That Mystic Wind

For centuries, the Trade Winds have been the conduit for trade between Europe, Africa and the West Indies. Fortunes have been made and wagered on the reliability of these winds to carry goods, produce and more sinister trade between these Islands and the commercial centres of the world.

The square riggers which plied these routes had very poor ability to sail to windward and so had to rely on wind direction to carry them to their destinations. The Westerly Trades would be established by early to mid November so the merchants would time the voyages to utilise this natural source of propulsion.

The essence of the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (Rally – read “race”)) is the reliability of the trade wind. The preferred ARC route is described in many sailing journals as the “milk run” to the Caribbean, reference to the usual safety and dependability of the weather and wind at this time of year. The established trade wind is a band of wind 4-500 miles from North to South running exactly East to West. The Arc should be like a game of Pooh sticks, chuck anything in the water off the coast of Africa, South of the Verdi’s and regardless of which way it’s pointing and whatever rags you have hanging from the mast. It will end up in the Caribbean. Well that’s the theory. You will have noticed we have been zig zagging around the Atlantic for the last week playing hide and seek looking for old “tradey”. The conditions this year are described as “very unusual”. There are a number of influences that are preventing the trade wind from establishing. It seems that these influences change every day, one day a depression forming in the South West Atlantic, the next a depression forming West of the Azores, a high holding the low down, a low holding the high up. The result of any of these seems to be the trade winds are much farther South and lighter than they would normally be. I’m waiting for today’s weather report which will hopefully read that a fisherman on Ascension Island has farted whilst facing south and pushed the trade winds north.

I have a sneaking suspicion that these weather bods are a bit like business consultants, i.e. ask you a load of questions, write down your answers and sell them back to you! The way it works in practice is we are asked to report the weather conditions are experiencing at 07.00 am each day. They will send back a weather prediction by 10.00 am the same morning. A typical report from us would read: - Wind – NNW veering NNE occasionally ENE light and variable. Course over the ground 225 degrees true. Sea temperature 25.7 Sea state – large swell 4-6m NNW

The response will typically read: – Predicted wind NNW veering NNE occasionally ENE light and variable, possible SW. Expect a swell 4-6m NNW Predicted wind strength 8 – 10 kits unless of course there isn’t any. I would suggest you take a route between 220 and 230 degrees when you can. Try not to go north. Make south if you need to. West is good, East is not. The trades are forming although light and variable at (…………….insert any place we are not).          Genius eh!!

We have generally come to the conclusion that to all intents and purposes we will ignore the trade winds and just sail to St Lucia as quickly as possible using whatever wind we find. I guess we have just been very unlucky this year with the weather.

Talking about being unlucky brings me back to my mate the flying fish. Each morning we find one or two dead flying fish on the deck having crashed into the pilot house or the rigging. The area is surrounded by scales where the poor little fellow has expired and if you look closely there is a line of fish poo on the trajectory towards the point of impact. Now I can’t imagine what must be going through the poor little buggars mind at this stage. Having escaped a Tuna trying to bite his ass off, mastered the art of flight and then suddenly!! Who the freak put that there. Now what are the odds?

So when we talk about being unlucky, these things are all relative.

Just to ensure you we are still “roughing” it. Reece surpassed himself in the galley in 40 degrees of heat and what felt like 99% relative humidity. Supper last night was pan fried Mahi Mahi fillets in herby breadcrumbs (freshly caught that afternoon, by a master angler). Home cooked chips and Aubergine crisps, followed by Mango and chilli sorbet, fantastic.

We are poodling along towards the west at 5 kts in an easterly wind. Let’s not call it a trade wind unless some one is listening.

Catch you soon with some more rantings.

First Mate Dave