Tropical sailing equals squalls...

The last passage of our Brazil cruise was an easy one and there is no need for a blow by blow description. We were blessed with excellent weather. Prevailing winds are North Easterly, so we were lucky, given our destination in the North East to get Easterlies all week. 

However. The squalls, a prominent feature of our tropical sailing experience, were back in force. After a hot summer a train of thunderstorms built up out at sea, a series of billowing cumulonimbus clouds came shuffling across the sky, loaded with rain. Bringing brief but very intense downpours and gusts they are not so much a hazard to navigation as an irritation. During the day they pass and we huddle in the cabin sitting out the rain. During the night they seem to arrive whenever you get your head down to sleep, and shake the boat to keep you awake. 

I have tried to describe them before, but given a video is worth 10,000 words and all that here is a brief snippet of me caught out helming during one such squall.

Fernando de Noronha

At the end of the last Brazillian passage, our 700 mile trip upwind from Salvador was Fernando de Noronha. There are honestly no good words to describe this place, and for Giulia and I it was the best stop on our travels to date¹.

Brazil to Barbados - A Passage Diary

Our longest passage to date - 2000 miles and 16 days a sea. I thought I would keep a diary, as a record of how the passage progressed day to day, including notes on what we ate, as fresh stores diminished over the course of the passage.

Overall we had a really good passage, making good time and keeping up good spirits through out.

Day 1

Easterly F4 – Almost dead downwind, full main and poled out jib.

Lunch: Egg, tomato, carrot and tuna salad.

Dinner: Scrambled egg with potato, tomato and onion.

Waved goodbye to paradise. Saw one last turtle alongside while motoring out of the harbour. Hoisted main and poled out jib top. Everything good! Loving sailing downwind after 1500 miles upwind from Rio. Spent most of the day sleeping.

Brazil Cruising 4 - The long distance route to Salvador

 I think if Robert Frost were to be alive today he would rewrite “The Road not Taken” about routing decisions on a sailing yacht.* 

 

There is a huge oilfield lying 50 miles of the coast just outside of Buzios, and you have two options, each committing you to your chosen path for the following 48 hours: Begin by heading offshore, and go around the outside, or take the narrower inner passage. The inside route crosses shallower water, likely facing a stronger contrary current. The outside route necessitates heading South East to begin with, a path leading back into the same area of gales we faced on our way to Buzios.

Brazil Cruising 3 - Rounding the Cape

After a beautiful week spent at easy in Ilha Grande, Giulia and I were back in full passage mode. With our Brazilian odyssey coming to an end, the faster we move North and reach Salvador, our last port of call in mainland Brazil, the more time we can spend in the Caribbean.

After a good start, motoring for a few hours in a calm sea with light cloud cover reflecting a mellow sunrise, we began to sail by noon, heading upwind and making good speed with our newly cleaned hull, reaching Guanabara bay by nightfall. With dark thunder clouds building over Christ the Redeemer and a stormy entry to Rio on the cards we considered continuing onward to our next stop at Cabo Frio, and with a good forecast from Igor we hardened sheets and set best course to windward - to the cold cape.

Brazil Cruising 2 - Squalls in paradise

A week of change around for Auriga at the start of February. After Tanya and Igor leaving me to 10 days in Rio I got some company first with the arrival of Giulia on the 30^th. After 3 weeks in Rio without a drop of rain here (plenty of snow at home I hear!) Giulia managed to bring a small taste of the weather from England and every single afternoon since her arrival has been marked by the build-up of ominous clouds, torrential rain and lightning. Now, I know British summer lightning but this is something else. The clouds build up over Rio until they hover over the city trapped by the surrounding mountains and then they let loose all the electricity in the world. Lighning marks the sky with multiple bursts per second either arcing through the clouds or hitting the nearby skyscrapers and hills. It feels like the end of the world. Is the fact that this started when Giulia arrived prophetic? Time will tell.

Leaving Rio at daybreak. Looks better from afar!

My Time in Showbiz

An unusual one today. I found myself in Showbiz. Low budget Brazilian soap opera to be precise, this one concerning a solo yachtsman headed into stormy waters.

Green screen technology orrrr... cheap green
polypropylene someone rushed out to buy
in the morning?

I helped out a couple of local friends, who had been hired for the green screen special effects part of the shoot. The brief was to moor their yacht in front of the a giant green screen. 

Ready for action

Brazil Cruising Part 1

We officially reached Brazil at Fernando de Noronha, and first saw the mainland at Recife, but I didn't get any feeling for this massive country until we reached Salvador, staying on the beach and in the yacht club at the first two stops respectively.

Really, our tour of Brazil also begins with the addition to our crew of a second Ukrainian, Tanya. Russian speaking was kept to a minimum (lest Putin declare Auriga a part of Russia) and Ukrainian flags reached a maximum. Otherwise Auriga remained as British as my influence allowed.

Merry Christmas!!

Ilha Bon Jesus Anchorage:
What you don't see here is the thousand bright
red parrots in the trees!

After picking up Tanya in Salvador, and a few days playing tourist, we left the marina to find somewhere a bit more quaint for Christmas. We chose an island in the North of the Salvador Bay area called (perhaps appropriately?) Ilha Bom Jesus – “Good Jesus”. Not a familiar setting for Christmas – mangroves, palms and parrots :)

A Ballad of many Sails

While sailing thousands of miles in our Ballad, we had a chance to try various sail combinations and test the rig in most weather conditions. Some things worked as intended, some didn't. I am hoping that an in-depth summary of our experience can be of use to other small yacht sailors - whether you are sailing an Albin Ballad or a different make, whether cruising in coastal waters or crossing oceans.

Sailing downwind in a gale

The scope of this article is somewhat ambitious, especially considering the shear number of books written on the subjects of sail trim, heavy weather sailing and cruising rigs. So I will stick to what we learned ourselves, with a few speculations on potentially desirable improvements thrown in for good measure.

Across the Line

For the delivery from Cape Verde to Brazil - our longest passage to date, we were joined by our friend Simon. Simon promised to make an appearance as a guest writer on our blog, recapping his first ocean sailing experience. In the meantime I would like to mention a memorable highlight of the trip - crossing the equator!

For centuries, this event had a special significance for every sailor, especially those crossing the line for the first time - a.k.a. the slimy pollywogs (us!). Unexpectedly, it turned out that Simon was a trusty shellback - i.e. someone who has crossed the equator before, and has been subjected to the associated induction ceremony (aged 4). It was thus only natural for him to take charge of the proceedings.

Canaries to Cape Verde - or, what we do at sea

The passage from the Canaries – to be precise, an anchorage in North Fuertaventura – was, as well as the longest (991 miles), the easiest to date. Maybe this is the trade wind sailing people talk about? The spinnaker went up as soon as we turned South for the Cape Verde archepelago and stayed up for 8 days straight, until we reached the breakwater off marina Mindelo, on Ilha San Vicente. Regarding sailing, I'll just mention again the 156 miles covered in one 24 hour run. An average of 6.5 kts. How long till we beat this? Certainly it sets a precedent we will now be forever racing. If you ask Igor he'll give you a lesson in maximising vmg downwind.

When the wind wasn't as constant (and maybe also owing a little bordom?) Igor, in searching for an extra half a knot, set about hoisting everything he could find. In the end the number of halyards proved the limiting factor. Not sure how efficient this sail plan is, but the shade was nice...

5 sails flying on a 30 ft boat.
I would like to have heard the conversations
on board any other yachts passing us!

Coruna to Porto Santo - Break on Through

"Mañana" rarely means "tomorrow". The most accurate translation seems to be "not today". So in the second week of the engine installation, we gave up trying to predict our departure date, but agreed to be ready to leave as soon as the work was done.
And so it was that we slipped lines on Friday, the 3rd of October. Leaving the new engine turned off, we sailed out of the marina and continued in light winds past the waterfront we had had so much time to explore. A NWly flow promised headwinds from Coruna to Finisterre, but fast sailing South after rounding the north-western corner of Spain. By early Saturday, we headed a few miles offshore, found the sudden right wind shift where the flow diverges around the mountainous mainland, tacked South, and by evening we were reaching along the rhumb line at 6-7 knots with a building breeze behind us.

Weather forecasts offshore

Aurigas SSB receiver - with space
 for a smartphone on top

Our recent passage from La Coruna to Porto Santo took just over a week. Even the best pre-departure weather forecasts can hardly be relied upon over this time period. Receiving weather information at sea allows us to re-evaluate our route planning, ensuring a fast and safe passage.
But what are the options? Mobile networks only help within a few miles from civilization. The forecasts received using our VHF radio can only be heard up to 40 nautical miles from the shore. After that, additional, and, typically, expensive equipment is needed: either a satellite phone (or modem), or a long-wave radio receiver. The choice is bewildering. Moreover, one has to consider whether one is content with text-only forecasts (like the shipping forecast), or looking for more detailed wind weather maps (like the Metoffice pressure charts or Passageweather wind maps).

For Auriga, we where looking (as usual) for a reliable, redundant, power-efficient and affordable system.

Auriga departing England for Madeira!

We had a refreshing and productive stay on the South Coast. Using the experience gained during the "shake-down", we have made many small improvements that will make life at sea safer and more comfortable: we have sealed a small but annoying leak, added extra bolts to secure the forehatch, repaired the small #3 jib, replaced leaking faucets, and generally improved the ergonomics both on deck and down-below.

Further, the weather seems to have improved, too, and the long-range forecasts look promising.

Next stop - Madeira!

Ipswich to Portsmouth - the shakedown cruise

We left Fox’s early on Monday morning (waving to our shore party, who dutifully reported how fast and beautiful Auriga looks under sail). The Thames Estuary is familiar to Igor and me, but, following an inshore route to avoid the worst of the winds, it was the first time either of us took the opportunity to sail through an offshore wind farm, and we got the opportunity to introduce Auriga’s wind generator to her bigger sibling.

With everything going as planned, and luck seemingly in our favour we were hit by a squall off Ramsgate and tore the small number 3 jib. It is not clear if this sail is past its sell-by date, or it was a small pre-existing tear that spread. Either way, we have had the sail repaired this weekend. With the broken sail, and worsening conditions we decided to stop for the night, where we met one of the early retirees from the Round Britain and Ireland race, who, with their much more expensive racing yacht, prove we are not the only sailors to have given up that night.

Pushing the 50m exclusion zone a little
to get this photo...

Update from Auriga – Day 1 and 2

Day 1 – Monday 11^th August

Departure day has finally arrived! Alarms set at the sunrise, we get the boat ready in the first lights of a beautiful sunny morning. The forecast still predicts SW 6-8 but up the Orwell it’s not too windy. Igor and Matt slip the mooring lines at 7 am, and Elaine, Rob and I wave goodbye from the pontoon. We then run to the spit to see Auriga disappear down the Orwell, picking up speed quickly with the sails up. 

Ready to go!

Filling the fuel tank... magics of the jiggle pipe!

The last stages of preparation

After months of maintenance and a last few days of hectic provisioning and packing, Auriga finally left her berth at Fox's marina on Monday! More details on the first leg to follow very shortly in a dedicated post.

But let's go back of a couple of day, and let's see what we've been up to in the last few days before the big departure.

What shall we take with us?

Final Preparations - A Tour

Yacht Auriga and crew are ready to leave as soon as the weather moderates. You can follow our adventures on the live tracker, starting Monday morning!

Matt, Giulia and Igor

For now, enjoy a mini-tour of Auriga - in sailing condition for the first time since last summer!

Auriga goes sailing

Having finished most preparations, we used the last of the Saturday sunshine to go sailing!

Having spent all winter and, unfortunately, most of the summer, prepairing the boat for the grand voyage, it was a huge relief for all three of us to finally hoist the sails! With gale-force winds forecast for Sunday, we made it as far as the Orwell bridge before returning to Fox's Marina Yacht Club just in time for our final round of Fox's Deluxe Burgers.

The weather is forecast to moderate on Monday morning, whereupon we will set off for the South Coast.