Excited to head west to meet family, we set off from Carriacou with only the two of us. We were eager to get back to sea and do some more double handed sailing.

The forecast looked windy, around 20-25knts, but it was behind us so nothing too scary. We set off with two reefs in the main and one reef in the jib. The reduce sail area gave us more control over the boat and also prevented us from getting caught out by any squalls.

In practice for the South Pacific, we ran a 4 on 4 off system with 20minute cat naps for the person “on watch”, if they need. This system went from 8pm to 8am and was very successful with us both feeling refreshed in the day light hours. 

The hydrovane was a huge help to allow us to sleep as it held a consistent course. In addition, we had set alarms to alert us of  any vessels within 15miles and any vessels on a collision course with Penny. These worked really well and it was great to begin to trust the alarm systems we had put in place. 

The night was incredibly clear, showing thousands of stars. This allowed us to identify some of the familiar constellations from our Atlantic crossing. You could even see the Milky Way! It felt great to be back out in the open ocean. 

Although the wind was perfect for Penny, we still came across some squalls along the way. You could see them approaching, big, fluffy grey clouds that were flat on the bottom. Underneath the cloud you could see a grey sheet, which was the rain. The wind would increase, and you could feel the air temperature change as the rain moved in. It was then followed with 30minutes of either crazy winds or torrential rain. Sometimes both. 

Within this stretch of water, there have been reports boats being boarded and pirated. This made us incredibly cautious on the crossing and as a precaution we put our AIS on silent mode. This meant we could see other vessels but they were unable to see us on their plotters. We were also extremely vigilant when an unknown vessel appeared on our plotter. Thankfully we didn’t see any suspicious activity and Penny made it to the ABCs safely. 

It was nighttime, as we approached the ABC islands. Which proved to be quite challenging to identify lights on the land vs lights from other boats. However once we were past Bonaire it all became a bit simpler.

Whilst we waited for the sun to rise, we set the boat in a ‘hove too’ position. This would keep us close to the island and roughly hold our position whilst we waited. However Penny had other plans! As the boom moved across the boat, a big gust of wind came and tore a large hole in the belly of the main sail. We quickly started the engine and got the sail down safely. It was still dark and the wind remained strong. So we positioned the boat side on to the wind and slowly drifted down towards the entrance of the anchorage. As the sun finally rose we headed safely into the anchorage. Although the rip in the sail is frustrating, we were incredibly relieved that it didn’t happen whilst we were offshore. 

Carriacou to Curaçao

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