For those not familiar with Raymarine instruments, TTG is Time To Go, and DTW Distance To Waypoint. It is a long way to Barbados!
Conditions really were excellent - apart from the occasional minor squall, the wind stayed between 10 and 25 kts for most of the trip. Perfect for us to fly our secret weapon, The Parasailor.
'The Beast' as we affectionately know it, the Parasailor really is a phenomenal piece of kit
Another piece of kit that worked tirelessly throughout the journey was the mechanical wind vane auto helm - it uses no power, has its own rudder and sails to wind angle.
Harry the Hydrovane. The only time we had to assist was when the rudder got clogged up with seaweed, which happened about 20 times during the trip.
We really did not expect the great rafts of seaweed. Although at times the weed was so thick it clogged our Hydrogenerator (needed to recharge the batteries that run the navigation system and lights) it never became a problem as we ran the engine for an hour every few days to run the watermaker - so we had the luxury of showers.
During the trip we saw very few birds, and those we saw were solitary.
We think this was a red billed tropicbird.
What we did see a lot of was flying fish - they burst out of the water, skimmed the waves for a good 100m and crashed back in again, apart from the dozens that landed on the deck, the coachroof, the cockpit ...
One of the smaller casualties
We now know you can eat them, as flying fish sandwiches are very popular in Barbados but they do look very fiddly to prepare.
We only have a fridge, not a freezer on the boat so any fresh food had to be bought in Mindelo, Cape Verdes, and there really is not a lot there ... So catering on the boat was limited. Breakfast of porridge and home made yoghurt, lunch usually a rice based salad and dinner something involving beans and pulses until the day we caught a fish! Great excitement.
The Amberjack - the only fish we managed to catch and land.
Cooking on board
It is dark for 13 hours at this time of year, and although the stars were fantastic there was very little moon and it really was dark. To see the sails at night we either use a head torch or turn on one of the mast lights (steaming light) but the bulb had blown, so it was a trip up the mast for Ian.
It takes two to change a light bulb - one with the bulb, and one holding the ropes in case he falls off!
The view from the top!
The Parasail.
We take 3 hour shifts at night - although there is very little out there, the one ship we did come across seemed intent on running us over, and as it was 900 feet long to our 42, we were not going to come off well! Motor is obliged to give way to sail, and eventually he grudgingly changed course by a couple of degrees and passed about 300 metres behind us. Anyone who has shared sea space with a ship will know that is far too close for comfort!
Sunrise over the Atlantic
Sunrise - and a squall in the distance.
And a sunset.
One of the excitements of the trip was getting in touch with Aztec Dream and Cara Mor. We managed to stay in VHF contact with Aztec almost all the way, and also found a new member of our fleet - Blue Lilly, an Austrian couple sailing with their 16 year old son.
We were the only boat with a Parasail which meant we had to drop it to slow down to stay with the fleet - slowing down is not as easy as it sounds! Having spoken to Blue Lilly lots of times on the radio, it was time to meet them, we dropped the parasail but no sails at all makes the boat unbelievably unstable, so we kept a tiny bit of headsail up,threw out a fender and swum one at a time.
Swimming, if you can call it that, in 5000 metres mid Atlantic
It was quite challenging!
Blue Lilly caught us up - they took this photo, which shows our tiny sail and the boat hidden by the swell
Mid Atlantic meeting
Like most sailors, we do not choose to arrive in a new harbour or port in darkness, so we found ourselves having to slow down as much as possible on the last night of our crossing and sailing across the 'finish line' with Blue Lilly and Aztec Dream in the early hours.
First light, just off Barbados. Still sailing with a very reefed headsail.
We arrived off Port St Charles, one of two Ports of Entry into Barbados. We were instructed to anchor and enter by dinghy to complete the formalities - now we are no longer cushioned by the EU, we really are the foreigners - a good hour was spent filling the same information in on many many bits of paper. As we were to learn, checking in is the easy bit ... it's the checking out that takes the time!
Back on the boat, we tried to set off for Carlisle Bay, Bridgetown only to find we had picked something up on our anchor
We removed the lump, and headed 10 miles along the coast to Bridgetown - anchored, had a swim then headed ashore to have a celebratory beer with our sailing companions, then an un-interrupted night's sleep. Lovely.
Bridgetown by night.
Definitely no shortage of Christmas spirit here!
Bridgetown is the home of Mount Gay Rum - obviously we had to go to the visitors centre
And that was before we got to the Mojitos!!!
The town has an old colonial feel, and lots of street vendors
You can buy a goldfish in a bottle.
Some highly suspect wasp covered syrup drinks
Ian was tempted by the Bionic Shop for the latest in fashion.
And we did buy the best avocados I have ever eaten from this young man.
We have not come across begging here, and this lady seemed to be playing for her own enjoyment.
We spent an evening at Oistins Bay, famous for its Friday and Saturday night fish - there must be at least 100 BBQ shacks with picnic table seating all vying for your custom. We took Trip Advisors recommendation and went to one called Mo's and it was good value and delicious - the outing involved a 1 hour bus trip for $1 to get there, but on the way back we discovered the delights of the private mini van. A fifteen minute white knuckle ride with 16 people in a 12 seater van and we were back in Bridgetown.
We have now taken a bus ride to Bathsheba on the north east of the island. Again, the transport is not for the faint hearted, the roads are narrow, the hills steep and the driver in a rush - but it did give an excellent view of the island.
The car is clearly more important than the house.
Bathsheba Bay - beautiful, great for surfing but swimming not advised due to rip currents
We walked to the far end of the bay where all the coconuts get washed ashore
The Bus Stop.
We have enjoyed Barbados, well worth a visit. Our next destination is Bequia, 100 miles away, for Christmas, New Year and MIKE AND TARYN's wedding!
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