Long Passage to Barbados

We are leaving today for Barbados in the Caribbean which is 3600 miles away. This will be our longest passage ever. Some of our friends are going to Brazil first as this shortens the passages quite abit and also they get to see Brazil. We choose not to for several reasons, one is that Dorothy's passport is full and she needs a new one.


Before leaving this morning we did a quick round of the shops as the supply ship came in two days ago and we were hoping to get some fresh fruit. No luck as the stuff on the ship is put out a bit at a time and in different stores, you have to be in the know. We got some fresh veggies but no fruits. We still had a few apples left from Namibia so that was going to be it.

By 11am we were off and motored for a couple of hours to get out of St Helena's wind shadow and the wind stopped switching around. By dinner time we were sailing along nicely at a sedate 4 knots though the sea was large and rough. The supply ship RMS St Helena motored by us that evening on its way to Ascension Island. We had a simple meal out of a can, do do the rough boat motion making it hard to do anything.

The next couple of days were light winds in the 10 to 12 knot range with the wind directly behind us. This makes us have to sail to one side of our coarse or the other because if the wind is right behind the boat, the large swells, as they toss the boat around the main sail or genoa gets back winded and fills and unfills in a big bang. So once a day or so we would gybe the boat to get back on our rhumb line. When the wind is around 10 knots and we are sailing at around 3 to 4 knots the mainsail tends to bang and slat when a big swell twists us around a bit, in stronger winds there is no problem. I have a big thick bungee I put from the boom to the rail to help keep things from banging, people with rigid vangs might be better off.

The nights are often pleasant now, near a full moon and no squalls or ships and we hardly have to touch the sails. We might adjust the self steering one notch over or back every few hours, all very nice. Feb 20 had a couple of light rain squalls not wind in them which is nice.

We are talking every day on a HF radio net with several other boats we know, so don't feel totally alone out here. The wind picked up a bit stronger, have a reef in main. After dinner had two reefs in. Sometimes now the SE wind picks up a bit more at night for a few hours. Have only seen a couple of ships, very quite out here. Have flying fish on the deck I have to through overboard every morning. The weather is often cloudy, not a lot of sun. Our wind generator is acting up and not always giving us power, so every few days have run the engine for an hour or two to help top of the batteries when the soar panels cant manage.

We are just a few miles from the equator now and still getting our SE winds though they are getting light. Finally motored for a few hours when wind died near equator. Got a big rain squall with about 20 knots of wind in it showing we are in the ITCZ. We crossed the equator today for our 4the crossing of it since leaving home. Getting lots of small squalls now with light rain, but very little wind in them. The sea was bit of a mess with SE swells and NE swells meeting each other. At just over 1 deg North a NNE wind started and we were sailing on a close reach with the wind just forward of the beam. We are now out the the SE trades and starting into the NE trades. Had lots of squalls all the way up to 4 deg North. We crossed the equator at the recommended 32 deg west and this is almost exactly half way to Barbados, great! half way!

Near dark one evening, a huge squall come over. It poured heavy rain and zero wind for about a hour and then a 15 knot wind came up from opposite direction of normal for 20 min and then heavy rain started again and then suddenly wind back from SE but at 30 knots, but I was ready for a surprise and was well reefed when it came. This only lasted 30 min before it eased down. It rained later lightly off and on all night.

The sailing is a little more robust now, the NE trades are stronger than the SE and right now seem to have a bit more North in them putting it just forward of the beam so we have more spray flying and a rougher ride, and healed over. Winds often around 18 to 20 knots. The wind often increases around 10pm to midnight and I put a 2nd reef in main. Then die down a bit around 3 or 4 am. With the wind forward and large seas, we cant go as fast as we would of running wing and wing. We did manage to get about 4 days in of wing and wing when the wind came around more NE after we passed 6 deg North. but it did not last.

We got lots of reading done on this passage, the kindle has been great. Sometimes we have birds hitchhiking on our rails during the night, we let them be as the company is nice. Had one stupid bird keep trying to sleep on our steering wind vane which I do not want, I had to knock him off about 8 times before he gave up and spent the night on the radar dome, that was fine. The squalls have been left behind and over the next week had only a couple of small ones. Occasionally at night the wind picks up slowly to 25 to 30 knots for a couple of hours then eases. Some days the swells are huge, we think they are generally bigger than the pacific swells, but then maybe our memory is bad. But generally things are good after we got out of the squally equator area, the night watches are generally good and the time passes, at least there is always wind to sail. The last few days the winds are getting a bit light and slowing us down, so it looks like we are going to get in one day later than we though.

Finally after 32 days out just before dark we spotted a lump of land on the horizon, Barbados! During the night we could see the lights on land and we slowed the boat down so as not to arrive before dawn. As we sailed for the harbor entrance we had to delay a bit as a ship came in ahead of us. I called up port control for permission to enter harbor and we were soon tied up to the wall and cleared in with customs in immigration offices no problem, everyone nice and polite. I did put on my long pants and nice shirt as I read they are fussy about dress.

After clearing in we motored over to the anchorage a couple of miles to the south and dropped anchor. We were surprised to see almost no cruising boats here, just one or two that we can make out and a number of local boats.

INFO

-Left St Helena Feb 14 2013 11am and arrive Barbados Mar 19 7am for about 33 days crossing.

-Crossed Equator at 32 deg west per Jimmey Cornells book where the
ICTZ is the narrowest. Then went straight North almost for one degree and then did the rhumb line to Barbados. NE winds started at about 1 deg North after losing the SE trades just at equator though they got light just before it. The NE trades seem to have a bit more North in them making for rough sailing with the wind just forward of the beam. This lasted almost all the way to Barbados with only about 4 days where the wind went a bit more NE and we could sail wing and wing. I dont know if this is normal or not, I think not.

- Had very little positive current, for 2 or 3 days we had a bit of current with us and one day and a half where it was against us. I think you have to be within a 100 miles of the coast to get a good current but that would of made it hard for us to get to Barbados. If going to Trinidad then it is good.

-Saw no fishing boats until about 270 from Barbados then saw several between 220 out and 270. Saw a very bright light on horizon at night, can see a light bloom on horizon. Then the last 70 miles we saw a number of small fish boats. One we went close by had a net out to windward about 1/4 mile from boat like a drogue. So probably best to pass to leeward side or give windward side a 1/2 mile clearance or more.

-Call "signal station port control" on vhf 16 just before entering harbor.

-Waypoint for customs clearing dock is 13 06.068N 59 37.759W   Doyles guide is confusing here but if you come in at night, we found you can anchor in anchorage and then go to customs dock first thing in morning to check in with your boat.  Their little handout says this is allowed.  Maybe not go to far into anchorage at night as lots of emty buoys around so watch prop.

-Our Anchorage waypoint at 13 05.319N 59 36.820W and in 32 feet of water.  A bit rolly here sometimes.  This is in Carlisle Bay Bridgetown.

-We went to the Barbados cruising club, which made us welcome and can us their showers. This club is to the east of the hotel extending in the water and the Barbados Yacht club is to the west of hotel over water.  The Barbados yacht club we first tried is not too accomadating. To join they take several hundred dollars off your credit card(which you get back) instead of just blocking the amount, so you would end up paying a huge amount in foreign exchange or you could just give them a cash deposit put when it is time to go you get a large some of money back in Barbados dollars just as you are leaving, which you cant spent anywhere else, all very inconvienent. So went to the other cruising club and they are much more accomadating, you can even buy a beer there which you cant at the other one.  So the one to go to is the club to the right of the Barbados yacht club and to the right of the hotel over water (facing beach from your yacht).

-We got some gasoline for dinghy engine at a local gas station a 20 minute walk away.  Can get deisel at fishermans wharf apparently.