After four days of prep and repairs I am itching to go sailing again. I am heading north, destination Martinique. Why Martinique? Because my dauter Anika will come to visit! So exciting.
Anika’s semester break runs through the end of January. But she is in the middle of her Senior Project, her Bachelor’s Thesis. There is a key deadline on Jan 12 and she decided to come this way right after and for the remaining two weeks until the next semester starts. It was up in the air if this works out but now I am stoked to welcome her on JACE and to spend that time with her, just father and daughter.
Martinique was selected as the best meeting spot: Lots of good flights from Paris and I wanted to see something else than the Grenadines anyway. I just have to get there by the 13th. It’s about 200nm from Grenada to Martinique. Since I am solo, a night sail is best avoided. And it is almost all upwind sailing which requires more attention and is harder to do at night. So I created a trip with multiple of 30-40nm hops and a few shorter relax days.
Leg 1 is from Benji Bay, Grenada, to Carriacou. This I have done before and know what to expect. I cast off at 8:30a. I had planned on 8a but my lines are so twisted up and around the mooring that I have to jump in the water and untangle the mess (the dinghy was already out of the water). As I wrap around the southwestern tip of Grenada a menacing dark front is threatening rain.
But somehow I outrun it and the main thrust of it misses me and I only get a bit of rain. The rest of the day is nice, mostly sunny and a steady 13-16kn of wind with limited swell. This leg is hard on the wind (as high upwind as JACE will go) and requires a few tacks to work eastward. Last time the waves were bad enough that I had to motor-sail a few sections. But today is better and I sail the entire way except for the last bit in Tyrrel Bay which is dead upwind – and I am tired. I make it there just as the sun sets at 5:30 – 9 hours non-stop and much of it hand steering as the autopilot struggles with that course. Thankfully I had planned ahead and made sandwiches for lunch. And now that my fridge is stocked, I cook a nice dinner.
Leg 2 takes me from Tyrrel Bay to Bequia, some 40nm to the NNE. With the trade winds blowing ENE today, this is once again hard on the wind. I can almost lay it but with the west setting current I get pushed off and do require a couple of tacks. You can see that well on the tracker (“Find Us”).
The weather is lovely with plenty of sun to charge the batteries and run the watermaker. The new setup on JACE is amazing, as I reflect on my day: propelled by the wind, power generated from the sun and used to make pristine drinking water and power all the systems (navigation, autopilot, stove, fridge, lights). Except for the 10min of running the Diesel at the beginning and the end, JACE truly has a zero carbon footprint.
It turns out to be a long but very pleasant sail. I get to know the boat better and better, get the sails trimmed to perfection and with essentially no lee helm, JACE obediently tracks upwind like she was on rails. Six knots upwind in just 13-15kn of wind for a 15ton heavy blue water sailor like her is pretty good. And the motion is very smooth and comfortable and I feel totally safe onboard. And, yes, I am wearing my life vest with the rescue beacon at all times.
After 8.5hrs, again much of it standing at the helm and steering by hand, I arrive in Bequia just as the sun is setting behind me. I use my tracks from my last visit to anchor in the same spot. I am exhausted and very hungry. So after a quick shower I go ashore and find a nice restaurant.
Quick update: fridge is not really getting cold. There are some things I need to change. Most of all the finger-thick venting holes between freezer and fridge are too small. In fact 3 of 5 of them are completely clogged with ice. And I need to rewire the fan to run independent of the compressor. Tomorrow is a lighter day with just a short sail. Hopefully I can address those issues after I arrive.