The Would-Be Log
It’s strange to post these with the inaccurate titles, but it’s true to what I thought we were doing. We left Mindelo for Brazil, probably Recife, went the thinking, but things changed.
Cabo Verde to Brazil Day 0
Sunday, October 20
We sailed off the anchor in close company with the sailboats that had clustered around us since we’d come back to Mindelo. The anchor chain is grassy and inside the links there are hard white growths, more coral than barnacle looking. It’s going to smell funky in the forepeak until that life gives up the ghost.
The anchor came free at 9:22 am, Cabo Verde standard time, and we spent the next couple of hours on a starboard tack. That could be the last time we’re on that tack for weeks, and it’s the more comfortable for napping because the full-length settee is on the port side. James took us out of the harbor and then had a lie-down while I got us clear of the first few points.
A little way through James’ next watch, he gybed us to a port tack and now we’ll settle in. Things will shift inside cabinets, knock against each other. Hopefully we did a great job and nothing goes flying, but there will be a lot of socks being stuffed into loose places for a few days, or a few weather changes.
By the time noon hit, we were clearing the southwestern point, the one with the lighthouse Farol de Dona Amelia.
Noon position: N 16° 50.237’ W 025° 06.883’
Distance 0922 to noon: 9.5 NM
Average speed: 3.65 kn
Trip distance covered: 9.56 NM
Distance to destination: 1683 NM
Cabo Verde to Brazil Day 1
Sunday, October 20
Coming south of São Vicente, we’ve already had the wind veer (yay, yankee), strengthen, then veer again and die down. At less than 2 knots, I think I’ll see if we’re broad enough to bring out the staysail.
…So that turned into a both-and. I got the staysail out right as the wind picked up a little. We hit 3 knots as soon as I got us trimmed and now we’re varying between 3 and 4. Cool.
At that rate, we’ll be there in…
Note to self: swimming right before leaving rocks.
I called reefing right before the end of 1300-1400 watch because the wind kept building and I realized we were leaving the island’s wind shadow. Through James’ next watch, we were okay with one reef but he did roll in most of the staysail. Then I reefed again within 10 minutes of starting my 1500-1600. James didn’t have to do anything on his 1600-1700 watch and we’re rolling along at 5-6 knots under full yankee and double reefed main with the wind just abaft the beam. We’ll switch to the staysail if it gets too hectic, but it’s feeling comfortable and strong for now.
We’ve passed the 3000 meter contour line and are about 17 NM from 4000 meters. We’ll be in the influence zone of the islands for another couple of days, though. Our route takes us within 20 NM of Brava, and Fogo’s huge volcanic peak can create a wind shadow that covers a hundred miles. We won’t really be in pure, open ocean until the wind picks back up after that.
When it’s edge-on, Saturn seems to have wings instead of rings.
I’m thrilled to report that, at 1927 hours, I spotted the comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas! It’s a smear using my poor vision, but quite visible through the binoculars. Wheeeeee!
It’s my last off-watch before my first long watch but I’m definitely not sleepy. I slept really well last night and it’s not even nine. I’ll wait to take tonight’s vomidrine (totally it’s real name, totally sounds like it does the opposite of what I’m taking it for). It will make me sleepy, so I’ll hit that about a half hour before the end of my watch. I’m not queasy and rarely get bad abovedecks, so I think it’s safe to wait.
I got to the companionway to take over for my 2100 watch and, before I could start up the ladder, James turned and puked.
So…we thought we’d be leaving on Wednesday, but decided that Thursday was better and then I started feeling crappy. Bad bad belly cramps and later, terrible vomiting. At the end of the day, I developed a fever, stopped puking, and burned so hot James couldn’t sleep next to me. The fever broke before morning.
I wasn’t fit to do anything robust for days. The dinghy was on the foredeck so James couldn’t go ashore…we were out of data and didn’t even get to tell anyone we were still in Cabo Verde.
James didn’t seem a hundred percent this morning, but he jumped right into setting up LoveBot and taking off the mainsail cover.
He got shaky after we got underway and took another vomidrine. I guess it helped, but he said, at the beginning of his 2000 watch, that he felt really bad and had the sweats.
I shouldn’t be surprised, but that’s a long incubation period! If I got it ashore somewhere and he got it from me…I thought we’d waited long enough to be in the clear.
I’ve cancelled the route we were navigating and put us on course for Brava. In the morning, James and I can decide whether we need to go to the town or just anchor so he can get better.
…This isn’t on the level of James having a stomach flu, but I just spent a half hour tracing down knocks. The two water jerry cans shifted outboard enough to let the epoxy container start knocking about. Even better, that left a can of torch fuel rolling back and forth. Unfortunately, I can’t see the problem on the port side, aft of the bulkhead separating the lazarette from the area with the…cough…rudder post. We’re steering easy, so I’m going to believe I tied everything well enough for safety if not quite enough to keep something from rocking.
Monday, October 21
Hello early morning, you’re lovely.
The moon and Jupiter are hanging out like cool kids, making it hard to spot any shooting stars from the Orionids. Hard to complain, though. It’s a lovely pairing and light, fast moving clouds add an element of the strange.
We will definitely stop at Brava, though James isn’t feeling quite as bad. As much anti-nausea medication as he’s taken, I’m not surprised he’s not puking. He’ll be shaky for a couple of days, though, and will need to rest.
Noon position: N 15° 04.219’ W 024° 48.735’
Distance noon to noon: 111.3 NM
Average speed: 4.64 kn
Trip distance covered: 120.8 NM
Distance to destination: 15.8 NM
Land ho! James sighted the peak of Brava at 1245. I’m not envious…I saw two whales! One was maybe 13 feet long and the other a little smaller. They were making a ruckus and I thought it was another saga of life and death between fishes, but then they came towards us and breached…fully out of the water in a move that is etched in my memory. I couldn’t see them clearly enough for identification and they never came back up.
When we came around the point and saw a sailboat already in there, it was a disappointment. We’re as far towards the northwest side as I’d ever want to be. We know them from Mindelo, had a drink at the floating bar once with a Swedish couple. They’re French and he speaks better English than she does, though she seems to follow the conversation just fine.
This place is gorgeous. The water is crystal blue…we can see the sand 30 feet below…and the hillsides are green and brown. No swell is making it into the cove right now, so I think we’ll be quite comfortable here.
Anchor position: N 14° 49.890’ W 024° 44.360’
Time underway: 4h 46m
Distance: 16.3 NM
Average speed: 3.91 kn
Trip distance covered: 137.1 NM
Distance to destination: 0 NM
