Mindelo, São Vicente, Cabo Verde

Monday 13 February 2023

Well. We’ve been in Mindelo for one week already – time flies! We’ve been very busy though, but let us sum up the passage here first.

Into the Tropics fizz – note we are wearing fleeces!

We set off with a good grib forecast but we could tell that a few days into the passage something was afoot. The building swell and cloudy skies were a clear sign that all was not exactly as we’d like it to be. It was actually the final 30 hours that proved very difficult indeed. Most ‘wind waves’ were coming onto Stargazer’s port quarter, these were up to 5m high and on a very short period of only 5 seconds (not good). Then some ocean swell would come in on Stargazer’s starboard quarter, with a slightly less (but similar) height. I liken this to a boxer on the ropes being punch on one side and then the other. So the final 30 hours were very uncomfortable and to be very honest a bit scary too. We were both delighted to see the lights of São Vicente even from a distance.

Heading into the last night at sea

Stargazer in night mode

Our Navionics chart didn’t run as far as the Cape Verdes, so we were relying on OpenCPN (which is very good and even has Google Earth images on it), except that at the crucial moment of entering the São Vicente channel the OpenCPN program stopped working – my laptop required a re-boot! This was simply not possible given the conditions outside, so we went in using a chartlet from the pilot guide. Just before entering the main harbour there is a large rock (thankfully lit) and we were considering which way to pass it, but the wind decided that for us - to our starboard side. Once into the main bay/harbour area we were both dismayed to see the wind still up at 30+ knots and as we couldn’t have slowed down any further we had also arrived in darkness. A lot of ships were in the bay sheltering from the weather outside and it was impossible to see the marina and anchorage against the lights onshore, so we decided to simply drop all sail and motor around slowly for an hour or so until first light, bracing ourselves for the seemingly endless strong gusts of wind howling across the harbour.

About 0800 we entered the marina and were berthed stern to on a lazy line. Our neighbours on one side congratulated us on being at sea the previous night as they said it had been rough enough in the marina. Our neighbour on the other side told us that his correct Navionics chart didn’t even feature the rock at the entrance to the bay, so the fact that we had no chart to speak of may have worked in our favour – we used our eyes – the oldest navigation tool of all…

The mate wants to tell you all about Mindelo (I can’t quite work it out myself – I’ve never been to a place like this). So before I hand over, what have we been doing this first week? Well, it’s been pretty windy and the marina has a lot of swell, so that makes things (like recovering from a passage) a bit slower that otherwise it would. We’ve also crossed over some guard rails on the bow as the pole downhaul was fouling them too much and we’ve rigged the pole uphaul to be controllable from the cockpit – before we had to go up to the mast for it. The cooker gimbal also had to be refastened as the strong seas caused it to come slightly adrift, and the boat needed a general cleanse after a long passage!

Over to the mate…

Wow, Mindelo – I don’t really know where to start! After a long time at sea arriving somewhere new is always a bit of a drastic change, and after a pretty tough final 30 hours this was no different. I haven’t been outside Europe for a long time and wasn’t really prepared for how different this place was! It is a mish mash of Portuguese and African influences: so some recognisable things in the supermarkets, but the supermarkets aren’t really recognisable as such; stray dogs asleep in the middle of the street, pavement, car park, but they do use zebra crossings to cross the road; some grand colonial buildings next to some ramshackle dwellings; people on the street selling all manner of fruits, vegetables and fish; people ready to pounce on you when you leave the marina to ‘help’ you with just about anything; and a currency (Escudos) where you need at least 100 of it to buy anything! It really is fascinating but requires quite a lot of energy to go out exploring.

A typical Mindelo street (and lovely blue sky)

The marina has a really nice vibe – pretty much everyone is heading across the Atlantic and it is great to catch up with fellow cruisers and hear their stories and experiences, and to wave people off saying “see you in Martinique!” The Floating Bar is a great meeting place to enjoy a cold Strela and watch the sunset over the dramatic mountain peaks.

The view from the Floating Bar

It has been really windy since we arrived here but it is finally showing signs of easing up, which should make life onboard much easier. Having spent eight days continually using muscles to stay upright and stabilise myself I was looking forward to a break, but poor Stargazer has been rolling around since we arrived, as have the pontoons, so actually getting off the boat and getting ashore is a bit like ‘It’s a Knockout’!

Best get ready to head out and do some provisioning. I was getting a little concerned about the lack of crisps (this isn’t mentioned in any pilot guides and stocks took a hammering on the passage here!) but thankfully we found a supermarket that sells them so will go and stock up for the voyage ahead…