St Lucia to Bonaire

We left the fuel dock at 1000 hrs and headed west on a run with an increasingly lumpy sea. We were going fast (for us) and continued this coarse of 270° for about 24 hrs.  We came to 230° to make it a broad reach and continued to make about 7 knots over the bottom. The sea became more smooth as we went south and we are sure we were getting an increasing boost from favorable current.  Some squalls but great sailing; could hardly be improved upon.  We approached Bonaire and rounded the southern end to pick up a mooring near the 'North Dock'. Went ashore to customs a little south of the dingy dock (at the water side pub).  All aboard must go to have passports stamped,; no fees, one stop, very simple an easy.  Bonaire is very different from the other islands we have been to. Much smaller and more laid back; most of the town is easily within walking distance.  The Harbor Marina is a must visit since they manage the moorings and collect the $10 per day fee. No anchoring is permitted anywhere here.  Our 'dock to dock' time was 3 days to the hour.    

Bonaire is very different from the other islands we visited.  It is much smaller, quite 'laid back' and seems to have little poverty. The shops are nice and seem to depend on tour ships.  Food here is good and the official money is the US dollar.  The water is extremely clear and bright pink flamingos are common as are bright green and red or yellow parrots. A three foot long lizard dropped out of a tree at our feet and scurried under a hedge as we walked streets in town.  Diving and snorkleing are the big things here as is sea salt production.  

Enjoy.   Phil,  SOPHIA

Off to the ABCs!

Sophia is off on her next adventure! On Tuesday (Jan. 30) she left St. Lucia with Phil, Jeffrey, and Bernie (the newest Sophianaut) en route for Bonaire.

Jeffrey, Phil, and Bernie
Ready to head from St. Lucia to Panama

The time in St. Lucia was rejuvenating for the crew -- settled sleep, showers, mornings at the cafe, afternoons at the beach, ziplining through the trees, and rum tastings. Ah, the life!  This time also allowed for mending of the main sail, welding of the windvane, and a few other repairs after a lumpy Atlantic crossing. She was shipshape in no time thanks to a diligent and knowledgeable crew.

Joan and Christine have both headed for home, leaving the guys to take Sophia to Panama. They will certainly be missing Christine's amazing cooking!

As of this writing (Friday, Feb. 3), they have just arrived in Bonaire. They plan to make a few other stops along the way, possibly in Aruba, Santa Marta, San Blas Islands, and finally Colon, Panama. You can watch their progress via the "Current Sailing Track" link on the left.

LAND FALL!!

At 11:45 PST Sophia and crew entered the snug harbor at Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, making the crossing 22 days on the nose.

Looks really Nice!

500 miles from St. Lucia!

Sophia is within 500 miles from St Lucia!!
We heard from Mom (Joan) last night and they were having a "you can count them on one hand" party. For those of use that have not been at sea for 18 days that means they can count the hundreds of miles on one hand now - it can feel so close!

The bad news was the Main Sail ripped near the top several days ago, forcing the crew to take it down. Without a main they have been slowed to about 4 knots per hour, but consistently logging about 100 miles per 24 hours. Luckily the wind has shifted more from ENE to the NNE allowing them to sail a more direct coarse to the west and St Lucia. The forecast appears to be for 10-15 knots of wind for the 3 days with building to 15-20  around the 15th. With this forecast we estimate Sophia and crew will make landfall this weekend!

Sophia's Crew Carries On Despite Wind Vane Failure

As the spot track indicates Sophia is now sailing 260 degrees (WSW) which is not toward the Cape Verdes. The crew assessed the breakage of the wind vane (the mechanical self steering equipment see photo below) ,the 3 day very rough beat back to the Cape Verdes and have decided to carry on for St Lucia.

They are hand steering, two people on shift for six hours. Just talked with Chris, they are not getting too tired and Sophia is still making 8 knots. The 12-15 ft Northwesterly swells from the North Atlantic storm that were expected to arrive today and make the sea state worse have not materialized. The weather forecast looks like they will be in more of the same (25+ kts and 9-12 seas from the ENE) for the next 2-3 days.

Click Here to check weather in the Atlantic where Sophia is currently sailing

Monitor Wind Vane Failure: The failure of Sophia's wind vane occurred at the weld that holds the water vane to the hinge (bottom of photo). The crew were able to recover the water vane because it was secured by the line used to raise it when not in use. Sophia and her crew still have 2000 miles to go to St Lucia and fixing this failure at sea will be very difficult. Any ideas out there?

Sophia Turns Back to Cape Verde

We (the land based crew) just received word from the Sophianauts via the satellite phone that they are heading to the Cape Verde Islands. The windvane self-steering has received damaged and is inoperable. Sophia is presently about 350 miles N/NW of the Cape Verdes, so will alter course to land there and repair the windvane. The winds are currently around 25 knots with 9-12 foot seas, so it will be a tiring 3+ days steering by hand to get to the Cape Verdes. Certainly a good decision, rather than continuing on 2000 miles without an operable windvane.

Despite this breakage, the crew is in good spirits with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s.

Sophia Leaves The Canaries

As of 4:30 am PST Sophia disembarked on her longest crossing to date from Las Palmas to Saint Lucia. The weather report was for 10-15 knots from the Northeast. The crew - Joan, Jeff, Phil, and Chris. Track them on Spot.