After a great deal of deliberation we set off as planned this morning. The near and long range forecast is for a windy crossing in Force 5 to 7. That should be fine as it is mainly downwind sailing and the boat should perform well. Unfortunately there is also a 3-4m short time period swell …
Today will be our final leg of stage 1. We have been sailing with caution in force 4 to 6 winds taking as much care as possible not to damage the boat or ourselves. Of the 22 boats in the Vikings Explorers rally three have torn their downwind sails, one has a slow leak and …
Well, the forecast ‘easing’ of the weather did not happen. Last night the seas continued to build with a combination of swell from the NW due to north Atlantic weather patterns and swell from the NE due to more local winds. The winds continued at 22 knots gusting up to 27 knots and the seas …
Last night our ideal downwind sail set-up took an early demise. The mounting seas and wind astern had us surfing and corkscrewing down the waves, putting a lot of strain on our genoa and spinnaker pole which gave up with a bang. I was snoozing down below and heard the bang but Jonathan, listening to …
It’s the evening of our second day at sea and, so far, it has been magical. The seas have been calm but the wind a little too light. We’ve been trying several downwind sail set-ups – goosewinging the headsails, the main on preventer with a poled-out genoa or conventional set up depending on whether the …
At last! The day we have been planning for, for so long, has arrived! At 09.10 we were the first Vikings to depart Las Palmas, in the rain! We’re one of the smallest boats so we’re likely to be one of the last to arrive at Mindelo, Capo Verde. As we left the pontoon there …
Over the last three weeks we have been sailing around the Canary Islands and seeing the sights. The sail from La Gomera to Tenerife was varied with an initial good wind that dropped to nothing in the middle of the strait. But then, as we rounded the southern coast of Tenerife we were blasted by …
We departed Madeira ten days ago on a 580 nautical mile passage to La Gomera in the Canary Isles. Happily the seas were calmer, giving us the chance to try a few downwind sailing options on our passage. It took just over 50 hours thanks to a surprisingly adverse current but we enjoyed the sunny …
It is just over a week since our arrival in Porto Santo, just northeast of Madeira, but it has seemed so much longer as we explore these islands of many contrasts. Having dropped anchor and slept soundly, we pumped up the dinghy and ventured ashore. The island is only 11km long but 9km of the …
29th August 2024: Day 0 If all goes to plan, we set sail tomorrow! In a couple of hours our good friend John joins us. He is a veteran of sailing trips on Merryn – sailing with us for a trip to France from the UK, and for our big Biscay crossing in 2021. His …