Second Star to the Right

S/V Agua Dulce sails around the world in search of Neverland

Vessel Name: Agua Dulce
Vessel Make/Model: Hylas 54
Hailing Port: Park City, UT
Crew: Charles & Gretchen Cunningham
About: Charles is a retired lawyer from Dallas who started sailing Sunfish in Corpus Christi, TX when he was a boy. I'm Gretchen, and I was a stay-at-home mom who doesn't stay at home much anymore. I fell in love with sailing on our first bare boat adventure in the Caribbean 30 years ago.
Extra: Special thanks to Peter Pan for inspiring generations to stay young and keep searching for their own Neverland.
15 December 2019 | 14 04'N:60 57'W,
12 December 2019 | 14 18'N:59 07'W,
11 December 2019 | 14 39'N:56 13'W,
10 December 2019 | 14 56'N:53 33'W,
09 December 2019 | 15 15'N:50 25'W,
08 December 2019 | 15 31'N:47 45'W,
06 December 2019 | 16 15'N:42 29'W,
05 December 2019 | 16 41'N:39 38'W,
04 December 2019 | 16 54'N:37 13'W,
03 December 2019 | 17 31'N:34 13'W,
02 December 2019 | 17 51'N:30 58'W,
01 December 2019 | 18 12'N:28 13'W,
28 November 2019 | 22 18'N:20 41'W, Between the Canaries and Cape Verde Islands
28 November 2019 | 23 36'N:19 48'W, Between the Canaries and Cape Verde Islands
28 November 2019 | 24 49'N:18 12'W, Between the Canaries and Cape Verde Islands
28 November 2019 | 26 12'N:16 25'W, Between the Canaries and Cape Verde Islands
28 November 2019 | Between the Canaries and Cape Verde Islands
27 November 2019 | 23 28'N:19 54'W, Between the Canaries and Cape Verde Islands
Recent Blog Posts
15 December 2019 | 14 04'N:60 57'W,

Log Day 20 Ð Hello, St. Lucia!

Log Day 20 Ð Hello, St. Lucia!

12 December 2019 | 14 18'N:59 07'W,

Log Day 19 Ð Last Full Day at Sea

All of us are extremely excited to get to the marina in St. Lucia. We've been talking about what will be the first thing we are going to do after we arrive and get the boat tied up. It's hard to say right now. Agua Dulce has been our cocoon for the last three weeks, and she has seen us safely 3000 miles [...]

11 December 2019 | 14 39'N:56 13'W,

Log Day 18 Ð Two more night watches to goÉ

12pm

10 December 2019 | 14 56'N:53 33'W,

Log Day 17 Ð Are we there yet?

10am

09 December 2019 | 15 15'N:50 25'W,

Log Day 16 Ð Counting down the miles!

We have broken the 700NM to go mark, and at 750NM to go, we were three-quarters of the way to St. Lucia. During my 11pm-1am watch tonight, we should break the 600NM mark as well. We're all getting excited to be in the Caribbean! I wish I had downloaded some steel drum Christmas music to get us in the [...]

08 December 2019 | 15 31'N:47 45'W,

Log Day 15 Ð Squalls + Swells Lack of Sleep

It was a wet and squally night. We had lots of rain and gusts in the 30's, but it was all manageable. The worst part about squalls is that when they pass they suck the energy out of the air, and we have practically no wind for a time. In addition, the seas were extremely rolly last night and they have [...]

Log Day 10 Ð Rockin' and Rollin'

03 December 2019 | 17 31'N:34 13'W,
9am
We're sailing and making good time, but the seas have built and are really rolling the boat around and throwing things that aren't lashed down around with a vengeance Ð including your body if you aren't hanging on. We only lost one coffee cup today, so that's still a victory in my mind. These are the days that you just want to get through.

We broke the 1600NM to go barrier, and will break 1500 before sunrise tomorrow. Every 100NM closer is cause for a little celebration.

12pm
We poled out the genoa to sail wing on wing now which has really settled the boat down. It's still rolling a bit, but much calmer. We're sailing at 7-8 knots in 20-25 knot winds from the east. Swells are 6-9 feet. They are gentle, but look big as they rise up beside and behind the boat. We've continued to sail like this all day long and probably will through the night.

We're still having issues with the generator stopping unexpectedly, and we still think it is a fuel issue Ð clogged line? air in the line? It's hard to troubleshoot when you're on the floor leaning into the engine room and the boat is tossing you around like you are in a washing machine.

Speaking of washing machines, I'm really missing ours right about now. The dirty clothes and towels are starting to pile up, and there's no great place to store them. I was hoping to use our washer during the crossing, but that's a no go without the generator. In a boat, so many systems depend on each other Ð the generator for 220V power to run certain things like the washer and air conditioner, and also to charge the batteries that run the water maker, autopilot, radar, navigation lights, and numerous other things. We still can run the engine to charge the batteries, so anything that runs on DC power can still be used. Of course, we have no internet to research how to deal with problems that arise. One of my daughters has been sweet enough to be my google search engine when I email her with an issue. Thanks, Cath! But, we have redundancy on things that are critical to make a safe crossing. The washer, however, is not one of the redundant items!
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