Today is day fourteen since we left Ascension Island, the one where we couldn’t get ashore. The next target is Praia, the capital city of Cape Verde on Ilha de Santiago.
We knew it was going to be a challenge. Believe it or not, due to predominant winds, Gulf Streams, and currents, the regular route to mainland Europe and the UK is via Bermuda. Across to Bermuda, to the Azores, and on to Europe.
Cape Verde is blatantly absent in that equation.
We communicated with a Swedish couple on a forty-foot sailboat who had made the passage from Ascension Island to Cape Verde in fourteen days. And that was all the way to Mindelo, on one of the northern islands, Ilha de Sao Vicente to be precise. Eventually, that’s where we want to end up too.
Neptune wasn’t as kind to us as he was to them. Unbelievable. And I did give him and toasted him with some South African whisky upon crossing the equator.
We did alright from the onset leaving Ascension Island, not too much west, staying east as much as possible, and getting as much north in as possible. Generally one tries to head almost straight north and when approaching Senegal on the African coast, catch the north easterlies to Cape Verde.
But it is not working out for us that way. Anytime we turn, the wind seems to turn too, and never in our favor. On top of that, we have a current that pushes us in the wrong direction.
So we’re tacking. We have to. Windsong is a typical cruiser and cannot sail closer to the wind than roughly 50 degrees. Some boats do a little better, some a little worse, depending on design, shape, and type of keel. A racing boat does better, but scores worse in other categories, such as safety, rigidity, and comfort.
The compass rose has 360 degrees, 0 to 359, and let us pretend the wind comes from the north. The best we can do is 50 degrees east or 310 west. Let’s say, for argument’s sake and simplicity, we can do 45 degrees either way that would see us do exactly a Northwest or a Northeast course.
Now we look at the old Pythagorean equation, which I’m sure we all remember from our high school years, and see that for every 5 miles north, we have to do just over seven to the northeast or to the northwest. Then you tack and do the same in the other direction. Eventually, you get to your destination adding quite a few miles to the ‘as the crow flies’ distance.
However, we cannot do 45 degrees, at best we do 50, and we have a current from the north pushing us down on both tacks, not helpful. The direction of waves and swells is another consideration to take into account.
The good news is we’re making progress. Of the roughly hundred and thirty miles we sailed yesterday, noon to noon, forty-four of them were in the right direction. Or better, we are forty-four miles closer to target.
It is now Wednesday afternoon, and a quick peek at the chart tells me we have another 317 nm to go. The first two hundred are going to be a struggle, but the rest, according to the prediction models, are going to be okay. We are looking at an arrival in Praia sometime Monday next week ……… I hope.
It’s all good. This is the sailing life. We have water, we have food, and we have glorious weather. Sail on!
