This year Lille Ø took us through the treacherous tidal waters of Scotland and the big waves of the open Atlantic Ocean to the warm waters of the Canary Islands. After careful consideration of historical weather data we made a plan that would take us on a progressively more difficult sailing trajectory to prepare us for our dream of taking Lille Ø to the sunny and warm south. Along the 4200NM we have encountered challenges that we could overcome, successes we could celebrate, and the contrast between northern waters and subtropical bliss.
| Distance sailed | 3575.9 NM | (81.3%) |
|---|---|---|
| Distance motored | 820.1 NM | (18.7%) |
| Total | 4396 NM | |
| Travel days | 124 | (54%) |
| Harbour days | 72 | (31%) |
| Storm days | 33 | (14%) |
The question of a dinghy is one that all cruisers need to answer. There are multiple options available and you need to pick the one for your requirements and budget. Our budget and needs lead us to the world of self-built hard dinghys, and we chose the Spindrift 9 nesting dinghy from B&B Yacht Designs as the one.
The long project season is coming to an end, and the sun has started shining for a bit longer again. To celebrate, we went out for the long Easter weekend with some of our Berlin cruising buddies.
Yesterday we completed the haulout task list, and were able to splash the boat this morning. After clearing the chaos on board that this always created, now we can focus on replenishing the ship’s stores for the trip ahead.
Morning started with last of the packing and a breakfast at the Gothia terasse with our local sailing buddies. Coffee, croisants and various pastries were consumed before firing up the engine and going through the last checklists if we had forgotten something. Based on the lists we were all set to leave and we were sent off with a cacophony of fog horns! The voyage had started!
We left the ship elevator sport boat dock at sunrise, and started our journey through the Oder river valley.
The day started early with hoisting up the mast. We moved over to the crane and prepared all tools and removed all now unnecessary ties from the mast. Only few hours later, the rig was tuned and all sails were on. We are a sailboat again!
The first night’s sail was delightful under a starlit sky. Very little traffic, and a nice slow broad reach got us abeam of the island of Rügen and the scenic Königsstuhl cliffs at sunrise.
Sailing lasted for about 4 hours until the wind died again. At this point we turned on the motor and headed in to Copenhagen. Entering a new harbour at night is always exiting.
We spent a lovely tourism day in Copenhagen - toast skagen, looking at the historical sailing vessels in Nyhavn, the bog bodies and sun disk at the National Museum, and finally some wandering around the beautifully lit Tivoli gardens.
Weather prognosis held true, 20 kn gusting to 30, waves around 1.5 meters. Wind beam to broad reach for us, so a perfect opportunity to head towards Sweden and the Archipelago on the west coast. The weather called for staysail and main in 1st reef. We were expecting a fast and bumpy ride and we got it.
At sunrise we woke up to a drizzly, misty weather. Heavy weather was on forecast, and after many consultations with charts and satellite pictures, we had picked our storm hole. So, motor on and release the boat from the buoy.
Morning started relatively early as we needed to get Jon to shore before his first meeting. We enjoyed the breakfast outside in the glassy calm that was the weather after the storm. Our anchorage proved to be a nice shelter. Yesterday we saw only 20 kn gusts instead of the 48 that the closest weather station reported.
At Ellös we ended up chatting with our dock neighbour. He had a very similar boat to ours, a 31ft double ender that he had sailed around the world, including Cape Horn. He recommended the island of Bassholmen as our next destination.
After waking up we started a project morning. We added a new filter to the water maker and water filter and finally added the runner gasket to the front hatch. After all things were done, we said goodbye to the lovely Bassholmen and headed towards Lysekil to fill up our diesel tank. We are expecting some cold weather for the next week, so reserves need to be full to be able to run the diesel heater at anchor.
Based on the forecasts, we expected a nice easy night sail across to Norway. The forecast got some parts right. The wind direction was spot-on, as was the current. Wind strength, on the other hand…
When the winds are favourable, one must sail!
We were waiting for a good weather window for rounding the famous Cape Lindesnes - the southernmost point in Norway. Today it all matched up: low but sailable winds, small waves, and wind with current. And so we filled our water tank and headed west under full sail.
Day started with slow winds as we motored out of the harbour. After we had passed the narrow fairway out, we deemed the 5kn of wind to be enough to sail with. The sea was nearly waveless and we could use even the lightest winds to sail further with a comfortable crawling speed. It doesn’t always need to be high winds and adrenaline.
Yesterday’s project day went quite nicely - both of the electric bilge pumps are now installed. Suski also built a new grating to cover the cockpit drains. In the evening the rain ended and we enjoyed making some pancakes on a fire and well deserved project beers, thanks to Karsten.
We woke up an hour before the sunrise to be able to start at day break. We motored quietly out of the beautiful anchorage and hoisted the main inside the sheltered bay. We motor sailed out and waited for the wind to decide from where it is coming before rolling out the genoa. We made slow and steady progress aided by the 1- 1,5 knot current.
The weather forecast promised a bit frustrating passage past the shallows of Jærens Rev. First some downwind sailing, then windstill, and finally short tacking in sleet. Luckily for us, forecasts can be wrong.
What we thought was a full harbour became even fuller as the evening grew older. At the end there were 10 boats on the tiny pier, some rafting up together, some coming in with stern anchor and tying the boat to the pier only from the bow. We enjoyed a lovely evening talking to our fellow boaters getting a lot of good tips where to stay and what places to avoid.
After doing the laundry it was time to head out for the day. The aim was to beat our way to Lysefjord for some epic anchoring scenery. We left the harbour under gusty conditions and raised the main in first reef under the wind shadow of some tall apartment buildings. Staysail followed shortly after.
Fjord weather can be quite unpredictable, and today was a good example of that. A wind shift by 20° in the forecast meant a complete 180° on Lysefjord, and suddenly all of our anchoraging bay was a lee shore. Thankfully holding was good, but there was a short steep chop that made the night quite restless.
After a lovely 1st of May sailing Isosaari in the picture perfect Lagunen, it was time to head towards Bukkøya and it’s Viking settlement center. The route would take us through parts of the “Nordvegen”, the northern route that this country is named after. This protected way north has been in use since at least the viking age.
In the morning we visited the Nordvegen Historical Center. What a cool experience built inside the hill! Especially when you have the museum all for yourselves.
The first watches were accompanied with only a slight breeze and we were gliding towards west slowly. As the darkness fell, we were going wing on wing with the occasional bigger wave throwing us off course easily. As the second watch change came, we decided to give up the wing in wing and change our course for a higher broad reach. That would give us diminished sail flapping so better sleep for the off-watch.
As we went into night watches the fog kept getting thicker. The wind also picked up, and built a sea state of about 1.5m. Finally the North Sea looked more like we expected it to look!
We left after getting a clearance from Port control. The motoring out was was a bit more existing than coming in, as the aft end of “Fridtjof Nansen” was blocking 2/3 of the harbour entrance. After clearing the Hurtigruten cruiseliner, we hoisted our sails and settled for the broad reach course of today.
Today’s puzzle was getting past the tidal race at Sumburgh Head. While visiting the excellent Jarlshof site, we could see some pretty nasty overfalls out there, as wind was against tide. So, time to consult the tidal stream charts.
Papa Stour offered some amazing hiking among the steep cliffs and Lapland-like fells of the interior. But now there’s some weather coming and hence time to move to a more sheltered position.
Two days with heavy winds in Scalloway went by quickly. We visited the local museum, did some small provisioning, and a lot of laundry.
The alarm rang at 5:30 so we could catch the tidal current going south. We motored the first half of an hour before the wind filled in and we could start sailing. We had been waiting for suitable weather to sail south already a couple of days. Lovely island time and dinghy adventures on St. Ninian’s, but sailing in these waters is not a game for someone with a schedule.
Fair Isle proved to be worthy of its reputation. Amazing landscapes, tons of birds, beautiful lighthouses, cozy little museum, and even remains of a crashed WWII bomber just lying on a field.
After consulting the Reeds Nautical Almanac, the departure time was set to 8am. We needed to arrive around 10:10 to get the slack tide when catching the mooring buoy from Orkney Sailing Club.
A gloomy morning. Windstill and thick fog where even the nearby shore disappeared occasionally. We could hear the fog horns of Kirkwall ferries, and weird howls from what must’ve been the seals living in the bay.
12:30 at high tide, we cast our shore lines and motored out of the wave break. After it we hoisted the main in 1st reef and the staysail. We were heading south towards Cape Wrath! For this passage to be on our list there were few requirements. Get both leaving Orkneys and arriving at Cape Wrath with tide with us wind accompanying. So when the easterlies came, we jumped at the chance ditching our plan to take the easy route via Caledonian Canal. Rounding Scotland from the north it was.
Playing the game of when to leave and when to arrive gave us the times of 12 and 18. We hoisted the anchor and main sail in quick succession and turned to a downwind exit from our anchorage. From there we retraced our way back out and got to experience some good old Havel-style winds. It seems here you check from the forecast the wind strength, not the direction.
We spent a nice day in the beautiful Loch Shark, doing some boat projects and generally enjoying the time. But today there was again wind in the forecast, and from the right direction. So time to sail!
We enjoyed our morning coffee outside, watching the seals hang out on their rocks “sunbathing”, though the sun was just a faint promise behind the clouds. We hoisted the anchor and the mainsail and rounded the island to head downwind out of the Loch Claidh. After turning to our course we rolled out the genoa too. In the cover of the island we had flat calm waters and oh what a joy it was to sail. Until the next Loch and a dead headwind to an outgoing flow on rising tide?!? So we switched to the iron gennaker and slowly made progress towards the Tarbert marina in a drizzle.
We started the day with excellent cappuccino from the Tarbert pier’s coffee truck. Then boat ready, and out of the harbour before the Calmac ferry would block the exit.
You know something is up when the locals start moving their boats to more secured locations. After two nights in the picture perfect bay, it was time to head out. We released the slime line from the mooring ball and motored out. Wind dead on the nose we weaved through the rocks and shallows onto ever increasing swell. Instead of just carefully navigating with slow speeds we powered through with decisive speed. At the last narrow we were on our standard cruising revs on the engine but doing only half of the standard speed. As soon as the shallows were behind us we hoisted the main in 1st reef and our staysail. And then we were off with 30kn of wind on the beam!
The guest moorings at Plockton worked all right. We got to visit the village pub, and the mooring held through the gusty, rolly day. But today the forecast looked a little bit better, and so we wanted to try solving our next puzzle: the famous tidal gate at Kyle Rhea.
The Ornsay anchorage was very pretty, and the pub was fun. But now it was time to seek a bigger town and provision again. Freshies and snacks acquired from Kirkwall are officially out. And so we hoisted anchor in the morning and headed south.
We woke up to a hustling harbour. It seemed everyone, including us had decided that today would be the day to sail to the next anchorage or marina. We exchanged last quick tips with various neighbours and headed for the fuel dock that had a steady atream on boats coming in and out. We filled the tank up, first time since Sweden and proceeded to hoist the main sail while still inside the protected bay.
Loch Aline was a nice, sheltered anchorage. We generally only saw half of the forecasted wind speeds. And as the north quarter of the Loch dries out, we were able to forage ourselves a proper mussel dinner.
After the work day it was time to get our guests out for an evening sail. A rounding of Kerrera was planned and executed. After the harbour we sailed out of the North Sound with a nice beam reach.
After a fun night in Oban, we decided to go anchoring with the crew. So, breakfast and under way!
We hoisted the anchor at eight, along with a ginormous ball of seaweed, kelp and mud. As we were on a schedule we motored to Oban so Miisa and Phil could catch their flight back home. After we had tied up it was time to grab a shower.
After a fun night at anchor, the day dawned with a new mission: to hunt and catch up with the Brigantine Lady of Avenel.
After a night of whisky and song at Lady of Avenel, we departed at 13 to catch our next anchorage at high slack. We hoisted the sails just outside of the harbour and proceeded to Kerrera Sound. In Oban bay area it is advisable to listen on the channel 12 for the comings and goings of the ferries. As we were in the sound one of them radioed they were coming in where we were sailing, so we waited in the nearby bay sailing back and forth for the ferry to pass.
Today’s target was the famous anchorage at “The pool of the Otter”. We hoisted anchor and sailed through the tidal eddies out of the Black Isles anchorage. Then an easy broad reach down to Puilladobhrain.
No tides to wait this time, so we left after we had woken up and had breakfast. We weaved our way out between the anchored boats and hoisted the sails just outside the bay. There was not much wind, so we slowly blobbed wing on wing with a poled out head sail. At the Kerrera Sound the wind died completely, so we motored the rest of the way.
Midsummer day started grey and rainy, but also with a good wind direction. After coffee, we motored out of the marina and hoisted sail inside the Oban Bay.
With no significant tide to deal with, we decided to wake up without an alarm. Around nine we were all up and ready for a breakfast. Luckily the rain had already stopped, so we could enjoy the scenery on the back deck. After breakfast it was sails up and on a downwind course towards Isle of Rum.
Our first expedition to the Isle of Rum got the whole crew drenched, so we spent the evening drying all of our gear and the boat. The morning greeted us with light winds and sunshine, and so before departure we decided to make use of the island’s excellent shower facilities.
After a somewhat loud night with the mooring buoy banging against the hull in the windstill we set sail towards Skye. We sailed in the lee side of the loch, no waves but very variable winds, as can be expected. Winds ranging from 10 to 35 knots we made good progress towards our target.
In the morning we got the northerly wind shift we had awaited. So, anchor up at 7:30, and in the light fickle winds we motored around the Strathaird Promontory to our target: the epic anchorage of Loch Scavaig.
We left the beautiful anchorage at 8am after a quiet night. All of us slept well in the embrace of the mountains. We motored out into the glassy calm sea. A gale was coming, and we decided we’d rather have the Isle of Skye between us and it. After few hours of motoring and the promise of being way too early for our scheduled passing of the Kyle Rhea tidal race, we rolled out the genoa and main sail. We were going nowhere fast, but that was exactly what we needed.
Weather chess is always difficult in new cruising grounds. But this time we hit the jackpot - the cosy little anchoring bay at Totaig had no swell, and cut the gale to nearly nothing. The only restless night was when the wind had a northerly component that blew occasionally into the bay. But even then, we were swinging securely on the anchor with good holding. Time was spent reading, a bit more elaborate cooking, and a proper movie night.
We woke up to the sound of rain. With the battery level of 35% this meant that it was time to go to a marina and charge the battery. We took off and motored the 1 NM to Kyle of Lochalsh and tied up to the floating pontoon. Only to realise that all the electrical outlet columns were wrapped tightly with black plastic bags and tape. So no power available.
We dropped the mooring ball before 6am in order to catch the wind shift brought by a frontal passage. Then sails up and towards The Minch. Suski was feeling a bit under the weather, and so most of today was a solo affair.
After this week’s gale had passed we ventured back to the Little Minch, a bit unsure how the light winds and potential swell would work for us. But we encountered ripple calm seas, so as soon as we were past the last cape of Skye we hoisted the main sail and genoa.
Morning dawned with a light northerly wind, and so we left the Haunaray Sound at high tide. Again no problems completing all the slalom turns of the narrow channel between the rocks. A few seals and red deer stopped to watch us pass.
Sometimes getting out of harbour is a community event. Higher than expected winds right on the beam, with nothing but the finger on our lee and a neighboring boat hanging way beyond the stump of a finger meant that leaving would be difficult. As there was just 2 meters of pier left in front of us, we contemplated and tested leaving bow first. No chance, the wind pushed us in so hard. Then we drove to the bow spring and reversed out. All fine and dandy but the wave break was 2 boat lengths away and Lille Ø didn’t want to turn in that space this time. So after a bit of harbour tango later, it was time to abort the try, so we side tied on to the wave break. Phew.
Having enjoyed an epic sunset with a double rainbow and a restful night, we hoisted the anchor in the morning. Forecast was showing a nice but rainy 10-15kt downwind run to Jura.
We hoisted the anchor a bit after nine and left the beautiful and rocky terrain of Jura behind. We motored through the narrows and hoisted the main sail and genoa close reached. In the beginning we had some proper wind and could fight the current pushing us to shore, but it got weaker and weaker. We tacked to give us more sea room, but that was not enough, we were being pushed ashore as the wind died down completely.
Yesterday was spent on land adventures - visiting two of the distilleries, and dinner in the town of Port Ellen. As we have a distillery tour booked at Ardbeg for tomorrow, we decided to move closer today.
Today was a race against the dying wind. We woke up at 5am, drank some coffee and were on our way. The little wind from the morning was expected to fill in before dying, hopefully after we arrive.
After a couple of days exploring the museums and gardens of the area, there is finally favourable wind in the forecast. To capitalise on that - and to save on marina fees - we decided to move to the nearby anchorage. It will be easier to leave from here when the time is right.
As the westerlies and northerlies have been few and far between, we took the option of leaving in the evening and arriving in the morning at Isle of Man, and waiting for the +-2h of the high water to enter the harbour. At least that was the plan.
After two fun days on Isle of Man, there was again a forecast that got us moving - the winds would turn northerly in the evening, and remain so for about 12h. Luckily that coincided with the evening high water, and so we grabbed passage pizza and left Peel marina at 11pm towards the darkening Irish Sea.
After fixing the shredded wire from our starboard nav light, we were ready to leave. We expected wind to go from S to SW to W before turning back to S in the morning. So we ventured in to the evening. For our dinner entertainment, a pod of dolphins came to say hello and played in the bow wave for a bit before continuing on their way. We were pinching towards south in a comfortable current with us.
After some resupplying and a fun party at the local sailing club, we decided to move the boat to a nearby anchorage. Roadstone Bay is an old quarry dock that had been recommended to us.
In tidal areas there is almost always a schedule to follow, even when doing a multi-day passage. Stream charts showed that the current would be much stronger in St. George’s Channel than on the wider Celtic Sea, and so this meant an early morning start.
The night was littered with lights. Cargo ships, fishing boats and even couple sailboats. As the moon was only a sliver, we could see the milky way across the sky. Even some shooting stars kept us entertained.
When to leave is always the big dilemma when planning for a bigger ocean passage. I feel a nervous lump in my stomach every time. But when the engine is on and the anchor is up the lump disappears and instead I’m confident and happy. The decision has been made and what ever comes, Lille Ø can handle it.
In the evening we were hit by one squall gusting 30kt, though only for some seconds. When the next one was approaching, we prepared by reefing. This time it was a dud, but we still sailed into the darkening night with a reefed main and the staysail.
The night brought variable winds and shooting stars. The windvane kept meandering with the wind and we manoeuvred us through the main shipping lane in the darkness. Only once we needed to hail a tanker on VHF to define how they were going to pass us.
The light sailing conditions continued much further than anticipated. Just after the sunset, a couple of whales came to check us out. Big ones, seemingly bigger than the boat. In the dusk it was hard to tell the species as they blew water.
The wind kept steadily increasing until it was gusting up to 25 knots. A funnel effect of the cape Punta dos Aguillos for sure. We were absolutely flying onwards in our second reef with the staysail.
Four days went past quickly in A Coruña. We got to enjoy the local cuisine, visit a Roman lighthouse, and do a good provisioning round. As a bonus item, there were two Finnish boats in the marina that we ended up hanging out with.
We left when the wind had picked up to about 7 knots, something we could sail. We hoisted the main sail in the small bay protected by the wave break and continued our journey towards the end of the world, Cabo Finisterre. At least that was the end of the world for the Romans.
We have been enjoying life at anchor and been exploring the village of Muros and it’s festivities. The rudder-munching bunch of Orcas has been reported to be some 150 south of us and moving north so we have decided to stay in this Ría until they have passed our location, which by this rate should be in 3 days.
A few days went past quickly off the Bornalle beach. Some dinghy adventures under both sail and oar, and some cruiser socialising with a Finnish boat. But now the weather and orca forecasts aligned to allow us to continue.
We woke up to a foggy day. As we were preparing the boat for the short ride, a pod of dolphins swam by. First time we’ve seen dolphins in an anchorage!
Getting packages delivered to the marina was a bit of an adventure, and one is still missing. But since they only move on weekdays, we decided to head out to anchor for the weekend.
Team lazy needed to move to the other side of the Ría for tomorrow’s NE wind. But as right at the moment we have no wind at all, we left FLINsails up and didn’t bother to pack the dinghy properly. Anchor chain was also left on the deck ready to the anchoring on the other side.
Our anchoring permits for the Illa de Ons nature reserve got approved, and this meant giving up on that lost parcel and sailing on.
During the night wind shifted from NW to NE which made for an uncomfortable night. In the morning getting rid of the mooring line was interesting as the waves and wind made it hard to release. A complete newbie mistake but you need to make also those from time to time.
The visit to the Cíes islands nature reserve was lovely, but had to be cut short due to the anchoring permit restrictions. Yesterday we watched the sun go down from the island lighthouse, and then rowed back to Lille Ø in the dark.
The morning started with practically no wind, so we motored out. Expecting the wind to pick up out of the bay, we hoisted the main sail while still in the shelter of the mountains.
As it often is, what a difference a day makes! Yesterday we could barely sail a bit, and today instead the conditions were quire lovely for sailing the whole day.
Finally, the fog had lifted and we dared to venture out of the harbour again. We motored for the first couple of hours in search of the wind and after we finally found it, we could shake the small ash particles out of the sails. While on harbour we got a fair amount of ash on the deck due to the nearby forest fires. Luckily as the windstill came, it gave the firefighters a chance to beat the flames.
We were surprised by the Aveiro river bar opening a day earlier than anticipated. This meant we could catch this set of winds, and so we timed departure to passing the bar at high water slack.
As we turned into night watches, the fishing secrets we got from a Finnish cruising couple bore fruit. Our efforts were rewarded with a nice mahi-mahi just an hour after starting to drag the lure. It was promptly dispatched and filleted for today’s dinner.
The night fell under the power of the Parasailor. With these wind angles the ride is so much smoother with it! In the darkness of the night clouds slowly filled the sky and morning rose to an overcast day. There is some traffic around us, so keeping an eye on it passes the time on watches. As we have now truly found our sea legs again, watckeeeping is accompanied with handicrafts and reading. And in the night listening to podcasts or audiobooks.
After dinner the wind picked up enough that we could finally steer with the windvane. What followed was a quite exhilarating night sail under the spinnaker with rising winds. At the 2am watch change we decided the drop the Parasailor, and went directly for the staysail. Another moment when I was happy we’d fitted the new deck light in Berlin!
In the night we saw a light without a corresponding dot in the plotter. A boat without AIS so far offshore, that is something we haven’t seen on this trip. After about an hour the light was identified as a green position light, so a sailboat then. Few hours after that we passed the sailboat from the bow and could further deduce that the light we see is most likely a mast top tricolor, so we could see it from afar.
We again set up the poled out headsail for the night watches in order to be able to get further downwind and towards our target. Just an hour later, a 22kt gust came through, and the whisker pole buckled with a “snap”. We scrambled to roll the genoa in and to lash down the broken pole. Oops. Thankfully we carry a spare.
Now that we are out of the orca area, sailing can yet again be decided upon best winds. So the alarm rang at 3:30 and at 4am we hoisted the anchor and motored into the darkness.
Much of the last week was spent sheltering from the tails of old hurricane remnants that were making their march east towards Biscay or Portugal. The nice Madeira season was clearly coming to a close.
In the evening sky we could enjoy the comet making its pass. The moon was up, so the darkness didn’t set in properly, what a joyous feeling.
Right after dinner the wind picked up, and we could finally sail again. First on a tentative wing-on-wing, and soon we put in the first reef and moved the staysail to the same side.
After few days in anchor and ten after the latest grocery run, it was time to move. We motored against the wind and current between La Graciosa and Lanzarote and hoisted main and reefed genoa when we could turn to first a beam reach and later to wing on wing.
A week went by quickly on Lanzarote, getting to know the volcanic landscape and hanging out with some fellow cruisers. But now forecast has a week of calm ahead, and so we thought it would be more fun to spend that in an anchorage.
The days in anchor proved to be a bit more stressful than anticipated. Our anchor trip buoy attracted multiples of rental motorboats trying to use it as a mooring ball. Two of them managed to tie themselves to our thin line and drag our anchor… After the second incident when we had to reposition the anchor, we decided to remove the marking buoy completely. Apparently the rental places tell the boats that there are free moorings in the anchorage, but they don’t tell the boats not to tie next to other vessels or how to make sure you are on an actual mooring and not on someone’s anchor marker…
Tropical storm Patty has sort of messed up the whole Atlantic weather system, and so on the “Island of Strong Winds” we’ve had a calm for a week.
The morning started with trying to find the harbour master for paying the two extra days we had spent trying to ship a DHL parcel out of Fuerteventura. Apparently the fact that the harbour in Corralejo has no street number was a hurdle too high for the service. Sigh.
The stop at Gran Tarajal ended up being a bit longer. At first there was no wind, then strong winds but from totally wrong direction. And then finally a nice forecast that allowed us to leave just before noon.
The night fell under partially cloudy sky. Untill the moon rose, it was very dark. The wind was variable, like it couldn’t decide which direction or speed to take. We passed the traffic separation scheme without issues.
