Crossing the Atlantic Ocean

After weeks of delay, I finally receive my new passport and I although I have a bad cold and am not feeling very fit I decide it is time to set sail to the Caribbean. I leave Dakar, on a very hazy afternoon on Friday 25 January.

Ile de Goree (Dakar) on the right and a cargo ship, bigger than the island, to the left of it

After a very quiet first day, the wind picks up and, with waves coming from two directions, the sea becomes very confused The photograph shows a big wave passing under the boat at sunset




Day 2 (at night): Harmattan finding its path between the waves under a full moon.




Day 3. We keep making 7-8 knots until we come under the lee of the island Fogo (Cape Verde), where the wind drops. Fortunately, after a few hours of motoring, I pick up the trades again.




Day 4. Enjoying my canned food: potatoes with meatballs.






Day 5. First catch: a dolphin fish (also called mahi-mahi)






After five days without a sign of human life, a Chinese tanker on collision course




Going west, day after day..




In the evening of day 7 the wind completely drops, all the noises disappear and a few hours later, the boat is shroud in fog. The eerie atmosphere is reminiscent to a documentary I once saw about the Bermuda triangle, and for the first time I feel a bit uncomfortable alone at sea. I decide to lower the sails and go to sleep, thinking there will be no one around. Then, in the middle of the night, I hear the sound of an engine. I jump up and see the lights of a fishing boat only a mile or so away. The next morning the fishing boat comes very close and I see how they hoist a 4-meter long shark on deck.




Day 9. Another dolphin fish..


..‘au curry’ this time.




Listening to the BBC World Service with my small shortwave receiver, the only contact with the outside world.






For days, we have winds of around 12 knots, making slow but steady and stress free progress.












..but the weather suddenly changes and dark clouds, wind, rain and lightning keep me awake for most of the night.




On Day 11, a Cargo ship (only vaguely visible in the picture) passes me by at about a mile distance. It appears to be a Dutch ship and I have a short chat with the captain via the VHF radio. He gives me a weather report for the coming days and sends an email to home to let them know all is going well.

Day 12. An unintended gibe rips the top of the mainsail in two and so I take the mainsail off to assess the damage. The provisional repair I make that day does not hold, and obliges me to continue the voyage only using my Genoa.

 Day 13 – 18. Steady trade winds of 18 to 25 knots keep the boat going, day and night.

 Day 16. This morning even my heaviest fishing line, with a break load of around 60kg, snaps (presumably a shark) and so I lose my last lure. I make my own lure from a piece of hose and biscuit package and within 5 minutes, I catch another dolphin fish!

I finally find a good way to clean the fish without creating a mess on deck: I hoist the fish onto the swimming platform where I give it a warm welcome with my stainless steel bilge pump handle. Then I tie it up as shown in the picture, and clean it. The swimming platform is washed by the sea every minute, so no need for additional cleaning.

 Approaching Scarborough, Tobago just before sunrise on Wednesday 13 February.

 Arrival, 19 days after my departure from Dakar, Senegal.

  The Caribbean. Cheers!