Blue water blog: Atlantic round trip on nine metres: from the Azores to Cuxhaven
Kristina Müller
· 30.06.2019
In August 2018, Lennart Burke and Valentin "Vale" Ahlhaus, friends and Melges 24 sailors from Stralsund, set off on an Atlantic tour with an old IW-31. After adventurous first stages to France, a Crossing the Bay of Biscay against the clock , Bay strolling in the Canary Islands and Cape Verde, they have your ship for the big jump prepared. I n 18 days they finally crossed the Atlantic and three months the Sailing in the Caribbean enjoyed. After all before the start of the second big push back to Europe some surprises and then a fast ride to the Azores.
After the Atlantic round in cruising mode Lennart Burke wants to take part in the Mini-Transat 2021. On YACHT online he reports on his way there.
It was a hasty departure and therefore not at all in our style.
We prefer to have everything important done as early as possible before the start of a stage so that we can set off with a clear head and without any worries. This wasn't quite the case before our last long stage to Germany. Of course, we didn't let ourselves get rattled, but a tight programme was still necessary.
After our reconnaissance day on Sunday, we were told that we would sail off on Wednesday at the latest, come what may. Our replacement hose for the paraffin cooker was also due to arrive on Wednesday, so that fitted the bill. On Monday we had to buy some paints to immortalise ourselves on the concrete of Horta like the other thousands of sailors. We also looked for an alternative for our paraffin hose so that we could possibly start on Tuesday, but couldn't find a solution anywhere. I spent half the day walking around Horta, going from shop to shop on the suspicion that there might be something there. Just like in the Caribbean. At the same time, Vale started to paint our picture and clarified "Andiamo" for the next big trip.
We started Tuesday with exactly the same goals: Finding a hose, painting a picture and tinkering with the boat. However, my father called in the morning and told us that the parcel had been on the island for a long time, but couldn't be delivered. It was immediately clear that we would look for the parcel on this island straight away and drive from post office to post office to do so. The plan really worked out, and so we installed the tube before noon, finished painting our picture, went to the market hall to buy fruit and vegetables and went to the Continente (supermarket) to buy any missing provisions such as milk and cheese.
On the way back to the boat, we stopped off again at "Peter Café Sport" and had a really hearty meal. So we really did manage to finish everything before nightfall and left Horta in a hurry, but with great satisfaction, at 7 pm LT on Tuesday 21 May and sailed out into the open Atlantic.
Day 1 - Wednesday, 22 May 2019
From a sailing point of view, it was a great start to what could be the last big leg. We have an average of six knots, sunshine and a pleasant sea. According to the wind forecast, it should continue like this all week. So "Andiamo" is stepping on the gas. I, on the other hand, had a very sleepless night. Excitement, cross seas near the islands and the sleep rhythm at sea were the main reasons for this.
We've only been below deck for about 20 minutes when a tanker appears about 50 metres in front of us. What a shock.
Day 2 - Thursday, 23 May 2019, Etmal: 153 nm
We had a drink and then a delicious toast. We had such good weather. I'm very glad that we left the Azores head over heels as quickly as possible, as nice as it was there. Vale is resting in his bunk. I still have to do the washing up and study for my sports boat licence. Then there's Panneköken! Big mishap: the cool box stinks of spoilt fish!
Day 3 - Friday, 24 May 2019, Etmal: 144.7 nm
Somehow sailing has become more normal than being ashore.
I had high expectations for this route, but after midday a turtle actually drifted past us! What is it doing out here, at a depth of 3000 metres and 600 nautical miles from the nearest land?
Day 4 - Saturday, 25 May 2019, Etmal: 169.8 nm
This morning around 0630 UTC I spotted two whales. Breathtaking spectacle. Took Vale straight out of the bunk. They broke the wave like a rock in the surf. Not far away, dolphins were also jumping higher into the air than I've ever seen before. Simply fantastic.
"Andiamo" is incredibly fast. Between half and full winds (at 4 to 5 Bft) we run a 7.1-kn average. This means we achieve our etmal record: 169.8 nm in 24 hours!
Day 5 - Sunday, 26 May 2019, Etmal: 139.6 nm
The AIS reported a German MMSI. That could be Mirko. Who would have thought it, after a while the AIS also spit out the boat name, and indeed it is Mirko. How cool. We set off from the Azores at almost the same time, but from different islands. Meeting up after five days was something very special.
It was bound to happen at some point: overcast skies, cold, drizzle and of course very, very poor visibility. I keep the AIS running continuously on the iPad to spot ships in good time. Mirko is around six nautical miles north-west of us the whole time.
Day 6 - Monday, 27 May 2019, Etmal: 129.3 nm
In the morning, I watch Mirko slow down considerably and fall behind us. We haven't been able to catch up with him for over 24 hours. Suddenly he is within hailing distance. I wake Lennart and disconnect the wind vane. We open the sails and chat for a while. That was sociable. We offered him all sorts of things, but he didn't want anything. He did take a lime for Cuba. What a coincidence that we met him here in the middle of the ocean. He was so fast because he had been sailing with a spinnaker until he broke the block in the masthead. But even with his small jib, he made almost as much speed as we did with the old genoa.
Later, pilot whales arrived. They stayed with us for quite a while and squealed excitedly.
Day 7 - Tuesday, 28 May 2019, Etmal: 138.6 nm
What a bummer - I've had a cold since yesterday. Well, the temperatures aren't that nice any more. I think I got dressed warm enough too late and took my chances unnecessarily.
Day 8 - Wednesday, 29 May 2019, Etmal: 134 nm
We reach the European continental shelf at around 12 UTC. We want to celebrate half-time, but can't find our festive meal, the tinned duck. Yeah: My cold has noticeably subsided. Unfortunately, I've been very unproductive for the last three days, but was able to write something on this blog today.
Day 9 - Thursday, 30 May 2019, Etmal: 128.9 nm
Unfortunately, the wind had dropped and a desired average of 5.5 knots was not possible under main and genoa. So I finally unpacked the spinnaker again and set it.
Magnificent, the way it stands there. Mirko is just trying to get a little closer to take a few photos. I hope that works out. He also told me about his breakfast, porridge with orange and cinnamon. My mouth is watering. Why hadn't I thought of this before? I really am still in the early stages of my porridge-making skills. I'm going to try Mirko's recipe straight away. Vale didn't get much sleep because Mirko and I had been on the radio since about 0400 UTC and it was too loud for him.
Day 10 - Friday, 31 May 2019, Etmal: 132.6 nm
Yes, we are in the English Channel. The swell has gone, unfortunately so has the wind. The horizon is a firework display. Cities shine in the sky, beacons flash and ships in roadsteads light up like cities at sea. That's not really a problem, the tankers and fishermen chasing us across the English Channel are worse.
The sun has been shining again for days and I was able to set the spinnaker for a few hours. Now, unfortunately, we're pretty much in the doldrums. When the current comes from astern, it's like a blessing. Fishing trawlers are constantly crossing us, sometimes travelling slowly, sometimes fast, sometimes turning to port and then back to starboard.
Day 11 - Saturday, 1 June 2019, Etmal: 136.8 nm
Vale: "Tidal sailing, with wind - fine. But now we're bobbing along at 2 Bft and ¾ throttle of the engine against a three-knot headwind!"
The journey is short. But we are so looking forward to arriving soon. My watch in the current was great. There was a lot of traffic, but I never had to take evasive action. Always between six and seven knots at half throttle. If you just watched the water, you might have thought we were only travelling at three knots.
Day 12 - Sunday 2 June 2019, Etmal: 127.2 nm
The fuss about Brexit seems to have had consequences. Not only is there hardly anything else to talk about with British sailors, but even the Dover-Calais passage seems to be untravelled ...
The wind is finally building up. At least the sails are up. I was really surprised by the canal: there's a lot of traffic from large ships heading towards the North Sea, but most of them stay in their shipping lanes, which we keep clear of. There are a few fishermen, but at night they all suddenly disappear and it seems really empty.
Dover was awesome. Far and wide, there wasn't a ship that could have got in our way - except for an oncoming sailing boat. They must all be scared of us. Now I'm looking forward to Rotterdam.
It's incredibly warm! At 0800 UTC-1H I'm already wearing a T-shirt and shorts. Eternal calm. I was able to set the spinnaker for 20 minutes. When the engine was finally switched off, a long series of manoeuvres began. We were able to use the spinnaker a lot and sailed along the fairways to Rotterdam.
Day 13 - Monday, 3 June 2019, Etmal: 129.9 nm
Now that we have passed Rotterdam, the biggest spook of the North Sea should be behind us. Accompanied by constantly changing winds, we wound our way through anchorage areas, traffic separation schemes and pilot areas. It all went smoothly, but required a lot of attention. And many, many manoeuvres!
The North Sea again proved to be very challenging. We were able to sail with plenty of spinnakers, which helped a lot with the oncoming current. Really few sailors on the way compared to the Caribbean! Despite the distraction of the manoeuvres, the end dragged on quite a bit - like the last few hours of a journey on the regional express.
Day 14 - Tuesday, 4 June 2019, Etmal: 149 nm
Once again, the wind left us overnight, even with an oncoming current. Finally managed to switch off the engine. It will probably still be challenging, as the wind is expected to shift to the east around midday - that will result in a cross. "Andiamo" and crew are otherwise doing fine. It's amazing that the boat shows no signs of fatigue, apart from the cooker hose and a few seams that need to be re-sewn. I am thrilled!
It's really no fun. We now have wind from the front and also the current. But now the wind is too weak to make good headway against the current, but too strong to make headway with our low engine power. Now we are sailing and motoring at the same time.
Day 15 - Wednesday 5 June 2019, Etmal: 106.6 nm
The German Bight gave us another whipping. The closer we got to the Elbe, the stronger the wind became and we had to tack hard. We had been crossing all day - now nothing was possible. In the narrow fairway, surrounded by commercial vessels and sandbanks alongside, we had to motor, but the wind and waves made that impossible. This time we realised this and turned away. We raced into the open North Sea with half wind and under storm jib and then actually wanted to return with half wind. But after a few miles the thunderstorms had passed through, the wind shifted and was gone. So now we just had to wait for favourable currents and head into the Elbe, past Cuxhaven and straight to Brunsbüttel.
We utilised the time under sail to the very end. However, we now had to moor in the lock. Yes, we were now making our first mooring manoeuvre after 15 days at sea. And it was in a lock. Everything was perfect: the lock gate was open and we were able to enter without any difficulties. What a pleasant end.
It was a great, challenging trip!
Looking back, the 15 days non-stop on the Atlantic, the English Channel, the North Sea and finally the Elbe were by far the most challenging of the entire Atlantic tour. The Atlantic was merciful and pushed us towards England at high speeds. Once we arrived in the English Channel, however, we were met with an unusual amount of traffic, very light winds, but again a lot of contact with the outside world. The satellite phone was no longer necessary. The North Sea really wanted to know it again: constantly changing winds, wind farms, oil platforms, currents and commercial shipping.
Then, just before the Elbe, the worst hit us. Delighted to finally be sailing into the Elbe after all the cruising and to have the harbour almost in sight, an unexpected thunderstorm front coming from the north gave us a hard time: With strong winds from the south and a strong current that ran with us but against the wave. Being so close to the end of the trip and then making the decision to be humble and weather it out further in the German Bight was really the highlight of this last leg and undoubtedly emphasised once again how challenging our home waters are.
Nevertheless, we made it and sailed with our "Andiamo" from Germany to the Caribbean and back again. It's interesting to note how much time we took for the two sections of the trip: Five months from Germany to the Caribbean, three months in the Caribbean itself and only 40 days back. That was a lot of variety. So now we just have to motor across the NOK and sail from Kiel to Stralsund (around 130 nautical miles).
A stone's throw, but more on that next time.
