Sailing from Nicolau Island to Vicente Island was rough and tough because of big waves. Autopilot, our favorite crew worked hard! We let it drive the boat and stayed inside of the boat keeping us dry. Periodically, John went to outside to check the sea and the surroundings.

A couple of hours into the trip, John asked me to come out to see a small local boat with a homemade sail (smaller than the size of the waves) sailing alone in the heavy weather, far away. At first, I thought it was a sailfish. OMG! I was uneasy seeing such a small boat sailing alone in the big waves,

…

Continue Reading >>

On Boa Vista Island, we experienced big swells at the beautiful sandy bottom anchorage (Sal-Rei Anchorage). Wanting to see the island, we went to shore carrying up our HEAVY HOMEMADE HARD dinghy to the beach.

Departing from the beach back to the boat, lots of children voluntarily came to push the dinghy into the water. Once the dinghy was close to the water, a couple of kids were already on the dinghy for fun.

With waves and the motor running, John was worried that someone would get hurt. A local swimmer/fisherman helped the situation telling the kids get off from the dinghy and towed the dinghy to waist depth water.

…

Continue Reading >>

(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.

…

Continue Reading >>

(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,

…

Continue Reading >>

(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.

…

Continue Reading >>

(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,

…

Continue Reading >>

(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,

…

Continue Reading >>

(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,

…

Continue Reading >>

(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.

…

Continue Reading >>