day 1 : our first day started with 5h of engine 😭 going as west as possible because the forecast was not right. we were supposed to have 15knots straight away but nothing. i hate using engine especially in those conditions. after 2 hours we had a little chat with Eva kristina that tryed to get us come to cascais and postpone our passage.
it got into my mind for a bit took the time to check the weather again and again the wind wasn’t still there but come on all rhe models cannot be wrong, so we kept going west to try to catch some brise. On the first night i took the first shift, it was a full moon night the scenery was truly magical. we kept the engine for a while and it’s only at around 10 the the wind start to pick up i normally never do that but i kept the genaker on during the night to be able to sail when the first brise arrives and here we are, the genaker is on and we stop the engine, when you are on a sailboat stopping the engine is always a fucking relief, the noise is lound and really getting into your head, so stoping it having only the sound of the wind and the waves is an amazing feeling , every single times. Anyway we kept the genaker for 2 3 hours until we start going a bit to fast wind was between 10-12 knots and we are moving at 8knots, i love it when when the boat is moving fast in the water but during the night it’s always safer to be a bit low on sails. we drop the genaker put the genoa and we are still going at 7knots this is just perfect. i kept my shift a bit longer as pierre isn’t feeling to good so dani takes the next shift and pierre can rest for a while.
Day 2
the next morning the wind was still there the models weren’t totally wrong, i didn’t know at that time but this day was going to be and amazing sailing day. we met a Belgium sailor on Tibitoo that update us on the forecast and the prediction are good for the next 3 days yay after an amazing morning we change course and try the butterfly setup to go more south pushed by the swell, at first it was a bit rolly but after 30 mins the direction of the swell change and we are surfing like crazy we saw a max speed at 11knots and the boat is behaving well under autopilot, one more time i’m realy in love with this boat. We kept the setup all afternoon doing some good ground in southern directions and all this under the sun, this is just perfect. at the end of the day the wind picked to 17knots i want to reduce the Genoa and the line is block into the pole everytime we want to furl it, it puts a lot of pressure on the cable holding the mast this is not good if a gust come at this time it can really damage it. it took a bit of time to find a solution, it was a bit stressful as the wind was still going up to 23knots gust, but after multiple try, we finally found the solution buy using one second line going to the back of the boat pulling on the pole while furling it in it work 😅👌
Day 3 : today we met the classic Boat Danmark a 65m sailboat build in 1933 going to the Acores. it had 80 crew on board, they were doing a 3,5 month training trip to become ordinary seamen. I’m always amused when you see old ship like this one over the seas. we also met cloud jumper a british sailboat once again we asked for the weather, the gemtleman reply with detailed information on the wind and swell for the next 3 days, He was really fast i spent the all morning trying to gaining some ground on him. he was also going to the canaries islands and later that year for a transatlantic joining the arc. today pierre is feeling better and we reach half of the way of our passage.
day 4 :
today we race during the night doing 6 7 knots average. This morning we had the chance to cross path with our friends Manema, what are the odds to meet your friends in a middle of a passage. we had a great talk over VHF they are also having a great passage.
in the afternoon we met the biggest containership so far 300m long by 48m width we call them on the VHF to get the weather forecast and we also asked him the number of container they were caring he replied 8700 , we all had a guess before calling and the biggest guess of the crew was 2000. 8700 is a lot of shit they were going to Rio brazil at a speed on 19 knots this has blown my mind you cannot imagine how big this boat was.
by the way it was a filipino seamen that replied so “maraming salamat po” for the weather ❤️🇵🇭.
day 5 at the starting of the night we hear a really bad noise coming from the steering, one time, 2 times, shit we turn off the autopilot and i take the helm and realise that the steering is fine, we turn back up the autopilot, the noise again, we understrand that there is an issuer with the the motor of the autopilot. If you could here the noise, like you would put screws and blots in a blender, yeah really bad. Anyway i think should we fix this now or tomorrow and steer for the all night. I knew I had a spare of the in the front cabine, and was already tired by the 5 first days so i decided to do the fix now. We had to remove everything from the locker where the motor is located then start the disassembly process. everything went smoothly an hour later the autopilot was back at work. “It was an easy fix” said Dani, i’m not fully agree with him as like any boat work you are folded in 2 inside a locker or on your knees fully in to access the last screw. This was a bit of an emotion but everything went fine and we are back on course
day 5 : in the night the wind shifted and dropped the swell is smaller i would say 1.5m, we change course to get more of a sidewind swell and push by the waves we are doing 5.5 knots. We are alone on the water we only met on boat this night, and at the moment i’m writing there is nobody in sight or on the AIS.
This morning i realized that there are 3 ways of sailing.
sailing for speed, sailing for a cape, or sailing for comfort. This morning i choose comfort i placed the boat sideway to the wind and with the waves pushing us so that we have enough speed and the boat is not rolly, after 6 days at sea you are tired not doing a full night in 6 days, always bounced by the motion of the boat, you have to save your energy we only have one more night and we can rest in a beautiful Anchorage, so it’s time to take it slow enjoy the last moment at sea the beuaty of the sunrise and the pleasure of being away from this crazy society. I love being at sea it gives you a lot of time to think, slow down and just enjoy the moment.
We finally arrived in Isla Graciosa this place was perfect for a well deserved rest and chill
