I recently published an article for the web-based magazine Small Boats Monthly.
The magazine is about small boats and publishes some adventure narrative. I pitched the article I wrote about a traditional ulu race Kate and I sponsored and witnessed to editor Chris Cunningham and he was very interested not only in my writing, but also in the Guna Yala region its people, and of course in the ulus, the sailing dugout canoes they accompany Gunas in their everyday life.
He wanted me to expand the article including more info about Gunas, their traditions, and helping with very good editorial inputs that really improved the article.
I wrote about ulus before on this blog, but I am glad Small Boats Only would give to these wonderful boats a wider audience.
You can read the full article and the photos at this link. Enjoy.
Freelance working can be tricky. It comes suddenly after periods of calm, and it forces to reshuffle my schedule to fit jobs and other life commitments. The month of February looked already busy enough for us when Maria contacted me asking if I was available to help her with two charters aboard Joana. We had to make a total revolution to our plans, but the opportunity was too good to let it pass.
I’ve been introduced to Maria and Cathy, owners of Joana, by Kirk, a friend of a friend who I briefly met in Georgia and then finally again in Puerto Lindo. At the bar of Linton Bay Marina, getting to know each other, they told me that it was good that I charter experience as they could use some help on their ship Joana, a beautiful 72ft gaff rigged steel yawl. Of course, that help could be needed in a non specified time in the future, as life afloat is all but easy to plan.
I had admired the lines of this ship from afar when she dropped the hook in Linton Bay anchorage, particularly liking the low freeboard of the steel hull, the classic rigging and the general rugged appearance. In a world of mass produced, performance-oriented plastic boxes, Joana stands out like a rare gem. If you don’t trust my words, check out some pictures of Joana on their website.
Zidars touring Panama City (photo credit Sue Zidar)
The job offer had to be fit into an ambitious plan, with the imminent Kate’s parents visit to Panama, our plan to haul out Tranquility on the hard for bottom paint and yard work, and an again postponed visit to Italy. I remember having meeting after meeting with Kate trying to fit everything in the short month of February, not without stress. What we would do with our boat and our cat?
Eventually we found a solution: I would spend few days in Panama City with Bernie Sr. and Sue and Kate after we made arrangements with our Guna friends and local authorities in Islas Robeson, to leave Tranquillity safely anchored and Beta earning his board on shore, helping make a Guna house pest free. Then, I would travel back to Guna Yala and start working on Joana.
I joined Maria aboard her ship in Esnasdup, a quiet anchorage in the vicinity of Green Island. In Guna Yala there are more than 300 islands and little cays, all with both local and Spanish names, and Attilio, the lancha driver, had a little hesitation when I told him where I needed to be dropped off. Lanchas are the taxi-boats that move people, goods and everything else from the arrival point of the only road in the ports of Cartì to the numerous islands. The reshuffling of our plans involved me taking many lanchas, from and to the port.
One of the many islands in the Guna Yala archipelago
I could only arrive to Joana one day before the beginning of the charter so I needed a crash course: anchoring, sailing maneuvers, food and other supply stowage. Maria is very patient, and gave me a good tour and tutorial of my duties in the fore deck area, where my main actions would take place. As we left for our sailing training, she showed me how to set the gaff rigged mainsail, the cutter (that’s what she calls what I call the staysail) and the Jib.
Joana’s gaff rigged mainsailJoana underway, mainsail, cutter and jib flying
Setting Joana under full canvas requires quite some sweat and fine technique compare to what I am used on Tranquility. By owners’ choice the running rigging has no mechanical help other than the purchase system of hand carved blocks. Without winches, everything has to happen in a specific moment, with a thoughtful planning ahead and sometimes with Maria leaving the helm for few moments to give a hand forward.
It all looks like a little ballet, as one of Joana’s guest once noticed, a sequence that I practiced everyday as we moved from one anchorage to the other. By the end of the trip I felt very at ease on the job, also learning few tricks of the trade that could be definitely used elsewhere.
The cruising area
Joana’s route for these two trips was in the area between Salardup and Rio Diablo. This chain of more than 30 islands stretches a mere 15 nautical miles but offer countless opportunities for snorkeling, laying on the beaches of uninhabited cays and fishing, all in the protection of coral reefs that create flat and crystal clear waters, a very relaxing and comfortable place to be even when the trade winds pick up to 30 knots as it happens for few days at the time during the dry season.
Maria fileting the snapper she speared few minutes earlier
In the galley there was another kind of ballet happening. There was always activity down below, even under way, to make sure our guests received everything they need in therm of meals, snacks and drinks . During the charters we were blessed with good fishing, and we could put on the table a selection of seafood and fish, from lobsters and crabs, to red snappers, Spanish mackerels and conch. Maria and I served the catch of the day in many different ways, including sashimi, sushi, ceviche, grilled baked and steamed dishes.
Surf: snappers ready for the grillTurf: Chicken CurryBaking time
In Green Island I had a particularly prolific fishing night, with four good sized red snappers brought on board. Also, we had the opportunity to spot the infamous two meter long crocodile that lives in the area, and that twice came alongside Joana before being scared away by our enthusiasms/excitement. Fishing is good where crocodiles live!
It is always a pleasure to see happiness on the guests’ face while they enjoy sailing in this environment. We surely do our best to help realize their goals and accommodate their needs, but the Guna Yala islands do us the biggest favor, as they naturally make one feel comfortable and surrounded by pleasurable experiences. Maybe it’s not a case that I keep coming back here, to absorb the good energy that are so plentiful in this corner of the World.
My new friend Turk naps on my bunk
More islands…
February is not ended yet and a new chapter awaits me. Work commitments will keep Kate here in Panama this time, while I will solo travel to Italy for a brief visit to family and friends. As I stated before, life on a boat is not as easy as one may think, compromise and complicated life arrangements are mandatory.
The last item on the list will be the yard period, that we hope to start around mid March. Tranquility needs some attention after being basically trouble free for a long time. Fatigue is unsparing at sea.
Impossible at the moment to make any further plans.
Sailing to Panama: enduring tropical waves in the Caribbean Sea
While waiting for a weather window in Great Inagua, we had a full time recap about tropical weather. Metereology is a fascinating discipline, and it’s also very important to know the basics when you live outdoor and your safety depends on good weather conditions.
Along the 750 miles that separate the last island of the Bahamas from Panama lays the Caribbean Sea, an open stretch of ocean surrounded by land and islands on its 4 sides. This alley is crossed by tropical waves, low pressure systems that generates in Africa and travel west across the Atlantic ocean, towards the Caribbean and South America and generally dissolve over Central America.
During the peak season of tropical weather activity (August through October) these tropical waves could very likely generate hurricanes and tropical storms if they encounter conducive conditions on their way. The sad events of this very active hurricane season reminds us how small we are compared to the forces of nature, and that avoidance is always the best strategy.
Tropical Storm Bret formed early in June from a Tropical Wave (here covering Trinidad and Venezuela) Author: NASA, MODIS / LANCE
We held our position in Great Inagua because Bret, the “earliest named storm to develop in the Main Development Region of the Atlantic basin on record”, had just formed from “a low latitude tropical wave that had moved off the coast of Africa on June 12”. As soon as Bret went its own way we resumed to follow closely the tropical waves to find the right moment to sneak in between them.
We knew that we would encounter at least two tropical waves during this leg, because they usually run every 2 to 3 days. Tropical waves could bring stronger winds, higher waves and thunderstorm activity, and each tropical waves seems a little bit different depending on the conditions encounter during their long trip. The closer to the peak of hurricane season, the higher are the chances that those low pressure system develop into a life-threatening storms.
Luckily we were about on time in our schedule, and the water temperature and general conditions were still not too favorable for tropical depression development. Making sure no yellow Xs were anywhere on the Atlantic charts (the yellow X is the symbol for potential tropical depression forming on National Hurricane Center website), we prepared to leave as soon as possible.
During the entire passage we also had the fortune to be in contact with two friends on mainland US, Chip and Elliott, that sent us daily weather updates via Delorme messenger along the way. We are very thankful for the great help and company from these cool dudes.
We pulled the trigger of our “as soon as possible” departure strategy during a day of strong southeasterlies that blew over Inagua and made even the sail in the lee of the island a bit of a challenge. Pulling off the umpteenth false start, we re-anchored a few miles to the south from where we started and decided to wait one more day before trying again.
LOG 1002nm June 23 Departure from Great Inagua
Flying fish are common during ocean passages. They mistake Tranquility as a landing strip.
The wind was lighter and on the beam when we set off again. Once we cleared the south point of the island the swell and wind waves from the trades turned on the washing machine motion on Tranquility. We made a full day of steady progress until we found pockets of light winds inside the Windward Passage, in the lee of Hispaniola. It slowed us down a lot, with only 60 miles logged in 24hours which was exactly half of what we did on Day 1.
Those hours were uneventful from a sailing point of view, but Kate had the luck to see a pod of pilot whales during her watch, while sea birds visited us regularly, with boobies, gannets, frigatebirds and white tailed tropicbirds, very elegant looking birds, flying in circles while scouting for fish. The Windward Passage is a corridor open to everybody, from small old fiberglass sailboats to Freighter and tankers, from wildlife to floating garbage.
South of Navassa Island, a steep walled island that used to harbor a US military facility, the wind came back and we finally pointed Tranquility to 240 degrees shooting for Puerto Lindo in Panama. With no land in sight and way less company, our only “obstacles” were two areas of banks East of Jamaica, areas of shallower waters that could potentially generate rough seas. With 90 degrees of apparent wind on the port side, we had enough play to adjust our course and clear the shoals with ample margin.
Beginning of the night watch
Shortly after we received the visit from the first tropical wave. The wind increased, 25 to 30kts from ESE bringing haze sky. Luckily we didn’t encounter significant thunderstorm activity nor rain, but the soaking was provided by the tall waves crashing on deck and on the watch keeper.
For the following 5 days we experienced very similar conditions, sustained winds of 25 knots and 7 to 10 ft waves, that translates in permanent use of foul water gear and constant change of clothes. All the hatches and portholes had to stay shut, and the cabin soon turned into a steaming hot sauna, with soaked garments hanging in the hope they could dry.
The persistent moisture was source of discomfort for the crew (and we suppose for Beta too) but at least the progress to destination was steady and fast, with average daily runs well above 100 nautical miles and a peak of 133 on Day 4. We counted three tropical waves passing us during this leg, each one bringing slightly different wind speeds and weather.conditions, but nothing too severe, with almost no squalls.
The change of guard during the morning watch is an opportunity to squid around
At a certain moment the shackle of our staysail halyard block, a sort of pulley that hoists our smallest sail, broke dropping the sail on the foredeck. After clearing the area from the tangled halyard and retrieving the block, I started to assess the problem. Our smallest sail is very important in our sail plan, and we made a great use of it during this passage. The staysail helps filling the fore triangle area catching more wind and working together with the jib during most of the point of sail. In the windiest conditions, when our bigger headsail gives us too much power, we prefer to keep it furled and fly the staysail only. After probably half an hour of concern about how to fix the problem, I finally remembered that we have a spare spinnaker halyard ready to use on deck that worked perfectly in hoisting the sail again for the entire duration of the trip.
Kate with a secure grip on the boat
LOG 1746 nm – July 1st Puerto Lindo, Panama
The vanishing winds dropped us roughly 30 miles to the NE of Puerto Lindo, where we were hoping to land and clear into the country. Panama has two main seasons, dry and wet. From December to April the trades are strong enough to bring constant wind and clear sky over the country, while from May to November winds are light and variable and depend upon weather patterns influenced by the mainland.
Those were the longest 30 miles ever on a boat; the rainy season brought the typical lack of significant wind. On top of that an adverse current pushed us east towards Colombia. It took 24 hours of patience and effort to cover those 30 nautical miles and make landfall, which of course happened around 3AM local time, in pitch dark. Our approach was very slow under electric motor. Luckily our Navionics charts seemed to be accurate enough to pass safely in between three islands and relative reefs before reaching the anchorage. After a brief marital disagreement on where it was safe to drop the hook, we successfully anchored in the unknown dark bay cluttered with other vessels. For the first time after 8 days Kate and I went both to sleep at the same time.
In the morning we called Linton Bay Marina, and proceeded to a dock where we tied up Tranquility. Showers, electrical power, fresh water from the docks and other amenities helped our recovering from the tiring passage. Finally we were in Panama once again. It was 6 years since the last time I was here.
Here is my first experiment with the new GoPro Hero 3 Black edition. The protagonist is Dharma and her crew sailing downwind at 10kts average flying only the yankee in 25kts of wind.
End of the season means change of location, migration, farewells and new encounters. I feel lucky I have some time for me. Working as temporary crew allows me not to get trapped in yachts’ schedule. In the Superyacht industry there is little down time. Once something got accomplished there is already something new to come, a passage, guests’ or owners’ trip, yard period. I am glad I have no schedule, it’s enough to have a direction.
My risk as temporary crew it’s excess of down time an uncertainty. For example now I just finished a job but I still don’t know what’s next. I know that there is an opportunity for me to deliver a Southern Wind sail yacht, my favorite on the market today. I have to wait two weeks unemployed and I am evaluating the pros and cons of this decision. It could be time for me to relax and enjoy myself. If it was a “normal yacht” I would have no doubts in looking for something more profitable. But Dharma it’s not exactly a “normal yacht” to my eyes.
There is something that I love about Southern Wind Shipyard. Even if they build 30+ mts amazing sailing machines the impression you have onboard is of simplicity and sobriety. The philosophy of the shipyard is summed up in this sentence.
“We pursue a policy of consistency in building ever better yachts, avoiding technological embellishments that contribute little to the final result but very much affect the final price”
In other words, just what you need, nothing more nothing less.
I will have a taste of Dharma with the delivery to Puerto Rico, then 12days to explore the island. I realized that taking a holiday was something completely out of my mind, always worried about finding jobs and saving money. I found myself back in trip planning modality something that I haven t been doing for long time and something that I love. In Puerto Rico I am looking for beach relax, surfing, and absorbing local culture.
New Year new boat delivery! This time I am going to join the Sailing yacht Ngoni, a 97ft (ex Pink Gin) Baltic Yacht built in 1999 and designed by celebrated Judel/Vrolijk. It could definitely be the most beautiful sailing yacht I ever had the chance to sail. Taste about boats are relative but this sloop with three headsails (I don’t even know which rig name is that) is a masterpiece of elegance.
The trip will be long, roughly 1000 nautical miles. The idea is to make stops along the way in places like Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, St.Thomas. With a crew of 4 we prefer to do short legs and hide from the worst blows of the trades that are at their maximum in this season.
Yacht delivery from Newport, RI to West Palm Beach, FL
It looks like we are finally ready for a yacht delivery to Florida, . A series of negative and sad events plus some bad weather coming up delayed our departure. Now all is set for a departure on Sunday morning.
Newport has been my home for this summer but the winter is about to kick in for real now. I experienced the first cold of the season and I’ve been missing the sunny, long summer days that make this place so beautiful. But most important jobs are heading south as well, and a yacht delivery is the best way to move where the jobs are.
Yachts move towards warm weather and sunny days as birds and other migratory specimen do. The hurricane season is close to its end (1st of November according to insurance companies) and the Carribean is attracting all the boats from NE of the United States and the Mediterranean with the promise of sun, white beaches and crystal waters. Another busy winter season, despite the financial crisis.
Same does Paraiso, a 108 ft Sailing Yacht where I’ve been working a lot this summer, cleaning bilges, washing and polishing the hull, polishing stainless steel, climbing masts, fixing electrical connections… A lot of work.
Now the mission is to sail down to West Palm Beach, FL where she is going to receive her make-up before the Carribean.
With a crew of 5 we are sailing the distance of 700 nm into the Gulf Stream. She is the biggest and more comfortable sailing yacht I’ve ever been and the trip will take approximately 4 days. Fully prepared food, drinks, snack and hot shower will comfort our long hours on watch.
I’ve been living for ten months in the Comarca Kuna Yala onboard Andiamo, a Beneteau Oceanis 50. While I was on board I accompanied more than 300 tourists to visit the beautiful islands of this area, one of the last paradises in the Carribean, and to meet the Kuna people, proud and smiling natives who still live preserving a unique culture and their language. Simple people who live on the abundant gifts that this place offers, but well aware of the effort required to live.
It was not trivial to relate with them. The differences that exist between Kuna and a European boy may seem unfathomable. I have always received warmth and support from those with whom I had the good fortune to work closely together. It was enough to sit down and talk with them to find out that we humans have much to share even where there are seemingly insurmountable cultural differences. Listen, smile and be open seems to me the best way to meet everyone.
Here in this place where land and water mingle with each other (the archipelago consists of about 370 islands) I lived with sails hoisted and attached to an anchor, being aware of what surrounded me. I meditated on deserted islands and met marine life, I learned to recognize the shape of a fish as it swims, and overcome my fears being in touch with natural environment improving my free diving to go and meet the underwater life so close. I fished a lot and cooked the fish caught by creating dishes that even the best seafood restaurant will find difficult to reply, feeding and making hundreds of happy guests. The diet and lifestyle were the most healthy I ever experienced giving me further reason to think that living on a boat and sail around the world is beneficial to health. I experienced feelings of deep loneliness as well as the strain of never having privacy. I admired Remi (my personal Kuna spearfishing guide) swim faster than a huge Red Snapper and catch him. I used to go with him spearfishing in the outer reef where the open sea crush onto the corals and the marine life is intense and busy. I sailed on a sailing cayuco with Dino, my faithful officer on board and a great friend of many difficulties and joys. I met his family and his friends and the lovely people of Dino’s island Yandup. All this and energetic life sustained me in the responsibilities of the captain, I had the chance to make mistakes, which fortunately were never serious or dangerous and have always solved the major ones, working on emergency in a place with no assistance at all, but supported by the Team of Andiamo, Tony, Mitzy and of course Dino.
The list goes on and on. If I look behind these 10 months I have no regrets and even thinking about the difficulties I can not look to Kuna Yala with other eyes than those of gratitude and joy.
I took three hours of my free time to fulfill a desire I had since the very first moment I arrived in Guna Yala. Everyday, you can see the shapes of Gunas on their sailing ulu, setting sail at the first light in the morning and heading for the fishing destinations or to the mainland.
This image always inspired me a deep sense of freedom and satisfaction and an intense desire to sail one.
The Sailing Cayuco
Cayuco is the name the Spanish explorers gave to the dugout canoes built by indigenous people of the Antilles and other American regions. It describes a monohull with flat bottom and no keel or daggerboard, propelled and steered by a wide paddle. In Guna language it is called “Ulu”, or “urmor”, ù but they often use the name cayuco, at least with non-Gunas like me.
Cayucos are built with the dugout technique: this means that the hull is shaped by carving a log of suitable dimensions, usually mahogany which grows in the well preserved forest of the Comarca (indigenous territory) . Similar to other canoe designs the bow and stern are pointy, and have a streamlined skeg, that help them tracking in the water.
Looking at the bilge you notice the rough marks left by the tools during the chipping out. It is remarkable how Guna shipwrights can obtain such a regular shape with this method and the amount of labor behind every single piece must be enormous.
In Guna Yala cars are useless and the transportation happens on water. Cayucos are everywhere, and sometimes it is hard to find docking to the main piers. They come in very different size and dimensions, every family has at least a small paddle one, but sailing cayucos are longer and more expensive. The modernity brought outboard engines and fiberglass boats named “pangas” or the more common spanish name “lancha”.
The cayuco Dino and I sailed is owned by one of his cousin. The man told me that it was built from a tree donated by his father. When his father died he had the permission to cut the tree and have it carved and painted.
On the sailing ulu the rig is a spritsail (similar to an Optimist): the mainsail is attached with a loose foot to a boom, and the “sprit” is a spar that support the leech. The main is sheeted to a hole through the gunwale and tied with a simple knot. The boat comes also with a headsail which is set flying from the bow to the mast head. The simplicity of the construction is a demonstration of how little techonology is really needed to sail. Even if a lot can be done to improve the performance of this system, it is enough for the essential living of the Kunas, and I am still amazed about how good it is the windward performance without a centerboard. You just need to be equipped with a lot of patience, a skill which Kunas culture is rich of.
Cayuco Mainsail: the spritCayuco Mainsail: loose foot
The rudder is substituted by a wide paddle, called cammi. In fact, the helmsman can be very much called a paddler as you need to paddle the boat into the wind in order to tack. It took me a while to understand how to steer the sailing ulu with a wooden paddle and the fuzzy wind of the afternoon was not helping, but it was nothing too complicated. There is definitely a more close feeling of how the rudder operates and the forces that act on it using this technique rather than turning the wheel of a performance cruiser.
Steering the cayuco
As often happens during fishing trips, especially the ones you improvise, we didn’t catch any fish. Nonetheless I had an interesting day on a sailing ulu, I learned about traditional crafts and fulfilled a little dream of mine. I hope I am going to do it again, next time I hope with a bigger sail, just to have more speed sensation and capsizing danger.
First step is saying goodbye to family and friend. Has never been so hard before, can’t understand why but that’s it.
I’m leaving Milan heading for Berlin, city that I love but this time I’m only crossing it underground S to N to catch the flight that tomorrow is going to take me to the US. Another night in Fort Lauderdale and finally on friday I’m hopefully landing in Panama where the yacht manager pick me up.
After I obtained the Yachtmaster Offshore title I was conscious that I also needed a commercial endorsement to start my career in the yachting world, and that would require taking the STCW95 Basic Safety Training.
The STCW95 (Standars of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) Basic Safety Training is the minimum requirement to get employment on a ship (any vessel of more than 24m in lenght) and it is valid for working on board tankers, cargo ships, cruise ships and Superyachts. With both Yachtmaster Offshore and STCW95 it is possible to obtain the MCA Master of Yachts (up to 200grt) certificate.
Basic Safety Training includes Fire Fighting, First Aid, PSSR (Personal Safety and Social Responsibility) and Sea Survival courses. In five days of both theoretical and practical classes you will have to pass a test in any of these categories.
There are many schools that offer STCW95 Basic Safety Training in almost every country as it is a requisite of IMO (International Maritime Organization) for seafarers.
I was looking for one of this school in Europe. The medium price for the complete course is about 1000/1200 euros in Europe, and 800/1000 $ in the Caribbean. As I was already in the Caribbean I started to have a look around and with an advice of a friend I contacted the UTT Maritime Campus of Chaguaramas in Trinidad.
The program and the school seemed to me really worthy and the course fee of 300$ was the cheapest I found. I flew from Willemstad, Curaçao to Port of Spain, Trinidad with LIAT for aprox 300 $ and so I got the cheapest STCW95 around.
After the first night at Crew’s Inn (nice and posh but bloody expensive!!) I was lucky to meet Rui on the course that helped me to find an apartment in Maraval for 1/8 of the price. The Guest House is in Maraval (Cor.Woodbine Gardens, Saut D’eau Road, Maraval – (868)-629-1017 ) and is run by the lovely Michelle who has several rooms really clean and comfortable. That was for me also a way to discover the hospitable and friendly people of the island and the culture (food in particular, so tasty and spicy !).
It was the cheapest option I could find but it had high standard of teaching as well. The courses are well organized and the brand new campus of Chaguaramas has all the facilities (fire ground, pool and nice classrooms) to learn the theoretical and practical outcomes you need to pass the final test.
The most exciting part was Fire fighting. It was the matter I knew less and the practical experience was phisically and psychologically demanding as we fought real fire with all the tools and protective garments during a really hot and shiny day in Trinidad.
I just sent to RYA in Southampton the copy of my certificate and of the Yachtmaster Offshore to issue the Master of Yachts 200 tons Limited
It’s always hard to renounce, especially when you worked hard for it. But you have to be really honest with yourself and your crew to decide if things are possible or not. Crossing the Atlantic could have been possible anyway, man does really hard things when motivated but accepting a risk is a matter of responsibility towards yourself, the others and the boat.
Eclipse is not enough reliable to leave now and there’s no time left for more fixing as hurricane season is almost upon us. Each of us has other ways to go and our paths separate here. Eclipse will stay here in the Caribbean for one year more.
I am grateful for the experience of preparing the crossing, we tried our best to make it and I can say we almost did it. Next time I will be more conscious and practical with the duties of a transatlantic crossing, or maybe I only will choose an easier challenge. Experience also gives you a different look on reality and modifies your ability to choose which project are possible and which aren’t.
Transatlantic crossing: first leg Curaçao – Republica Dominicana 400nm
After two false starts (never ever use a Max Prop or similar foldable propeller for very long sailing) we finally left Willemstad for a three days sailing up to Boca Chica, Dominican Republic and we moored in a lovely marina just before some more squalls hit the area.
Willemstad, Curaçao
We had good winds for the first part of the trip and then we had to use the engine for almost half of the time. That was another good test that the old Perkins 4.236 passed with some questions. Is the injection in order? Why is overheating some times and some others not? A good mechanic here in Dominican Republic could be a precious help for these doubts.
We’re still in doubt about our future steps. Everything depends on the boat overall conditions and of course on the meteo. It is possible that we need three more days in Dominicam Republic to get everything we need for the next leg, the strongest one. From here if the weather will let us we would like to go up to Bermudas and then Azores.
I’ll try to keep a record of the next steps, in the meanwhile I start publishing some pictures of the trip.
The checkings on Eclipse continue, last update the radar dome is not oscillating because they mounted it fixed to the mast. Genious at work!!
Finally we have a schedule. Leaving on saturday 28th May for the first leg up to Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, almost 380 miles. With a crew of three, me, the owner Furio and the outsider Carlos Andres, we’re supposed to be there monday in the afternoon.
There we have time to have some fresh fruit and vegetables, to welcome onboard Annetta, the most experienced of the four (and definetely the best cook) and to collect informations to decide our course and when to leave.
The last two days in Curaçao are dedicated to last small works, provisioning, fuel and to get the boat ready for sailing.
With a little fear in the heart but great hope we’re leaving soon! BYE
Welcome to a potentially endless post. Relax, I’m too busy for a long writing so I’ll try to condensate the experience of checking and preparing a just bought boat for a delivery trip from Caribbean to Europe.
By the way the problem is that the new owner of Eclipse, a lovely Beneteau Idylle 15.50 (German Frers’ design), want to go to Cagliari and even worst that I accepted to go with him. So now we’re busy with a general survey of the yacht, because for both is unknown. Ok, but what would you check on a sailing yacht to know if is ready to an ocean crossing?
The first suggestion I can give is the following: if you decide to buy a boat in a place but you wanto to sail her somewhere else consider to have a minimum of one month in a botayard to be sure you can fix most of the problems and buy all that you need for a long sailing. Inspecting a boat requires time, patience and several trials, expecially when the past owner disappears after the sale as usually does. Not all boat owners are good sailors so they could not be able to answer to all of your questions.
Safety is probably the most important matter for life at sea and it begins with a reliable and strong boat. Be sure the rigging, mast, hull and seacocks, bulkheads, sails and ropes, engine and electrical systems are in perfect conditions. There’s no point to go out with a liferaft, EPIRB and all the rescue stuff if the boat has some structural problems.
Another thing to test is that everything on deck is waterproof. Hatches, portholes, deck’s core, fittings and plates, each single hole thru the deck has to be completely sealed. Sailing when down below is wet is terrible especially for long time. Water coming from the sky or the sea has to drain off the deck and not inside. Be sure you can dry the bilge with both electrical and manual devices (bilge pumps, electrical and manual, bucket and sponge, everything) and all the electrical system and electronics stay dry. A dry cockpit is a plus that would make you enjoy even bad weather but the minimum of a safe and dry interior is required. Have almost one head full woking (both toilet and shower) and don’t forget the quality of your sailing often comes from the galley, so make it work!
The equipment has to be adeguate for a month of autonomy at sea. That means enough power in the batteries and adeguate charge system (solar, wind and engine, plus charge contoller). A Watermaker is really helpful but in our case we are considering some traditional remedies as collecting rain, cooking with sea water offshore and storing lots of drinkable water in addition to our generous water tanks.
All the sails and ropes (plus shackles, jammers, blocks) have to be checked. Even if we’re not really sophisticated we changed 70% of the ropes and hardware on board, just for safety. Another important thing is to have few day sailing with the boat and then come back to fix the things that are not working. It’s better to customize everything is possible according to your needs and ability as people sail the same boat in different ways.
Paranoia is the master you’ll follow when preparing a transatlantic crossing, and helps you to keep the attention high about spare parts (carry almost everything!), safety gear and devices, and tools to make emergency fixes on board (a generator should help you with 220v). It will also keep you aware of weather conditions so try to equip the boat with the necessary communication devices to get your forecast (SSB radio, Sat phone, Internet/fax connection). Be sure you have everything and know how to prepare the boat for storm conditions (storm sails, drogues)
But don’t let paranoia absorb you completely or you’ll forget that sailing is for fun and crossing the ocean without pleasure is boring and sad. Try to provision the galley with the best food and drinks (fish cooked on a BBQ is defintely the best!), carry some fishing gears, good books or movies for your time off. A nice coffee and breakfast in the morning or a hot and tasty meal in cold and wet weather keeps the moral of the crew at the right point. Consider cooking as an important part of seamanship.
That’s probably the 12% of what you need to know about this subject, but I have to go back to my work and really don’t have all the answers. I posted these questions on LinkedIn groups and received a huge quantity of answers that helped me to write this partial guide. My thanks go to all the users that replied to my post helping me to have a better frame about what I’m doing to check this lovely boat. One week of last details and if nothing unexpected happens we’ll be heading north to Dominican Republic an then up in the Atlantic, destination Azores and Europe. Go Eclipse!
To escape from the uncessant work of a boat refitting I decided to visit the National Park of Curaçao. In a cloudy saturday morning I took the road that leaves the city of Willemstad and the pollution of oil refineries heading Westpunkt, the extreme west of the island. By the way I stopped to buy some fruit in a common house of locals guided by the signal “Fruta Barata” (cheap fruit). Just before reaching the point where the island disappear into the sea you meet the sharp pyramidal edge of Christoffel Mountain. It is 375m high and completely covered by vegetations up to the rocky top.
I entered the Park reception with the tiny Suzuky Samurai I rented from Pedro, the carpenter of the Marina and I paid 19,5 guilders (about 12 $) for the entrance plus the car ticket. The park is divided in two sides. The one that goes up to north is the marine side, a wide area with the rocky cliffs of Boka Grandi, a big lagoon where you can see Flamingos and Eagles, a small cave with some indian paintings and some other routes in the nature. Going south you approach the mountain and the area of disused plantations and mines. I went directly to the mountain as I was a little late. You can visit the entire park with the car through a small stripe of tarmoil that infiltrate the cactus and the small trees.
The first stop was not exciting, an ancient plantation not used anymore. I saw fully coloured birds and a huge iguana that ran away immediately. After this stop I decided to go directly to the hiking route that takes you to the top. From the parking they say it’s one hour to go up and the same to get back. I did it in 40 mins, close to noon but protected by the shade of the cloudy sky. It was really hard even if short and the heat is not a help. I’m not in a good physical condition due to the continuos work on the boat that is definetely not an aerobic activity and I suffered the climb that starts sweet but becomes very steep close to the peak, with some easy climbing passages on the rock. From the top you have a complete view of the island, from Westpunkt to Willemstad but the sky was not so clear and so the visibility. But at least I was not getting burned by the violent sun of noon and I enjoyed the bunch of grape I bought in the morning. Once I got back to the car I decided to visit the marine side, I didn’t know why but I was in a hurry.
The vegetation of the marine side changes with the influence of the wind that blows NE and bring salty air. The trees almost disappear and cactuses predonimate the landscape. Compared to the busy Willemstad this corner of the island is really savage and quite, perfect for meditation and relax.
The marine side has also few caves once inhabited by indians. The caves have paintings on their walls and when I entered I felt like it was a home and I have to escape from fierce animals (I’m not sure if here in Curaçao they even had one in the whole history, probably not).
I enjoyed the journey, it’s defintely not a unique and impressive natural environment, but I always like natural sites with few people where breath fresh air and the noises all come from the wind, small birds singing or waterfalls. I love the western part of Curacao!
