Azores to Lagos, Portugal

Lagos, Portugal

We began the last part of our crossing in cloudy skies, with a brisk wind on the nose. As usual, we started Berkeley East in the back of the pack to avoid the congestion at the start line. She built speed quickly and we began to pass the boats one by one, until we were in the lead about two miles from the start. It was exhilarating as we sailed past large cruising yachts in very close quarters.

As we cleared the east end of Sao Miguel, the boats headed to the UK and Northern Europe turned north, we said our goodbyes and settled down into what would be a difficult passage.

The winds were stronger than we expected, and were coming from the northeast, the direction we were trying to go. The forecast was for the wind and waves to build over the next few days, and then shift to north.

It was slow going. We were pinching close to the wind, trying to balance boat speed with the need to stay north. Berkeley East was going slower than some of the other boats, but she maintained a good position just south of the rumb line (shortest path). By day three, the seas and wind had picked up and we were bashing through the waves. Sleeping was difficult and most mundane tasks like showering and brushing your teeth were very challenging and time consuming.

To our south, we were approaching a series of sea mounds, underwater mountains where the sea floor rises quickly from over 4,000 meters to less than 50 meters. With the sea floor rising rapidly the waves can increase and start breaking, so this was an area we really wanted to avoid, given the seas were already over 15 feet. The wind continued to drive us toward the sea mounds. While some boats were tacking north to ensure they cleared, we held our course pinching to slow the push south. Then on day four the wind shifted slightly, allowing us to hold our position and pass the mounds safely. As we began to sail slightly off the wind, boat speed increased and we were not pounding as hard into the waves.

We learned one thing on this passage, Berkeley East is much stronger and can take rougher conditions than the people on board. We were all ready to be in port with over a day to go. Everyone was tired and bruised. On the last night, the wind dropped slightly, and shifted north so we fell off and we were making 8 – 9 knots with a double reef in the main and genoa. By morning, the sun was shining, we were shaking the reefs out and had almost forgotten about the pounding of the last four days. It was finally a great sail.

The last challenge was crossing the shipping lanes. As the large cargo ships, cruise liners and tankers transit to and from the Mediterranean Sea, they round Cabo de Sao Vicente at the south western tip of Portugal. This area of ocean is divided by a Traffic Separation Scheme that provides lanes for ships going north and south. We had to cut 20 NM across the TSS, avoiding all of these large ships. Fortunately, we arrived in daylight. Our electronics show all of the ships positions and also transmit our location, course and speed to them. Even with all of this, we had to talk to a couple ships and one changed course to avoid us.

Once clear of the shipping lanes, we sailed around the cape (Cabo Sao Vicente) and started dodging fishing traps on the last 15 miles to Lagos. We crossed the finish line 5 days and 6 hours after leaving Sao Miguel. the second boat to finish and first on corrected time.

Berekley East was the second boat to finish and placed first on corrected time.

We have crossed the Atlantic Ocean, sailing Berkeley East over 3,500 nautical miles, through some of the most difficult seas. Everyone was safe. We had a few minor repairs to make, and will travel Portugal by land, before heading on to Cadiz and the Mediterranean Sea.

Previous Comments 

28 Jun 2010

Irene Smith

What can we say – CONGRATULATIONS are definitely in order! Sorry the last leg was rough – sounded much like our whole trip from Charleston to Tortola last year – definitely not to be repeated!!! Enjoy your time on land – Andy and Irene