Duration: 17.5 days
It’s early Sunday morning, 1st September and preparations are underway for the long passage across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. This is the leg that raised eyebrows and weather warnings from fellow yachties, ‘crazy’ was a word we commonly heard. And while we were confident in our planning and preparation, we didn’t discount the risk of crossing in the traditional storm season. We had been monitoring weather patterns in the Atlantic for months prior to this crossing, and we planned a route that would take us initially west then south west. We had plenty of fuel if we had to motor and sufficient provisions on board. With IridiumGo and PredictWind available we could monitor weather conditions on a regular basis and adjust our course and sail plan accordingly. Andreas, our assisted passage skipper, had significant experience in crossing the Atlantic (this being his 14th trip) and coordinated planning and arrangements with Peter both before and after our departure. We still weren’t absolutely sure of our destination – Grenada, St Lucia or Martinique, though the latter was the most likely.
We decided on four hourly watches between the four of us – so that allowed 12 hours between watches. As such we could relax and be well rested prior to our next shift. (Up until this time we had sailed with three crew doing three hour watches with six hours between).
So it was Goodbye Mindelo, and Hello miles of ocean. It was quite windy on the first day, but we made good time. Though we had one major drama when Peter discovered the water tank was empty after being refilled that morning. Turns out our newest crew member had accidentally left the tap on in his head, and it was bye bye water. Peter turned on the fitted water maker to refill the tank, and it would not work. He then poured bottled water into the water tank so that there was water available for the water maker to perform it’s startup flush. After an hour it had still not indicated that it was producing water and the decision was made to turn into the wind and back to Mindelo to replenish the water tank. Just as we were about to turn, the water maker started producing water. Phew, it was a close thing.
The second day had us in bumpy seas and then in the following days the wind and the waves started to drop and we motored on one engine at 1500rpm for 8 hours at a time for most of the next five days. We found an issue with the 1st reefing line on the mainsail. The reefing line comes out of the boom at an angle which rubs against the aluminium on the boom and would have chafed through very quickly, we tested out a manual reef process that eliminated this issue – something that Lagoon needs to be aware of as it is a serious design fault.
Throughout our journey thus far, all crew members experienced some level of queasiness, though the triggers were different. Diesel fumes going downwind was a common trigger, Sandra also found the fish tailing of the stern during periods of rough seas particularly uncomfortable. In Peter’s experience whilst some fish tailing was to be expected, the level we were experiencing was unusual. Andreas agreed, and luckily could recalibrate the autopilot to reduce the degree of fish tailing. We suspect that the autopilot was not calibrated correctly during the commissioning process, and plan to have a B&G technician review the navigational equipment on our return to Australia.
Another issue that arose related to the galley refrigerator. The bottom of the door was and continues to be out of alignment, as a result the door doesn’t seal properly allowing warm air to enter the refrigerator causing condensation and lack of cooling. Our hi-tech fix was to dismantle a wooden clothes peg and wedge the door up from the bottom with the peg on its side. Not perfect but it did reduce the condensation and the refrigerator held its temperature better. Weeks later and we are still using the wooden peg (actually half a peg now) to hold the door in place.
And the issues kept coming, with diesel fumes in all the cabins and saloon area. One of the jerry cans, which we bought and filled with diesel in Mindelo, leaked and we were all feeling the ill effects of diesel fumes. Once we identified the specific jerry can we siphoned off the fuel into the starboard fuel tank, double bagged the jerry can and sealed it tight, and washed down any diesel from the surrounding jerry cans and locker. The remainder of our journey passed with no further equipment issues.
On Day 8 sea we altered course to sail directly to La Marin on Martinque. Winds were fickle though and we motor sailed for much of the remaining miles. Rather than dealing with storms and rough seas we were dealing with a lack of wind!
During the trip we carefully monitored fuel, water, gas and food to ensure we had enough in reserve for the remainder of the trip. Battery usage was also monitored on a twice daily basis, but with the motor running most days charging wasn’t an issue.
We can’t finish up this blog without mentioning Peter’s big moment – he finally caught a fish! Yes it was third time lucky – the first one got away, the second one got away with the octopus lure (with so much force the line stripped through the lure, so Peter had to modify the remaining lure so this didn’t happen again). The third bite was a winner, and took about 20 minutes to land. A large Mahi Mahi which was delicious, providing four dinners for our four crew.
Flying fish were commonplace throughout the Atlantic crossing, and one of the morning tasks was to check the deck, trampoline and even the bimini for any stowaways. The occasional squid (with ink) was also found on the sugar scoop, and thrown back. We encountered three pods of dolphins, that we were aware of, and they put on quite a show at the bow and leeward side of the boat. Not the steel grey colour we are used to but a soft caramel brown with a cream underbelly. Sitting on the pulpit seats gave the best view, and while it may sound fanciful they seemed to respond by showing off, jumping out of the water in perfect unison. Just gorgeous.
Our due diligence in undertaking this crossing went beyond that related to weather and sea conditions. It was also essential to research and take heed of any travel advice and warnings relevant to the areas we would navigate through. We actively responded to reports of piracy by maintaining a 200 nautical mile buffer zone between us and the South American coastline, in particular the main hot spots at this time being Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. As we traversed these areas we were particularly vigilant during watches, in fact that vigilance continued right up until we reached our destination of Martinique.
As we approached the island of Martinique we encountered crab pots dotted close to shore, which was not unusual. However what was unusual were the markers – a soft drink can/s, a beer or soft drink bottle/s, a plastic ice cream container often submerged just below the water surface. So keeping a good look out from the bow is a must here.
Peter had pre-booked a berth at Marina du Marin, and the marina was packed so much so that we had to drift for a while until marina staff directed us via tender to a berth. (Lots of boats moored or berthed here to wait out the storm season). This is a tightly packed marina, and Mediterranean berthing is required. Andreas used all his skills to manouvre Sea Goddess so that the mooring ball went between the hulls, and we were as close to the neighbouring boat as possible. The marina guy wasn’t happy with the distance between boats, so we had to move forward and back in again until the fenders were hard up against and kissing the boat next to us. The marina guy then took each bow line, and via tender secured them to a mooring ball.
Once berthed Peter then headed off to the marina office to sort out check in and immigration. The rest of us stayed on board finessing mooring lines, washing down the boat, and generally tidying up. Checking in was simple, and Peter was given a good run down on where to find amenities etc. from marina administrative staff. Checking in from an immigration perspective is completed electronically in a room next door to the marina office. Our immigration costs to clear in and clear out totaled €10.00. Once Peter returned and we had the all clear it was time to hit the showers, grab some ‘non-boat’ food and have a celebratory wine or beer! We had done it, crossed the Atlantic Ocean. And whilst we had some onboard equipment issues, Sea Goddess performed beautifully.
For more information about Martinique click here http://seagoddessadventures.com/la-marin-martinique/and here for Marina du Marin http://seagoddessadventures.com/france-to-australia-la-marina-du-marin/