I65 Offshore Passage—Spanish Wells to St. Thomas

Day 1, Friday, April 1, 2022 (I couldn’t believe we were leaving on a Friday as well as April Fool’s day—were we tempting fate???)

Everyone was a little on edge this morning as no one had slept that well last night from anticipation and nervousness. Anticipation came from the thought that we might finally reach the Caribbean and nervousness relating to unknown navigation factors such as:

• Navigating the north cut out of Spanish Wells, Bahamas
• Moving fronts across the US and how they would ultimately affect us
• Wondering about the sea state in the Atlantic
• Questioning whether it would be 7 or more days at sea?

We had decided to travel to the USVI using a route nicknamed “I65” because you leave from The Bahamas and go offshore about 500 miles to Longitude 65 where you pick up the trade winds which then take you south to the Virgin Islands. In some ways this route seemed more ominous than the other “thorny patch” route where you make your way down The Bahama chain to the Turks and Caicos, Dominica Republic, and Puerto Rico, because with the “I65” route you are offshore in the Atlantic for at least 6-7 days for about 1000 miles. Yet, we have opted for this route because it was quicker than the “thorny patch” route. Using the “thorny patch” to journey to the Caribbean one must travel upwind and up current most of the trip which may require waiting days or weeks for a weather window between harbors and frequently traveling at night to avoid the strong  trade winds which can cause mighty waves and make for a very unpleasant journey.

When we planned this offshore journey, rather than opting for the “thorny patch” route, we thought there would be 4 crew on board, but at the last minute one crew member withdrew. Nevertheless, John, Ben, and I knew we were up for the task as we had traveled together for 3500 miles in 2020 when we purchased the boat during the height of the COVID pandemic. (Taking Possession of the Boat)  However, based on prior knowledge, we also realized that 7 continuous days at sea for 1000 miles with only 3 people could be tiring and as well as grueling if there were any unforeseen circumstances.

We spent yesterday showing John around Spanish Wells in a rented golf cart, obtaining our COVID tests for the USVI, procuring last minute provisions, checking out of the country at customs, and inspecting the boat from top to bottom to assure everything was stowed and ready to go.

We feasted again on lobster tails and stone crab claws as our farewell dinner from The Bahamas. Our time here had been short, but we knew that one day we would return for a much longer visit. For now though, the Caribbean awaited. With our newly acquired insurance, we needed to arrive below St. Vincent by June 1. To meet this deadline, it was time to get going on the journey south!

After settling with the Marine and Hardware Store for the slip, we untied from the dock at 0915 and made our way around Spanish Wells and out the Ridley cut into the Atlantic. Ben was worried about navigating this narrow reef lined cut, but it turned out to be well marked on the charts and no problem at all.

We raised the main sail around 1000 and we were on our way! Once we passed the lea of the islands, we pulled the jib and turned off the motors. The wind was blowing between 13-18 knots and our heading was around 90 which was 30 degrees off the wind. We anticipated that the wind would swing more south as the day progressed. The 8-10 feet swells were substantially higher than the forecasted swells of  4-5 foot. These swells would not have been so bad except they were combined with wind driven waves directly on the nose for most of the day. So while we were sailing, the sea state made for a somewhat rough ride.

Nevertheless, we made about 6-8 knots of boat speed and for the most part we were headed in the right direction. As the sight of land slipped away at the horizon, everyone began to relax and set themselves up for the trip ahead.

By 1730, the wind died to around 8 knots, but the sea state did not change until later in the evening. So we turned on one motor to continue to make way against the opposing seas. By this time John was having a bout of sea sickness which was quite unusual for him. We all took turns on watches throughout the night but tried to let John sleep as much as possible. We were fortunate that the seas finally settled a bit, and the night motor sail brought no surprises.

During the day, we munched on chicken salad and for dinner we had chicken spaghetti, both which I had made prior to departure. It was nice to have readied food and not have to spend a lot of time in the galley during unsettled seas.

Day 2, Saturday, April 2

Morning found Ben and John on deck monitoring the wind that had never quite clocked to 170 as we had hoped. In fact, we were not even able to sail at 90 degrees and our speed, with one engine running, was less than 6 knots.

It was not until around 0900 that the wind turned a little more south where we could head directly to our eastward waypoint at 6-7 knots. This change in wind direction, the calmer sea state, the lovely light blue sky and the never ending dark blue seas, lifted morale. John had attached a scopolamine patch during the night and was feeling physically better as well.

The day was spent tweaking the boat’s heading trying to make as much speed as possible while not veering too much off course. Ben got caught up on his logbook while John and I read. Everyone napped at different intervals and tried to rest up for the night ahead.

We had chicken salad again for lunch and chicken tacos for dinner. Meals were kept simple and light.

As the day slid into night, we watched a lovely sunset from the stern of the boat and a sliver of moon rise in the sky.

John and I took the first watch while Ben slept. Once the moon disappeared, the sky became pitch black providing an opportunity for amazing star viewing. Virgo and Ursa Minor were prominent from the stern. We also watched a satellite race across the sky. Later the guys said that Mars stood out brightly as well as Saturn.

Day 3, Sunday, April 3

Finally, around 0130, the wind shifted to the south allowing us to cut the motor and sail with a reefed main and full jib at 7-8 knots while still continuing our course bearing of 97 degrees.

Everyone was in good spirits as the weather was clear with only white puffy cumulous clouds in the sky. The sea state had picked up along with wind with swells of 4-6 feet. A few swells were larger which raised the bow and then slammed us into the water, cavitating the whole boat. While it was hard to sleep below in the hulls when everything sounded like a war zone as the water crashed between the hulls and the boat vibrated radically bouncing off wave, I had learned not to be concerned by all the noise. It was part of being on a catamaran with two carbon fiber infused hulls. While it sounded like we might break apart, the boat was built to withstand these stresses. After all it was a blue water cat!

The most surprising part of the journey so far was that we were the only vessel around. We had only seen maybe 3 other boats in the distance or on the chart plotter the whole trip. It made me wonder if we were crazy to be the only people out here. I focused on enjoying the sea breezes, the beautiful blue water laced with white foam and the sound of the waves rather than concentrating on the fact that we were alone in 10,000 plus feet of water. It could be exhilarating or darn well disconcerting at the same time.

Lunch today was tuna salad and for dinner we had premade King Ranch casserole. It was great that John was feeling better, but he continued to wear the patch to ward off any remaining seasickness that might be lurking in his system.

We had to add oil to the starboard engine. It was not known if there was a leak or if the oil Ben saw on the floor of the engine compartment was from the sump collected under the engine. We also continued to get water in the port bilge, but it was not excessive. Yet we needed to keep an eye on it and run the bilge pump at least once a day. Ben made water today and filled both water tanks. Maybe if the seas calm a bit, I would have more than a sponge bath soon.

Ben went down for his nap around 1900 while John and I manned the helm station. I was sort of tired tonight, so John monitored the wind and kept us speeding through the water at 7-8 knots. At this rate we would be 5 hours early to our next waypoint. We were glad that we have been able to sail all day and into the night. This helped immensely with our fuel consumption. It was forecasted for the wind to die off sometime tomorrow. So we were trying to sail as much as possible while maintaining a good speed.

It was hard to stay focused at night because there was not much to see but stars and a sliver of a moon, which didn’t hang around long. However, we tried to stay vigilant which turned out to be a good thing because at 1200 as I got up to peer into the darkness, I saw LIGHTS and they were not stars! The vessel was pretty close to us. It turned out to be a very large cargo ship that was not running AIS. We could only spot it with our eyes or by radar. We determined that it would be about a mile away when it passed; therefore, no radio contact or change of course was necessary. It did however get our adrenaline going since we hadn’t seen anything remotely that close for the whole trip thus far!

Ben and John again got to see an immense Mars rise from the horizon and light up the water around 0400. It almost made me want to get up tomorrow to see it.

Day 4, Monday—Hump Day, we hope!

We anticipated that this trek would last for 7 days. If that holds true, today would be the halfway day or hump day!

I awoke this morning to us racing through the water at 7.5-8.5 knots. Our heading was 98 degrees, and we were sailing 60 degrees off the wind. While the sea state was not calm, it was not as riotous as it had been. The sky continued to be light blue with billowy white clouds. So the sail was extremely pleasant and almost mesmerizing. There was very little slapping of water on the hulls only a continuous splashing sound as our wake left behind 3 foot blue waves coated with powdery foam. I could listen to the sound and watch the water for hours in an almost trance like state!

Since we had made water yesterday and the boat was not being tossed around as much, we all decided to take a much-needed showers in the head and clean from head to toe. Because water was a limited commodity on a boat, full showers were more of a luxury than a daily occurrence. We took a lot of sponge baths and used cleaning wipes to wash away the daily grime and sunscreen. So having a full shower was wonderful.

I also used the more settled seas to clean up in the salon and galley. It felt good to get things organized and clean again. When the simple task of walking was made difficult by the tossing and turning of the boat, little daily tasks frequently go by the wayside.

Per our routine, everyone took turns taking naps during the day to catch up on lost sleep from the night before and to ready themselves for the next night of watches.

By 1700, the wind had died to around 6 knots. So we turned on an engine to keep us moving at the expected 6 knots. At 1900, we furled the schreecher and continued motor sailing with just the main. We had traveled a little over 500 miles so far and had about 450 miles to go. We hoped to reach our turning waypoint sometime tomorrow morning and begin the journey south to St. Thomas.

Another perk of light winds and settle seas, I decided to cook breakfast for dinner tonight. Moving about in the galley was not such a chore and no one had eaten much today. So I thought a hearty dinner of eggs, sausage and cinnamon rolls was in order.

The clouds in the sky tonight made for a nice sequence of sunset pictures.

I hoped we would outrun these dark clouds and that things would stay settled until morning.

Day 5, Tuesday, April 5, 2022

We spent today trying to find the trade winds that would take us south to our destination. We made it to our turning waypoint ahead of schedule, but as seems par for the course, the wind was not what we had anticipated. So we went a little further east before turning south as we waited for an updated forecast.

However, after turning south and motor sailing at 175 for a few hours, we realized that we were not going to end up north of St. Thomas, we were more on the trajectory of Puerto Rico. So we decided to turn east again to seek the trades, because we were not in them even though we had reach Longitude 65.

When we received an updated forecast from Chris Parker, he verified that there was an impulse that was affecting the trades. Thus, continuing east had been the right move.

Around midafternoon, we once again turned south, but were still having to motor sail as the wind was light and still somewhat on the nose. We cheated to the east as much as we could and finally around 0130 on Wednesday morning, we were able to unfurl the jib and cut the motors. We were in the trade winds at last and headed almost due south for the Virgin Islands.

Day 6, Wednesday, April 6, 2022

When I awoke this morning, the guys had the boat hooked up. We were sailing between 6.5 and 8.5 with the variance mainly cause by the swells that were tossing the boat around. Nevertheless, we were still maintaining our heading of 175 degrees with a wind angle of 40-50 degrees.

The clouds and mist that had invaded the boat the last two nights were gone and it was a beautiful, glorious day with blue skies rimmed with architecturally interesting cumulous clouds. These were the kinds of clouds that you could imagine all kinds of animals or objects hidden in their masses.

If all goes well, we should arrive in St. Thomas sometime before lunch tomorrow. Oh man, am I excited! We really were going to be in the Caribbean Islands soon! It had taken us a little over two years from when we bought the boat to return, because of refitting the boat, completing a USA shakedown cruise, and COVID restrictions. Now we would finally get to explore these wonderful islands extensively. I could not wait!

There were still a lot of COVID restrictions that we have to navigate for each island we visit, but unless things have changed dramatically while we have been at sea these last 6 days, many countries were lessening their restrictions as of the first part of April. I know it would be a pain, at times, but it would be worth it to have this arena as our new playground.

The USVI required a negative COVID test within 5 days of traveling if arriving by sea or ferry. It will be more than 5 days when we arrive, but we hoped that since we have not stopped at any other port, the tests we obtained in The Bahamas will suffice. We’ve already uploaded the results of the tests and received our green QR code indicating we were allowed to enter the country. We have been told that we can use the CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) app to check into the country and would not have to actual present ourselves to customs. We trusted that this would be the case.

We knew it was a long shot, but we would like to find a slip at a marina for a few days so that we could wash the encrusted salt off the boat and take a good land shower. Also it would be good to have Wi-Fi, catch up on laundry and obtain some fresh vegetables. Of course, we couldn’t buy too many fruits or vegetables because each island had restrictions on bringing them into their country even if they never left the boat.

For today though, we would enjoy our last full day in the mighty Atlantic sailing with full sails in the almost perfect conditions. The sunset was amazing with the clouds all around, but clearer enough at the horizon that I actually got to see the green flash!

This second video allow you to see what we hear and see at as we travel through the darkness at night.

Day 7, Thursday, April 7, 2022—”Land Ho!”

We have been very fortunate that this 6-day journey has been what Chris Parker, weather router, indicated, a benign trip. Except for a few times when the swells and waves were not aligned and the squalls beginning at 0130 this morning where we had 35 knots of apparent wind which had us blasting through the night at 11 knots, we have had excellent weather for this journey. Around 0800 Ben spotted the Virgin Islands off in the distance! Land ho!

We were all more than ready to be here. Because of the squalls that popped up during shift change in the middle of the night, none of us had gotten much sleep. Nevertheless, it was going to be a busy day. While Ben found us a marina in Red Hook Bay, St. Thomas, we could only stay there for one night. So when we arrive we needed to check into the country, wash the boat, and get the laundry done. I wished we would have two nights so we could relax a little before moving to an anchorage, but I also felt fortunate that we had found a place to stay for one night.

I could not wait to begin our next adventure: Exploring the Islands of the Caribbean!

 

In the meantime…boat life continues. When we arrived in the Virgin Island waters, we found that our port engine would not start and the night before as we were fixing dinner, we learned that our generator also would not start! Dang! Luckily American Yacht Harbor has extended our slip for another day while we try to resolve these problems.

Ben and John got the generator working, by blowing out the fuel line and replacing the fuel filter. However, the engine issue remains a mystery. Technicians are currently on the boat to hopefully diagnose and fix the problem. So time will tell. Fingers crossed, because we are not sure how we will get off this dock, refuel, and navigate this crowded harbor with only one engine.

Nevertheless, we made it to customs to check in this morning and that all went well. So at least we were legally in the country now! In addition, the laundry has been done and the boat has been washed. So if by some miracle we could get the engine fixed today, we might begin our exploration in earnest tomorrow! Fingers Crossed!

Thanks for your support and prayers. Happy Easter!!

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