Our stay in Gran Canaria was regrettably ending as we had to use the weather window over the weekend to continue south. Our boat was ready thanks to David who had spent the week adding covers on the reefing lines to prevent chafe, and making daily trips to the chandlery to buy various items like an emergency bilge pump, a drogue, epoxy paste, repair kits, and a fishing rod.
David has a legendary reputation of catching big fish on his voyages, and we hoped to land a few on our trip. Our biggest buy was a Dometic refrigerator/ freezer chest to store our supply of fresh vegetables and the fish we would be catching. We had to install a 12V outlet of sufficient amperage in the cockpit to power the Dometic and the bilge pump.
Provisioning for the trip
With 4 on board, provisioning can be a huge task. There is no hopping on to the neighborhood store, when you are out of something, in the middle of the ocean. We each had to plan 5 meals for the crew . Menus were discussed and the food list prepared. Then there were other considerations such as how many rolls of toilet paper/person/week, paper towels, dish washing detergent, drinks/per person/day etc. Lists were made, modified, and delegated to each crew member.
On one of our daily walks, we had noticed a fresh produce store that had a variety of vegetables and fruits. We reached out to them with our list which had to be translated into Spanish first; onions=cebollas, spinach = espinaca, carrots = zanahorias etc.. They would deliver everything the day before we were to set sail. We spent an afternoon in the supermarket buying everything else on our list and we returned with sacks and sacks of groceries that looked like would feed an army! Storing this in our limited storage space was challenging.
The vegetables arrived the following day in cardboard boxes. Cardboard boxes should not be stored or even brought onboard as they can host insects. This can start an infestation that maybe hard to get rid off from the boat. We quickly removed all the vegetables and rinsed them in a bleach solution before putting them out to dry on the foredeck trampoline. These were then stored away in the 3 refrigerators on board.
An important part of provisioning is to make sure we have downloaded enough Netflix content and audio books to keep us occupied during the crossing, especially during night watches.
Below is a snippet of our watch schedule that we would follow on our trip. In rotation, 3 of the crew would have a 3 hour watch every night followed by a 4 hour watch during the day. The 4th crew member would be on chef duty for the day. Both Andy and David are talented cooks, and we looked forward to gastronomic delights on their chef duty days. They did not disappoint!
(L) Carrot Cake by Andy, (R) Grilled Fish and Vegetable Stew by David
Peter or Penelope?
We left Gran Canaria in the afternoon of the 26th of March. It was a beautiful day with fair winds. Very soon we fell into our boat schedule with regular watches at night and during the day. I can be prone to seasickness on the first few days of leaving land especially in rough seas. With the wind almost behind us, we had moderate seas with occasional large waves.
On our second day we had a visitor- a racing/homing pigeon! We were about 200 nautical miles away from land. The pigeon had a rubber ring around each foot. Specially trained pigeons are released which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time it takes the animal to cover the distance is measured and compared with all of the other pigeons in the race. Our pigeon was lost or taking a break -possibly an illegal one.
David was soon calling our guest Peter, and had little containers of food (oats and lentils) and water set up on our dinghy. While not specifically trained to determine pigeon gender, I was of the opinion that the bird was a female due to her simple coloring, and that she was better suited for pigeon curry. Andy and I named her Penelope. Penelope was a little nuisance pooping all over the dinghy and making a riot of a mess by picking and discarding the offered meals. Nevertheless, I did feel sorry for her. I wondered if she would be worth ransom money to an owner. Homing pigeons are expensive!
Peter made himself comfortable in our cockpit and dinghy
On day 5 of our trip, Sunil noticed the port engine compartment bilge pump running. Upon investigating, David found that the rudder bearing at the hull was loose and water was spilling in at each turn of the rudder. Water coming into the boat in the engine compartment was bad news. We were 600 miles from Gran Canaria and about 400 miles from Cape Verde. We made the decision to divert to Cape Verde immediately. Adding to the problem, was the fact that our expensive KVH satellite system had barely worked over the past few days, and we did not have the ability to communicate easily if things got worse. We do have a backup Iridium satellite phone, that allowed us to make a few calls to Nautitech, and send texts. It’s a good plan to have redundant systems onboard.
Our diversion captured on our tracker.
Sunil texting on the Iridium phone
Fishing and Bye Bye Peter
Our fishing rods are set out each day. We had two nibbles on the line that we lost as we tried to reel them in. On the 6th day as we were headed to Cape Verde, my reel started spinning, promising a decent catch. This time David was able to bring in a most beautiful Mahi Mahi. I am grateful for the catch that proved to be a delicious meal, but it is hard to see this beautiful creature thrash around on deck splashing blood!
Catch of the day
The weather was distinctly warming up each day as we headed south. The change in direction must have worried our Pigeon, as we woke up one morning to see him gone. I hope he makes his way back home safely. I was a little sad, but also relieved.
The following days, the sky was hazy but cloudless. During spring time and summer, the trade winds carry fine Sahara dust clear across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and beyond. This accounted for the haze, and was also evident in the fine coating of red sand that collected in Jajabor’s nooks and corners. I scanned the vast ocean for signs of the dolphins that usually came this time of the evening but they were not to be seen today. The winds were light and the sails flapped listlessly, the tell tails drooping and occasionally perking up when a light wind gust blew across the water creating a few waves. I was glad for the respite from the high waves and strong winds of the previous days, having suffered a few bouts of seasickness.
As we bobbed our way to Cape Verde, I stared out at the vast ocean around us. There was nothing but miles and miles of water surrounding us. Not even a boat could be seen across the horizons surrounding us. Without the stimulation of internet, social media, and work emails, my mind wandered to such matters as what was for supper tonight. It was bound to be good. Andy was on galley duty.
The sun settled lower in the distance and the sea changed from a deep blue to an inky black. As we near land, we can see the detritus of human consumption-bits of plastic wrap, plastic bottles and other garbage float by occasionally. Our fishing line still trailed behind the boat occasionally whirring and teasing us with the promise of another fish on the hook. There was to be no fish tonight, but dinner would still be good.
Land Ho!
On the 8th day we caught our first glimpse of Sao Vincente and Santo Antao islands in the distant haze. There was a sense of relief as we had been carefully monitoring the leak at every watch and occasionally pumping out the water as it accumulated, not just relying on the automatic bilge pumps. It was Sunday, and there would not be much to do, as most places would be closed. We checked into the Mindelo Marina, and had a celebratory drink at the Marina bar. Then, like at every other port, we went looking for a SIM card.
Sao Vincente island
Sailing Jajabor 