In the Canary Islands Saecwen was joined by two new crew members, Jem and Emily. Celebrating Landfall in Ilha do Sal, Cape Verde after 6 nights at sea Jem, originally from Cowes on the Isle of White, has sailed all his life and as a former bike engineer and now UX consultant is a marvel at fixing things. His persistence for getting to the bottom of pretty much any snag on board is admirable, particularly as this often involves crawling into tight spaces in the 35+ degrees of

Saecwen has now officially left Europe. After a 6-day voyage south we have arrived in the Cape Verde Islands, an African nation made up of nine inhabited islands and it was on the most northeastern one, Ilha do Sal, that we made our landfall after a 780-mile passage from La Gomera in the Canary Isles. Twin foresails set for the Trade Winds After we finally managed to escape the extraordinary 80-mile wind shadow created by the huge mountains of the Canaries, we were blessed wi

Sailing between the Canary Islands Many people might assume that sailing around the Canary Islands entails balmy cruising in temperate sub-tropical latitudes. Saecwen’s experience of exploring the archipelago this August and September was far from the case. True: the Canaries at certain times of the year enjoy periods of settled balmy weather; but once the north east trade winds start to blow in earnest during the summer, it becomes a very different picture. Firstly, these p