North Atlantic: Sailing Saint Martin to The Azores

The day after Skyfall docked in Saint Martin, I welcomed my crew for the North Atlantic crossing on board. It was late afternoon, May 1st, and Martin was looking forward to a few relaxing days in the Caribbean before the passage. It was clear he did not know this skipper!

A reasonable weather window had appeared for a May 2nd departure and there was not likely to be a good departure date in the following week. So, despite the jet lag, after a quick tour of the boat and half an hour to stow his things, we sat down for safety briefings, route planning, agreeing a watch system and a menu and made a provisioning list for the following morning.

Skyfall's chocolate provision for the crossing, (courtesy of Martin)

One thing that was not on the provisioning list was chocolate. Martin, before retirement, was employed by a large Swiss chocolatier and arrived 'bearing gifts'.

Our first task the next day was to take the 2nd gas bottle to be refilled. We would be able to collect it at 16.00,which gave us six hours to complete everything else. Provisioning is easy on the French islands and there is a large supermarket within walking distance of the marina. By lunchtime we were back on the boat and had packed everything away.

We treated ourselves to lunch at the Yacht club before returning to chores. We stowed the dinghy and set up trailing lines on the aft deck. We also put some effort into rearranging the lazarette, attempting to place things most likely to be needed nearest the front. (As usual, it turned out we got it wrong and wasted our time).

After picking up the gas bottle, we were ready to go, only eight hours after the five other boats who had left at dawn. However, we decided it would be prudent to wait until morning. Martin, although an experienced sailor, preferred to 'learn the boat' in daylight. As soon as he had made the request, I knew we would work well together. It was a sensible thought and it was good that he had no issue giving me his views on the passage planning.

Martin 'learning the boat' on our first day out

At dawn on May 3rd, we were off. The weather window offered two days of easy sailing, close reaching in 12-15 knots. Unfortunately, the day delay meant that we would not get far enough north before the wind died and we would be consigned to a day of motoring.

On the second day, the wind shifted far enough onto the beam to allow us to fly the code 0. First we needed to furl the genoa. But, when I tried, the furler would not move. At first, I did not panic as the line regularly jams and is straightforward to fix. So we dropped the sail instead, hoisted the Code 0 and enjoyed the extra speed. With the genoa down, I took the furling line off the drum, expecting to solve the issue. No luck. I thought that there must be an issue with a halyard jamming the top furler. Even though I could not see anything, a trip up the mast would probably solve things. Given there was no wind forecast for the following day, I resolved to delay 24 hours and go aloft whilst motoring.

Skyfall's genoa furler, minus the drum, feeder and furling line

Once aloft, I soon discovered that there was nothing wrong with the top furler. The problem was definitely at deck level. But what was it? The next steps were to find the manual for the furler and watch a YouTube video on how to put it together and take it apart (the joys of Starlink and internet connections at sea).

Now we were 'experts'. We started to dismantle the unit to find out what was going on. It turned out that one of the two bolts which hold the foil up had sheared and the broken bit had fallen down into the bearings between the 'core' and the bit that rotates. Why, after thirteen year, this should have happened on the second day of a difficult ocean crossing, only Murphy will know. We could not see how to get it out without taking the furler off the forestay, which would require disconnecting the forestay (the wire at the front which holds the mast up). The risk in attempting this, 400nm from land, outweighed any benefits from getting the furler working again. It would have to wait until we got to the Azores.

Sunset on day 3

To make up for furler issues and motoring, we were treated to lovely weather and a beautiful sunset

Sometimes you should be careful what you wish for. Whilst we motored, we wished for wind. By 10.00 the following morning, the engine was off and we were sailing again in light winds but wishing for more. By 15.00 we were flying, reaching in 12 knots. By 19.00 the first reef went in followed by the second an hour later. By 22.00 we put in the third, knowing that by midnight the mainsail would have to be put away. By the early hours we had 28 knots of wind and occasional lightning and these conditions continued for the following two days. We had wished a bit too much!

By the sixth day, a high pressure was developing north east of us, but moving south. Wind circulates clockwise around a high in the north Atlantic so, with a bit of luck, we could sail clockwise around the centre and have both good wind and good weather as we tracked towards the Azores.,

Skyfall's track (up to day 7) as we sailed around the high pressure. (The blue is the centre of the high with no wind. The centre moved south so we could aim for Azores (top right) and sail clockwise round the high pressure)

As we sailed around the centre of the high, first NE for two days, then 2 days ENE, we enjoyed sunshine and lovely conditions. This was what sailing should be about. However, we knew that the conditions would not last.

When sailing to the Azores, it is best to avoid the nasty, deep low pressure systems which roll south east from Newfoundland. Not only do they bring bitterly cold conditions, but winds can be very strong. Unfortunately, this crossing, we were destined to get caught in a big one.

Fortunately, with modern weather modelling tools, we knew that it was coming. Just as well, given that the furler was not working. Because of this, we could not reduce the size of the genoa so we had no alternative but to take it down and put it away.

Skyfall sailing under storm jib as wind started to increase

Skyfall's sail inventory includes a tiny storm jib and this is what we deployed instead of the genoa, initially with the mainsail. As the storm approached, we dropped and properly stowed the mainsail in preparation.

PredictWind weather routing as the storm arrived. The dark crimson areas represent gale force winds

At this point, Martin told me his 'system' had not been working for a couple of days and that he had stomach pains. Time for medication to clear the bowels. Some hours after taking the laxative, he suddenly told me that I was in charge and that I might not see him for a while. He quickly disappeared below. He emerged three quarters of an hour later, much relieved and with a big smile on his face. My immediate thought was one of relief that we had separate heads and I would not be cleaning that toilet!

The wind turned the sea white, even before it had had time to build up the sea state

The winds quickly increased to 30-40 knots, initially without much swell. It took a day for the seas to build but soon we were in a true North Atlantic gale with 4-5m waves to compliment the gale force winds

By sunset the waves were almost 5m and the seas looked really gnarly

We had to endure these conditions for three days straight and it was very, very cold. Not to mention wet and humid.

Clothing wise, we dealt with this in different ways. Martin, an expert Swiss skier, had come equipped with the latest technology garments. Each individually tailored layer cunningly traps air efficiently within the microfibres, allowing him to stay warm yet still appear as the sleek, fit individual that he is. The skipper, on the other hand, just piled on all the warmish clothes he had, appearing on deck as an overweight Michelin man!

A very cold skipper

One advantage of the strong winds was that there was never an issue with power generation. Under normal conditions, the solar panels do much better than the wind generator which, with 12 knots apparent wind, only generates 1A (at 12V). However, the output rises exponentially and, during the storm, the wind generator averaged 12A continuously 24hours per day. The batteries did so well I could leave Starlink on all the time. Unfortunately, with all the rolling, Starlink often could not maintain connection to the satellites so it was all rather pointless!

Small chart plotter at the navigation station allowed us to keep watch (using AIS) and/or radar to look out for ships from below decks

During those wet and dismal days, our saviour turned out to be the chart plotter below deck, at the navigation station. With the hydro-vane and the storm jib keeping us sailing down the waves, it was possible to maintain watch for other boats from the relative warmth below decks. I really do not believe I could have survived outside in those conditions for four hours at night.

On day 14, the winds had abated enough to allow us to switch back to the genoa and start sailing properly again. We were now just three days from Horta, Azores. We started to get regular visitations from large pods of dolphins multiple times per day. As soon as they sensed Skyfall was close, they would come racing towards us. I used to think it was to play in the bow wave but now I am not so sure. Because we also had two encounters with fishing boats. No sooner had the AIS system announced we were past them (whilst they were fishing), than they would raise their nets, motor at top speed to a few miles in front of us and start fishing again. One boat did this four times. Maybe they know something we do not. is Skyfall a secret fish magnet?

Despite the dolphins, I admit to simply counting down those last three days. Hour by hour. Mile by mile. I was just itching for a chance to warm up again! Sixteen days at sea, sailing from Saint Martin to Azores, was never a problem. Even with a North Atlantic gale, which Skyfall handled brilliantly. But being freezing cold for seven of them most certainly was an issue and sucked any enjoyment out of the experience.

Selfie in Peter's cafe, Horta

As soon as we had cleared in, we headed to Horta's famous "Peter's cafe" . It is the place where sailors congregate. It was time for a celebration beer and a huge tuna steak. We had earned it.