May 27
Mrs Nuts writing.
Ian and Nuts arrived back in his home port, Horta, which they departed from 7 months ago. He had no internet connection for the last 36 hours so, unfortunately, there was no news from him yesterday. But, I can tell you that the in last 48 hours he had the worst conditions of the whole 7 month voyage. I am sure he will put it all into words soon but in the meantime here are some images of his arrival.
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| On dry land, with a glass of bubbly to celebrate |
May 25th 1300 UTC
Trip meter 6895nm
Dist to Horta 113nm
Dist in 24 hrs 106nm
DMG 97nm
Yesterday had fast smooth sailing, which became fast rough sailing. I realised that if I kept the speed up I would arrive near Horta in the worst possible weather so dropped the main and been under jib only since 3am. Seas are still building and becoming more confused with breaking tops. We are approaching the mid-Atlantic Ridge with it's many undersea formations that play havoc with currents in very local areas. I should pass close to the Princess Alice Bank which is less than 50m deep. Got a bit of sun which is boosting batteries. I will be using Starlink for the last time tonight because my subscription expires at midnight and I'm not spending 300 euros to renew the subscription for just a few hours. I'll get phone signal as I approach the islands. Let's hope the weather front is not too severe.
May 24 log 13000UTC
Trip meter 6789nm
Distance to Horta 210nm
Distance in 24 hrs 72nm
Distance made good 64nm
Slow steady sailing since yesterday. Got more wind in the early hours so sped up a little. If I can go fast enough maybe I can miss the worst of the weather. The problem is to get into the harbour in gale force SE wind. I would be on a lee shore with no way out. The alternative is to slow down and go through the worst wind in deep water, delaying arrival by at least 24 hours. The seas close to the islands go crazy in strong winds because of undersea banks and tidal rips. Going to push till tomorrow morning and then see what the weather is doing, the forecast changes every few hours. Tomorrow is my last day with Starlink and I don't want to pay another 300 for a whole month when I only need it for a couple of days. I can get the weather on my phone when I get close to the islands (about 20 miles?). Still suffering with little sun for solar. Rainy again this morning with complete cloud coverage.
May 23rd 1630 UTC
Trip meter 6717nm
Dist to Horta 274nm
Dist in 24 hrs 75nm
DMG 63nm
Wind been very light and running with jib poled out. Sea calm with cloudy night and morning fog. No sun today so batteries very low. Just been passed by a 12m Swedish yacht under motor with no sail up. Lucky for him as there is a nasty depression forming which will zap me as I get close to Horta. They should arrive before it hits. I think I will be in the wrong place at the right time to get clobbered. Took advantage of the calm to heat some sea water and fresh water for a hot shower with fresh water rinse off. I checked the remaining water - 66.4 litres. Not monitoring weather as often as I would like because I am not connecting the Starlink too often because of the low batteries. Coffee supply running low! I am drinking a lot more coffee now with the colder weather.
Mayy 22nd 1300UTC
Trip meter 6642nm
Dist to Horta 337nm
Dist in 24 hrs 83nm
DMG 73nm
As expected the wind eased off overnight. Took the reefs out and was under full sail by sunrise. There was light drizzle the whole night and a cool breeze. The clouds disappeared during this morning, the sun is shining on the solar panels and the batteries are breathing a sigh of relief Got as low as 15% charge. I will be able to connect the Starlink a little later. Sea has calmed down with smooth swells. Slipping along at 3 knots in a light breeze.
May 21 1300UTC
Trip meter 6559
Dist to Horta 410
Dist in 24 hrs 101
DMG 89
The wind eased off yesterday afternoon but swells still close to 4m from NW and wind from SW. I dropped the main for the night to get some sleep. I saw a ship maybe 5 miles away on my bow but no AIS signal. The catamaran yesterday I could see on AIS from 6 miles away.
Comfortable sail overnight but strong current from the NW. Wind is slowly picking up again and 25 knots forecast for this evening. It should be calming down tomorrow and then no wind at all the day after. The weather still looks uncertain after that. All okay on board. Lunch time and back to my book.
May 20 1300UTC
Trip meter 6458
Dist to Horta 499
Dist in 24 hrs 66
DMG 50
Had a very rough night with swell from the NW and wind-driven waves from the SW. Wind started to moderate in the early hours of the morning but still strong gusts. At sunrise I hoisted a jib and pulled in the rope and chain. Had to clean piles of sargassum weed out of the cockpit. Wind and waves kept moderating so I hoisted the main with 3 reefs, then later 2 reefs and soon after just 1 reef and going well. Saw a 15m catamaran on AIS from 5 miles out coming up astern of me. Took them quite a while to pass me doing 8 knots to my 6. Wind is up again and had fun hand steering and surfing the waves. Top speed was 8.8 knots. Now back to 3 reefs because I was getting soaking wet, still doing over 5 knots.
May 19th 1300 UTC Day 30
Trip meter 6392
Dist to Horta 549
Dist in 24 hrs 63
DMG 52
Yesterday afternoon I put out the rope with chain to slow down and also tied everything down really well. Been under bare poles since. It got very bouncy with short steep breaking waves, but quite small. Wind increased to maybe 25 knots overnight with some harder gusts and the seas built up to about 1.5m. The seas are a bit more organised now but still have to jamb myself on the floor between the bunks with 4 bean bags to stop being thrown around. Boiling water for coffee and dinner (spaghetti) was done with great care so I didn't pour boiling water over myself. This morning there was a little sun and plenty wind. At about 0900 the front passed over with about an hour of rain and the wind dropped to 18 knots, still from the SW. Waiting for the NW to come through and pick up. Nice and sunny at the moment with cold wind. All fine aboard, can't wait to get sailing again - maybe tonight or tomorrow morning.
May 18th 1300 UTC
Trio metre 6329 nm (set to in Tenerife before the Atlantic crossing)
Distance to Horta 601 nm
Distance in 24 hrs 58 nm
Distance Made Good 48 nm
Wind slowly picking up. Seas small but tumbling with current against wind. Gybed a few times last night to keep on course. I'm sailing a bit faster than I would like as I want to stay south of N32.5 by midday on Tuesday (tomorrow). I might drop the jib a bit later. Still some sun between clouds and topping up the batteries as no sun forecast for tomorrow. Finished my last onion last night, no more fresh veg, but still got plenty of food. Starting to get more uncomfortable, boat being thrown around on increasing waves, and looking very grey to the north.
May 17th, 1300UTC
Trip metre 6271
Dist to Horta 649
Dist in 24 hrs 57
DMG 48
Still sailing slowly under jib in nice calm conditions with sunny skies. At 3am I saw a ship on AIS, 20 miles away. Watched the sun rise out of the seas with clear skies and a large pod of dolphins swimming on the same course as me. Been snoozing, reading, doing puzzles on tablet, watching a bit of YouTube and window shopping on Amazon.
May 16th
Trip metre 6214
Dist to Horta 697
Dist in 24hrs 65
DMG 54
Still under jib only. Wind light and sea calmed down so not too bumpy. Wind on stbd beam. Cruising along slowly so as not to get too far north before Tuesday. Forecast still predicts winds of 40 knot gusts at 35N. Hopefully I'll get a bit less and only for a few hours. Even more weed around today. I have just reversed a wheelbarrow load off the keel.
May 15th
Trip metre 6149nm
Dist to Horta 751nm
Dist in 24hrs 33nm
DMG 21nm
I have just been drifting under bare poles with the tiller lashed since yesterday until mid morning. Wasting time till the depression passes north of me. Put up the jib this morning to get a bit closer to the depression's forecast position as the weather models change. I'm aiming for 35N 35Wby Tuesday. Then I should be in strong winds but not too severe. The weather models do not agree too well and for the long term forecasts they are completely different. And the forecasts change every few hours. Sailing at about 3 knots with the wind aft of the beam. Sea still choppy with uncomfortable motion for a 5m yacht. Still a lot of sargassum weed around. There are no gaps bigger than 10m between patches of weed. Most are the size of a side plate but some are as big as a car. This does not look good for the future.
May 14th
Trip metre 6116
Dist to Horta 772nm
Dist in 24 hrs 48nm
DMG 39nm
Wind picked up in early hours of the morning and I was sailing too fast under jib alone so I dropped it. Just drifting along with tiller lashed and doing less than 1 knot. Movement of the boat very uncomfortable with no sails up to steady it. Frustrating having to stop and drift when there is a good wind from the stern but can't take a chance of running into the depressions. Did inventory of remaining food and have enough for 25 days without rationing. Also found my missing tomato sauce! Getting some hazy sun from time to time which is charging the batteries slowly. I like to have a reserve before spending time on Starlink. Spend most of my time jammed in on the floor reading.
May 13th
Trip metre 6068
Distance to Horta 811
Distance 24 hrs 83
DMG 65
Wind picked up and sea nasty. On a beam reach with only jib up since early hours this morning. Forecast is for 2 strong depressions to pass over the Azores and gale force winds as far south as 35N. I have decided to sail very slowly to let them pass by to the north of me. I'll try to get a bit more east then stop and wait. Getting pounded at the moment with breaking seas hitting the beam and crashing over the boat. Getting warps and chain ready to deploy as drogues.
May 12th
Trip metre 5985
Dist to Horta 876
Dist 24 hrs 89
DMG 80
1300UTC
Rain all day yesterday and through the night. Saw a ship on AIS at 4am and then a yacht. They were doing 5 knots and me 2.5. Then discovered they were motoring when they passed me. Spoke to them on VHF to confirm my AIS is working ok and he said they saw me from 16 miles. Saw another 2 ships this morning. Just had a pod of pilot whales paying a visit, didn't hang around for long because I am moving too slowly (wind has dropped). Batteries very low, complete cloud cover and just getting a slow trickle charge.
May 11th Day 22
Trip metre 5896
Dist to Horta 956
Dist in 24 hrs 90
DMG 80
1300 UTC
Very cloudy with rain, no squalls, just constant rain. Caught a mahi mahi yesterday and had it fried for supper. I ate a lot, there was more than enough for 2 people. I did a stock take on water to see see if I needed to catch some of this rainwater, but I still have plenty. Getting cooler now, even with the companionway mostly closed, and of course the hatches are completely closed. Wind easing off and a rather confused sea. For the first time I hade a current pushing me from the stern, about 0.7 knots, since early yesterday.
May 10
Trip metre 5806
Dist to Horta 1036
Dist in 24 hrs 85
DMG 75
1300 UTC
Nothing exciting happening. Still close reaching in light conditions. Sea smooth rollers and occasional light rain shower but mostly sunny. Still lots of weed and have to do many reverse sails to clear weed from the keel and rudder. I am keeping the stabliser fins up out of the weed.
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| Mrs Bart Caffeine fix sorted for the next 8 days. |
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| Wine o clock yesterday evening. |
May 9
Trip metre 5721
Distance to Horta 1111
Distance in 24 hrs 92nm
DMG 83nm
Saw a 180m ship passing close by yesterday. First received on AIS when 12 miles away. Also saw a wine bottle floating by, guess some yachtie had a party. After yesterday's unsettled weather things calmed down, smooth sailing on a reach today. Watched a waterspout forming below a purple cloud but it dissipated before reaching the ocean. Several miles away from me but concerning anyway.
May 8th Day 19
Trip metre 5629
Distance to Horta 1194
Distance in 24 hrs 83nm
Distance Made Good 72nm
1300UTC
Yesterday was very nice calm sailing and I had a long saltwater shower. I also made a new friend, a little pilot fish riding the bow wave. The night was clear and calm and I had the hatches open to cool things down. I was rudely awakened by lots of flapping from the mainsail only to discover the shackle holding the main sheet to the strop on the boom was gone. I got that sorted with a spare shackle and had to reef a bit later as it started blowing over 15 knots. Been slamming and bouncing since then. Making okay speed though, Very hot and humid today. Heard some thunder and saw some very threatening clouds but not too close.
May 7
Trip metre 5546
Distance to Horta 1266
Distance in 24 hrs 72
DMG 61
1300UTC
I had some good wind yesterday and made reasonable speed.
But the wind was light all through the night. Still light this morning but it has gone more to the SE so I have eased sheets and heading straight to Horta. I have decided not to go too far north as there is a nasty depression forming. Still many days away and the forecast keeps changing. I expect rain and maybe thunderstorms tomorrow as a front goes through.
May 6th
Trip metre 5474 nm
Distance to Horta 1327 nm
Distance in 24 hrs 88 nm
DMG 75 nm
1300 UTC
Nice sailing yesterday in 5 to 10 knot breeze, between E and SE. Speed from 2 to 4 knots all day and night. Still beating and can sometimes head straight towards Horta. Trying to see if can rendezvous with "Bad Company" a 53m expedition motor yacht, which is en route from Bermuda to Mindelo, Cabo Verde, to spend some time sport fishing alongside my buddies there. The captain, Graeme, is a good friend who lives in Horta when not at sea.
The wind picked up again this morning and Nuts started pounding pretty hard with the speed close to 5 knots, so I put in a reef to slow down a bit. Heading straight to Horta at the moment with sheets cracked off a bit.
May 5th Day 16
Trip metre 5386
Distance to Horta 1402
Ditance in 24 hrs 46nm
DMG 25nm
1300 UTC
Extremely slow sailing yesterday and last night. Only excitement was the trigger fish eating my barnacles. We did many 360 degree turns and in the end I lashed the tiller and went to sleep. It was so calm even the sails were not flopping from side to side. As has happened quite often the wind picked up at sunrise and we are moving again. Speed between 2.5 and 4 knots. Still beating, and pounding again in the building chop.
Sian's comment: in 14 days Ian has sailed 1045 miles but made good only 720 towards Horta. That is roughly one third of the total distance. He hoped the trip home would take about 30 days, but it is going to be quite a lot longer than that. Yesterday he took stock of the cans of food he has on board.
May 4th, Day 15
Trip metre 5340
Distance to Horta 1427
Distance sailed in 24 hrs 54
DMG 32
Yesterday and last night was more of the same, very light and variable direction wind. Always beating. In the early hours of the morning a 15m French yacht sailed past at 4 knots versus my 2 knots. At sunrise the wind picked up from the NE (so right where Horta is) but slowly eased off again until there was absolutely nothing, just rolling back and forth in the swell, going nowhere, except backwards in the current. Windy forecasts some light wind later today and maybe a bit better tomorrow. But Windy keeps changing its mind. I ate 2 eggs last night and released some cracked ones into the sea. They had been cracked for some time judging by the mess in the carton. Now only 4 eggs left. Sea very lumpy now and the motion is throwing what little wind there is out of the sails.
May 3 Day 14
Trip metre 5286
Distance to Horta 1459
Distance in 24 hrs 60 nm
DMG 45 nm
0900 UTC
Slow sailing with periods of no wind. When there is a little breeze it is always from a different direction. Tacked a few times but not making progress. A bit frustrating, and this should continue for a few more days according to weather forecasts. Hopefully there will be a bit more wind after that, even though I will then be beating.
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| This is my course and it is even before rum o clock!! |
May 2nd
Trip metre 5336
Distance to Horta 1504
Distance in 24 hrs 81
Distance made good 69
1300UTC
Calm night with very little wind. Wind slowly coming more from the North, more forward of the beam. Nice sunrise but no extra wind strength. Clear skies again so the solar panels are very happy. No issues with power and I only put the big 110w panel out, if needed, to top up the 2 x 50a batteries. Starlink is the biggest consumer of power - about 3 amps. Rationing my data usage so the 50 Gb I pay for will last a month. YouTube chews data, and it's easy to get distracted. Funny to be shopping on Amazon from the middle of the Atlantic! I saw my AIS position marked on Marine Traffic, a "satellite position", no name of the boat, but it matched my actual position exactly. Comforting to know that my AIS is transmitting.
May 1st
Trip metre 5145
Distance to Horta 1573
Distance in 24 hrs 78
Distance made good 68
1300 UTC
After a rainy cloudy day yesterday, the night was very calm and cloudy with almost no wind. This morning at sunrise the breeze started and at the same time I was surrounded by a large pod of small dolphins. The first I've seen on this leg. The sky is clear and I see on Windy that the front is now behind me. The swells are building from the NNW about 2m. Still smooth sailing though so they must be from a storm elsewhere. Windy tells me I'm in for a lot of beating and zero wind patches. So expect the worst and hope for the best. I took stock of my water supplies, seeing this trip might take way longer than expected. So far I have used 28 litres in 10 days and I have 122 litres left, plus 5 litres in a can in the cockpit that I use for rinsing off after a salt water bath.
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| Which coffee should I choose tonight? Bart will understand - thanks Mrs Bart. Been saving some for trip home |
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| This is how I take care of my plastic waste. This is 10 days worth. Glass and tins go over the side. There is no food waste - I eat everything! |
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| Leaving the tropics. Maybe it will cool down now |
April 30 Day 11
Trip metre 5067 nm
Distance to Horta 1641 nm
Distance sailed in 24 hrs 92 nm
Distance made good 82 nm
1300 UCT
As expected the rain and squalls caught up with us. Just after dark! Had to drop the main in huge gusts and pouring rain. No sooner than everything was tied down and closed up but the wind and rain dropped. Even saw some stars and almost full moon through gaps in the clouds. Went out to rehoist the mainsail and discovered that the halyard was caught up on something. In the dark I could not see what the problem was so sailed most of the night under poled out jib only. Speed was slow and I lost out many miles. At dawn I saw the halyard had spun around the mast and hooked on the gennaker halyard block. It was easy enough to flick off standing on the bow. Main up again in fading wind and dropped the jib pole. Heading a bit more northerly. I was hoping to hang onto the favourable wind for longer but I think the slow night has left me behind. Lots of ominous squalls around this morning but so far no lightning. Weetabix and coffee for breakfast.
April 29 Day 10
Trip metre 4975
Distance to Horta 1723
Distance sailed 80 nm
Distance made good 67 nm
1300 UTC
Had good sailing yesterday. Wind picked up and went from 1 reef to 2 and later 3 reefs. Wind up to about 18 knots just forward of the beam, sailing too fast into quickly growing waves. Slowed down to just over 4 knots to reduce pounding. Wind slowly reduced and the reefs came out one at a time. By evening the wind went aft and got very light during the night. Slow sailing on a calm sea. Now running goose winged for the first time this trip. Lots of clouds with some squalls in the distance. There is very little sargassum weed now, only a few individual pieces from time to time. I'm planning to head more north later today hopefully to go behind the lightning forecast to the north of me at the moment. I expect rain though. All is fine on board.
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| Goose winged. Slipping along at 3 and a bit knots. |
April 28 Day 9
0900 St Martin time
Trip meter 4895
Distance to Horta 1790nm
Distance sailed in 24 hrs 89nm
Distance made good 78nm
Yesterday nice calm sailing, nothing exciting happened. Wind was not constant but between 5 and 10 knots. Sea very flat, overnight was also smooth with light winds. I got plenty of sleep with nothing else to do, except play games on my tablet. Morning brought more wind which quickly picked up so I went from 1 reef to 2 reefs. Seas picked up too and pounding again. Still headed in the right direction though. Cloudy with squalls around. Finished the last bread yesterday, got to find something different. for breakfast
April 27 Day 8
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| Fry onion |
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| Add bully beef |
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| Stir and fry a bit more to blend flavours and add fragrance to the ambiance of Nuts dining hall |
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| Dig up some "fresh" potatoes from a locker |
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| Sprinkle some magic hot H2O potion and stir |
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| Then add sautéed onions and bully and garnish freshly prepared potatoes with pseudo gravy barbecue sauce |
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| Finish off with freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkle of salt |
April 26
Distance to Horta 1933
Distance sailed sailed 85nm
Distance made good 68nm
Yesterday was bouncy beating but on a good course. Wind eased overnight and slept well. I could free off sheets for the first time on this voyage in the early hours but it did not last long. Wind suddenly changed to the NE and I had to tack. I don't want to go further North for 2 days to avoid lightning storms forecast in that area. Now there is a 1m swell from the North, a slightly smaller one from the SE and a wind chop from the NE added on top which makes life on a 5m boat very uncomfortable. But Nuts is fine and behaving well. Just wish I could rely on the weather forecast. It is difficult to plan a route when the forecast changes so often. This NE wind was not forecast. I guess the squalls in the distance are messing everything up. No ships seen for several days, not even on AIS, set on a 10 mile range.
April 25th Day 6
Ian's cooking lesson last night:
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| Fry chopped onions in olive oil |
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| Add chopped up canned pork and fry a bit more |
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| Add 2 eggs and garnish with a bit of salt and lots of ground pepper. That was supper tonight |
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| Lots of distance travelled, not much gained to the end point |
April 24th Day 5
Log 4459
Distance to Horta 2071 nm
Distance sailed in 24 hours 59 nm
Distance made good 22 nm
Slow sailing all day yesterday in bright sunshine (Day 4). Played with fishing rod with hooks removed to see what was around. Still plenty of Almaco Jacks. Had curry and rice for supper. First half of the night slow sailing towards SE. About 2am it started raining and wind shifted more to SE. I tacked and made some progress. At dawn the wind became gusty with squalls, 0 to 15 knots and NE to SE. Mostly light now at 0830, about 5 knots. I will be busy today changing course and trimming sails. But first - breakfast time.
April 23 Day 4
0600
Busy night with and squalls and no wind periods. Spent 2 hours steering, tacking and doing 360s before wind settled down at dawn. I see there is a tropical wave on its way from the south and potential depression forming close to the north of me. I have been watching this system so that's why I have been keeping south. Coffee and YouTube fix before breakfast. Sunny calm morning so far.
April 22nd
Day 3
0915
Distance to Horta (direct): 2122
Distance sailed in 24 hours: 62 nm
Light breeze from ENE and calm sea. Slipping along at 2.5 knots. Sunny and a few clouds. Looks like another hot day ahead.
1300 Calm, slow, pleasant sailing. Saw a dorado (mahi mahi) amongst the jacks following Nuts so got out the little fishing rod. Difficult not to hook a jack but eventually managed to cast the lure right in front of the dorado and hooked up. Had to quickly grab the gaff as I was using very light line. All went well. Fish now filleted and skinned, cockpit cleaned and me "showered" with shampoo and sea water. Just a tiny bit of fresh to rinse the salt from my hair and face. So fish for supper again tonight.
Update from yesterday, received today.
13.40
Tacked. Wind very light, maybe 6 knots. 32C inside, hot and sweaty.
Caught an almaco jack, also called long finned yellow tail,
this afternoon. Lots of them swimming
around the sargassum. Filleted and fried
in olive oil for supper. Delicious and
no bones.
Slow sailing, even did a 360.
Day 2
Tuesday 21st April
0915
Distance sailed in 24 hours: 81 nm
Uneventful night. Slept in 20 minute intervals using the cooking timer. Wind slowly eased off to 10 - 12 knots. Sea still very choppy and lots of slamming. This morning the sea was down a bit and took a reef out. Doing 3.5 to 4 knots close hauled. Lots of sargassum weed around and can't use the stabiliser fins. Have to clear weed off the rudder using the boat hook. All is good on board but weather outlook not so good. I'll stay south of 20 degrees till it improves.
Leaving the Carribean, heading for home.
Monday 20thApril
Departed Marigot Bay, Saint Martin, at 09.15
Sunny, Wind E 15 to 20 knots
Weighed anchor under sail as the outboard engine was already stowed away under the starboard quarter berth. I sailed under jib only to the western tip of Anguilla while I secured stuff in the lockers and shelves to stop them rattling around. Chain and anchor ropes drying out before stowing under the starboard bunk. I have loaded the starboard side more as I will be on a starboard tack for some time. Sailing between 3 and 4 knots.
11.30 Rounded Anguilla and heading for Prickly Pear Cays. 3 reefs and jib, close hauled, doing 3 knots.
Sailed through the gap between the cays and avoided the coral heads which are more or less the same as I remember from nearly 40 years ago.
19th April 2026
Hi from hot and sunny Saint Martin,
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| In the lagoon at Saint Martin |
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| 16 November, 7 Setkas preparing to leave Portimao, Portugal |
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| In Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Most comfortable and coolest position on the boat, lying on the floor with feet out the hatch. |
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| Between Tenerife and Cabo Verde |
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| Martinique |
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| Kayaking to the laundry |
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| Port Royale, Saint Martin |
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| Once upon a time, nearly 40 years ago, Lagoon Cruises was here. Now just mangroves. |
