Day 24 - Passage to the Caribbean
Misterx
Fri 25 Apr 2025 00:38
24/04/25
8:30 pm
Day 24
North Atlantic Ocean
DTD to Trinidad: 1,262 NM (112NM)
Another boisterous day, gusty winds and heaving seas... we didn't get our usual lull in the afternoon today, so no respite, and the gusts have increased to 22/23knots, a bit sporty! Still with a small sail it is manageable. We dropped the main sail 3 days ago when we saw that the wind was set to increase, so we only have the genoa to worry about. It always feels much more intimidating during the night, so we always go for a smaller sail at sunset. We don't mind slowing down for the night, that means that we can get to sleep easier and get some rest... trying to sleep in a washing machine is not conducive to a good night sleep! Plus Ian will not have to get up to tend the sail in the dark. Things always happen at night, sod's law! Trying to minimise risks of things going wrong.
We were reflecting today that our first Atlantic crossing in 2016, from the Canaries to St Lucia, was probably the easiest passage in all our long passages, as far as weather was concerned. Steady trade winds, not too much, not too little, one squall in the whole trip, wall to wall sunshine, no big seas, it was lovely... we both have the memory of it being easy, at least the sailing bit was! But then again, it was our first ocean crossing, always special the first!
We were quite looking forward to get back to the Caribbean this year, and stop at a few of our favourite places. Unfortunately we were so late leaving South Africa, that we knew we wouldn't be able to spend anytime there. The end of the season is near and the priority was to get to Bermuda as quickly as possible and wait there for the right weather window to cross the Atlantic back to the UK. With our latest escapade, and the unexpected stop in Trinidad to sort out this mysterious leak, the time pressure is on... we're keeping our fingers crossed that we will find the leak and be able to repair it, and be on our way in the shortest time...
Hopefully it will all be straight forward for once!
We can only hope!
M