Year 3 -22nd September 2026 - Sao Vicente, Cape Verde to Faial -Azores – Day 3

I had the 2.00am to 5.00am watch and it was a good watch as the moon was out for most of it, there were lovely stars and we were sailing well and generally in the right direction and there was phosphorescence in the water. I wrote the blog and checked the weather. We should continue to have wind until midday on the 23rd.

I slept well when I got to bed and woke at about 8.30pm. Dave was making pancakes which was nice so I had two with banana, Nutella and maple syrup- excellent. It was a lovely day and there was a good wind and were making good progress. The swell was reasonably low and there were the usual white fluffy high-pressure clouds.

Dave and Mark went to bed and Paul and John were on watch and they went through the daily checks. I looked at the weather again and Tropical Storm Fay is on the move Southwest and is now therefore moving away from us and our course and is now being downgraded into a low, so that is a relief and should not bother us. However, the African Easterly Wave will move off the African coast tomorrow and some models have it coming up to our position where we are now by Friday. Provided it does not develop further and we continue to move North this should also not trouble us either. The National Hurricane Centre states 

A tropical wave is forecast to move off the coast of western Africa 

tomorrow.  Although upper-level winds are not very conducive, some 

slow development of this system is possible while it moves generally 

northwestward across the far eastern Atlantic. Interests in the 

Cabo Verde Islands should monitor the progress of this system as 

gusty winds and areas of heavy rain are possible there by the end of 

the week.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...30 percent.

The formation chance into a Hurricane has gone up from 20 percent to 30 so still low. I also noted that as we arrive in the Azores there are a number of lows and one may pass through on the 28th September as we arrive bringing 30kt winds.  Hopefully this will pass before we get there. Things change every day and hopefully for the better as we make progress but something else to watch.  

Talking of progress the 24-hour run to 12.00noon was 187nm which is not bad going and we are beginning to make some miles from Cape Verde and we are now nearing the 1,000nm distance to Faial.

Mark made some houmous and we had this for lunch with tuna mayonnaise, avocado, meats and yes you guessed it -coleslaw.

I took over at 12.00noon and we were sailing well and a little off course as the wind backed a little. It then veered a bit and over time I built up 1.4nm safety net to the right of our course and then the wind backed and by the end of my watch it was 1.4nm to the left of our line and a deficit. However, over 1,300 nm this is not significant. I know we will have to motor at some point so we can make it up then. Whilst the fishing line went out we did not catch anything. Perhaps it is the speed or the lures – we are not having much luck in the fishing department.

The wind dropped a little on my watch as well so I rigged the staysail and so we had all 3 sails up for some hours as I can use the genoa and staysail together on a close reach. This probably gave us about an extra half a knot.  

Paul made a loaf of bread and we had tea and the rest of the banana cake at 4.00pm when I handed over to Mark & Dave.

We continued to sail well and fast and under 3 sails and John made a sort of Pad Thai dish with chicken which was very tasty. The sun gradually began to go down and sunset was about 7.30pm and it did not get dark until about 8.15pm which was nice. We took down the staysail to be more comfortable for the night.

I tried to rest as I was on at 11.00pm when I took over from Paul and John. They had just crossed Tropic of Cancer.

The Tropic of Cancer is an imaginary line of latitude located at approximately 23°27′ north of the Earth's equator. It sits at 23.5 degrees north latitude. It marks the northernmost circle of latitude where the sun can appear directly overhead. It crosses three continents: North America, Africa, and Asia. It passes through about 16 to 17 countries, including Mexico, Egypt, India, and China. We have therefore crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and Cancer since leaving Cape Town.

 The picture of the day is Stormbird with all 3 sails up charging through the sea heading for the Azores.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

I am now on the way to Cape Verde, Azores and back to the UK.  At present I am full and there will be a change of 3 crew in the Azores for the final passage back to the UK.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com