Atlantic crossing
Marita3
Mark & Helen Syrett
Fri 16 Dec 2011 12:33
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The bare facts are that after leaving Mindelo, Cape
Verde we sailed 2,262 miles, took 394 hours (an average of 5.74 knots) and used
the engine for 76.5 hours.
 It is a vast expanse of water with nothing
but sea and sky in sight----we saw one container ship in the gloom about 4 miles
away, a fishing boat going the opposite way and a couple of sailing boats that
were on AIS but not visible. The weather was fair although we ran out of wind
towards the end and had to motor to reach Antigua in reasonable time. Our
generator battery failed, although we replaced it at the end of September---it
transpires that the generator is not self charging it's battery which it
should do. That meant that we could not make water but we eeked out what we had
for washing and cooking. We had a large supply of bottled water for drinking so
it was not a problem.
 We had some very heavy rain squalls when the wind
shot from 15 knots to over 30 knots and the sea was flat but the rain very
heavy. A real welcome to the Caribbean!
   Nick Gore who came with was not only good company
but also an excellent crew/sailrigger---we went through all types of rig from
twin headsails using the boom as the extra pole, to poled out jenny and all
had their plusses and minuses.
 Helen caught a fish to rteplenish the food
stocks---a 5lb yellow fin tuna. It nearly dragged her off the back of the boat
when it took the lure which was large, blue and white and squid like. It was
delicious and just the right size to avoid waste!
 After two years of frustration the
Hydrovane was a great success and steered many miles without complaint or
using any power.
 There were some lovely sunsets to compensate for
the squalls
 We are now in Jolly Harbour and off to Nelson's
Dockyard for Christmas ----more photos to follow. |