Nana
10-Aug-2008, Wolfratshausen, Germany

We're back in the fatherland now and slowly transitioning again into land-locked life... There are a few items which we still have on our list to post here as some kind of a "wrap-up"; here's the first installment - our year aboard Namani in summary (in somewaht random order...):

10,268 sea miles
360 nights aboard Namani
70 nights at sea
19 countries visited

4 broken toes (3 within first 10 days, 1 towards the end)

Longest passage with us 2 adults: Milos (Greece) to Malta, 6 days, 636 miles
Longest passage overall (3 adults): Atlantic crossing, 26 days, 3192 miles
Shortest day's sail: Mayreau to Tobago Cays, 3 miles

Easternmost point of cruise: Greece: Sifnos (Vathi) 024°41 E
Southernmost point of cruise: Grenada: Prickly Bay 11°59.59 S
Westernmost point of cruise: Florida: Fort Pierce 080°19 W
Northernmost point of cruise: Maine: Snow Island 43°49 N

Of our 360 days aboard Namani:
• 129 we sailed with friends on board
• 156 we sailed in company with another sailboat
• A total of 247 days (excluding overlaps) we sailed either with friends on board or in company of friends on another boat

Roughest conditions:
• Europa Point off Gibraltar - big, confused seas
• Atlantic crossing: 1 rough night mid Atlantic, big seas last 50 miles into Antigua
• North of St Vincent
• Barbuda to St Kitts - big following seas
• We never experienced more than a Force 7 (perhaps low 8) at sea

Sails
• 9 sails carried, 6 used
• Never used: storm sail, spare main, spare genoa
• Most used: Mainsail, #2 genoa, large staysail
• Used just once: spinnaker, small staysail

Most valuable equipment: tow/wind generator, Lego, Rocna anchor, SSB + Pactor modem, solar garden lamp as anchor light

Longest time spent in one place: 3 weeks in Fort Pierce, Florida, waiting for engine parts & repair; 3 weeks Jolly Harbour, Antigua after crossing and celebrating holidays

Biggest problems: (not too bad, considering)
• break in self steering with 1000 miles to go in Atlantic crossing; had to hand steer
• engine problems started with flooding through exhaust in Atlantic, later caused failure in Bahamas and Florida

Favorite places:
• Valletta, Malta
• Mahon, Menorca
• Tobago Cays, St Vincent & Grenadines
• Les Saintes, Guadeloupe
• Portsmouth, Dominica
• Grenada in general
• Bahia de Almodovar, Culebra
• Snow Island, Maine

Most scenic points of our cruise:
• Pitons, St Lucia
• Tobago Cays
• Snow Island, Maine
• Barbuda
• Culebra
• Cala Covas, Menorca

Most special sights:
• whales in Atlantic
• many dolphins off Lanzarote
• lunar eclipse inTobago Cays
• space station passing overhead, Florida,
• swimming with sting rays and turtles, Tobago Cays
• swim call in the open sea in water 3000 meters deep

Longest stretch of only anchoring: 36 days in Windward islands

Windiest anchorages: Canouan 32 kt winds, St Kitts 38 kts (measured at deck level)

Most expensive repairs:
• Engine repair US $750, Florida
• New bracket for self steering: US $630, Antigua

Best beer: Dogfish 60 Minute IPA, Maine
Worst beer: Anheuser Busch sampling, Florida
Best Mediterranean beer: Ichnusa (Sardinia)
Best Caribbean beer: Piton (St Lucia)

Things we would do differently next cruise:
• More solar panels and maybe a permanently mounted wind generator
• Keep a slower pace than we had in the Mediterranean
• Sign up with Chris Parker or similar weatherman / router sooner
• Get rid of hot water heater for more space
• Better insulate fridge
• Different wind vane steering system (we liked our old Windpilot's separate rudder but it was frequently knocked off course in big following seas)
• Anchor windlass set-up that can handle mixed rode (we had to manually attach / detach line from chain)

Things we liked most about our boat:
• Good mix between a hardy, sea going vessel and a roomy, livable home
• Spacious cockpit
• Small enough to be affordable (upkeep, bottom paint, marina fees), big enough to work well and be comfortable

Comments [1]