Chispa's Atlantic Crossing

Departure was set for 10 am on January 3rd 2000, but was then delayed a few hours On starting the engines the water leak alarm of the starboard sail drive (propeller shaft) went off. We managed the impossible by obtaining a replacement seal on a public holiday. These seals supposedly have a 10-year lifetime. However to replace the seal, the yacht had to be taken out of the water. We planned to beach Chispa in the afternoon some two hours after high tide. Fortunately Chris had a brilliant idea whilst we were preparing for dismantling the engine to replace the main seal, to check the top seal. This top seal had developed a hole through which water had leaked from washing out the engine room. By sucking the water out of the sensor area, the problem was solved and the voyage could get under way. The send off was great with our own private Dutch 'Coon Carnival'. The second time around the send off was attended by rather a reduced audience, but just as emotional, watching little Chispa sail off into the distance. Jan continues: The crew consisted of myself (skipper), Mike (my son, catering manager, and chief cook), Chris, my son-in-law, chief engineer), and a friend, Erik Manson who at the age of 70 showed remarkable fitness. Hout Bay to St Helena - 1747 nautical miles (1 nautical mile = 1.85kms). The total distance logged from Hout Bay to Salvador was 3782 nautical miles. We left Hout Bay on 3rd January 2000 at 14.30 The weather up to St Helena was fair with generally light to moderate winds with the occasional force 6 - 7 winds. It was a relatively slow voyage with an average speed of just under 5 knots. Under spinnaker Chispa performs excellently. The voyage was largely uneventful except for the many mechanical and electrical problems, which were nearly all solved by Chris. Without his technical skills the voyage would not have been so smooth. The food was great, thanks to Ann's wonderfully prepared meals touched up by the magician, Mike. He has missed his vocation, though I suspect catering was an excuse not to work on his thesis. He also prepared excellent fish dishes of tuna and barracuda. The fishing was quite good with multiple strikes of tuna and barracuda. Filleting fish is quite a messy and time-consuming job. The highlight of the sailing to me was the evenings, with the wonderful night-skies. Even more satisfying was my attempt at celestial navigation when I came within 0.5nm (nautical miles) of the GPS (Satellite) position. Initially I used the old fashioned almanac method which according to the youngsters was almost as daft as taking a sun-sight in the first place, whilst having three GPS's on board. After re-mastering the old fashioned method of computing a position, I used a computer program; what a cheat. Other fun occasions were swimming in the middle of the ocean with wonderfully clear water with the colour of the sea underneath the boat reminding me of the Blue Grotto in Capri. The best news was to hear Di announcing her pregnancy over the radio that the baby due in September. Chris was not aware of this great news before the radio broad cast. ST HELENA: We arrived in St Helena on 19th January. After a couple of weeks at sea, it is amazing just how even the most windswept and barren outcrop can appear welcoming. Our first view of the island was the bare volcanic cliffs that drop sharply into the ocean. Exposed to the full force of the South Atlantic weather systems, no vegetation grows along this rugged coastline. St Helena can best be described as an island of contrasts. For behind its hostile outer shell, lies a lush green core, which is indeed very hospitable. This hospitality also characterised all the local folk, who from the port captain to the custom officials, shopkeepers and complete strangers were exceptionally warm and friendly. Quite a change from South Africa. Meeting the residents, or saints as they refer to themselves, was certainly one of the highlights of our five-day stay. Everyone tried their best to be helpful. Even when we lacked the local currency, they were quite happy for us to take their goods and come back later to pay. The capital, Jamestown, which is also the only town, rather resembles a movie set. Set in a valley between two steep cliffs, there is one road that runs the length of the town, with a couple of minor tributaries branching off. Most of the buildings are very old, with only a few erected in the latter half of the 20th century. Almost everything in the shops is imported from either South Africa or the UK. The population survives largely through the generosity of the British government. As there no airport facilities, tourism has not developed. The only means of reaching the island is the motor vessel St Helena which calls every six weeks. One day we hired a car and criss-crossed the island. The roads around the island are all exceptionally narrow and definitely single lane. Travelling uphill has the right of way, so downward bound traffic has to wait at strategic points until the road is clear. In theory this could work well, but for the hairpin bends (one so tight that we needed a three-point turn to get around) which leave little idea of what is up ahead. St Helena is steeped in history. We visited Napoleon's house, where he died. The property is still French-owned and maintained as the British refused to pay the high cost thereof. Mike and I attended a church service in the oldest Anglican Church in the Southern Hemisphere. Mike and Chris also had some good scuba diving. We left St Helena on 24th January after last minute e-mails and shopping. Initially dolphins escorted us, the, after a couple of somersaults they moved away. We made faster speed on this leg of the voyage. Barbecues and swimming broke the routine. On February 10th we arrived in Salvador, Brazil, having crossed the Atlantic flying the spinnaker all the way.

Brazil was a great joy mainly due to its fun loving people full of joie de vivre . The highlights were first, Ann's arrival and then Di's a week later. Erik left about a week after our arrival and made a quick visit to Rio before setting off home. Ann and I took off on a short trip to the Iquasu Falls on the borders of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. and then to Recife for three days. Iquasu is indescribably beautiful and is much more spectacular than either Victoria or Niagara. We stayed in a lovely old-fashioned hotel overlooking the falls, a bit like the Victoria Falls Hotel. We visited around, over and under the falls on both the Brazilian and the Argentinean sides - a very wet but fantastic experience. Recife was fun mainly due to the Carnival atmosphere. We watched the first Parade of the pre-carnival together with a reported one million people. Salvador The one thing very rife in Brazil and especially in Salvador is the mugging; even a cheap watch was a reason to be attacked. So no jewellery, even wedding rings, should be worn whilst on the streets. The Marina is about a km from the town; which is fine to walk along in a group during the day but a no-no at night. An elevator or funicular takes one from the port town up to the old city of Salvador, which is high up on a plateau. Morro de Sao Paulo We sailed over to this delightful island taking about six hours to get there thus making it Ann's longest trip on Chispa ever! We really enjoyed the little village and beaches away from the Carnival noise for a few days. Unfortunately Di had a bout of sunstroke but was fine to leave on their trip the next day. They rejoined Chispa some four weeks later in Barbados. Having Chris, my son in law on board was great fun too. Di's visit to Salvador and Barbados some six weeks later are something to treasure. Kim's later two-week stay in the Caribbean, afforded me a great opportunity in getting to know her better as well. It has really been a family affair Salvador to Barbados After dropping Ann at the bus terminal for the airport we left for Barbados on 11th March which was to become quite an eventful sail. The beginning was very rough with a strong North-Easterly on the nose; this coupled with a strong running SW running current prevented us making much headway. Sometimes after a double tack of 8 hours we landed in the same spot. Con, our new crew member from South Africa, became so seasick that he just wanted to die in peace. He asked to be dropped of in Receife. Fishing on this stretch was so good that Mike put his fishing gear away just to get some rest! The authorities in Receife were very accommodating which made clearing in and out very easy. We stayed on a swing mooring in the Pernambuco Yacht club for free. The people there were very nice and helpful In the evening we had a wonderful supper in the club. The next morning we dropped Con of and got on our way - just Mike and me. We could have waited for another crew member. As it was already doubtful that we would arrive in time for Di and Chris we decided to carry on regardless. However we need not to have worried as we made a very fast passage with an average speed of over 6 knots. Virtually all our daily runs were in excess of 150 NM with a top run of 169 NM over the ground. The doldrums we never experienced with the lowest mileage of 108. The only sign we had were very heavy tropical showers with wind speeds of 35 knots. We passed the equator in the middle of the night. This coupled with rough seas prevented my initiation of Michael. The North-Easterly trades were much stronger than I had expected with force 5-7 winds gusting up to 8 in squalls. The seas were very rough, making Cape Point look like a Sunday afternoon picnic spot. had my first taste of a flying fish as a brute flew smack in my face while I was steering in the middle of the night. Initially I did not know what had hit me. After wiping the scales of my glasses I had the satisfaction that the fish did not survive. A week from Barbados disaster struck when the auto-steering George gave up the ghost. Although I had the right spares, we could not get the broken parts out of the motor. After that it became a very tiring trip with me hand steering some 14 hours and mike the balance. This with constant sail changes, cooking and cleaning left no time for relaxation. Even sleeping was done on lounge couch as we dared not leave the bridge as the helmsman may have needed help for a sail change. I had an average of two hours sleep per night over the last week. Mike became a very good sailor that he would have done any racing crew proud. Sail changes were done single handed in less than a minute When we got to Barbados at midnight, I had only one objective and that was to drop anchor and go to sleep. However, because of the rife drug trade we had to enter port and tie up right under the port authority's scrutiny. Barbados is a lovely island with very friendly people. I never felt threatened like in Brazil and South Africa. They have a strange accent. If they really speak Bajan, one cannot follow them at all. The island is cricket mad; it seems the only topic of discussion. We were lucky enough to stay at a very luxurious marina called port St Charles managed by Sir Gary Sobers' son. The houses are from US$5 million upwards. It is not a commercial marina for yachts, basically for residents only. They build a few walk-on mooring from the outside breakwater in case some of the owners would have yachts in excess of 70 feet. In January they had a yacht of 200 feet. Each berth has its own diesel outlet. Barbados does not cater for the yachting fraternity with a total absence of a commercial marina or yacht club. Mike and Chris enjoyed their diving with often two dives per day. The marina even arranged to fill their dive bottles. Di and Chris have left for South Africa. Nick Brandon joined us as a crew member. At only 18, he was the toast of the local Bajan girls. I knew his father when we were founding members of a Round Table Club and later his mother through Guiding. Martinique was the next island we visited. A really beautiful island and very French; it only has one problem, too many Frenchman. Whilst one should not generalize, as a whole the people were the least friendly of all the islanders. Roads, road signs and other infrastructure were up to European standards. With Euro passports no entry requirements. Nice shops stocked with European goods. Currency is the French franc. Initially we were in a marina that holds 600 yachts, too big and impersonal. After a few days we anchored in beautiful anses (coves). Kim, Michael's fiancee joined us here. We visited a little town St. Pierre, which was totally destroyed in 1906 by a volcano eruption in which only one person survived, a prisoner in the dungeon. Some 30000 people lost their lives and is regarded as the most destructive volcano eruption of the 20th century. St Lucia was was definitely the most fun of all the islands with a two week jazz festival in progress. Free concerts in the main square of the capital Castries. The most fun area was Rodney Bay with many little restaurants and live music. The most beautiful areas were Marigot Bay and the towering Pitons where we were moored to a Palm tree. This way of mooring became a way of life thereafter. In St. Lucia Kim and Nick left us. Then Mike and I continued to St. Vincent. Ann and a couple from Hout Bay, Joyce and Neville joined us there. The rainy and hurricane season is supposed to start on 1 June. The weather gods must be able to read our calendar as the rain started promptly on that day and became frequent thereafter right up to the end in Trinidad We saw the unique St. Vincent parrot and the oldest Botanical Garden in the Western Hemisphere Then onwards to the Grenadines, an extended group of islands belonging to St. Vincent. The first island Bequia was the most fun of that group. We missed the most beautiful, the Tobago Cays as for three days running I turned back within two miles because of strong winds (force 7) and rain squalls. The final island in the Grenadines was Union Island where we cleared out. The highlights there were snorkeling and cocktails on a deserted little island followed by dancing to a steel pan band in the evening. Michael imitated a fakir by walking barefoot over a bed of nails. Just off Carriacou we found our idyllic, deserted island with a palm tree, beautiful white sand and coral reefs. Fresh oysters for snacks. Soon after arrival in Grenada Joyce and Neville left us. A night sail to Trinidad, Ann's first, with choppy seas and strong winds. At dawn we arrived off Trinidad with towering green cliffs both sides of the narrow entrance. We were accompanied by countless brown pelicans, which were following schools of fish. Trinidad is an eco-tourism paradise. Totally different fauna and flora from the rest of the Caribbean as long time ago it was part of the South American continent In Trinidad we met many South African yachts, including a handful from Houtbay, a small world. We spend a week on a jetty before the yacht was hauled out. This is big business in Trinidad as it is below the hurricane belt (12º North) for insurance purpose. Ann bought me a steel pan so I can drive the neighbours and the cats away at home learning to play the instrument. I managed only two lessons in Trinidad but I fear I'll never get anywhere near the local guys. Chispa was then left high an dry in Trinidad to wait out the hurricane season.

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