierre was  the old capital of Martinque and was all but covered with molten ash and lava by the eruption. The vibrant port town was located here because of its proximity to the lush fertile sugar plantation lands nearby.  The town has been rebuilt albeit not to its former glory and the surrounding lands are as productive as ever.  We are here primarily to visit the famous Rhumb Factory in a valley beyond. We decide to walk and it takes 90 minutes of up hill slog in early afternoon heat but well worth the effort and the free samples after taking the factory tour.

DOMINICA

Prince Rupert Bay - An overnight stop only and did not go ashore as skipper was laid low with a mysterious stomach upset that lasted 12 hours. Shades of kidney stone pain had him concerned but thankfully all passed with the night.  B was also concerned because a pain killer injection might have been required and the patient would be more than a handful.

GUADELOUPE

Iles de Saintes - Petite Anse - Another French Island that time seems to be passing by leaving the positives and eliminating the negatives.  Big on French influenced eateries and just a great feel to the place.  Surrounded by beaut anchorages and clear water.  We could easily have stayed longer.

Le Gosier – A daysail north to the main island of Guadaloupe and what a daysail it is with a close encounter with a  whale that had us lost for words as it swims across the bow of Musketelle so close you could have jumped on its back ! Its whale mating season and they are all obviously a bit screwy and acting without normal thought processes.   We are in warm surprisingly shallow waters (under 15 metres) and these things are scaring the hell out of us.

Reaching the main island of Guadaloupe we anchor off La Gosier a suburb of the main town of Pointe Petrie in a shallow channel between the mainland and a small island.  

Pointe Petrie - Next morning head in to the main port area and anchor to go ashore to shop for marine gear and a replacement Microwave Oven as our cheapie installation from Spain has given up the ghost after just 3 months. 

Crew Disappears  -  Shopping in Guadaloupe involves a taxi ride to a major mall 8km distant. We spend a few hours there and its dark as we hunt for a taxi to return.  The return by the same route was much faster as less traffic but that’s when the fun began.   As we arrived back at the marina P jumps out to get the shopping loaded in the dink leaving B to pay the fare.  After a few minutes had passed  the dink is loaded and ready but where is B ?  So P goes back the 50 meters round a corner to find her but she is nowhere to be seen and neither is the cab.  The place is deserted and he is more than a little concerned checking here and there and looking for a security person when after 5 minutes B appears out of the dark.  Turns out B had questioned the inflated fare compared with the outbound trip that afternoon and the fact the meter was running all the time this discussion was going on.   She reluctantly agrees on a fare but is not given the correct change at which point she reacts saying she will not hop out until he gives the correct change.  Next thing the driver takes off with B in the cab finally stopping at the entrance to the marina giving her the change.  P was not at all amused at the increase in blood pressure for the sake of 5 Euro !!.

Getting A Pasting - We depart Guadaloupe for Antigua at 0530 to ensure a reasonable all day sail to arrive by dusk.  But we make the mistake of not interpreting the tidal affect for the first 20 miles west to east along the Guadaloupe coast and get hammered bashing into tide against increasing wind straight off the Atlantic Ocean.  It was one of those situations where we just kept going when we probably should have run off but that would have meant getting into Antigua much later.  After 6 hours we raised sails and rounded the most easterly point of Guadaloupe and had a great reach north to Antigua.  

ANTIGUA

The island of Antigua has a handful of good harbours for sailors with English and Falmouth on the sheltered south coast the best.  The British Navy coveted the famous English Harbour fortifying it and never losing it.  Being a renowned hurricane hole it was worth all the effort that went into the extensive fortifications.  English Harbour just oozes history of the 18^th century era and to walk among the naval buildings and carrenage and on the tracks on the surrounding hills you cannot help be impressed.  The way the buildings have been faithfully restored and are now used for a variety of marine services including a sailmaker, marine electronics, bakery and restaurants gives it ongoing life.  The nearby larger and open Falmouth Harbour was also ultimately just as valuable moreso today providing berths for superyachts.

BARBUDA         

 Antigua and Barbuda are the same country with Antigua the big and populous island and Barbuda the smaller flat island with a population in the hundreds.  We are here to sample the clear waters off the vast long sandy east coast and visit the Frigate bird colony on the huge lagoon.   The main town of Coddrington is nothing more than a grid of 6 streets with small single level flat roof hurricane proof houses that can all be walked around in 20 minutes after you have cleared Customs and Immigration.    However there was one new very large modern two level building all but completed on the shore of the lagoon that looked completely out of place.  Closer inspection of the big project sign announced it was the new home to the Barbudan Fisheries Resource Protection Agency funded by Japan in gratitude of Barbudan support at the International  Whaling Commission !!

SAINT BARTHELEMY                                                                                                                                             We are at yet another French island this the ultra trendy and exclusive St Barts for the annual  St Barts Bucket Race.  A race for a bucket of champagne race by an invited fleet of yachts, the only proviso being they are over 100ft long. This year there are 50 yachts competing and most are around 150ft with a handful 200ft long.   Its not just about the competeing yachts but the literally hundreds of other yachts (read super yachts and even cruise ships) both sail and power that turn up to watch and support the social events. The real interest for us was the 4 J Class yachts racing and the yachts that had a Kiwi connection.  Of the 50 competing yachts 10 had been built in NZ and 4 others were Kiwi designed by Farr Holland and Elliot. Add in the number of Kiwi sailors crewing you might well have been walking around the Viaduct Basin.

On arrival St Barts in a brief patch of inclement weather we anchored off Anse De Grand Galet (beach) which by luck would have it was also the Bucket Races Start Finish line.  So all we had to do was erect the deckchairs on the aft deck and take binoculars in hand to watch the action upfront.

On the final day a catamaran anchored next to us flying the NZ flag and the skipper invited us aboard for an even closer view of the finish of the final race as he motored right on the finish line. 

Feb 2012 - CARIBE CRUISIN’

February 2012
New month…time for a new country and time to get this Caribe Cruise underway so late afternoon 02 Feb we upped anchor and departed Carlisle Bay, Barbados on the planned overnight 130 mile passage southwest to Grenada.

Before we departed we had been talking of going to the island of Bequia so as the wind started veering to make Bequia a more comfortable passage we changed course for that destination. A few hours later we started to experience squally conditions and associated very uncomfortable inconsiderate seas that was making even Bequia difficult so we changed course again, this time for St Lucia.

What sort of sailors are we becoming ? Well to be honest after conquering the Atlantic Ocean without any signs of mel da mer B was knocked over by this little passage which was totally unexpected so we opted for the (slightly) easier option, and why not.

Dawn offered the impressive sight of the Pitons, two tall peaks rising upward on the coast of St Lucia, a little like Fiordland NZ, but oh so much warmer. We had a magic upwind sail north along the east coast of St Lucia to Rodney Bay in 20/25 knot winds sailing with a reef in the mainsail coupled with our staysail (the small sail hanked on the inner forestay behind the big genoa on the forestay) using the new track position that reduces the slot between the staysail and the mast. This allows us to point much higher into the wind (30 degrees) and achieve 8+ knots boatspeed that for a cruising girl probably weighing in at 24+ tons all fuelled and watered up plus our travelling circus gear is more than respectable. This is the first time we have sailed to windward since the Moroccan Coast and the first time we have road tested the new staysail deck fittings we fitted in Lanzarote.

Rodney Bay St Lucia is an extremely busy crossroads for yachts cruising through and around the Caribbean and for P this was a notable milestone.

Milestone…..
Sailing into Rodney Bay 03 Feb 2012 Musketelle's incoming wake from points East crossed the long since lost but not forgotten Westbound wake left by Lion NZ of 24 June1995 so completing the skippers circumnavigation of the big orb !! So from here on the second lap commences for him.
Time for reflection….17 years to sail round the world is not really impressive but making the decision to buy Lion NZ in Florida back in 95 was a life changing decision and most of those 17 years and 40,000 sea miles have been on these two fine Ron Holland designed vessels. Voyaging has included visiting 35 countries
between 41 degrees north and the southern ocean at 50 degrees south. Good times and not so good, he says he would not have swapped it for anything.

Back to Reality
After a couple of weeks dinghying ashore to shop and check out the immediate sights, relaxing and swimming at anchor we went into the work berth at Rodney Bay Marina and removed the forestay to repair the Furlex furling unit that had failed on the Atlantic crossing. Some new ball bearings and much sweat and all was well again.

Musketelle alongside with forestay removed 

Getting down to business repairing furler

Manual on ground reminds it was a mission

Cause of damage… mid Atlantic the furling line had wrapped itself around the furling drum and as we furled in under darkness the furling mechanism unwound itself internally when a tiny thread locking grub screw appears to have let go under the extreme pressure of furling. We had thought running two headsails on the twin luff groove foil might have caused the problem but we think unlikely.

Rodney Bay was a hive of activity being a must stop for cruising yachts escaping mid winter to the north with Canadian registered yachts out numbering US vessels by a large margin which was a real surprise. At a chance meeting with Canadian cruiser Daryl of the yacht 'Vimi' last sighted in Marmaris we agreed 10 years
earlier it would have been the other way around and he suggested this was a clear example of the financial crisis in the US and a reflection of their economy.

Lets Go French
20 Feb sailed 30 miles north to the French island of Martinique and for 10 days we have been having a very pleasant time here doing food, boat and tourist things. Being French, food just has to be mentioned because we are back into good tasty bread and cheeses (including very smelly ripe camembert) and classy French cooking. Its all a bit of an oddity given we are in the Caribbean but not surprising when you learn Martinique is a department of France and part of the EU with all the trappings and benefits.
In the 17th century the French eliminated the locals, took over and clearly have ploughed major investment into the island since. Seems France must have insisted Martinque be afforded special treatment when the EU was formed.
Boats Boats and more Boats in La Marin
Le Marin is a large enclosed bay on the southern coast of Martinique dedicated a Marine precinct with a 1000 yachts plus the majority of which seem to be catamarans. Unlike Rodney Bay where yachts of all nations can be sighted French flagged yachts account for the majority. La Marin is a sailors nautical heaven
with a range of competing services and chandlery stores chock full of stock all vying for our business. The electronics man was getting the attention of our wallet because our mast mounted 48mile radar scanner has gone on the blink and he tried to fix it but was snookered and could only offer us a replacement 24mile range scanner which we have had to accept - navigatoress B is most unhappy at the prospect of not being able to pick up those squalls at 48 miles.  If we can get a 48 miler further up the line we will.
Being a Tourist has its Risks
We are forever reminding ourselves to be careful out and about in the knowledge one trip or slip could completely scupper our cruising plans. And don't we just know !!
We sometimes hire cars for a day or two to get around and see as much as we can
and do bulk supermarket shopping as the independence and flexibility suits us. We did this last Friday and drove around half Martinique in a neat little brand new Renault Twingo. About 4.30pm we were heading for Fort du France on a sealed rural road through lush tropical vegetation, driving along with the air con off
and the windows down it was so pleasant.
All of a sudden as we approach a sharp bend we hear screeching tyres and slow down almost to a halt when next moment a car comes from around the bend ahead sliding under brakes across onto our side of the road and ploughs into a concrete power pole about 40 metres in front of us. Hot on the heals of the
crashing car was another car that continues on and comes to a stop unscathed opposite us.
By now also at a stop we are looking to see if there is any sign of life inside the crashed car ahead when next thing the teetering power pole falls down hitting the bonnet and all but missing the cabin falling on the drivers side with power lines going in all directions over the road including both sides of out little Renault but well clear of us. We put the hazard lights on, B hops out to wave down cars behind us and yelling for a lady standing on the balcony of a nearby house to call for an ambulance (in English).
Next thing the driver of the pranged car appears from the wreckage staggering in a daze towards us as P is yelling to him (in English) to mind the wires he was dangerously close to before he changes direction and collapses in shock at the kerb. The young male driver of the other car runs up and it is obvious they might be mates as he rushes to his side. We speculate they were racing each other. Looks like the young driver is traumatised with shock and not injured, luckily just a case of lost car and lost pride on this occasion. As we waited for the emergency services to arrive we took a deep breath and contemplated what might have been if we had been driving with the aircon on. There but for…...
Disaster for another Kiwi Cruiser
Most mornings at 0900 Caribbean time 1300 UTC we tune in on the SSB (single side band) long range radio to a loose network of mostly Kiwi and Aussie cruisers for chit chat, information sharing and safety. Its called the Magnet (short for Magellan Net). We used this net for our Atlantic crossing even though we were behind the majority of those crossing at that time. One boat that was out there with us on the Atlantic was a Kiwi boat called Chinook Wind with Dick and Mary from Thames whom we had met first in Lanzarote and later in Las Palmas.
On Tuesday morning 28 Feb we tuned in to hear Dick report that Chinook Wind on passage from Grenada to Curacao in the Dutch Antilles (part of what is known as the ABC group) hit a reef last night off the Venezuelan Coast and that they were waiting to be rescued. He gave the position as 12.00.000 N 67.25 000 W which we plotted as a reef named Islas de Aves. Dick was cool and calm but clearly under stress saying they had gathered their valuables and awaited rescue by the Venezuelan Coastguard with Chinook Wind seemingly beyond salvage as she is being pounded further on to the reef by big seas. They set off the EPRIB which worked well and notified the US authorities who then contacted Venezuelan Coastguard.
To add to the concern Venezuela is known as a pirate/thief haven with illegal activity and attacks on cruisers well documented and law enforcement unreliable.
However the Venezuelan Rescue Authorities were up to scratch and rescued Dick and Anne although they could not take any gear with them. We have since heard from another two NZ yachts who have just passed by that Chinook Wind is lying on the reef and has already been stripped - not surprising but disheartening
nevertheless.

Jan 2012 ATLANTIC CROSSING

January 2012

ATLANTIC CROSSING

LAS PALMAS to CARIBBEAN

Having decided to sail via the Cape Verde Islands we ended up staying in Las Palmas to see in the New Year as we really started to enjoy the town, over the festive season there were things to do and the weather was good.

We finally got around to departing 02 Jan.

Our departure ritual for a major passage is we push the engine start button together, pledge each other a safe journey and seal the deal with a peek on the cheek.

With the romantic stuff over B takes the helm as P goes forward to raise the anchor.

That’s when things started to turn pear shaped immediately testing our ritual.

With P on the bow having raised the anchor he is lashing it down for the anticipated waves we will encounter on the Atlantic crossing when he spots a large piece of plastic covered wire used for banding packing pallets disappearing under the bow.

Concerned that it might foul the prop he rushed (barefooted Rotorua boy as normal) from the bow back to the stern to check that it has cleared the stern, but in doing so steps on a deck block ripping the underside of big toe on left foot. No pain just claret gushing forth in volume.

Closer observation reveals a neat clean but very deep slice so B turned Musketelle around and we re-anchored. As the RIB was firmly lashed on the aftdeck we got a lift ashore with another cruiser and headed for the local hospital to be jabbed and stitched.

A few days recovery and we gave it another shot, this time successfully departing 1700 05 Jan
with P now hobbling very tentatively around Musketelle in deck shoes for the departure ritual and formalities.

But nature is requiring us to motor because the north easterlies we have had for weeks are now coming from the south east, the direction we are headed !!

We motor down the east side of Gran Canaria with the sun setting and by 2100 the wind drops
and backs round to the Northeast and we are able to start sailing.

Destination

We are headed for the Caribbean island of Grenada at the southern end of the neckless of islands named the Windward Islands a distance of 2850 nautical miles and we have plotted target waypoints reflecting 150 mile days into our backup laptop, but hoping for better. Skipper reluctant to predict such things as yachts in particular only have destinations, not estimated times of arrival.

Computer loaded with 150 mile days. Also showing weather synopics overlay for SEAtlantic downloaded via Iridium 

Wind angle, velocity and sea state are going to be light in the initial stages so even 150 mile days might be pushing it….we shall see.

Have also loaded ships Chartplotter with 3 named waypoints on the track to egg us on to Caribbean sun..…

W1. Coke @ 20.00n 30.00w
W2. Ice    @  15.00n 40.00w

W3. Rum  @ Destination Barbados
We get the coke first, then the ice when we get down into the tropics and the famous rum when we arrive. Otherwise known as yachtie coffee !! 

After 3 days heading south we achieve a measly 400 miles which is only 133 per day as we sail south with Africa a couple of hundred miles to port and the America’s a couple of thousand miles to starboard.

Our actual meandering route sailed  in 1st week compared to direct rhumb line. Sailing you go with the wind, no buts

As we turn from going due south and add a bit of Westing the next 4 days deliver a slightly improved 521 miles, but 921 for the first week is 12% behind target,due primarily to variable winds that come and go.

Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4. Day 5. Day 6. Day 7. Week  Daily Av  Knots

 138     150     136      133      131     127     106      921    132         5.48

But on the 7^th day we do at least get that Coke because we have reached W1.

Week One Review

Apart from the sailing not much to report other than a few ships, a couple of pods of dolphins and miles of vast ocean with surprisingly little bird life. Revelation is that WiFi can sense when dolphins are around ahead of humans. The cue for us is she awakes from her beanbag slumber and pokes her head above the cockpit coaming sniffing away and sure enough the dolphinious (as we call them) come into view.

We have had a waning moon each night for the first week and this has made the night watches very enjoyable. We have been trying to do the 4 hour watches but we are not that regimented so sometimes its only a couple of hours sleep.

The other event !! was B removed the stitches from the skippers foot amid instructions from the patient. He will be hobbling around for at least another week trying not to stretch the healing gash. Now wearing shoes but complains saying he’s been mucking about on boats barefoot since 1958 and will need reprogramming.

Ship Issues

On the ships front there are the never-ending ship keeping issues out of left field to remind us this is a working passage as well.  Our Generator which is required to be run morning and night for an hour a time to recharge batteries, hold down the fridge and freezer and desalinate water has decided to restrict saltwater flow for cooling with the impeller pump unable to pull saltwater due to a recurring airlock in the feed

pipe. This airlock could be caused by the inlet pipe acting as an outlet pipe when the generator is stopped due to a venturi effect sucking water out of the pipe as the boat continuously moves through
the water. Until we overcome the problem the only solution is to disconnect the pipe at the engine end to release the airlock with resulting water bursting forth before we start up. Alternatively we
can run the main engine to speed charge the batteries and do the refrigeration but we cannot desalinate.

Week Two

Next target is to rendezvous with W2 Ice, about 700 miles South West and lock into those reliable Northeast trade winds between 15 and 20 degrees north of the equator that will hopefully deliver those magic increased daily miles we hanker for and that Musketelle thrives on with her waterline length and deep keel.

Follow that setting sun West

With the skippers foot feeling less tender he is finally up to working on deck again with the pitiful first weeks mileage the incentive to speed Musketelle along helped in part by arrival of the improving conditions.

So we both get up on the foredeck and person-handle a second headsail up on deck, the trusty Blade Headsail. The Blade is then raised in the second luff grove on the headsail foil so it is gull winging with the Yankee headsail that has been up since Las Palmas. Now we have twice the horsepower as these sail are about equal size meaning we have balance and Musketelle responds immediately jumping from 5 knots to a more respectable 7 knots. Take a look at these pics showing how the breeze is trapped so efficiently......

Black as the inside of a cow reefed in night sailing in 25 knots

The plan is that both sails can be furled together to decrease sail area as winds increase and unfurled as they decrease, effectively giving us a throttle. To minimise chafe we installed pulley blocks at the outer end of the boom and the spinnaker pole and it worked a treat, also note fore and aft guy ropes to hold everything in tension......

The air and sea temperature is starting to rise the farther south we go and the Coke is warm so the hope is that the North East winds continue to push us directly to the Ice at W2, now a distance of about 650 miles. After this waypoint we will be wanting the wind to clock around to the East so we can turn further west to allow us to directly line up our destination and sail due West. But that like the Rum is in the future and in this game it pays not to look too far ahead. More stable winds and the new sail configuration had an immediate impact on week 2 daily distances:

Day 8   Day 9   Day10  Day 11  Day 12  Day13  Day 14  Week  Daily Av  Knots

151      183      167      155       167        158       148        1129    161        6.72

We also achieve a best 24 hour run of 187 miles between days 9/10 until B requested we power down to make things more comfortable and easier when she is on watch otherwise 200 was on target, something we have only achieved twice previously. Musketelle just relished these thoroughbred sailing conditions.......

But to put things in perspective a giant 143ft long French trimaran with 12 crew has this last week reduced the Jules Verne round the world non-stop sailing record to 45 days at an average speed of 26 knots !!

The one thing that is not in our favour is the huge seas we have come into being generated by mid-winter storms further north in the Atlantic. On occasions they work for us creating a wave train to surf on but then they change direction and smash into the starboard side playing havoc with the autopilot and putting us off course. The banging and crashing is irritating and sleep depriving.

On a positive note for WiFi those waves are raining flying fish over the decks and even into the cockpit. She has been raised on fish in her other life as a wild dock cat and she is clearly in her element. But this is much
easier…she just relaxes on her beanbag waiting for the next fresh meal to belly flop into her cockpit before condescending to interrupt her slumber to get down and slowly play it to the death and then demolish head and all. Two a night satisfies her needs, the rest we toss back. Pity she cannot clean up after herself. Her coat immediately took on a healthy new sheen reflecting the change in diet from the monotonous but trusty Whiskas.

Not a pretty picture, WiFi the fishkiller in her element. She asked us to censor this pic

B and WiFi fishing from the deckbound RIB

WiFi sporting her backmounted Emergency Immersion Beacon for night rescue

Milestone Reached

Waypoint 2 Ice reached on Day 11 so now only awaiting Rum at destination !!

Humour of the Atlantic k ind

Two funny things happened to us this week….A flying fish strikes our Wind Generator and immobilises it by damaging a carbon fibre blade. Rather incredible as the wind gen is mounted on the stern gantry 4 metres
above the water. Second odd event was a catamaran yacht that sailed up to us late one afternoon and we

exchanged pleasantries over the VHF radio, as you do. He was Turkish and was running short of food especially milk. We said we had spare milk and P in humour suggested we also had a Turkish cat that he
might like. We got the milk ready in a plastic bag and decided we would pass it over via an extending boat hook as we came up to each other. Well he never did come alongside and just continued sailing on his course getting further and further away. We waited for a VHF call to explain but nothing. Concluded the cat humour must have scared him off or he expected us to act as milkman and change course to deliver to him. Very strange. Maybe he thought we were joking.

Week Three

Week three will not be a complete week because we are ¾ of the way across and the Rum is just over the horizon.

We have made satisfying progress as week three begins and the wing and wing sail configuration is doing the business. Although we are now getting easterly winds and even some east south easterlies when we need wind with a bit of north east. We need north easterlies to allow us to hold our westerly track and not be driven south of our course line to Barbados. Barbados ?

Yep we have changed our destination from Grenada to Barbados….for two reasons, Firstly its about 100 miles closer and secondly other cruisers are reporting it’s a nice spot to visit. So Barbados here we come.

Day 15  Day 16  Day 17  Day 18  18 Hours  4.75 Days  Daily Av    Knots

140       171       163        155          109          738           155          6.47

Done Deal

18 days 18 hours and 2800 miles after departing Las Palmas Musketelle arrives at Barbados and anchors in an offshore 20 knot breeze in Carlisle Bay with crystal white sand beaches ashore....sort of authentic  Caribbean from arrival with sun up and warm.

Well that might be so but not the last 100 odd miles. Up until then we could report that Musketelle had not taken even a splash of saltwater into the cockpit and hardly any over the bow. But then in the approaches to Barbados as if to say don't get to carried away guys, all hell let loose with a big dump splash into WiFi's backyard and 6 hours of gnarly big swells from aft to keep us really alert. Musketelle was pivoting and
skewing around like she was balancing on a needle under the forces of nature. The glow and loom of lights of Barbados came into view 50 miles out and kept disappearing in the swells.

But we are really pleased to have conquered the Atlantic which was always one of the biggies on this circumnav. It really is an ocean with its own characteristics that make it stand apart. The swell patterns, the
colours of the sea and its cloud systems overhead were different to anything experienced to date. Knowing that all the hurricanes that cause havoc on the Caribbean originate in the waters to the west of the Cape Verde Islands and track along the latitudes we have sailed was never far from our minds. We pondered and assessed every dark cloud that approached us from behind and passed over us with its own extra energy to speed us along and remind us of the importance of not being in these waters in hurricane season.

Crossing Report

Total Distance Sailed - 2800 Miles

Daily Average - 149 Miles

Best 24 Hour Run  - 187 Miles

Average Speed - 6.20 Knots

Reviewing successes and failures....

Success:

* we got here and largely in one piece (but for the false bloody start) with no other major calamities.

* Setting up the Headsails wing and wing clearly the major plus and having it up continuously for 11 of the 18 days. 

* The Autopilot worked for every mile (2800), and hour (450) of the passage with the little 12v hydraulic motor pump buzzing away and getting very hot but just plugging on. Truly amazing bit of kit. We must admit we purchased at vast expense a backup pump motor the day we departed Las Palmas because we had picked up on a surprisingly large number of vessels crossing the Atlantic experiencing autopilot failures but so far it has not been needed.

The nerve center of Hydraulic Autopilot System  showing (type 2) electric motor pump 

Failures:

mostly systems.....Generator water feed problem, Wind Generator Flying Fish strike, Furlex Headsail Furler failed on arrival Barbados. We knew we had a problem en route with the furler but we were able to handle it
at sea whilst the sails were up and only partly furled or unfurled. On arrival the unit would not furl completely and until we remove the forestay the jury is out on the cause. Either the unit did not like the extra pressure of 2 sails wing and winging (unlikely) or there is a yet unknown other reason for the furling mechanism to dismantle itself internally and shed 15 ball bearings from a bearing race.

What we would do differently:

* It would be nice to have 2 full size spinnaker poles to brace and better balance the wing and wing headsail configuration instead of one pole and the main boom.

* The other thing we would do is depart on an early waxing moon rather than a waning moon as we did, thereby getting moonlight night sailing for the full passage. We had clear nights most every night and whilst sailing under the stars is still pretty amazing and surprisingly light, moonlight sailing for us is one of the great pleasures being at sea on a long passage. As we are effectively sailing solo each watch that moon becomes a friend and WiFi liked it too.

Cats Eyes

Yes finally WiFi....just amazing to watch an animal adapt to it's surroundings and adjusting all functions accordingly. She even perfected the strategic drunken sailor swaying motion required to stay upright just like us, as the yacht continuously bucked and rolled underneath. She loved the flying fish belly flopping in front of her beanbag fresh from the ocean and clearly morose if none arrived of an evening.

So that’s it from us safely tucked up in Barbados with 2 swims on first day...yahoo !  We will spend a few days relaxing in Barbados doing the sights before moving on to……..February.