Voyage of SY Nessaru

The 2024 voyage of a 39ft sailing yacht, Nessaru, from Barcelona, Spain, across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, via the Panama Canal, to Bundaberg, Australia.

22 June 2024 | Port Louis, Grenada
17 June 2024 | Port Louis Marina, St Georges, Grenada
20 May 2024 | Pasito Blanco, Gran Caneria
08 May 2024 | Puerto Deportivo Pasito Blanco, Gran Canaria
28 April 2024 | Rota, Andalucia, Spain
20 April 2024 | Almeria, Club de Mar
12 April 2024 | Port Ginesta, Barcelona, Spain
05 April 2024 | Port Ginesta, Barcelona, Spain
17 March 2024 | Port Ginesta, Barcelona, Spain

Voyage of SY Nessaru - Gran Caneria to Grenada

17 June 2024 | Port Louis Marina, St Georges, Grenada
Colin Maslen | Warm, occasional showers
We made it - we crossed the Atlantic Ocean! 2755 nautical miles in 25 days. We saw one whale, two turtles, birds, dolphins, and lots of flying fish. Five days after leaving the Canary Islands, we did not see another ship of any description for fourteen days - there was just the two of us in our 12-metre yacht, alone on a vast ocean. We did see strange lights in the night sky and an unidentified flying object - more about that later.

For 25 days we had no internet, no alcohol, and no chocolate. One week out from Grenada we started to run out of various items of food such as biscuits and canned fruit. But we were very conservative with fresh water and still have water in the tanks on arrival in Grenada.

For most the crossing, we had the wind on the port or starboard quarter, that is almost coming directly from astern, together with a two to four metre swell.

Sailing
After fitting our new mainsail, we cast off from Pasito Blanco, Gran Caneria, at 1610 on Tuesday 21 May, on an initial course of 245 degrees. By 2245 that night we fully furled the Genoa and reefed the mainsail to the 3rd reef in strong winds gusting 30 to 35 knots. (To reef a sail means to reduce the sail area and consequently reduce the pressure on the sail and the rigging. Nessaru's mainsail has three reefing points, each of which reduces the sail area by about a quarter. Our mainsail is filly battened, and our reefing system is "slab" reefing, which is probably the most common system. Some yachts have in-mast furling, and some even have roller furling inside the boom, but that does not work when you have battens - lengths of fibre-glass which slide into pockets in the sail and help to maintain the optimum shape of the sail).

For the first three days we followed a great circle track on a course of about 258 degrees, but then altered course more to the south to pick up the trade winds. Our best daily run was from 27 to 28 May when we covered 128.6 nautical miles at an average speed of 5.4 knots. Then the wind dropped and the best we could average over the next five days was 4.1 knots. By now were well south of the great circle track, and on 3 June we started to pick up the trade winds. We altered our course incrementally, from the south-west to more westerly as we got closer to the Caribbean.

For almost all of the passage, even when the winds moderated, we were riding on a large swell, averaging about two to four metres, in which Nessaru sailed with an uncomfortable rolling motion. Every so often we would be hit by a series of large waves, which usually came in groups of three to five, and occasionally we would be smacked by a monster which would throw Nessaru wildly off course and heal her over to about 30 degrees. Having said that, Nessaru proved to be a good sea boat and handled the conditions very well. Quite often, when we dared look astern, it seemed that we were abut to be swamped by a huge wave. But Nessaru seemed to hitch up her skirts and ride over them; not once did any wave break over into the cockpit.

For most of the voyage we had the wind and swell on the port or starboard quarter, that is, a few degrees from right astern. We sailed mainly with the mainsail full or reefed depending on the wind strength, and only occasionally used the headsail or Genoa. We tried using the spinnaker pole to set the Genoa on the opposite side of the boat to the mainsail, a configuration commonly referred to as a "goose-wing", which worked with some success. However, when the yacht was pitching and rolling in a heavy sea, man-handling a heavy spinnaker pole on the foredeck was too dangerous and so, for the most part, we kept the Genoa furled.

To reduce power consumption and avoid draining the services battery, at night we steered mostly by hand, only switching on the autopilot for fifteen minutes at a time to give ourselves a break after the first and second hours of the watch. As it turned out, that precautionary measure was not entirely necessary; the autopilot proved to be remarkably efficient, and towards the end of the voyage we were often letting it steer the boat hours on end, day and night. The solar panel also worked well and, as long as there was not too much cloud cover, kept the battery charged during the day.


Watchkeeping

We kept four-hour watches during the day and three hours at night. Unless there was a full moon, keeping watch on a dark night could be grueling, especially when there was no visible horizon and therefore no reference point, particularly from 2300 to 0200 and 0200 to 0500. The following watch from 0500 to 0800 was not so bad, because one got to see the dawn and sunrise.

Steering the boat in a heavy sea and strong wind requires a lot of concentration, and whenever the helmsman's concentration lapsed, the boat would veer wildly off course.

While off-watch, one could always be called upon to get up and help reef the sails whenever the wind increased. So we were often getting very little sleep. To say that we were tired would be an understatement; we were often exhausted, struggling not to fall asleep on our feet!

To be continued: In the next blog I will talk about strange sightings at sea, the EPIRB incident, our food and meals, our arrival in Grenada, and the curtailment of our adventure.
Comments
Vessel Name: Nessaru
Vessel Make/Model: 1991 Jeanneau Sun Charm 39
Hailing Port: Port Ginesta, Barcelona, Spain, changing to Mooloolaba, Australia
Crew: Colin Maslen, Michael Stewart and Gary Humphries
About:
Colin and Michael are retired Navy Commanders. Colin was a submariner, but also has above-water sailing experience in Australian coastal waters, the Mediterranean and the UK. [...]
Extra:
Nessaru is a 1991 Jeanneau Sun Charm 39, with a length of 39.33 ft or 11.99 metres and a beam of 12.76 ft or 3.89 metres. A Jacques Faroux design, the Jeanneau Sun Charm 39 was introduced in 1989 as a fast cruiser with excellent accommodation. These older Jeanneaus share a family resemblance to [...]
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Nessaru's Photos - Main
10 Photos
Created 22 June 2024
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Through the Strait of Gibraltar, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, passing between two continents
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Delayed in Port Ginesta, Barcelona, Spain
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Created 5 April 2024
SY Nessaru in Port Ginesta, Barcelona, Spain
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Created 17 March 2024
Preparations for the voyage of SY Nessaru continue in Spain and back home in Australia
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Created 23 February 2024
Nessaru undergoes a major refit
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Created 4 January 2024
Finding our yacht in Spain; Nessaru in Port Ginesta, Barcelona; Barcelona - the Sangria Familia Basilica by Gaudi
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Created 4 January 2024