Transatlantic: Day 22 [Day 43]

We are nearing the end of July, and also nearing the Azores. Soon we will need to turn South towards the island chain and enter the Azores High, an area plagued by light winds and currents. Normally, cruisers will sail across the Atlantic and then motor the last few days once they lose all wind as they enter the High. We don’t have that luxury, which is why we carry a suit of light air sails. I had these sails (a drifter and a light air mainsail) made out of ripstop nylon (spinnaker material) just so that we would be able to sail once we entered the High ourselves.

The closer we can get to the islands without entering the High, the longer we can sail for. To complicate matters further, the Gulf Stream flows through here, so wind or no wind, there is a strong current carrying you to the East. If you miss your island, you might have some trouble sailing back to it against the current with no wind!

Our Australian friends were able to receive this information from Predict Wind, but we weren’t able to see it while we were still sailing. They just gave us a brief version in 160 character text messages to our satellite phone. When we did finally meet up in Horta, they gave me all of these screen shots that he had taken of the weather reports.

The forecast is processed by Predict Wind and run through four models. You have the US model, Predict Wind’s version of the US model, the European model, and Predict Wind’s version of the European Model. The information is broken down into various categories and based on the performance of your boat or the conditions you are looking for, you can choose the route that you think will work best.

Talk about gambling!

It gets interesting when you throw islands into the mix. Some of the models are saying to go North of Corvo, others are saying to go between Flores and Corvo, and others are saying to go South of Flores.

As you approach Faial, the red model is saying to drop south of Faial and come back up to it, while the green model is saying to go North of Faial and then approach Horta from the East side of the island.

The same information goes in, and yet all four models say something completely different. Out in the ocean, it doesn’t really matter where you go because there is just plain old ocean everywhere. When you throw islands into the mix, you now have wind shadows to contend with and you have to wonder: are these wind shadows accounted for?

We had another bright moon light night to show us that the wind and waves were plenty and strong. We continue to sail East, waiting for the signal in the sky to tell us to turn Southward towards Faial.

Transatlantic: Day 7 [Day 28]

Another day, another wave, another watch schedule. Land was now last seen a week ago and we are moving along quickly, except for today. This was our slow day out of the crossing, and it is still so much faster than our trip to Bermuda!

Waiting for the right winds is so important. Yes, you can sail in any winds, and in any wind direction, but why?

If you have a head wind this week, wait until you have a tail wind next week. If you try and beat against the winds for a week, you will find that you will still be out there when the winds finally change and you start making actual miles under your keel. Alternatively, you could have stayed in a nice harbor where you have shore side attractions like friends, theaters, and places to walk! A week spent in a park is much better than a week spent beating into the seas. When the winds change, you will cover so many more miles per day and arrive at your destination quickly and with less exhaustion on you and on your boat.

We are going so fast because the winds are coming out of the South and we are cruising along on a beam reach!

Waiting for Weather

When you picture cruising, you probably imagine yourself anchored next to a gorgeous beach in crystal clear waters. While this is the goal for tropical cruising, it is not always the reality.

We are currently cruising in the Bahamas, where crystal clear waters are measured against. Every island you encounter is a magical universe unique onto itself. Yet, in this paradise, we have been confined for almost a week!

As we were sailing from Freeport to Nassau, a strong easterly wind came upon us. We nestled ourselves into the protection of Slaughter Harbor, located between Great Stirrup and Little Stirrup (Coco Cay) Cay. Both Stirrup islands are privately owned by cruise lines, so we are not allowed to step foot on their sands. This sort of makes us trapped in our own boat until the winds finish blowing.

The thing is, the winds have been blowing at 20-30 knots for the past 5 days, and seem to show little intent on letting up.

This means that we have spent the last week in our boat, waiting for weather to improve so that we can continue sailing on. Our anchorage has been a little rolly, with waves as big as 3 feet developing in the protected anchorage, but that is nothing when compared to the 8 to 16 foot waves that roll by in the deep blue waters outside of the anchorage.

Waiting for better weather is always the wise thing to do. There is no point in risking the safety of the crew or boat because you get tired of waiting for better weather. Part of cruising is the relaxed schedule. This isn't a charter boat where we only have a week to see what we came here for, this is a voyage where we have all the time we want. When we feel ready, we then move on to the next destination.

So, here we sit, waiting for the weather to blow over, and waiting for better weather to begin sailing again.

Beating or Heaving To

Optimal weather to exit an inlet isn't always optimal weather to make it to your destination. When we left the Fort Pierce Inlet, the winds were light and we were able to slip out with the current. Once out there, the winds were blowing from the South, directly where we wanted to go.

That night, the winds were forecasted to switch and start blowing out of the North, allowing us to run towards our destination.

We started out tacking close to the shore, but the Gulf Stream is pretty close to shore in this area, so we were forced to hang out near the shoreline. Short tacking proved pointless, as we were working hard to make any windward progress and still in sight of the inlet from which we started. This is the little zig zag that we did when we first exited.

So instead of fighting the wind, we just hove to and let it drift us along to the North. We made dinner, relaxed, and took it easy as we drifted through the water. When the winds shifted, we covered all the miles we had lost in about an hour! This means that we could have fought and started the voyage tired when the winds arrived, or relax and wait for the right winds to take us where we need to go. 

Heaving To (For Convenience)

There are many reasons to heave to, usually all related to stopping the boat to fix something that has gone wrong.  

It could be that the weather has become too powerful to safely navigate, or that your gear broke and you need to stop and tend to repairs. It could also be that someone fell overboard and you need to recover them! 

All of these situations involve something that is not good happening, and heaving to to let you fix it.  

There is one pleasant reason to heave to: because you want to. 

If you are granted a weather window to leave an inlet but are faced with an upwind destination, you could either tack forever and work like a dog; or heave to and wait for the right winds. 

Heaving to will pretty much stop you in the water, making you slowly slip sideways through the sea. This means that you will move slower than if you ran, or lay a hull (which would be the equivalent of running under bare poles). 

Heaving to also keeps your sails ready should you drift into something and need to get away from it. If you were laying a hull, you would need to hoist the sails and set them, whereas heaving to would only require that you set the sails. 

Once the weather you want comes around, you will then scoot right along without having to work very hard. This will put you further along and makeup for the day you sat waiting still in the water.