Well it has been a while since the last update due to limited internet access but here is the summary of life aboard since then.
Due to unfavourable weather conditions we could not cross the Atlantic from the Canaries so we opted to sail down to the Cape Verde islands which is about a 5 day sail South and cross from there. The trip down to the Cape Verde islands was excellent with good fishing, favourable winds and great weather. Every day we stopped for a quick swim off the boat although Julie chickened out and was content with a bucket of salt water tipped over her to stay cool.
We stayed in the Cape Verdes for a few days waiting for the right weather and really enjoyed our brief stay, initially on the island of Sal and then on to the Port of Mindelo on another island further West. Although it was just a sample of the 10 islands in the group we really enjoyed our time there. The people are friendly and relaxed and everything is low key and laid back.
By the time the conditions were ok to go it was clear that we wouldn`t make it for Christmas so Doug caught a flight back to Oz and Julie and I continued across the Atlantic on our own. The crossing took 18 days which is quite long because in the early stages we had a lack of wind and had to sail 120 miles South to pick up breeze. Since we only carry enough diesal for 6 days motoring we had to conserve it so spent quite a lot of time sailing at slow speeds of around 3.5 knots in lumpy and confused seas which was extremely uncomfortable. Later on in the crossing we got some good wind with our best days being 3 straight with 20 knots behind us and we averaged 7.5 knots with the genoa and ballooner poled out on each side. Since we maintain a watch at all times the maximum amount of sleep at any one time was 3 hours. The sleep deprivation was hard to deal with particularly when the seas were lumpy and uncomfortable which was most of the time.
The highlight of the crossing was the good fishing and an incredible whale experience when we had 3 huge whales with us for about 4 hours swimming right under the boat and behaving much like dolphins. Prior to this we had one whale breaching right out of the water about 30 metres from the boat which was awesome to see.
Overall we found the crossing difficult and not enjoyable although we did experience a sense of achievement when we eventually arrived in Antigua.
We are now looking forward to a couple of months cruising in the Caribbean and particularly the 2 weeks coming up with Kristen and Matt joining us.
Cheers from Craig and Julie on board Hullabaloo in Antigua
