Year 3 -28th September 2026 - Sao Vicente, Cape Verde to Faial -Azores – Day 9

I was on watch at 2.00am and we were now into the front which Mark & Dave had started on their watch. Paul and John had us 145 degrees off the wind which was too much and I brought it back to 135.

Then the front started in earnest with the wind increasing from about 24-28 kts to 30, 32 and then 38 kts at one point. This was higher than forecast which stated a maximum of 34 kts which is the start of a Force 8. The sea state to start with was relatively light 1-5-1.8m but over time increased. The front was to be in two sections the first being 2.00am to about 9.00am slot when the wind would be at its strongest and as stated the maximum was 34 kts forecast. The reality was that it was higher and Mark saw 46kts at about 7.00am. The rise in wind brought bigger waves and we started to see 3m plus waves. Mark and Dave were to take over at 5.00am but at 4.40pm I called Mark up early as we had been broadsided by two waves which had pushed us right over on to our side. We reduced sail and also changed our angle to the wind to make this less likely to happen again.

We sailed on dealing with these high winds and seas. I could not sleep a wink when I went to bed so got up and Dave made some scrambled eggs.

The day brought into light the stormy and disturbed seas which looked a bit like bubbling cauldron. The first phase of high winds stopped about 9.00am leaving a period of 28 kts winds before phase 2. I had checked the weather again at 8.00am and phase 2 had been brought forward to about 11.00am and was due to stop about 6.00pm when the system would blow through and the winds gradually reduce. The sea state would take a bit longer to reduce. At least that was what was forecast.

We made various course changes and the wind was forecast to veer from about 180 degrees to 345 degrees during the course of the day and night. The aim was to sail left of the line to the waypoint and as the wind veered we would sail back on to the line going right as we set the autopilot to wind vane mode so if the wind changed so would our course.

The waves by about 12.00noon were 3-4 m and breaking. They would crash over Stormbird from time to time and we set out course to try to minimise this. The 24 hour run to 12.00noon was 167nm. 

After lunch I went to check the weather again but the mini Starlink Julian had left did not work. I thought it was supposed to be waterproof so I do not know what had happened. This meant I had no access to weather information. I had a satellite phone and called my brother to let him know we were ok as our tracking page would no longer work and I could not post blogs until we got connectivity. This was very annoying.

Stormbird was handling it very well but taking heavy punishment. Some waves would crash over and send a wall of water crashing on to the coach roof and over back. It was as if someone was throwing about 15 buckets of water in one go over us. Others would send green water over the deck and it would rush down the deck and you could hear the drain holes gurgling and struggling to deal with the amount of water on the deck. All we could do really was carry on -she was coping and looking after us. It is not a pleasant feeling and you would rather be somewhere else in times like this.

Phase 2 started about 11.00am-12.00 noon and was supposed to lessen about 5.00pm -6.00pm. These times came and went and it would not abate. It was not until about 7.30pm when the wind finally stopped gusting to 35 kts. It started to decline but it took a number of hours before it was steady and under 25-28 kts. The sea state also took several hours to decline.

The experience of being in this low was not pleasant. We had discussed it and said we could cope and we did. The star of the show was Stormbird who lived up to her name and kept us safe but she took quite a battering.  I reflected on the whole experience and thought that we could have avoided it but chose not to. I am not sure it was a wise choice as we all took a battering. The sea and elements are so powerful. Stormbird was moving so much in the swell and with the wind doing anything is very tricky. It was not safe to venture on deck really and we had to put things away which had come loose from time to time. Moving down below, making tea, cooking and just walking about are all much more difficult.

We had heated up sausage casserole for supper so it was easy and warming. Everyone was tired and suffering from lack of sleep.

Once phase 2 had finished and after supper we headed on a course we thought we could sail toward the end of Pico Island. From there we could motor across to Faial.

We put in a waypoint and set off. The sea state had already subsided a bit but was still very rolly. The wind was fickle and it kept changing direction a bit and strength. It would be 18kts one second and then within a few was back up to 32 kts and so the sea state was still 3-4 m but not so close together. We just set the best course we could as it will take us until the morning to get to this waypoint and then on to Faial. We were all tired and we had had little sleep so we got into night mode and carried on as best we could.

We will see how far we get and hope to be in Faial by lunchtime.

 The picture of the day is the sea state. The waves never seem to show in pictures.

 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