Crossing the Atlantic: 2600 nm Cape Verde to Brazil
23 days, 2688nm on the clock. 65 hours motoring.
Not by far the longest trip we have done together, but the longest on Velvet Lady, the longest just us 2 handed, the longest trip ever without a tack and more important
NO GALES.
Not really any dramas, just a couple things to fix.
How lucky were we, a really mixed variety of weather and sea conditions,
A thoroughly enjoyable experience.
After a week in Sal, Cape Verde, we were chomping at the bit to get going again. We were rested, had explored, done our chores and the forecast looked great. We wanted to leave early Sunday so were allowed to clear out Saturday afternoon.
Like kids at Christmas, Richard and I were both awake at the first sign of light filtering in through the cabin window. Hot water heater on for showers, kettle on for coffee, last weather downloads, anchor up and deck cleared away before 0800 and we were off.
We had a fast start with enough wind to get us on our way at 7 knots. It was a clear day, so as we weaved our way through the islands we only lost sight of Sal at 22nm, saw Boa Vista for a short time 25nm away and picked up San Nicolau at 41nm. We watched it grow bigger throughout the afternoon and the lights twinkle at night. The Cap Verdes are spread out so we would be amongst islands for the first 24hrs. Fogo appeared out of the haze at dawn, its 2000m high and only the top was just peaking above a cloud.
By the evening of day 2 we were clear of them all and settled into our watch routine.
0700 to 1300 Lin, 1300 to 1900 Richard, 1900 to 2300 Lin , 2300 to 0300 Richard, 0300 to 0700, Lin and then 0700 to 1300 Richard….same times alternating days.
It takes a while to get into it but it soon become easy.
Our days were filled with the normal watch routines: watching, monitoring the wind, chasing windshifts by gybing, cooking, eating, washing up, downloading weather maps, filling the log book, plotting positions on the chart, monitoring battery state and charging, making water,…. then discussing the route at watch change. Off watch we are mainly sleeping but also find time for showering, listening to podcasts, practicing Portuguese etc. Its all fairly normal until it isn’t!
We are both quite keen to stick to the full 24 hour routine and go off watch and sleep or rest whenever we can. This banks us some sleep for those times when both of us are needed on deck. If something breaks or there is an alarm it often needs one person fixing the problem and the other helping and keeping watch at the same time.
We had two such episodes this trip.
There was a smell. Not a bad smell, not a toilet smell, just an unusual scent in the air that makes your eyes sting and was annoying, but it was getting stronger. What was it? As it got worse, could it cause damage? We had to find it. Eventually we narrowed it down to one cabin . I kept watch whilst Richard moved bikes, bedding, food, all stuff stowed in a cabin and we could get to the paint cupboard underneath. Yes, there was a can of spray paint with a pin prick hole and we could smell the propellant! Problem solved, put the can in a bag on deck and put the gear back in the locker, but it took 4 hours., so we each lost 2 hours rest.
The very next day, the wind died and it was time to motor, as Richard furled the sail he could see that there was a problem with the clew ring starting to pull out of the sail. It needed attention immediately so half way through my off watch period I was balancing on the coach roof peering at the boom. I could see what was wrong and could create a very temporary fix to stop it getting worse, but it was about to go dark so I would need to do a stronger repair tomorrow. 3 hours lost there. To do the repair Richard stayed up for 4 of his 6 hours off watch, to steer around the waves and keep his eye on me. When this happens we jiggle the changeover times and make the watches a bit shorter so we can each at least have a power nap.
Anyone who noticed we slowed down, this is the reason. Reasonably slow to do the repair motoring and then sailing carefully to not put too much strain on the sail until we were sure the fix worked.
I now need to do a proper fix. UV had damaged the webbing and it was rotten, I just have to redo the webbing. I will take pictures when I do but this is what my temporary repair looks like.
Otherwise, our watches were fairly uneventful. You have to enjoy peace, quiet and long hours gazing at the sea mixed with periods of frantic activity winding winches. You have to enjoy sunrises and sunsets, clouds and stars. No matter how often I do it, I never get bored, there are many special moments of sheer joy or unusual occurrences which stick in your memory for years to come.
Here are a selection of our favourite log book or diary entries when it wasn’t just routine or was particularly special!
Log book entry 26/4 1700
All of a sudden the sea is teaming with pilot whales migrating north. The pod stretched from horizon to horizon as far as the eye could see. Those that were in our path spotted us and circled round to come and play. The sea around us literally bubbled, as if we were in overfalls. I could still see the splashes of the main pack in the distance heading away. 10 minutes later, as if a whistle had blown, the small group by us headed off to join the main pack again. Wow, what a show.
Log book entry 27/4
There’s a ship.
Right there on the horizon, coming straight at us.
In all this wide ocean we are due to pass less than 2 miles apart! I see him on AIS, on Radar and on the horizon.
At 9 nm I could see his white bridge deck, now at 4 miles I can see his bow wave. It only took 30 minutes from horizon to passing clear astern. This one is going to Las Palmas, Canaries. Thats why we keep watch!
Log book entry 28/4
Night 6 at sea
It’s a beautiful night. We’ve been lucky with stars every night so far.
We are now at the latitude where we can see The Plough and Polaris behind us and Crux (the southern cross) just above the horizon in front of us, tantalisingly pointing the way South. Orion is just off to starboard. Each day as we approach the equator Crux will get higher in front of us and Polaris will eventually disappear behind us, then I’ll have to learn some new Constellations!.
Log book entry 29/4
Day 7
It’s getting hotter and not as much breeze to cool us down.
Miles sailed 118, miles made good 112.
We underestimated the heat, not only on us but also boat equipment. A mirror and the smoke alarm fell off the wall today because the glue had melted!
Less wind means slower sailing but we are still making expected progress. Our Latitude is in single figures now. 09degrees 43 minutes. So less than 600 miles to the equator! First we have to get through the slow bits and also navigate our way around a couple of islands that lie in our path. Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo. Tiny Brazilian Archipelago..Richard and I call them Peter and Paul for short.
Log book entry 1/5
Venus is shining down on us tonight. Nice and bright whilst the moon is hidden behind a cloud. Just enough breeze to keep us moving slowly towards the equator.
Our only company today the same solitary bird that has appeared 3 days running at sunset. The light must be right to be able to see the glint of the flying fish just below the surface about to take off. The bird swoops down just in time to catch the fish as it breaks the surface. Nature in action. Love it. I think it might be a lesser black backed gull. It has a red eye ring and a slate grey mantle!! No google here but I went old school and looked in a book.
Log book entry 2/5
2 am.watch change. It was like glass. Not even a knot of breeze. The dial on the wind direction spinning round and round. The sails starting to slat. We knew it was coming and had been saving our diesel for times like this. Both agreeing that motoring is preferable to sail damage, we furled the Yankee and staysail and fired up the iron topsail. Heading due south will be the fastest way to get to the new wind. Drifting here would only cause us unnecessary wear and tear.
8 hours later, the wind is back. From the NW?? They keep promising ENE winds and then we will fly along. Until then we continue our steady zig zag south.
307 miles to the equator!
Log book entry 3/5
At sea, night 11, still waiting for the ITCZ
The moon is shining brightly at us already. Just 2 days away from being full. There’s a few more clouds around today, another sign of the approaching ITCZ.
We are south of 4 degrees now so not too much further. It’s getting hotter and more humid the closer we get to the equator. . All the curtains are closed and hatches blacked out to keep it cool down below. Sleeping in the day is tricky. We are monitoring the weather closely, it will not be long now ………
Towering black cumulonimbus clouds crowd our path as we head barrel south towards them. We cannot avoid them. Finally they engulf us, they block out the moon and the night is dark.
We can see the rain falling out of the clouds and squalls on the radar and eventually the first smattering of raindrops land on the deck. It is of course the 0200 watch change! I have read about them, but really never seen clouds as tall and black as this.
Richard heads to bed and I spend my watch dodging rain clouds. The squalls play with us, constantly changing the wind and forcing us to keep altering course. Then, they steal all the wind away so it is time to motor, again.
Welcome to the doldrums they say.
It’s the first rain since Lanzarote. I can’t bear the thought of wearing rain gear so settle for taking shelter under the bimini. It makes a great Guarda Chuva, portuguese for umbrella, literally rain guard, and I only feel a few raindrops. They are cool on my skin, how lovely.
It’s a workout, like being in a gym. Lots of pulling ropes and winding winches as reefs go in and out under each cloud. Lots of rain showers too. Great to now be making a good southerly course . About 95 miles to Peter and Paul and only 150nm to the equator. Just had watch change and its Richards turn to wind winches now. How long until we pop out the other side I wonder?
Log entry 5/5
Hurrah half way
Sao Pedro and Sao Paulo, not only was this the closest we have been to land but it marked half way. If you draw a straight line between Sal in Cape Verde and Salvador Brazil it is 2100nm. (With a couple of bends to avoid the land!) At Peter and Paul we were 1050 miles from Sal and had 1050 miles to go to Salvador.
The first half of the trip we actually sailed 1550..nm to make good 1050. Lets hope the wind and current are kinder to us now we have altered course to this new Waypoint. The doldrums are behind us now, already we are going faster down the rhumb line.
We didn’t see the islands, they are quite low, but we did notice an increase in birds a sure sign land is around.
Next milestone though, we have to cross the equator a mere 45 miles away!
Log entry 6/5
At sea, Night 13
At 0200 watch change, Neptune appeared complete with crown and trident demanding Richard pay his dues to cross the line and enter ‘her’ territory.(Lin has crossed the equator before) Richard was in tears of laughter, but dutifully paid his homage by dropping a tot of whiskey into the ocean. (We did try photos in the dark, but had to retake in daylight)
With a tot each, and lit by the moon, we sat laughing and chatting in the cockpit until we crossed the line at 03.13. (UT-1)
Within the blink of an eye we went from summer to winter, the water goes down the plughole the opposite way and the trade winds no longer come from the NE but instead the SE.
Welcome to the southern hemisphere Richard
Log entry Sunday 7th May
End of our day 15 at sea and its finally stopped raining.
The sky is clear, the stars are out and you can see the man in the moon.
We are motoring, yes motoring, in 0 wind. Hope its not for long but at least we are getting a little rest from reefing.
(Today is the day we found the mainsail damage which we fixed on 8 May)
Today was 2 weeks at sea, and so far since Cap Verde we have sailed 1767nm and made good 1353. 747 nm more to go in a straight line but of course ours is full of wiggles..
There are lots of birds tonight. We are only about 100nm from Fernando do Noronha. We talked about stopping but the weather is too unsettled to stop and anchor so we are heading straight past.
(Peter andL is Peter and Paul, not enough spaces on the plotter)
Log entry Tuesday 9 May
Day 17
We’ve now sailed over 2000nm since leaving Cape Verde and have approx 550 miles left to go.
We have had some of the best sailing in the past 24 hours with very settled, steady ESE trade winds, forecast to last another 36 hours before dying out.
The water has turned a very deep royal blue, and the swell has calmed considerably. I can just sit and stare at it for hours.
We are only 150nm away from the nearest bit of mainland Brazil and are already seeing more ships.
Warm, dry and sunny complete the picture. I Keep moving to the shadiest spot in the cockpit.
More of this please!
Log entry 10/5
Night 18
We are flying along, being escorted by dolphins. We know they are there as we can hear the pop pop of their breathing and see a phosphorescent trail where they’ve been. They are great company and always make me smile, so I’m off to chat to them.
Log entry Thursday 11th May
Day 19
Richard welcomed me on deck with the words ‘we are on the last chart.’ We can see Salvador and our position on the same chart. I look and don’t need dividers I can measure with the span of my finger and thumb, less than 300nm to go.
0, nada, nothing
We are now motoring, but thankfully all our frugality with diesel in the past 4 weeks has paid off because we have enough left to motor slowly the whole way if we have to.
It is best to arrive at the entrance 3 hours before high water in daylight, so we have some thinking and some sums to do. I rather hope the wind comes back so we can sail this last bit!
Night 19
I come on deck for my midnight watch and am greeted by the sound of the waves. No engine, we are sailing again. It is dark with a sky full of stars. As my eyes adjust Richard points out two distinct patches of light on the horizon behind us. They must be city glows from the land 60 plus miles away.The closest one will be from Maceio. The further one probably Recife. We cannot say we have seen it yet but we can tell that something is there. Half way through my watch, the Moon rises and lights up the sky, removing any sign of a city glow. Was it really there?
Log entry Friday 12th May
Day 20
We seem to have found the coastal highway, ships coming and going in all kinds of different directions. Chatter on the radio too, in English, as ships navigation officers confirm how to give each other room on this busy road!
We are about 90 miles offshore now, after being closer to Maceio, the coast bent away from our course for a bit, and we headed offshore. We’ll begin to close the coast again this afternoon.
Log entry Sunday 14th May
First light
3 weeks ago, we were like kids at christmas, up and getting ready for our great departure from Cap Verde and now
3 weeks and 2600 miles later we are changing watch, looking at lights on the horizon, not glows but lights and waiting for sun up to see if the land is there yet.
We have reached that part of the trip where the last milestone, the end, is so close you don’t want the trip to be over!
While there is still wind we are happy to keep sailing and gybing, even if it is slow, and savour the trip and anticipation of arrival for a little while longer.
16.47 UTC, LAND AHOY, BRASIL!
We are 20nm off the coast and we can see lots of bits of land. Looks like some trees too. It will all join together as we get closer. Huge container ship overtaking us to starboard, also going to Salvador, I think he will get there a while before we do. Every time I look I can see more land. That will keep me busy the rest of the afternoon.
We’ll be there soon, but at this rate it won’t be today!
Distance to go to the buoy at the entrance 74nm.
Log entry 15 may
My birthday
Will we arrive today, maybe. What a great present that would be. We have missed the morning tide to get in, so with flat calm and no wind we are going to head in in the dark on tonights tide.
Wow, navigation lights everywhere. Ships to dodge in the dark, the stream is really strong, we are racing along at 8 plus knots. Will we get there by midnight?
Log entry 16 May
We anchored outside the marina at 0330 UTC or 0030 Brazil time. Just missed my birthday but no problem, we can celebrate with a glass of wine now instead. Sleep, shower and in the marina by lunchtime.
23 days, 2688nm on the clock. 65 hours motoring.
Not by far the longest trip we have done together, but the longest on Velvet Lady, the longest just us 2 handed, the longest trip ever without a tack and more important
NO GALES.
Not really any dramas, just a couple things to fix.
How lucky were we, a really mixed variety of weather and sea conditions,
making it a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
On arrival we had a very friendly welcome from Marina Manager Dominic and his staff.
We were pointed in the right direction for customs and immigration which we needed to complete. We were too late for the Port Captain so we shall see him tomorrow.
We ended our first day in Brazil with their traditional cocktail Caipirinha. Mmmmm
I think we are going to like Brazil
