YEAR 1
ATLANTIC OCEAN AND CARIBBEAN SEA
ATLANTIC OCEAN
This year is the biggest year of the entire trip for ocean miles. You will sail across the two biggest oceans on earth. You are going to sail around 13,000 miles this year with five full months at sea.
The Atlantic crossing in the trade wind belt is from Canary Islands to the Caribbean in the northern winter. In the North Atlantic Ocean the trade winds blow from November to April between latitudes 3 degrees to 25 degrees. Then the hurricanes can occur in the northern summer between latitudes 5 degrees and 30 degrees. They are most dangerous from August to October.
The Pacific Ocean crossing from Panama to New Zealand is in the southern winter. Then through Panama Canal and down into the Southern Hemisphere looking for the trade winds in the southern winter from April to October between latitudes 3 degrees and 25 degrees. The cyclones (hurricanes) occur in this ocean in the southern summer from November to March between latitudes 5 degrees and 25 degrees. They are most dangerous from January to March.
Give me a stout ship,
A merry crew
And a fair breeze
Then HO! For the Indies !
THE SCHEDULE LOOKS LIKE THIS
Start into the Atlantic Ocean
Leave on 2nd January year 1
Allow 22 Days to cross the Atlantic Ocean
Arrive Barbados between 20- 30th January
Leave Barbados on 1st February
Arrive Trinidad on 3rd February
Leave Trinidad 15th February
Cruise the islands of Venezuela 10 days
Arrive Bonaire on 26th February
Arrive Curacao on 2nd March
Arrive Panama Canal on 15th March
Transit Panama Canal.
Start into the Pacific Ocean
Leave Panama around 10th April
Arrive Galapagos Islands on 21st April
Leave Galapagos Islands on 1st May
Arrive Marquesas on 24th May
Leave Curacao by 5th March
Cruise in French Polynesia until 22 Sept.
Arrive Cook Islands on 1st October
Leave Cook Islands on14th October
Arrive Tonga on 19th October
Leave Tonga on 8th November
Arrive New Zealand on 18th November
This schedule gives you four months cruising in French Polynesia as well as two weeks in Cook Islands and two weeks in Tonga. Ten days in Galapagos may be enough. Also you may want to move slower in the Caribbean as the hurricanes will not occur before June. You must be on the last passage into New Zealand by November.
THE ATLANTIC ROUTE
THE ATLANTIC OCEAN FROM CANARY ISLANDS TO THE CARIBBEAN.
This is the route taken by Christopher Columbus when he set off on his voyage of discovery to America. On four voyages his fastest passage time was 21 days.
You can start from Las Palmas on Gran Canaria Island at Canary Islands. Every year for Xmas and New Year there is a good yachtie party in the marina at Las Palmas on Canary Islands. After you are recovered, load up and get going. Let's say, aim to leave on the 2nd January or even earlier.
Or nowadays you can join a rally. At this time of the year there is a rally called the ARC (Atlantic Rally of Cruisers). About 200 yachts sail across in company. Joining together with hundreds of others gives a feeling of security and safety. Many inexperienced people like to start out doing this. They usually leave in the last week of November with a plan to be across for Xmas in Saint Lucia.
I am writing this book as I do my circumnavigation. So today is 10th January 2005. I am 1,200 miles out from Canary Islands. The boat is sailing at 7.1 knots. Average speed so far is just under 6 knots. I set out from Gran Canaria with full genoa and mainsail. On the first night I took down the mainsail as it was a gusty night and the boat was straining to broach and round up in the 3-4 meter waves and following winds. I cruised then only under genoa until today which is the ninth day out. This morning I put up the other headsail on the spinnaker pole on the starboard (windward) side. So now we are wing and wing under twin headsails. The wind steering system is working hard but doing a good job. The conditions are exactly as expected. That is force 5-6 out from the Canaries reducing to force 4 now that we are below 20 degrees latitude and approaching the half way point. It was cold for the first week but now we are back in shorts and t-shirts and enjoying the tropical winter sun.
I have a new crew with me. That first night out they appeared to all be totally disorientated and seasick. I was probably a bit tense also on the first night of this long voyage. During the night when “Wallaby Creek” was surging wildly in the Atlantic rollers I decided that she needed to get the main sail off to avoid an uncontrolled broach. I was on deck alone and I did not want to risk my inexperienced crew coming on deck in the rough conditions and not knowing where the ropes were. So I went to the mast and completely released the main halyard. The sail was straining tight against the mast so nothing happened. Then I returned to the steering position, released the wind-vane steering system and putting the helm full over I turned her up into the wind. She turned quickly in her own length and as we went about a roller took us on the beam and threw us down. There were cries of anguish from below as half the crew flew out of their beds and hit the floor. Then the wind came out of the sail and it rattled down. A wave took us on the other side and the rest of the crew were launched into flight. I swung her back on course downwind and she immediately felt much better as she was pulled through the water by the genoa. Within a half hour the cries of anguish had settled down and I could contemplate a wonderful night doing what I love.
Now the Atlantic Ocean has a fearsome reputation. The main reason for this is because America is on one side and Europe on the other. Every time there is a storm lots of people hear about it.
In actual fact in this trip of yours around the world the Atlantic Ocean is the very least of your problems. In January it is a pussy cat. In November it is even calmer. It may start out a little rough, you may have your wet weather gear on and you may be seasick. However, as you swoop southwards towards the trade winds everything will steadily improve. You will get warm, the sun will shine, and the wonderful following trade winds will skim you along with not a worry in the world. What you really need here is a good bread recipe. The best time of each day is when the bread comes steaming hot from the oven to the table. Just the smell of the hot baking bread lifts the spirits of nervous sailors.
Mix three cups of plain flour with a teaspoon of yeast, a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of sugar. Add two tablespoons of cooking oil and a cup of tepid water.
Knead for ten minutes and leave in a warm place for an hour. Then punch hard, knead for a minute, shape into a loaf and place in an oiled pan for an hour. Bake at 240 for 45 minutes.
Start this process at 9.00 am an there will be hot delicious bread for lunch.
It is a simple process involving only 15 minutes of work and the results are well worth the effort.
From the Canary Islands you need to make south to waypoint 20N x 25W. From here you can fully utilize the miracle of nature called trade winds. At latitude 20 degrees get your twin headsails working, steer towards the destination, punch on the automatic steering system, make yourself a large rum cocktail and enjoy a marvellous sailing adventure. This is as good as it gets.
It is not quite that easy. There are a few things to think about. Firstly when to leave? Before Xmas or after?
You can plan to leave in late November and do most of the passage in December arriving in the Caribbean for a calypso Xmas. Or you can wait in the Canary Islands until after Xmas.
The December passage will be slower and calmer and warmer then in January. In January the winds are more developed and will blow stronger with less chance of a calm period.
The January passage can be done at speeds in excess of 5 knots with just one good headsail flying. In Nov/Dec you will need the extra poled out headsail and will also probably get a couple of days or a week stopped waiting for wind. Also in January you can follow the rhumb line more closely and reduce the distance sailed as the trade winds blow at higher latitudes. Before Xmas you will need to get south as fast as possible as that is your best chance of finding wind.
This last time I did this passage was in January 2005. I was ready to leave on 1st January. My plan was to wait and only leave when there was a good north wind blowing. Otherwise if I leave on another wind I may be forced to sail westward and then I could be left out there at a latitude above the tradewinds. Then I will be rolling around getting seasick or burning diesel. This is not a good thing to do in the first part of a long passage.
The prevailing wind at Canary Islands is North-East so the wait should not be more than a week at most. Then if I can quickly and easily get down past 20 degrees latitude I can then afford to hang about waiting for the tradewinds because I know that they will surely blow soon. And blow me all the way to the Caribbean. That is it. That is my plan. Not very highly complicated is it?
A GOOD MAHI MAHI. NOTICE THE CLEAR SKY, THE SMOOTH SEA AND THE WHITE WAKE OF THE BOAT
It will take around three weeks from Canary Islands to Barbados. It is 2,800 miles. Remember that pushing yourself and the boat to make miles every day takes most of the fun and relaxation from the voyage. It can be a spiritual experience if you allow yourself time to really relax and enjoy it.
If you are lucky you may get a week or two of no wind. What a great experience it is to spend a week drifting in perfect calm on this mighty ocean.
I recently met an Englishman here in the Canary Islands who was planning on taking six weeks to cross. He said that he enjoyed being at sea. He often took down his sails at night and went to bed. He also did not sail the boat in heavy weather. He simply stayed in bed with a good book. He would rather spend a few weeks extra and enjoy making love to his nice Brazilian girlfriend than spend his time striving to get the miles. I really respect this guy as one of the most sensible sailors that I have met this whole year.
The apparent wind speed on your deck will be a little over 10 knots for most of this voyage. The weather will be settled with light blue sky and clouds that look like fluffy cotton balls covering around 20% of the sky. After leaving Canaries the weather will settle, get warmer and the seas smoother every day. You should set out with a reef in your mainsail and then just roll your genoa in and out to suit the daily conditions.
After you get to the waypoint at 20 degrees latitude and turn more west put your mainsail to bed and pole out another headsail on the starboard side. If you do decide to carry a spinnaker then this is the most likely crossing where you will be inclined to use it. But you need to be vigilant as squalls are possible as are steady wind increases to over 30 knots. If the winds do increase to thirty knots as they sometimes do you should get the poled-out sail in very early, say before 20 knots, and then simply roll your genoa in and out to keep her going steadily and comfortably forward. Nothing could be safer or easier. Your steering system, whatever it is, will be under no stress and the crew will feel every confidence in the skipper. There is no tendency to broach even when an unexpectedly large wave suddenly arrives. Maybe it is true that every thirteenth wave is a double and that at least once a day you will experience a really huge wave. This is the one minute a day for which your boat has to be securely rigged.
Also remember that a serious breakage (say the mast) early in the passage may put your life at risk. So take it easy sailor!
It takes more than 24 days at average 4.5 knots. I last took 22 days at average 5.3 knots and I took it all real easy in January.
WAYPOINTS AND NAVIGATION
FOR ATLANTIC CROSSING
START Las Palmas Harbour 28*07’N x 15*23.4’W
Sail south around the island of Gran Canaria in daylight.
The intermediate waypoint where you can expect to find the trades is 20*N x 25*W
From this waypoint you can steer to Barbados south coast 13*N x 59*30’W
Follow the coast to the harbour 13*06.5’ x 59*38.0’.
The total distance is 2,800 miles
AVERAGE CONDITIONS EXPECTED IN
ATLANTIC CROSSING IN JANUARY
AVERAGE WIND SPEED/ DIRECTION
AVERAGE CURRENT SPEED/DIRECTION
AVERAGE WAVE HEIGHT IN METRES (FEET)
AVERAGE AIR TEMPERATURE Degrees C (F)
AVERAGE SEA TEMPERATURE Degrees C (F)
AVERAGE ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
AVERAGE PERCENT CHANCE OF GALES
AVERAGE PERCENT CHANCE OF CALMS
AVERAGE WIND SPEEDS LESS THAN 10 KNOTS
AVERAGE NUMBER OF HOURS TO RUN MOTOR
ANGLE OF BOAT TO WIND
AVERAGE BOAT SPEED
AVERAGE DAYS FOR PASSAGE
15 Knots @ 77 Degrees
0.6 Knot @ 253 Deg
2.00 (6.5)
21 (75)
21 (74)
1017 Millibars
1 %
2%
3-5 DAYS
1-3 Days
150 Degrees from Starboard bow
5.0 knots
22 Days
