Tag: transatlantic crossing

Tenerife Sailing
Long time no write

Long time no write

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I have been a bit absent on this channel. My last post was a farewell to the continent that gave me so much for almost 10 years and then silence.

I want to confirm that I am alive and well, I just have been adapting to a new environment and a new life, and sailing got sidetracked.

I worked a lot on my other website Psychology of Sailing (any feedback on the work done is more than welcome) and left this blog unattended.

Changing worlds and life has become a familiar feeling. Coming and going, living in new territories, cultures, climates, languages. It’s now part of my DNA. It is however not simple.

It was Venezuela, Curaçao, Panama, USA, Hong Kong.

Now it’s Tenerife. 

It took 42 days, more than 3800 nautical miles, 20 books and several movies to get here. The route took me from St.Marys in Georgia where Tranquility got awaken from her peaceful slumber to Faial in the Azores, where I spent my birthday and rested a couple more days, and then Tenerife.

Of those 42 days I have vague memories already. I can say that I miss those days very much. I missed being down below and coming out on deck at regular intervals, during the day and at night, and see just the ocean, adapting to rhythms that very rarely were in accord with my desires, to the point that what I desired was irrelevant.

Being by myself on a 55 years old sailboat in the middle of the Atlantic was something I have never envision for myself in my youth. Yet probably the most pure of sensations I felt since I am alive.

Now that I am landlubbing again the sensation is receding back into my memory with just few glimpses taking me back to that time.

I can say that it all ended when I spotted the high rise island from afar.

It was early morning, timing could not have been more favorable. When you sail a slow boat for multiple day passage it is basically impossible to know at what time you are going to make landfall.

A clear, sunny and windy day welcomed me to the island.

The arrival at Club Nautico Puertito de Guimar was a little concerning.

I had turned around the NE tip of the Island giving enough room for currents and wind effect. After gybing a fresh breeze was pushing me towards my destination, so I was cheerful yet worried about docking in strong breeze by myself.

As I was getting closer the wind increased and soon the fresh breeze  became strong with gusts well above 30kts I  put the third reef in and furled the jib.

Elliott, who guided me via text messages throughout the crossing, had warned me of strong wind conditions at my arrival but I was caught by surprise as winds had always been mild throughout the crossing. I forgot how strong winds looked like.

Docking the boat solo after 8 days from Faial went well despite the tough conditions. My girlfriend organized a surprise inviting my parents over for the welcome back to land. I spent the firsts days on the island as the perfect tourist, driving around the gorgeous island, enjoying the perfect climate and a breathtaking landscape. 

Now that I am seriously tied back to land I look back at the pages that I wrote during the crossing as a soothing reading. The desire for many more days in the ocean never left me, it has just been put on pause.

I though to share here those lines that I collected on a rocking boat in the long hours spent down below in the cabin.

Among the many beautiful and unexpected gifts of 2020, this solo crossing what what is giving the courage to tackle many other daring ideas and projects.

I hope you are going to enjoy the report from this experience which I am going to publish in digestible bites in the following days.

I also hope you don’t mind reading a brief poem I wrote not long ago, thinking about this nomadic life, made of so many farewells and welcome parties (and I also hope you don’t mind a couple of swear words )

Dream stitching

  A soft crash on an alien planet
 I repeat the experience
 Foreigner, newcomer, beginner
 Looking for a warm embrace
 

 Scattered around the globe
 My soul leaves crumbles 
 They become flowers
 That are calling me back 
 

 Longing
 You bastard feeling
 Wherever I lay
 You chase me
 

 Nostalgia
 You cunt
 I love you so much
 My good old friend
 

 Afloat in darkness
 My breath moves on
 Touching pale light
 With nowhere to go
Transatlantic crossing aborted

Transatlantic crossing aborted

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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

Transatlantic crossing: first leg Curaçao – Republica Dominicana 400nm

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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.

Transatlantic crossing: Curaçao to Cagliari

Transatlantic crossing: Curaçao to Cagliari

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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

Checking a boat for an Ocean crossing

Checking a boat for an Ocean crossing

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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!

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