SY Hullu Poro – Page 82 – Boating & Biking Adventures

E to W Atlantic Crossing – Logblog 14

On December 28, 2022

I am a big fan of being out at sea during the nights, if the conditions are right. Tonight we got the waxing moon shining over the bow pointing us west, the direction we are heading to. It also leaves a trace of reflection on the water, which provides the path for the lady to follow. Some scattered light exists around it before the darkness takes over the universe and the stars are getting on stage. Within this darkness pooled with the million of stars the clouds become visible, which enables us to see the squalls coming even at night and before they appear on the radar.

The wind is fine tonight, around 20 to 25kn on the stern but the waves have become a bit bumpy again. It could be linked to the current, which is changing from E to W before towards S to N the closer we get to the Leeward Islands. It will impact the wave pattern, I guess. Overall, conditions nothing to complain about as long as the lightning visible very very far away towards SE from us stays away. The moon will settle already at 22:11pm local time and the scenery will change a bit.

Over the next few month there will be less nights at sea but hopefully at nice anchorages instead!

Fair winds…

E to W Atlantic Crossing – Logblog 13

By Bernd via DL9BS/mm

On December 28, 2022

In Cabo Verde, Martinique

These squalls are fantastic as long as they don’t carry thunder and lightning. We got two of them today and now know, how to handle and make fun out of them. After we identified them, either visually or on the radar, we determine with the help of the radar the magnitude and itensity of the upcoming intermezzo. It takes approximately between fifteen min and one hour until they arrive at the stern of the boat. They move from east to west, are faster than our boat speed and will therefore at one point in time overtake the boat providing the rain and extra wind. Rain and wind gusts depend on the magnitude and intesity of the squall.

We saw the second one today long time before it arrived. I had the shampoo ready but again, did not make it because of the intensity of the squall. With the wind gusting close to 40kn, I preferred to stay close to the steering wheel although the Hydrovane kept the course with a blink. I decided not to reef the 110% foresail (main not unfurled at all) and rather loosen the reins and let the lady fly. She did! 11kn top speed surfing down the waves.

Race or break came to my mind for a fraction of a second but before I got deeper into this brainwave the lady conspiciously indicated to me: Leave it! I did, with the result of great pleasure for both of us surfing the waves again and again unisono with Santiano blasting at full volume out of the cockpit loud speakers. Sailing at its best! After 20 to 30 minutes the spectacle was over.

Fair winds…

E to W Atlantic Crossing – Logblog 12

By Bernd via DL9BS/mm

On December 27, 2022

In Cabo Verde, Martinique

It is 5:50am local time, Atlantic Standard Time. My shift is over in 10 minutes and I will not miss the sunrise set at 6:11am for today at our location over a cup of tea with Susan. I can already type these lines not using the headlamp to see the keyboard and it becomes clear, that another sunny day has started. A short while ago, there was some distance lightning, first time on our passage, which has now disappeared, so have the clouds normally announcing some potential trouble.

We had a very peaceful & pleasant Christmas here out at sea. It was also impressive. We went through some stronger winds up to 37kn and waves at around 3.5m. The wave pattern was not perfect and still a bit chaotic, or at least wobbling or not structured, but that did not take anything off from the spectacular impressions it left behind. Excellent weather support was provided by Rainer, skipper SY Geronimo, and the “twins” from Intermar e.V., Uwe/DF5AM and Uwe/DD1HUR. A big “Thank you” for preparing us factually and mentally for this lasting impressions mother nature provided to us. It was one of my best sailing days ever.

Weather was also one of the topics during the daily calls with Jan, skipper SY Sutje on the HF Marine Radio. Jan, Petra and Tobi are approximately 150nm behind us as they left Mindelo a day later and also bound for Marina Du Merin on Martinique. We both have a confirmed reservation for a few days to get those things sorted typically required after such a passage besides getting a first impression of Martinique.

Slowly we also prepare our landfall but it is still 250nm to go.

Fair winds…

E to W Atlantic Crossing – Logblog 11

By Bernd via DL9BS/mm

On December 25, 2022

In Cabo Verde, Martinique

It was in the early hours after sunset when the first real squall approached us from behind. I was on shift, Susan in the bunk resting, our little Christmas tree spending some reflective athomosphere during this Christmas eve. Hm, this squall now disturbing my peaceful night.

After a check on the radar, it was clear, it will hit us and it will hit us soon, only 2nm away, moving faster than the boat as usual, no escape. The light conditions during these nights allow us to see the clouds at the sky and the heavy dark ones surounded by stars have to be taken serioiusly. I threw everything from the cockpit under deck, undressed myself down to the underwear and closed the companionway including the sliding hatch. With a last glimpse of red light from the headlamp I saw Susan’s face enjoying some deep sleep. While the pouring rain took about 10min, just enough for a shower, the right away following gusting winds kept us busy for at least half an hour. It was our first squall of this very common pattern and I skipped the shower this time and focused on the action. The wind peaked at 45kn and the lady jumped into sprinting mode quickly reaching 9+kn speed through water, which is slightly above theoretical hull speed. I did loosen the reins and let her go. I did not reef sail but took over the steering manually from the windvane although it managed quite well. I just felt more comfortable to fly her through the water myself as long as it takes to let this squall completely pass through. Being wet but not cold, I was absolutely astonished by the fact, that the waves did not shake her around anymore. It felt like being on flat waters with the hull planing through and perhaps trying to escape but, no chance. The squalls are moving even faster and after a while the fascination was over leaving a cleaned cockpit and wet skipper in underpants.

It would be overstated to say, that I look forward to get more squalls now, but some fascination is still left from this ride.

Let’s keep watching the radar to be prepared.

Fair winds…

E to W Atlantic Crossing – Logblog 10

By Bernd via DL9BS/mm

On December 24, 2022

In Cabo Verde, Cooking, Martinique

Less than 600nm to go. Sailing downhill always feels faster to me, not sure why.

We finished our Christmas dinner with Dieter and it was delicous. A traditional receipe: Duck – tenderly throughout – with red cabbage and potatoes. There was no room left for desert!

The sunset after pantry cleaning was less impressive today but reminded us on our duties for the night. Susan is resting now while I update some mails and the blog diary.

Fair winds…

E to W Atlantic Crossing – Logblog 9

By Bernd via DL9BS/mm

On December 24, 2022

In Cabo Verde, Martinique

E to W Atlantic Crossing – Logblog 8

By Bernd via DL9BS/mm

On December 22, 2022

In Cabo Verde, Martinique

10pm local time. We are running 7+kn for a while now under Hydrovane. Genoa fully deployed and main sail in 3rd reef. Good wind and pleasant waves now.

Susan is sleeping, I am on watch as usual until midnight. After dinner, we run a stringent routine for the night watches, during the day it is pretty flexible. Last night was different. We were both up quite a few times to keep the lady going in chaotic waves and a struggling Hydrovane to cope with it for the given course and wind direction. This night seems to be back to normal.

After Christmas the wind will increase, so will the sea. We are evaluating what the best strategy will be and different options are under discussion. As it looks at the moment, we will keep going on the rhump line towards our waypoint and deal with it as and when it comes up. It is more mental preparation than anything else as we do not like to deal with surprises, if not necessary. A bit more wind and a bit more wave will not impress the lady much, that’s for sure.

The days are passing by quickly. Our fresh food is coming to an end over the next few days and that might be a logical sign for our arrival coming closer.

Fair winds…

E to W Atlantic Crossing – Logblog 7

By Bernd via DL9BS/mm

On December 22, 2022

In Cabo Verde, Martinique

It is close to midnight and we are running 6+kn straight line to our waypoint set at the southern tip of Martinique. Sometime earlier today we started the downhill part of this passage, means we have done more than half of the total distance between Cabo Verde and Martinque. It took us seven days and, based on the latest weather forecast and route planning, we are now expecting to arrive 29th December 2022 at Marina Le Marin, where we have a confirmed reservation in the marina starting exactly on that day. Still a long way to enjoy but let’s see.

It was another relaxed bluewater curising day in perfect trade wind conditions with a typical sunset.

Fair winds…

E to W Atlantic Crossing – Logblog 6

By Bernd via DL9BS/mm

On December 21, 2022

In Cabo Verde, Martinique

The transmission over the HF Radio using Pactor works fine on this journey so far. On the previous leg from Canary Islands to Cabo Verde I struggled a bit first to get connection at all and then to get some reasonable speed for transmitting/receiving the data. Therefore I will keep trying to post some small photos, which will then be readdressed in proper resolution once having a proper WiFi connection.

I have used three connection points so far for the communication. Obviously the Swiss HB9AK is one of them and very often the best. In the initial phase of the journey the French F5ZFX also worked fine and surprisingly fast. Recently we got connection via Barbados 8P6BWS reasonably performing. We did not manage to connect via Kanada on node VE1YZ yet, which shall not be forgotten as it also helped me out on various occasions in the past. From the propagation point of view I am getting a better feeling on time and frequency to be used for good connections. Before sunrise local time on 10 and 14 Mhz worked up to now quite well. We will therefore focus on those parameters trying to include a photo now and then into the transmissions.

We are just getting a mini squall and the lady is asking for some attention…

Fair winds…

E to W Atlantic Crossing – Logblog 5

By Bernd via DL9BS/mm

On December 20, 2022

In Cabo Verde, Martinique

While writing these lines, the clocks are somewhere between early lunch and early afternoon, depending which time zone you refer to. Some clocks onboard are set to UTC (14:39) for the alarm to remind me on the radio talks with Jan from SY Sutje, Just now we moved from Frenando de Noronha Time (12:39) to French Guiana Time (11:39) being the actual local time we are in. Somewhere in between sits Cabo Verde (13:39) becoming less relevant after almost one week on passage. You wonder what it matters. Not too much, I think, as long as I don’t miss my radio talk and we eat and sleep as desired. Works well. Time seems to have become an endless resource for the moment. Obviously it is not and I am so glad we are out here on the ocean doing what we are doing right now! It took long long time to get here, that’s for sure.

Looking at time from a different aspect, these ocean passages are ambivalent and splitting views among bluewater sailors. Some just want to minimize the passage duration and arrive, get over it. All sails up! The number of days and average speed are more relevant than wear and tear to crew and boat besides comfort. Others don’t care how long it takes, as long as it is comfortable and enjoyable. They would not start the engine, if the wind calms down, the sea becomes flat and the average speed drops below hull speed. If in comfort, their focus will even more move towards enjoying the sea. I had the opportunity to mingle with both type of sailors feeding my mind and position on this.

Clearly, we want to sail in comfort. Therefore our speed is driven by comfort. It has always been like this, since we sail. We dedicated speed to the jobs and comfort took over the moment stepping onboard. It has paid back very well for us until now.

Once the comfort at sea is gone, time becomes a totally different perspective and ranking.

Fair winds…