A Perfect Trade Wind Passage

Saecwen’s eight day passage from Natal Brazil to French Guiana was tropical trade wind sailing at it’s absolute best. Firstly, for most of the 1,300 mile voyage we were sailing before our old friends, the south east trade winds. With a consistent 15 knot wind dead behind us, we could set our twin foresails and under this beautiful rig, range up to 30 degrees each side of the wind, without the risk of having to jibe the boat.

Secondly, we had beneath us the formidable south equatorial ocean current pushing us along for most of the way between 1.5 to 3.5 knots an hour. This extraordinary natural phenomenon intensifies as it rounds the northeast corner of Brazil, and thanks to today’s weather apps, we were able to track its ever-changing course, ensuring we could enjoy the maximum benefit of this turbo-charged free conveyor belt.

South Equatorial Current

The net effect was amazing. For four consecutive days Saecwen logged impressive noon-to-noon daily runs, with our best being a 24 hour record of 170 miles. This was sailing at its very best.

We feasted well most days on freshly caught fish. Our best catch would have been a giant tuna – had not something much bigger eaten more than half of it before we could get the fish on board. Its head section which Heloise did manage to retrieve nevertheless fed us well that evening. 

Someone got here first

The voyage was marked by a number of memorable milestones: while crossing northwards back across the equator was not quite as novel an occasion as when we crossed heading south a few weeks previously, our fancy dress Halloween party marked a major event for the ship’s company. 

Halloween Fancy Dress Party

 We also had some wonderful visits from leaping bottle nose dolphins and most nights we seemed to end up given a free ride to a variety of seabirds, including a group of 14 brown noddies who spent the night huddled together around our bow and perched on one of our spinnaker poles.

Noddies catching a ride on Saecwen's bow

As we crossed the mouth of the mighty Amazon, the inter tropical convergence zone made an unwelcome lurch southwards, bringing us calms and accompanying rain squalls for 24 hours. Thankfully the calms did not hang around and, the trades duly returned giving us a wonderful final fair wind sail to a stunning dawn landfall off the Isles Salut of French Guiana.

One of the 5 (whole) fish caught on this passage

In true Saecwen tradition the ship’s bell was wildly clanged on the first sighting of land. Next, after the anchor had properly set off Isle Royale, a bottle of champagne was popped and Emily treated us to another round of her excellent drop scone breakfasts to celebrate another safe passage and landfall.