Crossing into the tropics

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 with fair winds as the NE Trades blew consistently for the duration of the passage. Our 24 hour runs ranged from 153m (average speed of 6.4kns) to 112m (average speed 4.6kns) as the wind strength varied day to day. On our second night out we were hit by a huge wind squall gusting over 30kns of wind, causing us to reach a record 11.4kns as we surfed down a wave and rapidly reduced sail. However, for most of the trip it was perfect conditions with the boat beautifully balanced and George IV, our faithful Hydrovane wind self-steering system, coping admirably with the conditions.

George IV, our faithful self-steering system

Our preferred sail plan for these prolonged periods of downwind sailing is setting twin headsails, one on each side of the boat. This enables us to secure the mainsail out of the way in the boom gallows and under this beautiful rig we can happily sail 30 degrees each side of the wind, thus eliminating the risk of regular jibing, which would occur if we had the mainsail up.

Admist the many highlights of our six days at sea, two notable landmarks were achieved on our third day out: Saecwen completed her first 10,000 miles since her launch in May 2021; and we crossed the Tropic of Cancer, officially entering the tropics (where we hope to stay for some time!).

Plotting our noon day position

This wonderful passage came to its conclusion with a stunning dawn landfall over the northern coast of Ilha do Sal just as the NE Trades started to die out and a period of calms set in. We made it just in time before we lost the wind and were welcomed by the sheltered harbour of Palmeira with a curious collection of boats, including some very decrepit looking square rigged pirate-party? ships, and several colourful wooden fishing boats.

This was Saecwen’s longest passage to date and has created some magical memories: a waning golden sickle moon; a multitude of shooting stars during our night watches; an empty ocean (we only saw three ships in six days); dozens of flying fish landing on the deck; a pod of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins sprinting at phenomenal speed around our bow – and the unsolved mystery of WHAT was that massive fish that smashed our line making off with our favourite sparkly lure?

Landfall on Ilha do Sal, Cape Verde Islands