25 th July

Some news at last.

I decided to set off on a 400nm sail the same as all entrants in the SAC within the rules of the adventure.  I have purchased a Starlink Mini which I would like to use for weather and Orca tracking for the trip to mainland Portugal so I can not use that voyage as a qualifying sail.  Also I thought it was a good idea to spend some time at sea to learn the boat and what modifications I would like to make before leaving home base. (and my workshop).

Another thing I wanted to test was myself.  I did many transatlantic voyages of which some were single handed but that was many many years ago and I wanted to find out if I still had what it takes in the mental and physical field and did I really want to go ahead with this adventure.  Better to find out sooner than later.  There is no maybe - it is yes or no.

I decided that the sooner the better.  After an afternoon maiden sail with a reasonable breeze so I could check the reefing system, the home brew selfsteering vane, and a few beats and runs I decided the best thing was to go for it.  I knew the boat is built like a tank and was sure it could not sink or fall to pieces.

I stocked up with 40l of water and enough food for 3 weeks and plenty of tools and spare bits.

 Day 1

Departed Horta Marina midday on Thursday 17th July.  The weather forecast was for NW becoming N then going NE winds 10 to 12 kts. My planned route was to leave Sao Jorge, Terceira and Sao Miguel to starboard and return to Horta Faial.  Doing a route on Navionics made it 401nm in nice straight lines.  

The wind was at least 12kts and decided to put a reef in the main.  The wind vane is happier when sailing more upright and balanced.  There were gusts going over 15kts to start.  I could lay the west point of Sao Jorge with a bit to spare for most of the beat there but when I got within maybe 4 miles from the point the wind headed me and I had to tack upwind.  What was interesting is there was another yacht -Belgian flag running downwind close towards  me.  After passing me they dropped their running pole and beat after me to ask what kind of boat Nuts was.  They had heard of the 5.8 and thought I was one.  I educated them as to the roots.  I got around Sao Jorge as the sun was setting but could not free off the sheets as the wind kept heading me.  I could lay Terceira though.

Rounding Sao Jorge and sunset a little later.

Had very smooth and relaxing sail towards Terceira Island with wind vane working very well.  Still beating but wind slowly dropped and had full mainsail.  I kept heading as high as I could to give lots of searoom to the island.  Got lots of sleep and read my book.

Day 2

Wind had eased off and speed dropped but spent the day creeping up to the north of Terceira Island and after a nice evening rounding with a cocktail and peanuts watching the world go by I was blasted by a big sperm whale spouting maybe 50m away.  It did big breaths for a bit then arched its back and put its tail up and disappeared.  The wind picked up overnight and finally aft of the beam.

Day 3

Got some trade wind type weather with wind and waves behind on the way to the east end of Sao Miguel.

Fast fun sailing.  The wind picked up  to about 12kts apparent.  I put a reef in to help the wind vane.  Later I put a second reef in for the same reason as the wind picked up a bit more but was going between 5 and 6kts with  a surf every now and then.  The wind vane was working like a champion.  I experimented with the transom tabs and it was much more stable with both tabs down.  Very relaxed - was a big mistake.  I was down below and a wave slapped the side aft and filled the cockpit and sent some buckets of water inside. It took ages to clean out all the water and dry things.  There was not a lot but it got into the lockers under the bunk on the port side as well as my food lockers above the bunk.  Just enough to make things wet.  Big lesson learned.  When wind and waves aft of the beam keep the lower washboard (at least) in position even if things seem fine.

As I approached the turning point on the east of Sao Miguel the water depth went from over 1000m to 70m deep in a very short distance as well as the wind acceleration around the point made the waves very steep with lots more wind. I had 2 reefs in the main and was surfing every second wave without touching the tiller.  The wind vane was working overtime and it was a good test for my heart (and the vane).  After I spun out for the second time I dropped the mainsail and everything went calm and was still doing over 6kts.  Another lesson learned.  Dont be a hero.  Just reduce sail and chill.  

Once around the corner and in the lee I got some good sleep in calm water and fading wind.

Day 4

Spent the whole day trying to move in no wind.  I had phone signal so could check Windy Weather.  There was a high pressure that had moved directly over me but other than that it was useless.  It was hot and sunny and was getting sunburned.  I spent as much time inside as possible to escape the sun but with the non existent wind we were moving too slowly for the trimtab to be effective.  I was resting inside when there was a bang and went out to discover that the windvane had been damaged.  The rudder had been pushed over to 90 degrees and that pulled on the connecting rod to the vane and broke the mounting off.

Had to scratch through what I had on board and this is what I came up with-

Gave it overnight for the sikaflex to cure and it worked like new the next day.  (1 more thing on the job list).  I didnt loose any distance as was not moving anyway.

Day 5

Spent the previous night and today tying to get into little ruffles on the mirror sea to move westwards -ish.  One thing about the Setka design is that if you have 1knot of wind it will start to move.  I finally managed to wiggle my way to Ponta Delgada where there is a gap in the mountains and got moving again.  Close reaching at 4kts in flat calm seas was a pleasure.  It went calm for a while at sundowner time as there is another high patch of land just before the west end of Sao Miguel Island.  Managed to get through the calm area and  into  maybe 8kts of north wind for the night.  Nice sleep with happy windvane.

Day 6

In open sea again away from islands and wind slowly fading away.  Had plenty water so had good wash.  First salt water using Johnsons Baby Shampoo as that lathers in salt water for hair and body and then a salt water rinse off and finally a fresh water rinse off to get rid of the salt.  If careful can get away with only 500ml of fresh water.  It makes you feel really good for at least a few hours before you start sweating all over again.

Saw lots of dolphins on the way to Pico.

Had a dolphin very interested in the rudder tab combination and followed 1m behind Nuts for a long time just looking. Unfortunately no camera handy.

As I got closer to Pico the wind disappeared completely.  Jib down, tiller lashed and main sheeted tight and a good sleep.  Ais on watch!!  Did have a ship pass close.  My alarm went balistic till I switched it off.  A tanker with 60m beam - that is 12 Setkas bow to stern sideways on that ship!!! 340m length.  What was interesting though is I was monitoring them from 20nm away and was thinking about calling them on VHF to alert them that I could not move but noticed the COG (course over ground) was changing and they had altered course to pass 2 miles behind me.  As soon as they were past they resumed their original course.  Good seamanship.

Very nice sunset

There was a green flash but difficult to capture.

Day 7

This day was a struggle.  Sea like a mirror with tiny patches of ripples which indicated some slight windy patches. I spent lots of time trying to tack or gybe to aim for a patch of breeze.  Was kept company by dolphins from time to time but could not persuade them to push me in the right direction.  I eventually wiggled my way to the west of Pico where the forecast NE winds showed up and suddenly Nuts came alive.  Well NE winds ended up more N to NNW which was where I wanted to go so a brisk beat with a couple of tacks to get up the channel to Horta

The last tack into home port at 9pm 24th July.

This is a screen shot from my Garmin Inreach Explorer App

Did 789km (426nm)

So what did I learn.............

My body is not as young as it used to be.  Nuts is a very lively box of tricks.  It does not sit still.  Moving about inside when moving fast in waves needs to be planned. You need to be able to do squats from very low down.  Pouring boiling water into a coffee mug or your dehydrated meal has to be planned and done carefully to avoid burns.  The best place to sleep is on the floor.  When calm you can sleep on the leeward side to help the set of the sails.  Forget sleeping to windward when there is a lot of wind.  Have lots of hand holds inside and near the companionway.  Always clip on your harness when the wind is above 5kts.  Keep a lower wash board in the companionway at all times when wind and waves aft of the beam even if it seems dry. A Windex always points to where you want to go.

Other things I discovered.

I still love sailing.  50w of solar is plenty for a Setka.  AIS is a marvel. Navigation on a tablet is so easy it is cheating.  Garmin Inreach Mini 2 is a must and works very well.  Our homemade dehydrated meals are just fine (tested meals made in February)

Job list before next excursion.

Fix wind vane and strengthen.  Now I know it works - make a spares package and a single lead weight.

Fit hand holds on each side of companionway inside.

Look at putting flaps on cockpit drains as got water entering cockpit from breaking waves hitting transom

Fit tiller extension.

Some kind of towel holders near galley.

Fit catches on bunk locker lids to keep them closed when upside down

Connect second VHF antennae 

Cant wait for heading off again.  I have rediscovered my love of sailing. ( even though my body is getting a bit bashed up)