(December 3 – 8, 2017) On the first day at the Palmeira fishing port, many children wanted to watch our dinghy during our outing on the island. Not knowing what language to speak to me, the children tried to speak in simple French. I responded to them in English and assigned one child to watch the dinghy.

Cabo Verde used to be under Portugal; however, in 1975, it became independent. The official language is Portuguese but some people speak Portuguese-based Creole (Kabuverdianu). If heard, I wouldn’t know the difference.

On the street, vendors sell secondhand clothes.

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(December 4, 2017) We left the Canary Islands on Monday and arrived the Cabo Verde on Sunday. This trip is the third longest trip for us. It took 6 days and 10 hours (154 hours total) at sea, seeing and talking to only one human (John) and two cats. The distance was 764 nautical miles.

The arrival time was good. We had enough time to anchor and organize everything before sunset. After all was settled, we grilled fish for dinner and enjoyed it. We thanked that we had no boat issues during this trip. Maybe regular check/monitor, routine preventive maintenance,

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(December 3, 2017) We are aiming to arrive at Sal Island this evening. This island is located in the North East side among the Cabo Verdes. Our estimated arrival time is around sunset. I am not keen on entering a new harbor when it is dark but we will be cautious approaching our new anchorage.

Some say that Cabo Verde is “Africa’s Jewel in the Atlantic!” It comprises nine populated islands (out of a total of 15), about 500 kilometers (300 miles) off the coast of West Africa. The closest countries are Senegal and The Gambia.

We caught another Mahi Mahi fish (about 3 feet = 1 meter long) yesterday.

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(December 2, 2017) My night watch started one hour early today at 1am when John was trying to communicate to another boat via a VHF radio. This sailboat was right behind of us getting closer. He wanted them to know it. He spoke to the other boat and they changed their course to pass astern of us. This sailboat is 1.5 times longer than our boat (22 meters = 70 feet), making 9-11 knots of speed.

We have strong winds (15-20 knots) and bigger waves (2-3 meters = 6-9 feet) today. For safer and more comfortable night sailing,

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(December 1, 2017) John woke me up for my night watch which starts at 2am. I went to bed at 8pm after a dinner of fresh grilled Mahi Mahi with a glass of wine and slept deeply for the last six hours. We are still sailing with only one sail on the pole due to weak wind. The ocean is calm and the boat runs steady, still making 3-4 knots. This comfort let me slept through the whole six hours, all in one shot.

Waking up and checking outside around 2am, I saw about a 90% full moon,

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(November 30, 2017) It’s pure luck! We caught a fish yesterday: about a 20 pound Mahi Mahi. Lost the first fish, but the second one that we got was even bigger. It is not a Yellowfin Tuna but we are thrilled. It seemed there were a school of Mahi Mahi but we didn’t want to catch more; freezer space is an issue. Fresh Sashimi for us and both Cats. We grilled some fish for dinner. This fish is so beautiful in the ocean in colors of Aqua Marine, Blue, Green, and Yellow. Once we brought it up on the boat,

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(November 29, 2017) Prior to sailing to a new location, I usually gather information on wind speed/direction, wave speed/direction, tide, sunrise/sunset, moonrise/moonset, current time at the new location, and etc.

Moon set is supposed to be around 3 AM today. As I like night watch under moonlit, I stayed outside listening to an audio book (“Principles” by Ray Dalio, I like this book a lot, and this is the second time I have listened to it). Unlike intense sunlight, moonlit makes me absorb learning as a sponge does with water. After moon set, I came down inside to write this blog.

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There is no friend as loyal as a book. — Ernest Hemingway

La Gomera Island is a small and very steep island. On the first day that we arrived here, I wanted to stay here as long as I can. Nature is all around and children play at the park in the evenings. Grandfathers are seating on the bench with friends talking, playing cards, or just watching waves on the beach. People do their own things peacefully. Many tourists from the cruise ships visit for a day. Some long-term tourists seem engaged in their own spiritual activities.

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