Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Fort-de-France - Saint-Pierre

In the drizzling rain we hoisted the anchor. Few moments later, with wind gusting to 20kn we hoisted the main sail in first reef and were on our way.

The flat waters behind Martinique were a marvel to sail. It has been months since sailing has been as smooth. With the wind sometimes howling through a valley and laying still behind a mountain there was no boring moment.

At Saint-Pierre there was no availability of mooring balls so we squeezed ourselves between the pier, shore and no-anchor zone set to protect the wrecks from the 1902 volcanic eruption.

We are now gently rocking in the swell enjoying the views of the town.

• Distance today: 13NM
• Lunch: spaghetti bolognese
• Engine hours: 1.3

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Anse Mitan - Fort-de-France

A fun week was had adventuring with and visiting some of our buddy boats. But now it’s starting to be time to move on.

And so we hoisted anchor and motored over to Fort-de-France. One would think this is an easy 2.5NM across the bay, but with the acceleration zone, you need to prepare your boat to the sea. Accordingly we packed the dinghy and secured everything. And were happy to have done so, as we encountered a 34kt squall with quite splashy waves in the middle.

As we arrived to the anchorage, the tender from Sya was waiting to guide us in, and to deliver some 3D-printed parts. Now we’re anchored below the old fortress. Nice!

• Distance today: 3.1NM
• Engine hours: 1

Friday, February 7, 2025

Bequia - Anse Mitan

After enjoying a lovely day in Port Elisabeth we had a sturdy breakfast and let the mooring ball go. As we were motoring through the mooring field the wind kept picking up. First to 10kn, then to 15 and 20, so main in first reef and staysail went up. From there we started out standard 6 hour watches.

At sunset we found the lee of St Lucia, we kept sailing through it, even tacking once closer to shore. But eventually the lee got the best of us and we motored for an hour. As we were rounding the northernmost cape of St Lucia, the waves rolled in tall as mountains, dead on the nose. We sailed forward lurching and leaping over and through the waves, occasionally drenching the cockpit crew.

At dawn we found some shelter behind Martinique and could enjoy the unidirectional wave train. As we approached we joined the tens of sailboats buzzing around and could complete the Havel experience with wind twisting and turning wind. Now we are in Anse Mitan where Karin and Daniel are going to leave us to join the next part of their Caribbean adventure.

• Distance today: 110NM
• Lunch: pancakes
• Engine hours: 2.7

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Tobago Cays - Bequia

A perfect day was had in the paradise - swimming with sea turtles, flying kites, the tiki bar, and obviously the huge feast that was the lobster dinner!

In the morning we hoisted anchor and started the slow upwind slog back towards Martinique. Beautiful day, but quite splashy seas and adverse current made for slow progress.

As the ETA started drifting towards sunset, we decided to motorsail the rest of the way. We were greeted by one of the local “boat boys” and ended up picking a mooring right in front of the town dinghy dock. Literally 1.5 boat lengths away.

• Distance today: 28.9NM
• Lunch: aubergine curry
• Engine hours: 2.5

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Bequia - Tobago Cays

After our breakfast we hoisted sails and headed out. Destination Tobago Cays and its picture perfect palm beaches. As the squalls are a daily occurrence we left with staysail and first reef.

The day progressed with a nice beam reach and made good progress. In the afternoon we had couple of squalls and went down to second reef. Some of us enjoyed the rain more than others.

Now we are anchored off Petit Bateau, the lobster dinner of tomorrow is already booked. This is true Caribbean!

• Distance today: 26.2NM
• Lunch: feta salad
• Engine hours: 0.7

Saturday, February 1, 2025

Sainte-Anne - Bequia

We spent a fun week in Sainte-Anne hanging out with fellow cruisers. Then Karin and Daniel flew in to sail with us. Once groceries delivery had arrived, we hoisted anchor and set sail for an overnighter south.

The seas were quite angry in the St. Lucia channel, and around Pitons we started getting hit by squalls of varying intensity. But with the second reef and staysail, things stayed manageable.

But sunrise we were abeam St. Vincent, and had to motor a bit. We dropped anchor in Bequia’s Admiralty Bay at noon. Now it is time to check into the country and then enjoy all that these lovely islands have to offer.

• Distance today: 94NM
• Engine hours: 2.1

Friday, January 24, 2025

Retrospective: the Atlantic Crossing

This post will mostly discuss the technical aspects of the crossing, what worked and what didn’t. For the actual story, you can read our blog posts from along the way.

Read more »

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Sainte-Anne - Sainte-Anne

Today we were finally motivated and awake enough to re-anchor closer to shore. So anchor up and to the midst of all the other boats!

We slowly meandered through the anchoring field until we found a spot right at the edge of the swimming area, half way between a pirate bar and Sainte-Anne dinghy dock. Just the perfect little corner for us.

Kippis, Bernhard and Jouko!

• Distance today: 0.8NM
• Lunch: burgers and beer
• Engine hours: 0.8

Monday, January 20, 2025

Sainte-Anne, 2225NM WSW of Mindelo

The windy conditions continued, and waves kept building up. We kept sailing on, tending to the windvane whenever one of the breakers pushed us off course.

This was the worst sea state we’ve ever had, wave height over 3m, cross seas, and lots of breakers. We got a few good ones into the cockpit as well. But on the other hand, we managed a respectable 143NM in 24h.

Just before dinner, a shout: “land ho!” The hills of Martinique started appearing from below the horizon, later followed by St. Lucia. We knew we wouldn’t make it to the anchorage before dark, but slowing the boat down wasn’t appealing in these conditions. Better to seek the lee of the land and then see what we do.

As it happens, the Sainte-Anne anchorage area is huge. We carefully motored into a position well removed from all other vessels, dodging some lobster pots while doing it. Then anchor out of the locker, and down into the bottom. Now we can enjoy a well-earned proper night’s sleep, and seek an anchoring spot closer to the dinghy dock tomorrow at daylight.

So that’s it, after 2.2k nautical miles, the Atlantic Ocean is now behind us and we can start looking forward to the Caribbean adventures.

• Distance today: 165NM
• Engine hours: 0.7
• Lunch: lentil coconut curry

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Atlantic Ocean, 2060NM WSW of Mindelo

The night was quite sporty. Between the big seas and the wind varying from 15kt to 35kt, the windvane had a hard time keeping up. This meant we needed to be constantly ready to intervene.

In the darkness, it was raining not only thanks to the squalls but also flying fish. Suski got hit by one in the chest, and we ended up tossing dozens overboard from the cockpit floor, side decks, and even our deck drains.

One positive to this wet weather is that the boat is looking a lot cleaner. Lots of the accumulated Sahara sand is now gone.

We can now see Barbados on our plotter offshore zoom level, and will be leaving it to port.

• Distance today: 135NM
• Engine hours: 0
• Lunch: spaghetti aglio e olio