After our 6-night passage to Colombia from Grenada, followed by 2 nights of horror riding out a storm off Santa Marta and the another 2 nights of passage down the somewhat bleak coast of Colombia we were very much ready to ‘land.’ A welcome landfall (finally) Our nightfall arrival to Cartagena was nothing short of dramatic. Firstly, it was raining hard, so no moon to guide us in, secondly, we were met by blasts of 30+ knots of wind as we entered the typical acceleration zone

On 26 th  January Saecwen slipped her mooring off St George’s, Grenada heading due west. After a couple wonderful months in the islands of the Eastern Caribbean, it was time to head back out to sea. Sunset under the twin sails Conditions were near perfect for our departure. Around 15kns of wind from the east were forecast for the coming days and with such ideal trade wind conditions anticipated, as soon as we had cleared the wind shadow of Grenada’s mountains, we set our twin

After exploring the offshore islands of Isles Salut, Saecwen’s next adventure in French Guiana was to enter the Maroni River, one of a number of major river systems on the north east coast of South America which proliferate between mighty deltas of the Amazon to the south and the Orinoco to the north. Kayaking up the Maroni river After a dawn landfall off the mouth of the Maroni, a strong tide took us all the way up to St Laurent de Maroni, 25 miles from the sea. This French

On arrival at the Brazilian island of Fernando da Norona, we finally had the chance to diagnose the cause of Saecwen’s mid-Atlantic engine failure. Working in close contact with the team at the Elephant Boatyard back home, the news was bad.  The raw water pump, which provides the principal means of cooling our engine, had systemically failed. Crew mate Jem, who through herculean effort had disassembled the pump, was able to identify that the critical stainless-steel shaft tha

If you ask a Brazilian sailor about their favourite cruising destinations, the chances are Fernando de Noronha will be at the top of their list.  This archipelago is situated 350 miles off the north east coast of Brazil and hosts a pristine ecosystem of diverse marine and bird life, unique geological structures and wildly beautiful beaches. The islands were discovered in the early 1500s by Fernao de Loronha and have since been under Dutch, English and French rule before being

Our final stop in the group of Atlantic islands known as Macaronesia, (made up of the Canaries, Azores, Maderia and the Cape Verdes) took us to the first African nation in our voyage the Cape Verde Islands.  This archipelago is made up of 10 volcanic islands a few hundred miles west of Cap-Vert, in Senegal, the most westerly point of the African continent.  Palmeira Harbour, Ilha do Sal, Cape Verde  Our first stop was Ilha do Sal, the most north easterly of the islands where

“ To have been born in this burnt-out geology of ashes, in the middle of the Atlantic, conditions any moderately sensitive being,” Cesar Manrique.   Lava fields of Timanfaya National Park Lanzarote, Saecwen’s first Canary Island landfall is a dramatic volcanic island.  Cesar Manrique was an artist who dedicated his life to the protection of the natural landscapes of dark ashy earth contrasted by white-washed houses. The traditional houses are made with materials from the volc

Madeira is full of surprises.  After our 495-mile crossing from the coast of Portugal -  Saecwen’s longest passage to date - we were greeted in the early hours of the morning by the lights of the Holy Island of “Porto Santo”.  Approaching at night we were able to pass the lighthouse on the north eastern outlying island before rounding up into the main harbour. It was chilling  to think how the very first ships to discover these islands made a safe landfall hundreds of years a