Visiting Africa
A fishing boat off Cape Verdes
The crossing from Canaries to the Caribbean is usually about 25 days. The classic route is to sail south toward Cape Verde Islands until the east to west trade winds are reached, then you turn west and sail with the wind behind the whole way. It is generally considered a fairly easy crossing, as far as ocean passages go. As we left La Palma we had a weather forecast for about 5 days forward, you could maybe trust the first three days of that fairly confidently. We therefore left and sailed south with the distinct possibility that we may well check in to Mindelo, the main marina on Sào Vicente, Cape Verde should the weather forecast change.
We started off in fairly strong winds, the ships log states >30kt with following seas of 7-8ft. As the week wore on the wind diminished and we could manage to put the fishing line out. This is not something we do in high winds as the practical aspect of actually landing and dealing with a fish while sailing hard is a terrifying thought. By the 6th day of passage however the wind had died and we were motoring toward Mindelo when Brian managed to land a very decent sized Mahi Mahi. He also got a haircut.
The weather forecast indicated there was likely to be no wind for about a week. We are a sailboat: we carry fuel, maybe enough for about 7 days motoring, but we prefer to sail. To continue with a forecast of no wind for a week was not an option, so we pulled in to Mindelo and tied up in the marina. Approaching the island we passed a fishing boat, quite different to the boats we had seen in Europe, much less substantial with about 12 crew on deck or hanging in the rigging. The island was incredibly arid with what looked like a mini desert and sand dunes.
We paid for 50L water (water rationing, that was new), just enough to wash the salt off the boat, and took a look around. It felt quite different, we were definitely not in Europe anymore. The fishing boat trolling through the marina, a fisherman in the water to help bring the nets in. The same fish then scraped and gutted on the beach to sell in the fish market. The market in the center of town, open air with goods displayed on the ground. A large second hand clothing stall selling clothes discarded by western folk and brought to the market in their shipping barrels.
The food in the market stalls was fresher than that found in the grocery store, but with very limited selection. We were glad we had provisioned thoroughly in La Palma and were only planning to stay in Mindelo for 3 or 4 days. We walked around town, enjoying the murals celebrating the rich music culture here, and we had lunch out at a local restaurant, not understanding the menu at all, we ended up with fish soup and BBQ chicken.
Checking out the tourist shops, we found some delightful and well crafted baskets and fabrics, jewelry and carvings. However on a sailboat a smaller souvenir is preferred, we selected this little guy, a collage made of fabric, bamboo and wood celebrating the music traditions….. perfect.
Remember, we were on a schedule, the sailors curse, to get to St Lucia in time for Christmas. We had delayed 3 days, it was time to go. The forecast was not perfect, motoring the first 3 days, but then it looked good and settled for the remainder of the crossing. We left Mindelo, our interest piqued enough to consider returning to explore more, some other time. But now we had an ocean to cross.
Farewell drink with fellow Cruising Association sailors from Wychcraft and Timeless Odyssey before departure.
Heading west, into the sunset.
The first 3 days were little or no wind, certainly not enough to sail with. It had been calm for over a week and as a result the water was crystal clear so when we were visited by this pod of dolphin we got the most amazing and clearest photos. Check out the video of them underwater with the “reflection” against the water surface.
The rest of the 16 day passage was relatively uneventful, the best kind. After the first three cloudy days the wind picked up and the sun came out. We set the two head sails, the genoa and code zero, one on either side, poled out with whisker pole or the boom of the mainsail. We kept this configuration for 5 days as the wind increased. It was behind us so we just went faster. We put out the fishing lines and were treated to some of Neptunes bounty, a Wahoo and Mahi Mahi plus these smaller fish that we threw back as we did not know what they were. It turns out they would have made a fine meal being some sort of Jack fish.
We saw a few cargo ships or tankers in the distance, and one sailboat, Curly. We called them on the radio to chat about conditions and heard they had got caught in a mat of Sargassum weed. They had to start their engine as it had slowed them down so much. We saw the weed ourselves, but not enough to bring Helacious to a standstill.
On day 8 Brian caught a huge Mahi-Mahi, measured at 48” tip to tail. Landing the fish was a challenge, good job Helen was there to give lots of advise! We were lucky no-one lost a finger nor was impaled on a stray fishing hook. The 10lb of fillets filled the freezer and we put the fishing gear away.
Day 12 we had the main and genoa fully out. At 7am there was a crash and the genoa started flailing around. The extendable whisker pole had collapsed, an internal line that holds it out had chafed through. We (Brian) secured it to the unextended length, we reefed in the genoa and continued on our way. Fortunately no damage was done to the rest of the boat as the pole and sail swung around. As the wind increased again to 30kt, it was good to have the sails reefed. The constant rolling of the boat was wearing; it is a different motion to that when sailing with the wind on the beam. You are more vulnerable to the motion of the waves passing under the hull, and as a result there is never a time when you are not bracing yourself, even to sit and read, or lie down. It gets exhausting.
As we approached Caribbean waters squalls began to pop up around us. We could see dark clouds reaching down to the horizon, and the tell tale signature on the radar screen. We were tired and ready to reach land. On the morning of the 16th day, December 22nd at 2am, we sailed into Rodney Bay, St Lucia and dropped anchor. We slept soundly after a quick anchor dram of Norwegian Aquavit to celebrate a safe passage. What a year, sailing from the Arctic Circle to Caribbean waters.