Cape Verde to the Equatorial divide
Our visit to Cape Verde was to be a short one; check in, fuel up, sail on. The stories we had heard recently of the danger to yachts moored alongside the dock were not enticing a longer stay. The approach to the group of Islands was lit by the most glorious sunset, a burning amber sky made the volcanic mountains look all the more dramatic. For miles there were little signs of civilization on land, just barren rocky outcrops, inhospitable to say the least. As we rounded the corner of Sao Vincenc, the shanty town of the country’s main port came into view. An odd melange of colourful Caribbean style shacks by the water were flanked by out-of-place bright white villas on the hill. The stories started to make sense. After we tied up, two of the marineros who were employed by the only commercial port in the country came up demanding payment for tying the lines on to the bollards, worth a go I suppose. I am aware that there is much more to offer here and here is a disappointment in experiencing the islands like this, but we are here to do a job, not on holiday.
Fleeting as it was, our visit to the group of islands would be a welcomed break in the upcoming oceanic stretch the long way down, the last bits of rock we would see for three weeks. Now the feeling of imminent adventure really kicks in. Our flexible fuel bladders are as full as our main tanks, 28,000 litres of Diesel in total, we are ready for the long haul. Into the ocean we go, 5,000 miles, 25+ days of no land, from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere. We will see a triple change in seasons; from our European autumn to an Equatorial summer and finish up in a frigid Southern Ocean winter.
10 days in. Water Temp 28°C. Wind speed 17kts ESE.
The social dynamics aboard Destination improve constantly; as each day passes we all get more comfortable with each other. The boat is relatively large and spacious inside compared to what I am used to, but the spaces slowly encroach on you as the weeks roll on. After a week of sailing the cracks of everyone’s characters start to show, but far from being a problem, this comfort and vulnerability helps to build some trust with your fellow seaman. We are all experienced enough to appreciate the challenges that fractured sleep and sustained uncomfortable movement bring on, true colours show when the boat starts a mean roll on the giant swells of the Atlantic and stays like that for days on end without reprieve. Thankfully the boat is a sane one, a trivial observation, one might think, but in this odd industry it is an important consideration.
As we get closer to the equator the sun blasts down on us in all its glory. The sea temperature has steadily increased and we are currently at a toasty 28°C! We have an average of two fish a day on the lures, still all game though. Every day is spent fulfilling watch duties as well as some odd jobs where required, but mostly we have the days to ourselves. Every 200 hours I complete a full oil and fuel filter change on both the generator and the main engine, a procedure that has already become second nature. Every morning Mike and I discuss the updated weather files and change our route accordingly, this stretch of the north Atlantic has been very forgiving.
The amount of reading is unprecedented! How nice to have the time and focus to be able to eat through books again. The book that has completely absorbed me over the last two days is South: the story of Shackleton’s 1914-1917 expedition. What an incredible feat of human survival and fortitude. This is the first time in recent years that I was moved to tears by a paragraph, and with good reason. These men showed respect, discipline, strength, resilience, exuberance and on and on, in the most impossibly inhospitable conditions that a human could possibly endure, so far away from our modern western comforts, conceptually and physically. There is a part of me that changed after finishing this book, a new perspective toward the challenges of life. I feel honoured to be heading to a place in such proximity to where real legends set foot.
In his humorous and inspiring short film about his endeavours around Cape Horn on the Peking(another fantastic resource relevant to where this adventure is heading), Irving Johnson says something along the lines of “nobody writes about calm seas, what is there to say?”, and with that I will close this entry.