The wind blew a pretty consistent 20kts from the NE for almost the entire 800nm from the Canaries to the Cape Verdes. This allowed us a fast downwind sail, arriving in less than 5 days after we set off from El Hierro. Once the sails were up and the outer jib poled out, we barely … Continue reading When the butter melts

Life in the Canaries meant waking up (almost) every day to sunshine, blue sky and temperatures in the 20s. Starting each of our week long trips from San Miguel in the south of Tenerife, we roamed to La Gomera, La Palma, Gran Canaria and finally El Hierro. Famous for having good wind conditions, the Canaries … Continue reading Cruising the Canaries

Lisbon, Portugal -> The Algarve, Portugal ->Essaouira, Morocco -> Fuerteventura -> Gran Canaria -> Tenerife Loaded up with new crew members (1 Belgian, 2 Dane, 1 Brit, 1 Portuguese and 5 Germans), we set sail from Lisbon with sunshine, blue sky, light winds from behind, no fog and small waves. It seemed almost cruel that the … Continue reading The Race to the Canaries

Isles of Scilly -> Lisbon The Bay of Biscay is infamous for rough water, due to the dramatic change in depth just inside the bay. The swell that builds up inside the bay from east travelling waves is large due to the huge uninterrupted distance these waves have been able to travel across the Atlantic … Continue reading The Battle of the Biscay