Atlantic Crossing – Week #3

Distant Horizon was sailing north-northeast. The weather service told me the winds would change once the storm had moved off. I did not wait for that change! I knew I was far enough south that I had to start moving north. Besides… Now the wind would be on the beam. That is, it would come from the side rather than behind the boat. Distant Horizon loves a beam reach!

It was April 29th. I had been at sea for 17 days. It was surprising to me. One day ran into the next. I thought about that and deduced that one day crashing into the next was the real cause of the squalls… not literally… however, your mind takes a slightly different path of reasoning after a long period of solitude. It was a fun mental exercise. I was comfortable in most conditions and had not realized so much time had passed.

The weather service must have checked on my progress because I received a text message telling me to stay below 33 degrees north and continue making progress to the east. They would send an updated weather forecast later that day.

Dan Weather

I mentioned previously that I was accustomed to doing my own weather. What I didn’t mention was “Dan Weather”. Dan was a good friend I met while in Virginia. He was always tracking my progress. He gave me relative information that I was unable to get on my own without great effort. That is, I knew there was a storm north of me… He would tell me how the storm had moved and my position relative to that… and also the projected winds along my path. Sometimes he’d tell me if I headed east, the impact of the storm would be less, etc.

I didn’t wait for the weather service forecast. It will be great when it arrives. It always contains great detail.

For now, I sent Dan a text. From him, I will have a great synopsis and a view of the big picture and how it affects my immediate position.

Cold Front

Dan told me he thought there was a Cold Front headed my way and the weather east of my position would be better than continuing north.

Distant Horizon was sailing so well on the beam reach. I felt like I could reach out and grab Sao Miguel in a day or so. Begrudgingly, I turned Distant Horizon east…

The Storm

The green pin is my current position. The colored lines represent my original plans. You can see if I did not divert south, I would have headed directly into 40+ kt winds. I was in a safe location. Although there is light wind to my east, that would go away as the storm approached. It was the remnants of a High-pressure area. So, it will absorb some of the storm before it is gone completely.

The next few days were littered with lots of small squalls. “Dan Weather” was right on! A cold front was crossing my path.

This was confirmed by the weather service’s forecast, which I received hours later. They suggested I continue east until the cold front passes. Then the winds would be more favorable for sailing north to the Azores.

Atlantic Storm After It Had Moved Off To The Northwest, The Cold Front To The Southeast

The image above shows Newfoundland in the upper left, and the Iberian Peninsula to the right. It shows how large the storm really was; taking up a large portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The diagonal blue to the southeast of Ponta Delgada is the cold front.

Storm Has Passed

It’s all past me now. Distant Horizon was sailing northeast. There was just one evening with winds over 30kts. I knew if conditions deteriorated more, then I could bale out to the east. It worked out well. Distant Horizon made great progress toward our destination.

On the morning of May 4th… Day #22… I was straining my eyes looking for land. We had traveled almost 3,000 miles looking for a small island in the Atlantic Ocean. I knew I was close. Nothing was visible in the dense grey of the ocean panorama. I calculated and figured the island should be visible on the horizon. I was close enough.

Then, I looked to the left and saw the shadow of a headland. It was the western edge of Sao Miguel. My heart was racing. A major milestone has been achieved.

I reminded myself that most auto accidents happen within 10 miles of home. I needed to remain focused.

Land Ho! My First Sighting of Land in Three Weeks

I had made contact with the Ponta Delgada Marina to tow Distant Horizon into the harbor. All I had to do was call them on the VHF radio when I was approaching the island.

It was raining on the island of Sao Miguel. I need to find the entrance to the Ponta Delgada Harbor where the tow boat will be waiting for me.

Ponta Delgada With The Clouds Hanging Low Over The City

What a relief! I made it! I was in the Azores!

In hindsight and truth be told, with my knowledge of weather and “Dan Weather”, I really didn’t need the weather service. The greatest benefit of the weather service was not their routing, or weather forecasts… it was their detailed synopsis. They explained the “Big Picture” in such detail; saving me lots of time downloading and evaluating weather data. For that, and that alone, I think I would use them again.