Atlantic Westward

The timing of an Atlantic crossing is dictated by the weather and an established pattern of winds during the different seasons known as the trade winds. During the European winter the winds in the area between the Canary Islands and the Caribbean become established as a steady flow blowing from Africa towards the West Indies. During the European Summer these winds become unpredictable and light with hurricanes starting to develop, so December is the favourite time for sailors to leave the Canaries and head for the Caribbean.

In hind-site the actual journey across the Atlantic, all going well, is the easy bit. What takes the time, effort and inevitably money is the preparation for the crossing. The knowledge that once you have left it is not really an option to return focusses attention and spawns a million lists centered on getting the boat into perfect condition. There was also crew to be got as we needed a bit of help as we would be sailing 24 hrs a day during a four week journey.
We headed for Cartagena near Murcia in Spain, one of our favourite marinas to get all the jobs done and to stock up on the food and equipment we would need over the coming weeks to have a pleasant and safe journey.
It was here we first met our new crewmen, two young Spanish lads who had decided to take a year out to travel the world. Marcos and Willi were keen and experienced sailors and loved watersports, they came to the Marina to see us and after a day sailing together, we decided that they were the men for the job.
The boat was lifted out in the nearby boat yard and we threw handfuls of money at them to get the necessary maintenance done, all the piping and valves had to be checked, a new coat of antifoul paint applied, life-raft serviced, a propellor shaft bearing replaced, engine serviced, new autopilot fitted and probably the most important safety device, a Satellite Phone was bought and I had the great pleasure of threading the cables belonging to it through totally inaccessible places in the boat so it could sit next to the navigation table.
The last challenge we had was to stock up on food. This is a very important task as an interesting diet can make all the difference to a month spent at sea. More lists, more trips to the supermarket, more time spent stuffing the things we bought into any available space on the boat.
Finally we decided that we were ready to go. Probably because we had run out of places to put any more supplies, and run out of money to buy any more chandlery. We slipped our mooring ropes and left Cartagena to head the 200 nautical miles to La Linea Marina which is near Gibraltar and our last stop on the mainland of Europe.
When we arrived at La Linea we did some final stocking up and our crew joined us and helped get the last things done, it was great to have them as porters for the last couple of runs to the supermarket where they chose the food they liked (mostly chorizo and white bread).
The last thing we had to do was get fuel which involves going round the end of the airport runway to Gibraltar where it is tax free and very cheap.
That was it, we were ready start the first leg of our journey which was about 600 nautical miles in a southerly direction, following the African coast. We had an interesting first night. We had calculated the time of the high tide in order to have the current with us as we left the straits of Gibraltar. Unfortunately we got the direction of the current wrong and spent most of the night sailing against the current which slowed us down a lot. As we continues to head south the winds were more favourable and it got warmer. We soon settled in to a routine of watches which is the term for the rota system that is used when sailing distances to make sure everyone gets enough sleep. Normally it is a four hours on four hours off over the night hours, and six hours during daylight.
A simple routine soon established itself onboard. The day would start as the sun came up with everyone seeming to get hungry at the same time so we would have a breakfast of porridge and fruit however the lads preferred fried bread and chorizo!
While the breakfast was going on I would gather the weather information, downloading it from a site called Predictwind using a data link on our satellite phone. I would also get my emails at the same time and one of these would be from Simon, our weather router. Simon would study the weather and give us his opinion on the best route for us to take gaining the best advantage from the wind.
After breakfast we would all sit in the cockpit and discuss the weather information, work out our distance to go and plan anything that needed doing.
We spent our days just steering a compass course that would bring us to Lanzarote, dividing time between food, reading and sleeping. The fishing got a bit competitive as several large fish had grabbed our line but they all got away. Once you are in this routine time becomes of little significance, marked only by sunrise and sunset, and any small incident becoming a subject for lengthy discussion. We had no outside news and after a few days we didn’t care about the world outside of Elisabeth while a steady breeze from the north east carried us along at five or six knots towards our destination.

The sign that we had a good trip was that we were all slightly disappointed when La Graciosa, the most northerly island of the Canaries, started to appear over the horizon. Very soon Lanzarote appeared as well and we headed for the anchorage between it and La Graciosa, anchoring in the shelter with six or seven other boats.
After a night on anchor everyone had caught up on sleep and we headed for Rubicon Marina at the bottom end of Lanzarote. This was a lovely spot to catch up on the jobs, minor repairs and shopping that always seem to need doing when in port. We also caught up with some Turkish friends who we had spent a lot of time with over the last few years. We kept on meeting them when we least expected it, so we had a very pleasant time dining on each others boat and joining groups of mutual friends for “Sundowners” in the local bars.
Our two crewmen hired a car and headed for the kitesurfing hotspots around the Island and were thrilled to bits with the places they found. Lanzarote is great for this sport as the wind is constant and predictable. We spent a couple of days touring the Island, taking in the quaint little villages and strange volcanic landscape, all the time keeping an eye on the prevailing winds watching for the best time to leave Lanzarotte and head for the Caribbean.

I had been watching emails from Simon the weather man and it looked like we would have favourable winds to start on the leg of our journey that would bring us across the Atlantic. A very large group of yachts, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) were leaving on the 21st November so we decided to leave the day after. Their group comprised over 200 yachts and we thought we would see a lot of them, but in fact we never actually saw any of them!.
We filled our tanks with water and fuel, checked everything was secure and headed out of the marina on a southerly course between the last two Canary Islands.

The great thing about the trade winds is they are steady and predictable. We adjusted our sails regularly to get the best speed and the most comfortable angle for the boat. It took us a while to learn how she sailed in the prevailing conditions but we improved our speed every day.
The trade winds that blow across this part of the Atlantic come down the coast of Africa and then curve out to blow towards the Caribbean. The wind speed is between 10 and 30 knots. We were able to download a weather picture every day that showed exactly what the wind was doing and what it was predicted to do over the next few days. Due to low pressure systems forming we had to go much further south than we had initially planned, but this avoided areas of little or no wind (“the doldrums” ) which would delay us, possibly for days.
With a watch system operating, our sails set well and a steady breeze we soon had a routine going. When you have this routine even a minor incident becomes exciting. We had pilot whales visit a few times, puffing and blowing as the surfed ahead of the boat. Fishing became very competitive. We caught a very useful amount of fish. These were mostly tuna and Mahi Mahi, the captive was despatched and disappeared down to the galley where it would be prepared for cooking. We had one fish that fed us for three days. Another change from the routine was a visit from an Egret who stayed with us for a week, wandering around the deck, taking the odd flight and roosting on the stern every night. This bird was a thousand miles from land. How he got there I have no idea, but he may have been able to stand and feed on the rafts of Sargassum weed which forms huge mats on the surface increasing in size and density as you head west. He was christened Wilson after the football in the movie “Castaway”
In between times we steered, read, slept, ate and discussed events in the world.
Navigation is now all electronic using GPS signals. We also had an Iridium satellite phone which gave us a very slow data link for e-mails and weather information. Everyone on board would check the chart and our position at some stage during the day for their own interest, and every day at mid-day I would calculate the exact position and the days run, this being ceremonially announced and then discussed at length with opinions expressed as to when we would arrive. Our average run was about 120 miles a day.
The last week of the crossing we held a steady speed and course for Martinique, that was the direction that gave us the best speed and most comfortable run. Soon we were eating up the last hundred miles or so and finally in the hours of the morning on the 21st December I spotted the flash of a lighthouse. I checked the chart and could see that this was on the south east tip of Martinique.
As the daylight came we could see Martinique through the drizzle of a damp tropical morning. I had chosen a spot to Anchor called St Annes, but using the Satellite phone I had managed to get a berth in a little marina near by in Pointe du Bout, which would be better as we could be in a harbour.
The Marina was tiny and very sheltered, and as we entered through the narrow channel the exotic smell of a tropical Island greeted us, and it felt strange to see people, shops and houses. We were helped to tie up by the Marina manager and as we put out the fenders, put the gangplank out and finished securing the mooring lines it started to grow on us that we had finally reached our goal and had crossed the Atlantic. It was time to step off the boat for the first time in nearly a month and head to the village where we were sure that there was a beer and a steak to be had.