Atlantic crossing: 16 days at sea
After a week's ‘holiday’ and preparations in Cape Verde, we're moving on. The part we've been working towards all this time is now upon us: crossing the Atlantic from east to west. It's hard to imagine that we'll cast off and be back on land in two and a half to three weeks' time - and then on a different continent. But the anticipation is great and we start our biggest adventure yet with great motivation.
One of the last preparations for the Atlantic crossing is to decorate our boat for Christmas. We want to get into the Christmas spirit at least a little. My sister (Ines) has come up with a very special Advent calendar for us. She has asked friends and family to send an envelope with letters, photos or other little things and so every day we have a message from a different loved one to sweeten our Atlantic crossing during Advent. Thank you so much, Lena, for this sweet idea and the effort you put into it. And of course a big THANK YOU to family and friends who wrote us such lovely messages and that you all took part!
Even before we leave, we are allowed to open the first two envelopes. Two messages are hidden in the first one: Thanks to Marie-Christin for the Christmas greetings and the photos. Thanks also to Nati, David, Tom and Moritz for the fun sailing puzzles and Tom's drawing about our trip. Hidden in the 2nd envelope is a photo of Stefan - the first one of the three of us is fittingly on a sailing boat from our heavy weather trip on the Baltic Sea. Thank you for that - it's already hanging on the wall - and an even bigger THANK YOU for accompanying us on the Atlantic leg.
A summary of our crossing in advance. We recorded the whole stage in detail in our sailing diary and uploaded it daily to PredictWind (German only). Here are the entries, accompanied by pictures.
Our crossing from Mindelo to Tobago in figures:
Distance: 2222 nautical miles, of which under sail: 2220 nautical miles
Engine hours: 1 hour 15 minutes
Time: 15 days 21 hours 46 minutes
Average speed: 5.8 knots
Dolphins: 2 schools accompanied us - once into the sunset and once when entering Pirate's Bay
Fishing: a Mahi Mahi, a Bonito Tuna and a Wahoo (not a Barracuda) - basically all the common predatory fish the Atlantic has to offer
Summary of our Atlantic crossing
We have now been travelling for almost 16 days and have left an ocean in our wake. We have crossed three time zones at a cruising speed where you can watch every single metre pass by. We were only able to cover the incredible distance of around 4000 kilometres so ‘quickly’ because Vaquita kept us going 24 hours a day. A big compliment to Vaquita, who proved once and for all that she is a little tank with top sailing characteristics. Despite 24 hours of continuous stress, nothing broke during the entire crossing - this is absolutely not a matter of course and, as we learnt, is rather the exception. The speed at which we managed the whole thing is also record-breaking for a 33-foot (almost 10 metre) boat with an average of 5.8 knots, but not only the equipment but also the crew remained intact and there were no injuries (apart from one or the other bruise after a wave hit us from the side at unfavourable times). Although the three of us lived on about 10 square metres for more than two weeks and took turns sharing two berths (the two saloon benches - the kitchen benches, so to speak) for sleeping, it was, unsurprisingly but nevertheless, impressively harmonious. Of course, there were days when one or more of us were in a bad mood, but this was mostly due to external conditions, such as the weather or tiredness (or beer deprivation), and the others were always understanding. This is definitely not to be taken for granted and we value our friendship all the more now, and the weather also showed its best side. As the freshwater pump on our engine was leaking (a new one has already been ordered), we were reliant on the wind as we didn't want to start it for longer than to moor and cast off. Neptune was very kind to us and so we were really able to sail continuously. We never had less than 8 knots, mostly 12-24 knots with gusts up to a maximum of 30 knots - perfect for sailing. The waves were never higher than 3 metres - for us, the 2.8 metre waves were enough, because in the long run (we had 3 unpleasant days) the rocking is really exhausting. Nevertheless, we were never afraid or even had a bad feeling at any time. Vaquita and our autopilot steered us safely through every strong gust or high wave, and we always ate like royalty, which was also important for our morale. On the whole, we had enough fresh fruit and vegetables, and we were able to compensate for the rest with tinned food from our previous destinations. In addition, the freshly caught fish, which provided us with a total of 6 meals, enriched our diet.
Would we do it again? Yes! Are we happy now that we're in the Caribbean and will be spending the next 3 weeks booking and exploring land together? As exciting and interesting as an Atlantic crossing is, the three of us don't need it in the long term. It was a great experience for us, but now we're also looking forward to sleeping through the night again, not rocking the boat, eating out and having the one or other bottle of beer or glass of wine. It's the variety that makes the difference. Now we've had our fair share of sailing and challenges, we're looking forward to exploring and enjoying the Caribbean islands. This variety not only makes the whole thing feel really good, but above all very deserved - a feeling that you can't simply buy or book. That's what makes it so special.
Here are our biggest surprises from the crossing:
Ines: that we saw birds every day; how few squalls we caught; that nothing got broken
Stefan: how easy it is to catch fish (at least with our equipment); that 2 weeks of saltwater showers also work well; what an influence weather and waves can have on your mood
Peter: that it's not boring even though there's so little to do; how little tinned food we ate and how long fruit and vegetables last; how many flying fish detonated on our deck.
Atlantic crossing day 1
Tue Dec 03 2024 18:36:00 GMT-0100
The last day in Mindelo was, like every departure day so far, still a bit stressful. Once again, there were a few little things to do that took much longer than planned....At 2pm, freshly showered, we finally made it to the floating bar for our last meal together with the two lads from the Namai. We decided to cast off together, even though they were heading for a different destination in the Caribbean - we wanted to go to Tobago and they to Martinique. At least for the time being, we're heading in the same direction, and at 3.40 p.m. the time actually comes and we cast off! None of us had yet realised that we were actually going to cross the Atlantic and sail from Africa to America. But we are all delighted that we are finally getting underway. As much as we have enjoyed our time on Cape Verde, the time has come to move on and the start is quite windy, as the wind in the channel between the islands of Saõ Vicente and Santo Antaõ is blowing at up to 25 knots. In the meantime, the islands are already behind us and we sail reefed at 16-20 knots into the night. The 2-metre wave rocks us a little, but it's not uncomfortable, and Stefan is already preparing for a round of radio chess with Levent from the Namai - together with Ines, he's sticking magnets on our little magnetic travel game set - but first there's food.
Distance to Tobago: ca. 2170 nm
Food: scrambled eggs with bread, avocado und spanish chorizo
Advent calender letter 3: Thanks to Paul and Elli for your coded message. Let's see how far we get, because you've come up with quite a few ideas!
Atlantic crossing day 2
Wed Dec 04 2024 12:59:00 GMT-0100
The entry into passage mode is a little rougher this time than on the previous stage. The waves rocked us all night and the wind was also quite rough at over 20 knots in places. Especially during activities below deck, such as cooking and washing up, we occasionally feel a little queasy - but that's okay and nothing out of the ordinary, as we are still used to the very pleasant marina and shore life. We hear on the radio that the guys from the Namai feel no different - so the radio chess is postponed for the time being.
But the wind and waves also bring a big advantage, namely speed. We surf down the waves at absurd speeds of over 10 knots and our average speed of 6.3 knots is also impressive. In terms of course, we first head south to avoid a wind hole. Early in the morning, we jibe for the first time, boom out the Genoa and from now on we are travelling west in butterfly mode (mainsail on the port side, Genoa on the starboard side). From now on, we literally chase after the sunset.
In the afternoon, Stefan and Ines play guitar and sing again. Then we have our first Christmas biscuits. Thanks to Stefan's mum, who baked us an extra 1.5 kg of different christmas cookies such as vanilla crescents, coconut biscuits and Linzer eyes. They taste delicious and we are already looking forward to our daily biscuit rations. We were particularly pleased with the biscuits in the shape of a sailing boat. We listen to Christmas carols and switch on our Christmas lights shortly after sunset - very beautiful but also a little bizarre in the middle of the Atlantic at 25 degrees.
For the night, we sail with the main in the 2nd reef and the Genoa in the 3rd, but we are still fast and travelling at around 6 knots. We are ready for the night shift.
Distance covered (from 12:00 - 20:15): 129 nm
Distance to Tobago: 2063 nm
Food: Oriental wraps with grilled vegetables
Advent calender letter 4: a mermaid sock and a seal sock from Lexi and Jelly - thank you, at least one foot stays warm now, at 25 degrees that's no problem.
We're still biting our teeth out at Paul and Elli's puzzle message from yesterday, after all we've already solved 5/12 puzzles. But we're not giving up yet and we still have a bit of time.
Atlantic crossing day 3
Thu Dec 05 2024 11:04:00 GMT-0100
The night was very rocky, but otherwise calm. It is supposed to be the maximum wave height for the next few days and will decrease during the course of the day. We change sail position before midnight and go butterfly again. We sail the whole night within sight of the Namai after losing her the day before. It's nice to have a second boat in sight, otherwise we don't see any. In the morning it's actually calmer and Stefan plays the promised game of radio chess with Levent and the hunting season is also reopened with the launching of our fishing line. The seasickness symptoms have now subsided and everyone has got used to the rocking. After a 3-hour game of chess, Stefan unfortunately has to concede defeat, albeit narrowly. But we don't let the interim score - Namai: 1, Vaquita: 0 - sit on us. If we can't win at chess, we at least want to be the faster boat - as we all know, it's a regatta as soon as there are two boats in play. So out with the reef and at full speed towards the Caribbean. In the early afternoon we extend our lead to such an extent that we can no longer reach them via radio and AIS. But before we could wish them a safe journey and say goodbye for the time being, we knew that they were sailing on with a gennaker and so we tried to reach them again on the radio after our Christmas biscuit snack. And we can actually still hear each other, even though we can no longer see each other on the AIS. To pass the time, we play another round of ship sinking on the radio. Everyone indicates the longitude and latitude of the 10 x 10 minute field. In addition to our own boats, of which we have to guess the actual position, each team has 3 pirate boats with 3 spaces each. We manage to win this game in our favour and are tied 1:1 for the time being.
Butterfly takes us into the night once again. The wind fluctuates between 12 and 17 knots and unfortunately the waves sometimes cause the sails to flap. Hopefully we can get some sleep.
Distance covered: 149 nm (unser bisheriger Rekord)
Distance to Tobago: 1917 nm
Food: Spanish tapas mixed with a typical Austrian “Brettljause”
Advent calender letter 5: Krampus poem and Christmas tree chocolate from Peter's aunt - Thank you! We wish you a happy birthday and are thinking of you!
Happy Krampus Day everyone! I (Ines) have two on board anyway.
Atlantic crossing day 4
Fri Dec 06 2024 12:39:00 GMT-0100
The night was reasonably calm. The wind and waves have decreased over time and fortunately the sails haven't flapped too much. In the morning we are only travelling at 4 knots and so it's time for the gennaker again. With the light wind sail we make a good 6 knots and let out the fishing line again, but for the time being we only catch Sargassum seaweed with the hook, which drifts more and more on the surface. No sooner have we written the last sentence than something happens on the fishing front. The can strikes and we see a fish jump to the surface behind our stern. We quickly get everything ready to haul the catch on board. Suddenly there is no more pressure on the line and the fish is gone along with the bait. Very annoying, we had really been looking forward to a good meal. We cast out the second lure and shortly afterwards the can strikes again - or as we say on board ‘the dog barks’ because the Tropical beer can has a dog's head logo. However, the fish and bait are gone again. We obviously have to change tactics and use a slightly thicker nylon line for the next lure, which we connect to our (dog) hand line. We call the black squid bait Tintifax, like Punch's magician, and ask it to do us good service and hold on tight to our line. After a little ceremony, we lower him into the water, hope for the best and wait. In the meantime, we have a homemade gazpacho as a snack. It's a wonderful sailing day with pleasant waves and perfect wind for the gennaker, and in the late afternoon it's tea time again with Christmas biscuits and we open another envelope from the Advent calendar. While Ines and Peter solve Lena and Raphi's Christmas puzzle, Stefan opens his own Christmas present from his good friend Selina. It's a lovingly designed booklet with photos and funny stories of their friendship (@Seli thank you so much, I was really happy!!). At the end of the day, Peter's parents gave him some chocolate biscuits. Thank you so much to everyone for sweetening our time at sea! We're already talking about what we want to eat in the evening. None of us really feel like cooking much. But we don't get very far with our brainstorming when the dog barks for the 3rd time today. This time, both the bait and the fish are still on the line. So in it goes. It's a tuna! It's about 50 cm long, so it's perfect for us again! We're not quite sure whether it's a blue fin tuna or a bonito, we'll have to find out on land, but as the sun is already setting while we're filleting the fish, we decide to wait until tomorrow to eat it.
Distance covered: 122 nm
Distance to Tobago: 1802 nm
Food: Gazpacho for lunch, Ramen Noodles for dinner
Advent calender letter 6: Lena and Raphi let us solve a crossword puzzle and send ‘Kramperl’ te for Peter and ‘Nikolaus’ tea for Ines. Thank you not only for that, but for putting together the whole Advent calendar. It's really, really sweet!
Have a nice St Nicholas Day, hopefully your St Nicholas was as good as ours!
Atlantic crossing day 5
Sat Dec 07 2024 09:55:00 GMT-0100
The night is mostly calm, but in the middle of the night we come under fire. Three flying fish (yes, they really can fly, some of them up to 50 metres away and a few metres high) hit our deck. One very large calibre (200 mm) was fended off by Peter and returned to the water alive with his e-reader. The other two hit - luckily they didn't tear a hole in the freeboard.Stefan, 27, stands in the companionway, stares at the whitecaps on the sea, laments the absence of mammals apart from the two on board, thinks and says: ‘The Atlantic is already fucking big, actually. ’Apart from the - as the attentive reader will probably have noticed - increasing mental decline, Neptune is merciful to us with good wind and weather and we make good progress towards Pirate's Bay, Tobago. Relaxed and in a good mood, we completed 1/4 of the route today. We have increasingly settled into a kind of everyday life on board, the highlight being the afternoon tea with Christmas biscuits and opening the Advent calendar. Other than that, we've been watching the weather, reading, cooking, playing (Ines and Stefan have been brushing up on their backgammon skills), sunbathing, listening to music, hunting, cultivating sprouts and sleeping.
Distance covered: 141 nm
Distance to Tobago: 1664 nm
Food: canned Inzersdorfer Szegediner Gulasch for lunch (yes Peter was craving for one). Dinner: The “cow of the sea” that we caught yesterday in the Sargassum weed fields is currently fried with Asian spices by Stefan.
Advent calender letter 7: Thank you Philip for the Bohemian Christmas story and the chocolate! Or as a Bohemian likes to say: ‘Dankeschen gnediger Herr!’
Playlist: Thank you all for your songs, thanks to the almost 30 hours of playing time we hear fewer repetitions here than the average Ö3 listener has to endure.
We send you sunshine and a little warmth from the fucking great Atlantic!
Atlantic crossing day 6
Sun Dec 08 2024 16:30:00 GMT-0100
Yesterday evening, the Atlantic was transformed into a large cinema. An iPad and a Bluetooth box were mounted in the companionway and served as our big screen. Yesterday's programme included the Austrian classic ‘Mother's Day’. Fortunately, we didn't have to take our neighbours into consideration when it came to the volume, because apart from a container ship that passed us at a distance of 5 miles, we couldn't see any other ships - not even on the AIS.the film entertained us magnificently with some borderline black humour. The following night was apparently calm, as no-one got on top of Willi and we were able to make good miles at a pig's gallop. Stefan ‘just looked’ during his shift and Peter is no longer a hustinette bear either, and it was only at sunrise that the extent of the attack by suicidal flying fish could be ascertained. As many as 6 low-flying planes hit the foredeck of Vaquita. After burying the fish at sea, we have breakfast, which means we've used up our last supply of fresh bread - from now on we have pre-packaged pumpernickel and, above all, tortillas.the waves have picked up again and here and there there is one from the side that unexpectedly grabs us by the stern and turns us out well. Sometimes, however, it is calm for several minutes and Vaquita heads west as if on rails. Some of the protagonists therefore tend to be lulled into a false sense of security from time to time and get too cosy. Today, Ines was caught cold at just such a moment. She is lying relaxed in the cockpit, engrossed in her book. One wave later, she is lying on the floor of the cockpit along with her seat cushion. In addition to the big scare, there is also a free bruise on her shin. But the Atlantic also has a nice surprise up its sleeve for Peter. He doesn't seem to think it's necessary to close the windows in the saloon - something he bitterly regrets during his afternoon nap at the latest. It comes as it had to and a wave suddenly kisses him awake with wet and cold lips, and as you can see from the increasingly embellished daily reports, we are doing well and having a good time on board.
Distance covered: 138 nm
Distance to Tobago: 1510 nm
Food: Hot Dogs for lunch and Couscous with grilled vegetables for dinner
Advent calender letter 8: Nicole sends us greetings from Styria and a Zirberl. Thank you, now we have the perfect manoeuvre sip when we arrive in Pirate's Bay!
Atlantic crossing day 7
Mon Dec 09 2024 12:54:00 GMT-0100
After dinner yesterday, a boat radios us for the first time since the Namai. They want to know where we are going in the Caribbean. We answer Tobago and ask them the same question. There is no answer and the next question from them is: ‘How many people are you on board?’. We are briefly confused and somehow have a strange feeling. We don't answer the question and prefer to ask them again where they want to go. In the end, it turns out that it's a French catamaran and they just want to chat. They tell us that they are travelling to Guadeloupe and that they are enjoying the crossing so far - apart from the fact that they miss beer and crème fraiche. A strange combination in this context, we think. Apart from that, it was a nice chat and we wished each other all the best for the rest of the crossing.
It's back to work on board the Vaquita on Monday. We have pancakes for breakfast to fortify ourselves. Afterwards, the three flying fish - the smallest 2 cm and the largest approx. 20 cm - are removed from the deck and sea-fastened. Before we take down the mainsail, we completely hoist it and lubricate the mast slides with a lubricant spray to make it easier to pull up and down again. We refill our 3/4 full water tank with two canisters. We have used about 50 litres of fresh water in the 6 days and still have about 290 litres left. A general clean follows - not only for us but also for the boat. The hatches and our windshield are already so encrusted with salt that you can hardly see through them, there are lots of small fish scales on the deck from the nightly attacks and our cockpit is also very dirty, even though we rinse it almost every day.
In the meantime, we have also noticed that the sunrises and sunsets have been a little later every day since we left Mindelo. Tonight we crossed the 37th degree of longitude to the west. This means it's time for us to set the clocks on board one hour backwards - the first of three changes before we arrive in Tobago. In any case, we can already say that a transatlantic journey by sailing boat at least saves you jet lag compared to travelling by plane - we can highly recommend it.
In terms of sailing, today is quite a difficult day. There is everything from 11 to 20 knots of wind with gusts. This makes it very difficult to choose the right sails. Every time we decide to adjust the sails, the wind changes and renders all previous considerations obsolete. In the end, we choose the conservative option with a reefed mainsail and genoa - so we're not travelling as fast, but at least we're on the safer and material-friendly side. There is some action when the genoa's furling system suddenly goes on strike. The furling line has jammed at the bow. So it's time to head for the bow, furl the genoa manually and then painstakingly untangle the furling line. After about half an hour, everything is fixed again and we can continue sailing normally.
Distance covered: 132 nm
Distance to Tobago: 1384 nm
Food: Austrian pancakes “Palatschinken”, leftover Couscous
Advent calender letter 9: Thanks Kölbl for the wild photo, we were a bit younger then, but a nice memory! I've already bought my first tin of ‘Inzersdorfer Kulturgut’, I think I'm all grown up now. Greetings from the ocean, hope everything is going well for you!
We're already 1/3 of the way there - we can already taste the Caribbean rum!
Atlantic crossing day 8
Tue Dec 10 2024 15:55:00 GMT-0100
We travelled quite quickly during the night and were able to make up a few nautical miles on the day. Although the half moon is already very bright, we can not only see many stars, but also Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and Mars in the sky.
In the morning we let our faithful fishing lure Tintifax back into the water with about 50 metres of our handline dog line and set our dog can. In the meantime, we are in the mood for fish again and hope for a mahi mahi after the last tuna. After breakfast and a cosy morning, the dog actually barks at lunchtime - a fish! As predicted, it bites just as Stefan is lying down for his afternoon nap. So no sleeping, instead it's time to bring the catch on board. A 70 cm long mahi mahi, our biggest catch so far. In the meantime, we've got a bit of a routine and within an hour the fish is filleted and in the fridge.
As predicted, the wind and waves pick up a little and we speed westwards. The next 2-3 days will be a bit more sporty, as the forecast is for 2.7 metre waves and over 20 knots of wind, so at least the sails won't flap and we should arrive in Tobago well before Christmas.
As we study the map today, we realise that we are at the point of our journey where we are furthest away from any land - our personal Point Nemo, so to speak. Cape Verde is now a good 900 miles (approx. 1650 km) behind us and the nearest country in terms of distance (French Guiana) is just as far to the south-west. To put it into perspective, that's roughly the distance between Vienna and Moscow as the crow flies, which is pretty wild when you think about it.
The atmosphere is great, we enjoy the peace and quiet.
Distance covered: 140 nm
Distance to Tobago: 1237 nm
Food: three-grain bread with spread cheese and on board grown sprouts. African tomato rice with Mahi Mahi fillets.
Advent calender letter 10: Happy name day Dad! Yes, we were really thinking of you, even before we opened your envelope. Thank you for the sweet letter and the photos. We are also looking forward to seeing you again soon in Martinique. We have received your text message, in the meantime we are almost halfway through.
Atlantic crossing day 9
Wed Dec 11 2024 08:21:00 GMT-0100
Last night was the roughest night so far. Gusts of up to 30 knots and 2.5 metre waves kept us busy all night and despite the tensioned leeward sails (like a cot, but with fabric instead of a grid), sleeping was a little difficult. But that's part of it, it would admittedly feel a bit wrong if we didn't get to see the rougher side of the Atlantic here and there during the two-week crossing. Nevertheless, we are all very tired today and the movements are much slower. During the day, we try to catch up on last night's lack of sleep, which we manage partly well and partly not so well. The waves are a little higher during the day than they were at night, and that's how it should stay, at least this night. So to make sleeping at night a little better as a precaution, Ines thankfully sews a little more on the lee sails. They are now super stable and can even withstand an unchecked impact from Peter's or Stefan's luxury body.
In terms of sailing, the day is limited to a single early morning activity. It's time to turn a little south again, which means we have to jibe. Easier said than done - it takes almost an hour with the Bulli and spinnaker pole and all three of us are very busy. After that, however, we've earned our breakfast and set a better course again.
At half past eleven, after 7 days and 20 hours, it was time to celebrate the mountain festival - or, to put it another way, half-time. According to our route, we are now 1099 miles away from Tobago and have travelled just as many miles since our departure from Mindelo. To mark the occasion, we treat ourselves and Neptune to a sip of rum. We hope that the winds will carry us along as well over the next few days as they have over the last 8 days.
In the evening, Stefan conjures up ceviche and fries the mahi mahi fillet. He is definitely the fish expert on board, even if he wasn't when we left Austria.
Distance covered: 148 nm
Distance to Tobago: 1102 nm
Food: Quesadillas, Ceviche with fresh Mahi Mahi, leftovers of African tomato rice with Mahi Mahi fillets..
Advent calender letter 11: So many photos and lovely messages! Thank you, thank you, thank you to Julia, Gugi, Anna, Stefan, Joe, Elke and Chris! And of course also to Kelly. We're already looking forward to evenings together over a good glass of wine, and special thanks to Julia for her motivating words and for looking back on our friendship. I'm looking forward to creating new memories and photos soon.
Peter's personal message to Gugi: ‘Sometimes I wish I were an angel!’
Finally, a few thoughts and statements from the participants about last night - most of them are pretty blunt, but maybe some of them will amuse you:
‘Catapults in the Middle Ages probably had a similar centrifugal force as my bed right now‘
’I did more downhill runs last night than Hermann Maier in his entire career‘
’A washing machine on spin cycle probably doesn't do anything else all day‘
’At the age of 6 months I was probably more stable than I am right now‘
’The kids in the wave pool at the spa are no comparison to us right now‘
’Sometimes I thought I was Niki Lauda, as fast as I sometimes get out of bed‘
’Maybe 8 days without alcohol isn't the solution either‘
’I'm christening this bed Berg Isel’
Atlantic crossing day 10
Thu Dec 12 2024 14:58:00 GMT-0100
Apart from visual and radio contact with another sailing boat, not much has happened today. The waves rock us more or less, but the wind is fairly constant and we don't have to change the sails much. So we sail mile after mile towards Tobago.
To make sure we don't just talk about our mental decline here, here's a fact for the more inquisitive readers: we are not only blown into the Caribbean by the trade winds but also have the warm north equatorial current with us. This is part of a current cycle of the North Atlantic. The well-known Gulf Stream runs northwards along the coast of the USA and is then diverted to the east due to the rotation of the earth and the resulting coreolis effect. On the other side of the Atlantic, the Gulf Stream (which transports warm water to the north) meets the European coast and is diverted again. One part is diverted towards the North Sea and another towards the south. The southern part is called the Canary Current (transports cold water towards the equator) and, as the name suggests, heads towards the Canary Islands and on to the Cape Verde Islands. This cold current has already taken us well to the destinations mentioned. We can even observe the differences in temperature between the Canary current and the north equatorial current live at the moment - the Atlantic is now a pleasant 27.8 degrees at the point where we are.
As currents are created by winds and the trade winds blow westwards over the equator in the northern hemisphere, the Canary Current is deflected towards the west and becomes the North Equatorial Current, which in turn flows into the Gulf Stream. Directly at the equator there is the so-called convergence zone, in which there is no prevailing wind direction, which is therefore not very popular with sailors.
In the southern hemisphere, the coreolis effect causes the wind to rotate in the opposite direction, i.e. anti-clockwise. The South Equatorial Current also flows south of the equator from east to west and becomes the Brazilian Current near Brazil, which runs southwards (bringing warm water to the cold regions). The Antarctic Current diverts it to the east. The Benguela Current, in turn, transports cold water from South Africa towards the equator, closing the South Atlantic current cycle and causing a gigantic exchange of heat and nutrients. The former is also clearly noticeable for us on land, and we have presented everything here in very simplified form, taken from the book ‘Blue Machine’ by Helen Czerski. We recommend reading the book, which provides an excellent, easy-to-read overview of the most important dynamics of the oceans and their effects.
Distance covered: 142 nm
Distance to Tobago: 955 nm
Food: Tortillas with Italian Nduja for lunch. It tasted great but luckily we don’t have any Italians on board, who would have probably started a mutiny. We are still debating what we are having for dinner. It’s either vegetarian curry with tofu or Austrian bacon with bread - maybe we will take the best of both worlds?
Advent calender letter 12: Thank you for the kind greetings from Bibi, Raffi and Tim. It's amazing how big the little one is already! We can only dream of the bright autumn colours in the photo - here it's just shades of blue.
Atlantic crossing day 11
Fri Dec 13 2024 17:44:00 GMT-0100
After more than 10 days, we had our first major rain front today. But we weren't entirely unhappy about it. We took advantage of it straight away and treated ourselves to a freshwater shower with the rain - the first after 10 days. Even though we are now used to the salt water of the Atlantic, we are happy not to be salty from top to bottom for once. It's not only good for us, but also for the boat. The rain has removed the salt water from Vaquita's deck, which is particularly good for the wood. But we can also see perfectly through our hatches and windshield again. Otherwise, we spent a lot of time below deck due to the weather, as we were caught out by several rain cells. We regularly had to leave our cosy living room to adjust the sails, but also to enjoy the rain breaks in the fresh air. The wind today was irregular and above all gusty, but with the mainsail in 2nd reef and the continuously reefable Genoa, we were always able to react quickly and above all early enough to the changes in the wind. The waves still rocked us and a few of them came from the side (for whatever reason...), which made it even more fun. At the end of the last rain cell, we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow.
After we ended up having vegetarian curry for dinner yesterday, without tofu to boot (yes, Ines got her way), we were able to savour the bacon snack this afternoon. Special thanks to Stefan's dad, the master smoker of our bacon!
Distance covered: 138 nm
Distance to Tobago: 821 nm
Food: Austrian bacon with bread and probably some of Austrians No. 1 canned food for dinner.
Advent calender letter 13: Thank you Blumerl for your kind words! We had a great time together in Mallorca. We would be very happy to take you with us again in the Caribbean or wherever. Best wishes back home and have a Merry Christmas!
Atlantic crossing day 12
Sat Dec 14 2024 15:20:00 GMT-0100
After yesterday's rain cells, we had a picture-book sailing day today. The wind and waves have dropped considerably and so it was time to hoist our good friend, the gennaker, again. Hoisting the gennaker always means work, but in this case it more than paid off. With a clear blue sky and sunshine, it pushes us through the blue water at over 7 knots, and as the wind picks up again in the afternoon, we hoist the gennaker and sail on with the Genoa. As sailing is finally cosy again, Stefan and Ines decide to bake brownies. Instead of biscuits, we have them for our Christmas snack today - we have to divide the biscuits up a bit so that we still have some for Christmas. As part of Stefan's educational mission to show some classics, this time we're showing some great cinema after the Austrian fare. Titanic is on the programme at 19:30. Fortunately, there are no icebergs on the tropical 13th parallel.
Distance covered: 138 nm
Distance to Tobago: 680 nm
Food: Austrian bacon with bread for the boys and soup for Ines.
Advent calender letter 14: Thank you Battleham for the sweet and funny letter. We are also happy to call you our friend and look forward to seeing you again soon. Of course we'll make up for the New Year's Eve goulash - we'll just find another occasion!
Atlantic crossing day 13
Sun Dec 15 2024 14:48:00 GMT-0100
After more than 12 days of jetting south-west, we are feeling the tropical heat more and more every day. It is now around 30 degrees and the humidity has increased significantly. The wind is only blowing lightly today, so the cooling effect of the trade winds is also absent. Admittedly, we don't want to complain here - especially when the alternative is the Austrian winter and you are surrounded by balmy but refreshing Atlantic water.
Due to the light wind, it's time for the gennaker again today. In around 10 knots of wind, this works best with a room sheet course, i.e. with wind diagonally from behind. The wind is too weak to sail directly downwind, so we cross downwind to maintain our course towards Tobago. Even if our course is not quite the right one, life on board is nice and much more pleasant than a few days ago due to the moderate waves. We enjoy the little things and watch the trade wind clouds pass by or the waves as they push under the stern of Vaquita one after the other. We are enjoying our time on board and the relatively uneventful life to the full - especially now that the end of the crossing is slowly but surely approaching and we will soon be immersed in the colourful and busy life of the Caribbean.
At 14:00 we crossed the 52nd degree of longitude, so it's time to turn the clocks back an hour again. We are now in the GMT-3 time zone, which means there is already a 4-hour time difference to Austria.
Distance covered: 149 nm (irgendwie sind uns die 150 nm nie vergönnt)
Distance to Tobago: 531nm
Food: Tortilla española for breakfast, Austrian bacon with bread as an afternoon snack and porcino risotto for dinner. The dried porcinos are from Ofenback’s woods - thanks to Stefans grandparents for picking and drying them.
Advent calender letter 15: Thank you Irina for your lovely letter. We are delighted to be able to make you happy with the pictures of our trip. We look forward to being able to tell you about it in person. Best wishes from the Atlantic!
Atlantic crossing day 14
Mon Dec 16 2024 20:59:00 GMT-0100
Here are a few thoughts that come to mind after 14 days of continuous travel - after all, we've now been travelling for as long as the average summer holiday lasts: To get to the Caribbean, you could just hop on the plane in Vienna Schwechat and relax. Then you'd be there after a 10-hour flight, could enjoy two lovely weeks and would probably already be back home relaxed. Or you could also spend almost four weeks with the three of you on 10 square metres and let the wind and waves drive you 24 hours a day and give you a good shake every now and then. Hopefully it's clear by now which option we chose. As you can see from the first option, there are much easier ways to discover the Caribbean island world - but certainly none more beautiful and none that feel as deserved as the one we chose. Admittedly, travelling by plane cannot be compared to the adventure we are currently experiencing here and we are well aware of this. The saying ‘the journey is the destination’ has probably rarely been more apt. Our original plan was to arrive by December 24th at the latest, at the end of the Advent calendar. In the meantime, it looks like we have a few bonus pieces of chocolate to enjoy with the rum. After all, we are ahead of schedule and so we should still have a good three weeks together in the Caribbean before Stefan has to return - but he will be taking the plane.
Even though the waves have got a little higher again, we enjoy the sunny sailing day and make good progress. We read, chat, cook, play the guitar and sing, do a short sports session and launch Tintifax, our trusty fishing lure, once again. For a change, we don't have a fish on the line after just a few hours. This actually pleases us more than it frustrates us, because so far the fishing has worked almost a little too well and so at least it remains exciting. It looks like we'll be having tempeh instead of fish with the sweet potato puree Peter has already cooked.
Just before sunset is the most magical moment of our trip so far. We are visited by dolphins, and not just a few but around 20 of them. They swim along with us for over half an hour and not only play in our bow wave, but even give us an acrobatic jump show. Some of them jump a few metres into the air and splash onto the water. We are completely overwhelmed. There's a saying: ‘Sailing is the most expensive way to travel uncomfortably’ - but moments like these are priceless and cannot be experienced in any other way. They make us forget all the hardships and inconveniences within a second and we are grateful we didn't just get on the plane.
Distance covered: 135 nm
Distance to Tobago: 416 nm
Food: noodle salat, smashed sweet potatos with Tempeh
Advent calender letter 15: Thanks Dean for the drawing. We think it's really cool. It's an Advent candle drawn with a pen. It will be part of our Christmas decorations.
Atlantic crossing day 15
Tue Dec 17 2024 19:32:00 GMT-0100
After Tintifax was put to sleep after sunset yesterday without having achieved anything, today is the second round for him. Shortly afterwards it was clear that he wasn't going to take yesterday's defeat lying down - the dog barked and we saw a fish jumping behind the boat. As soon as we reel in the fishing line, we realise that it must be a big fish. While Peter reels in the fishing line piece by piece, we speculate whether it is a mahi mahi or a tuna, which is where our knowledge of fish comes to an end. We are amazed when we see the fish... it is elongated and has silver skin with blue stripes. But the most striking thing is that it has a huge, pointed snout with dozens of sharp teeth. We think we have a baracuda on our hands and it's not too small. At this moment we are admittedly a little overwhelmed, but it doesn't help - put on our foul weather gear, lifejacket, gloves and sturdy shoes for safety and get up there. At 105 cm long, this is by far our biggest catch and the question of what to eat until we arrive in Tobago has probably been answered.
Meanwhile, the wind is doing strange things to us, the rainy weather seems to have upset the trade winds a little. So while we were cutting up the fish, we made a little semi-circle without realising it. Now we're heading in the right direction again. Today we also had our first real squall (isolated storm cells), even if it wasn't particularly big or spectacular. We've seen some on the horizon from time to time over the last few weeks, but so far we've always been lucky and they've passed us by or only touched us slightly.
We have now reached the last 10% of our crossing and mentally we are already mooring in Tobago - but we always forget that it is still a long way in absolute miles and that there are at least two more nights between us and the Caribbean island dream. We will enjoy the peace and quiet before we arrive and use the time to plan our stay in the anchor bays and shore excursions.
Distance covered: 148 nm
Distance to Tobago: 263 nm
Food: noodle salat, smashed sweet potatoes with fish (Wahoo)
Advent calender letter 17: Thanks to Astrid for the lovely message! These are really special times and we're so glad you're doing well. We'll soon be able to chat again, as we'll soon have made it to the other side of the ocean. We can only return the hug from afar!
Atlantic crossing day 16
Wed Dec 18 2024 19:15:00 GMT-0100
Tonight was probably the busiest night shift we've had so far. We already knew that it was going to rain again and again, but we were hoping for more stable winds. The rain came with the squalls, i.e. localised rain cells, that we have already mentioned several times. These always come from the east and move westwards. With the moon still almost full, the dark bands with the cumulunimbus clouds hovering over them are clearly visible. As soon as the clouds come closer and darken the night sky, we furl the headsail, as there is usually more wind before the rain. We can do this work alone without leaving the cockpit. The wind then shifts from east to south-east and blows at up to 30 knots. We are always particularly pleased about the wind shift, as it reliably ensures that we sail in the completely wrong direction for a short time. That's why we need to sail about an hour south to make up today. After the wind shift comes the rain. Sometimes it just drizzles, but every now and then it pours down quite heavily. After the rain front there is very little wind until the usual easterly wind sets in again at around 18-20 knots. So we can set the headsail again by then at the latest. This is repeated about once an hour.
So that we are in top shape the next day despite the exhausting nights (at least that's the theory), we take turns every three hours during the night. Today Ines started from 9pm to midnight, followed by Peter (0-3am) and Stefan (3-6am). At the end, the first one takes over again until everyone is awake, from 6-8/9 o'clock. In order not to have the same watch all the time and also get to enjoy the good watch here and there (although we disagree on which is actually the good watch - ‘Every watch is the best watch.’), the watch wheel rotates by one every night. So the watches for the next night will be as follows: Stefan 21-24, Ines 0-3, Peter 3-6, Stefan 6-9. The system has worked very well for us and there is still enough time to sleep during the day.
Shortly before 17:00, we gather around the iPad on which we have planned our route on the nautical chart. With a New Year's Eve-like countdown, we count down the tenths of miles until finally the following appears: ‘Remaining miles: 99.9’. This means that the last 100 nautical miles have begun and our goal becomes a lot more tangible. We celebrate the moment briefly and herald the next steps. First, we ceremoniously hoist the flag of Trinidad and Tobago together with the yellow quarantine flag (which must be flown before completing the official procedures for entry) on the starboard side. Similarly solemnly, we dig out a bottle of Cava, which we received from our sailing instructors Chris and Mandy in Lanzarote, and a couple of Canarian beer bottles and chill them - we want to be properly prepared when we enter Pirate's Bay (as planned) tomorrow at midday - and as we sail into the sunset, our last night on the open Atlantic begins - although we are all more than ready for the joys of land life, we face the end of the crossing with mixed feelings. After all, all three of us have been preparing for this section for several years and now it really is coming to an end. But the joy clearly prevails and we are looking forward to exploring the bays, coral reefs, villages and jungles of Tobago tomorrow.
Distance covered: 130 nm
Distance to Tobago: 141 nm
Food: Hot Dogs, Nachos as a afternoon snack, fish with rice and white wine sauce
Advent calender letter 18: Thank you Lexi and Marcel for the ‘lovely’ poem and the 2nd pair of socks. Now we each have a pair. We already miss you too!
Finally, the saying of the last few days: ‘Atlantic, Atlantic please don't make us angry!’ (It rhymes in German)
Atlantic crossing day 17
Thu Dec 19 2024 09:24:00 GMT-0100
On the last night before our arrival in Tobago, the Atlantic once again impressively shows its strentgh. We spend the whole night dealing with squalls, which are generally much heavier than yesterday and always come with a shower of rain. A squall took us by surprise at around 4am. The wind picked up to over 30 knots within a few seconds and we didn't manage to furl the headsail in time. This was followed by a lot of chaos, which led to our first and only ‘all hands on deck’ situation during the night. We had everything from a back-standing mainsail to an unthreaded Genoa sheet in those minutes, all in 25-35 knots of wind and rain, of course. But after a short time, we managed to get through it without any damage to equipment or crew. Even if the last night was anything but pleasant, that is also part of the Atlantic experience. It also feels a bit like a reminder of what we have actually been spared the last two weeks.
Due to the poor visibility, we only see the land 5 miles before we arrive - admittedly, after 16 days at sea, we imagined the land-ho moment in better conditions, but it is still overwhelming. Shortly after the land-ho moment, the next squall comes with 30 knots of wind, it pours again and the hills of Tobago disappear completely behind a veil of rain. Stefan and Peter take advantage of the natural rain shower, which is still nice and tropically warm at first, but then cools down quite quickly.
Even though it's raining, we still get to experience a bit of a fairy tale on arrival. One nautical mile before entering Pirate's Bay, dolphins appear and accompany us into the anchorage. The best welcoming committee you can wish for, we think. That was was amazing! Just before we round the last cape before entering the bay, the earthy scent of Rainforest wafts over us. A more than welcome change after more than 2 weeks of sea air. We hadn't realised how good land can actually smell. Tropical birds (affectionately known as pterosaurs to us) circle above us and we see an albatross. At 10:10 local time, we finally tie up at the buoy in Pirate's Bay off Charlotteville. We've done it! We really are in the Caribbean! To celebrate, we open the chilled champagne and after a champagne shower we toast the successful crossing of the Atlantic. Just writing the last sentence still feels surreal.
Distance covered: 140 nm
Distance left until our arrival at 10:10: 4.5 nm
Of course, we will also be revealing the rest of the Advent calendar:
Advent calender letter 19: Thank you Brenda for the sweet letter! We are looking forward to seeing you again next year at the wedding!
Advent calender letter 20: Thank you Uschi and Michi for the funny sailor sayings. We look forward to telling you all kinds of stories in May.
Advent calender letter 21: Many thanks to Lampel and Kathi for the letter and the link to the crazy videos. Luckily we were quick and were able to watch the videos in the anchorage.
Advent calender letter 22: Many thanks to Mogli and Papa for the lovely card and the finely selected sailor Christmas carols and of course your poem! You did everything right with the marzipan - you know what tastes particularly good to us!
Advent calender letter 23: Many thanks to all our grandparents. Thank you Großis for the kind words and super stickers! Thanks also to Hoadinger Oma and Mieslingtaler Oma for the messages. We are also looking forward to a visit to Karli’s Heurigen together!
Advent calender letter 24: A big THANK YOU to all our family and friends who sent us messages, photos, cheering words, something sweet or other little gifts. We were delighted with every single envelope, it really was a highlight to be able to open the next one during our daily Advent snack. Thank you for sweetening our crossing and thinking of us. We can really count ourselves very lucky! Thanks again to Lena, my sister, who not only had the idea but also put everything together and decorated it. We love you!
