Atlantic Crossing - Part 1

On the morning of departure we went to the marina bar for a full English breakfast. We started eating and then just sat there staring at each other. We couldn't do it justice, lost our appetites.....nerves maybe!

Because we were reversed in, getting out of the Marina was a breeze and off we went. The wind and the sea state that first day was windier and rougher than forecast - local conditions due to the acceleration zones caused by the islands. We were determined to have our mainsail up this time to help control the rocking on the boat and we did. Artemis has a fractional rig with a very large mainsail for the size of the boat. With 2 reefs in (we haven't got a third) the sail still looked big. We would have liked to have some jib out as well, to balance the boat however our sailing companions only had their reefed jib out, so we got our mainsail nice and tight and swung the boom out to reduce the power which the auto pilot seemed to like - moving very little. We sailed most of the way across the Atlantic with this arrangement. 

Artemis leaving Cape Verde

Our new auto pilot functioned very quietly and the effort further reduced by selecting the leisure setting. On our amps gauge, with everything else switched off, it was consuming 1 amp per hour - Great!

Alison had christened our 3rd crew member (the auto pilot), Dr. Ray Marlin. The reason is that he is a Raymarine Linear Drive. Doc for short...a bit contrived...' The auto pilot is good for our health'...I agree.

After the first day the weather matched the forecast with light/medium wind and a low sea height..nice.

On day 2 I started feeling sea sick with a bad headache and blocked sinus'. I took sudafed, sea leg tablets and when my headache didn't go away, a migraine tablet (thanks Melodie). After most of the day in bed...thanks Alison & sorry!....I was feeling much better. 

Pilhaouer

Poled out jib worked well but only for a day

We lost our sailing companion Pilhaouer after the 3rd night. When night came they really slowed their boat down, maybe to a couple of knots. We slowed down also, however we thought 4 knots was slow enough for us and with a big main it was impossible for us to slow down anymore and keep our comfort. After coasting at about 3 knots on the 4th day to see if Pilhaouer would catch up, there was still no sign of them so we got our jib out and carried on. We thought this might happen and had agreed to try and stay with each other knowing that it might not be possible. Every other day we put the engine on to help our solar panel charge the batteries. By day 5 we were both feeling good. We cleaned our bilge and adjusted and greased the stern gland. Day 6 we spotted Pilot Whales and had a shower in the cockpit.

Miles taking a shower 

Sun dried flying fish

Squidlydiddly

Day 9 we changed course from downwind (almost) to a beam reach. This was 1 knot faster but uncomfortable so by evening we changed back. Day10 we have rain in the form of a very wet and windy squall. Artemis got a good rinse and we used the conditions for another shower. By the end of the day the wind was gone - doldrums? We checked our grib files (weather) and this confirmed that we were just on the edge of them. Engine on all night. 

Doldrums

Day 11 we tried to sail in the light winds with great difficulty, only managing 2-3 knots. Engine on. The days were very hot now as can be expected. In the morning we syphoned 60 liters of diesel into our tank to keep it topped up. The ocean  was like a lake.....very surreal!

Mindelo - Delays

Weeks passed, still no sign of our new auto pilot! We were getting itchy feet as we had planned to leave around the 15th February.  When it eventually did arrive our technician Gilson had his hands full fixing charter boats (scheduled to go out). Then the bad weather arrived, howling winds, big seas and very dusty.

Work eventually started on our auto pilot installation....don't get too excited....in Cape Verde they say back in 1 minute, they mean 1/2 hour and back in 10 minutes means tomorrow.  To be fair a lot of items had to be custom made for our boat in the workshop in town i.e. The impressive aluminum frame (mounting for auto pilot), reinforcement to quadrant (to strengthen), a new better fitting pin, a rubber waterproof boot for the linear arm and then the installation of the electronics.

Gilson with frame

All in all we were very impressed with Gilsons work.  The work was completed and the bad weather moved away.  We agreed a date for departure with Philippe & Imelda and prepared Artemis for the journey - destination Brazil!

Mindelo - Out & About

We were invited by our friends Philippe & Imelda to a Sunday afternoon at Chez Loutcha, a short bus ride away for a 'all you can eat' Cape Verdian buffet with live music and dancing.

Apres food, we joined in with the dancing

Another day we all went (14 of us) for swimming and then an evening bbq of locally caught fish etc. At Elvis' beach restaurant at Salamansa, music and dancing again......phew!

Elvis 

Good eats

L-R ; Mae, Sandrine, Marco, Phillipe, Imelda

Tribal dance, once a year something to do with coal

Mindelos famous carnival took place whilst we were here. This was quite spectacular and even some of our friends got in on the act.  We didn't go to the carnival on the first night (lasted 3 days) and luckily  for the charter boat near us.  We saw a flare light up our cabin in a red glow and upon outside investigation we saw the charter boat on fire. The flare had landed on the boats spray hood and was burning its way through ferociously.....We sprang into action. I grabbed a bucket and Alison went to raise the alarm just in case I was unable to extinguish the fire - fire doused with sea water. This was successful and the charter operator was very pleased with us and later that week paid for our breakfast at the marina bar.

Spectacular floats

Mae in Carnival attire

Burnt spray hood 

Mindelo - First Impressions

Our First impressions of Mindelo was total surprise. The marina is smart and well run with a popular floating cafe/bar (yes, they do an English breakfast, albeit a spicy version). Clean toilet facilities, a ship shop chandlery, good key card security and very proficient marinios. Mindelos atmosphere is relaxed and laid back. Not far away, past the commercial port is a lovely white sandy beach. There is several small supermarkets, a fish market and a outside market where we found Merci (flag lady) and purchased 2 courtesy flags and ordered a red British ensign.

Alison found a new friend

Mindelo beach

Merci, Merci !

There were several familiar boats/faces that we were pleased to see again in the marina. One thing we have been looking to buy, for quite a while, is a new anchor. The ship shop has another premises in town that we are directed to and we purchased a spade type anchor at a very good price. We also decided to buy a big round fender to protect our stern from nudging the pontoon when the swell builds up (so glad we did!). We thought about those rubber or spring shock absorbers for our ropes but one of our neighbors said his only lasted around 10 days and another said they made their boat spring back and forward so much that they couldn't sleep. We used reinforced hose pipe and 3 ply nylon rope plus some 8 ply from our middle cleats as insurance, which worked great !

Anchor in situ

After our very tiring trip from the Canaries, hand steering all the way, we had to make a decision regarding a new auto pilot. After speaking to Raymarine specialist Gilson, we pulled the trigger and ordered a linear drive 'Evolution' system to be fitted. Also new cables for our VHF handsets.

Destination....Cape Verde

We set off with a decent forecast although we would have preferred the sea state not to be touching 3 meters, however it looked like the best we would get for a while.

On setting off we used our boom to pole out the jib and we're making 4.5 knots in the right direction with the wind likely to increase, we were happy!

Jib poled out with boom

El Hierro in the distance

Our plan to sail wing & wing didn't materialise because we were doing ok with only the jib and the sea state made it difficult to work on deck. The forecasted wave interval and directions just translated into waves from all over the place and about every 5 mins or so 3 growlers (strong breaking waves) in quick succession would knock us off course. Due to the sea state we didn't use our auto pilot because from previous experience we knew it would not cope. We had Artemis well balanced but the growlers and the gusts made steering at the helm very difficult so we worked 2 hour shifts. The nights were much more difficult. On the bright side, we didn't need to use the engine, plenty of wind.

Alison's shift

Miles's shift

We sighted something other than ourselves only about once a day. A cruise liner, fishing boat, a yacht hoved to, dolphins and the highlight, migrating turtles.

A cruise ship

Our fridge worked for about 4 days as our solar panel wasn't producing anything like what we get in a marina or at anchorage. We think the motion of the boat and because we were sailing south so the best of the sun was obscured by the sails were the culprits.

The half bottle of wine that we had been gifted by Phillipe an Imeda for 'New Year', we couldn't face so we had a kiss and cuddle instead!

New Year 2016

French Naval Ship, Mindelo

Approaching Mindelo we furled in the jib and motored with the auto pilot to get Artemis ready for mooring. The channel between the islands which leads to the marina was extremely windy and on arrival we were directed to a berth. Miles was determined to reverse in due to Alison's dodgy knee. We tied up safe and sound after 6 days 3 1/2 hours at sea. 800 nm.

Restinga, El Hierro

Restinga seemed a bit of a strange place at first, a sleepy seaside village with a lot of unfinished buildings and assorted abandoned machinery which reminded us of an American Indian Reservation. Then you can see the wood for the trees, a nicely developed shoreline around the marina with beach, very interesting lava formations, a well stocked supermarket, friendly locals and a marina community like no other.

Unusual lava formations

We explored the island with our amigos, Philippe & Imelda, visiting Valverde, Punta Grande etc...and the end of the known world until the 15th century, Punta Orchilla, where we walked through a volcanic cave.

Punta Grande

Volcanic Cave

La Frontera

Restinga Marina was very reasonably priced and we stayed longer than expected due to the weather between El Hierro and Cape Verde being unfavorable, so the Christmas sail was postponed to New Year.

For Christmas, all the sailing community got together ( mainly French, but also Swedish, Russian, Danish etc). We purchased a sheep and spit roasted it. Everyone contributed by baking bread, making cakes, salads.....you name it! This made for a very memorable Christmas Eve get together. Miles baked a traditional British Christmas Cake - once tasted, disappeared in a flash!

Miles taking his turn on the spit

Deja Vue

Whilst at La Gomera we celebrated my birthday with lunch at 'La Foresteria', a French owned restaurant with Philippe & Imelda.

La Foresteria

The time had come to sail to the final island in the Canaries, El Hierro.

The morning of departure we were up and ready before sun up to enable us to arrive in daylight. Ignition - start button - nothing! After some investigation, the problem seamed to be a flat battery. Still determined to go, I used the battery combiner to start the engine and off we went.

The wind was all over the place so we didn't get much sailing in, motoring most of the way. Just out of the lee of La Gomera we took down our mainsail due to what looked liked an approaching squall. Then we heard a loud bang......the engine battery had exploded (not again!). The squall never arrived and without our mainsail we were rolling from side to side. The battery casing was badly damaged and acid was spilling out with every movement. We felt bad about doing it but could see no alternative except to throw the battery over the side (with rubber gloves and goggles). The spilt acid was neutralized with bicarbonate of soda......crisis controlled.

When we arrived at Restinga, El Hierro we were very grateful to be directed to a berth by a number of other sailors who helped us to tie up. Thank you!

Inspecting our battery setup the next day, l realized that the engine battery was getting a constant charge from the shore power battery charger that was too dumb to differentiate between our two banks even though it has two outputs. So a rethink and a new battery from the next village, El Pina. Delivered by the local bus and we are up and running again....I hope! One of our house batteries was also flat, so now I am keeping a very close eye on the remaining 2 - showing green lights and the engine battery only gets charged when I want it charging.