Sunriser

Time sailed: 13 days and 2 hours

Miles sailed: 1925

Engine hours: 24 hours

Average speed: 6,2 knots

Maximum wind speed: 27 knots

Maximum wave height: 3,2 meters

Sail configurations: Genoa only, Gennaker only, Genoa and Gennaker wing on wing, Spinnaker, Main double reefed and Genoa, full Main and Genoa

Fish caught: 1 wahoo of 5 kilos, sargasso: a lot

Dolphins sightings: 2

Wale sightings: 0

Birds sightings: 1 on day 5 and many from day 10 onwards

Flying fish landings: 5 on deck, 1 through a hatch into the bathroom

Ships encounters: 1, the Russian research vessel Akademik Mtislav Keldysh

Damage: sail cover zipper broken, sliding door lock broken

We can call the passage from Mindelo in Cape Verde to Waterland in Surinam a very succesful passage. The Atlantic crossing westwards is known to be the easiest ocean crossing with steady winds from the east of 10 to 12 knots. The sailing strategy (from the times of Columbus) is to sail southward until the butter melts, set up the spinnaker and follow the setting sun. However, because of the weather phenomenon known as “La Niña”, the patterns are somehow mixed up this year, so we encountered varying winds in strength and direction, and keeping the butter in the fridge added to the confusion.

We tried various sail configurations as the wind was rather north easterly than easterly, and had some glorious sailing days with the spinnaker, which we found could take wind  from 180 to 120 degrees. Also wing on wing with Genoa and Gennaker makes Sunriser fly over the waves.

A good part of the time on board in high seas is taken by food related activities: cooking, eating and washing up. The need to be self sufficient during 2 weeks provides many opportunities for creativity with the goods at hand: we prepare the fish we catch in various ways, we bake bread and make yoghurt ourselves and revamp leftovers into new dishes.

We split the night into 3 watches: from 9 to 1, from 1 to 4 and from 4 to 7, and rotate every day. That way everyone gets 6 hours of sleep at night, and with occasional day siestas we did not suffer from lack of sleep. We also sailed a good part of the route with full moon, which made the night watches very agreeable.

And what about the sailor’s biggest fear: boredom?

Not a moment of it! Our captain spent wisely and responsibly all his waking time analyzing weather patterns, wind, waves and currents, optimizing routes, trimming sails and exchanging information with the other boats in the fleet. This left plenty of time for the happy crew to devote to our hobbies of reading, painting, cooking and simply enjoying the everchanging scenery of sky and waves.

Did we miss something? 

Not really; Starlink kept us in constant communication with the rest of the world on land. The only classical experience we lacked was swimming in the middle of the ocean; but that was actually a good thing because we did not have a calm which would allow us to stop sailing for swimming. 

Sunriser’s steady progress toward America was only slowed down the last 3  days when we encountered a current which, in combination with decreasing wind, created an unpleasant motion; something like being trapped in a huge washing machine with the water in the outside.

Finally, after 13 days the captain shouted Land Ho!!! We had the coast of Surinam in sight! Our speedy crossing ended on February the 2nd at 13:00 at the mouth of the Surinam river where we anchored for the night and enjoyed a beautiful sunset and an uninterrupted night of sleep.

The following day, after yoga, with low tide we motored up the river to Marina Waterland, passing Paramaribo, the capital and biggest city of Surinam. In Waterland Sunriser was warmly welcomed by our friends of Britt and Tiki Mas, and we were also soon followed by Happinez. We now will explore together this fascinating country.