Our final leg across the pond (aka the Atlantic) commenced at noon on Friday, June 14th. Although we sailed out of Ponta Delgada, we eventually had to turn on the engine and use the “metal sail” to get us out from the “lee of the island”. The first few days were magic – also known as “champagne sailing”… According to 1 nautical website, this means ”a picture-perfect sunny day for sailing with perfect breeze”.
In our case, we were sailing downwind (breeze from behind), accompanied by a rhythmic, gentle “swish, swish” as the boat moved smoothly thru the water – practically calm enough to set a champagne flute down without it tipping over….
On Sunday (6/15), the winds picked up quite a bit as a low front came in and the ride became “spicier”. In one 24 hour period, we did 222 NMs, averaging 9.7 per hour with a max speed of 20.2 Knts!! Wowee we were flying!
That put us in clearly in the lead by mid-day on Monday (6/17) – by approximately 50 miles.
We prepared for this, by putting on our “GameDay faces”.
We were making great progress towards our destination, but that presented a dilemma: Do we continue sailing and cross “Orca Alley” at night or slow way down and spend another night at sea when the next cold front might catch up with us?
We have been following several Orca interaction websites, (e.g., Orca.pt) that chronicle sightings and attacks and saw 1 on June 16th at Cape St. Vincent – our destination…
Gladis is the label for any orca that interacts with a boat.
Luckily, we were able to maintain a good speed and headed across this 40 mile stretch in the late afternoon with sun behind us.
We rotated “spotters” at the bow and stern for the next 5 hours and luckily, we never saw any orcas. Once into water less than 20 Meters, we could breathe easier because there’s only been 1 attack at that depth.
We also had to cross the traffic separation zone – which is the equivalent of a 4 lane highway for cargo ships and tankers. The image shows the “separation zone” for vessels making their way north and south around the Straits of Gibraltar. The Arica Express is highlighted so we could monitor their movements (see speed and COG info) to make sure we weren’t going to have an “interaction” (i.e., collision) with them. They passed behind us about 2 miles off our stern – man was it huge – 260 Meters long).
It was still bright and sunny outside and we were sailing along nicely. Soon we spotted the lighthouse on Cape St. Vincent and started to relax a little because shallower water was just ahead.
At sunset, we dipped the ensign – an old maritime custom to signal respect.
After celebrating a safe passage across the Atlantic with champagne, we were off to bed! We would begin exploring Portugal on Wednesday!
A few hours later we crossed the finish line on Tuesday (6/18), shortly before midnight in the pouring rain… It had been sunny and beautiful all day long until the very end! Ugh… but at least we were safely in and the rudders were intact! Yippee!
Congrats on an amazing finish! It was so exciting watching your progress throughout! Enjoy Portugal!
Glad you enjoyed it! I’m just glad we’re here with no damage so far….
Really enjoyed your post today and the photos were outstanding.
Congratulations on such a successful and memorable journey. Had no idea that orcas were a threat to boats.
Safe travels to all.
Dean
Thanks for following along! No damage so far, but still need to make our down around Gibraltar…
Congratulations to all of you and to Moxie for getting you there safely and for winning💪🏻She’s a gem! I really enjoyed your posts, pictures and videos! We’re living vicariously through you. We can’t wait to hear more stories and see more pictures in person! Enjoy Portugal!