Captain’s Log

We have safely arrived in Cadiz, Spain. It was a bit of a wild ride in the last 24 hrs. Northerly winds off the coast of Portugal continued to build by the evening of the 29^th. We shortened sail, two reefs in the jib and two in the main. Seas built to 12 ft. Our seasoned crew took it like champs and by early morning of the 30^th we slipped into the lee of Cabo de Sao Vicente. Then conditions calmed considerably. Parker now has the speed record of 13.8 knots, but it was more about holding on then having any fun. The last breakfast underway was prepared by Pearse and Grace. Waffles and French Toast, interesting combo. The last 100 miles was a bit of a motor sail. I wanted to get in before sunset and we just made it. At 21:30 on the 30^th after 2928 miles of sailing from Bermuda, we arrived on the continent of Europe, completing Geronimo’s fourth transatlantic. We don’t have a lot of crazy stories, nothing major broke, didn’t run into any dangerous weather (Tropical Storm Alex we were at the dock in Bermuda). I attribute this to the hard work of all the crew. The Geronimo Program does not work without the full commitment of everyone aboard. Special thanks to the Bermuda delivery crew (Lila, Natalia, William) for getting the trip started and also to the Spring 2022 trip for delivering the boat up the east coast. For the next few days we will be tourists, planned trips to Cadiz, Seville, Puerto de Santa Maria and plenty of Spanish ham.

Andrew finally got his fish, less than 2 miles from the dock.

So here we are, 135 nautical miles WNW of Cabo Sao Vincente (southwest tip of Portugal). I think we are starting to get a bit tired, or maybe it’s just me. I think if we had another 1000 miles then mentally we could rally, but the mind and body know that the finish line is in sight. With any luck we could be in by sunset tomorrow (30^th). The last two days have been a slog. Winds have been light and way too far aft of the beam. Geronimo is a great sailing boat but light winds from behind in a big swell is not her strong suit. Lots of rolling and sails crashing every time a swell takes us off course. We have not made great time. Early this morning the winds finally filled back in from the north and we are back to crushing it. One reef in the main, one in the jib, speeds 9-10 knots. Forecast shows strengthening winds as we get closer to Portugal, probably have to shorten up some more. Everyone seems happy to keep sailing along but I feel we will need to dig a little deeper in the last 36 hours.

All are well. By midnight we hope to pick up the lights off Portugal, and I know that will give us the energy to see this voyage through.

Wednesday 10:30 (-1 UTC) 2655 miles sailed, winds N 25, seas 5-6 (building), speed 9-10 knots (One 2.5 lbs. bag of Costco Cashews done!!)     

Monday morning finds us just shy of halfway, 560 miles to go. But who is really counting? The last leg of the trip. Sailing for the past three days has been quite good, 10-18 knots from the north. As usual, things are changing, with considerably lighter conditions as we transition to the prevailing winds off the coast of Portugal. The plan is still to keep heading high of our direct course to Cadiz, and then bare away as stronger winds fill from the north. This will also let us take more advantage of the southerly Portugal current.  Life onboard has slowed down a bit. The past three weeks of travel have started to wear us down. Lots more napping in the afternoon and after night watch we race for our bunks. Andrew and South had a particularly cold and long watch the other night. They said time seemed to stand still. South has come up with an interesting way of getting through these long watches. It involves confusing yourself as to what time it actually is, and then mixing up the amount of time passed, and the amount of time still to come, and from there you always feel like your watch is almost over. Some sort of break from traditional consciousness. Hmmm? The galley keeps cranking out great food. Well, not exactly all the time. Grace, Kate and Pearse baked what might be the worst snickerdoodle cookies ever. I’m just reporting the facts. Adding more milk to the recipe, using frozen butter, first trying to bake the cookies on wax paper, not gimbaling the stove so everything ran off the pans and smoked up the galley. We were left with two pans of half burnt, half raw cookies and they didn’t even taste like snickerdoodle. Grace ate a bit down the middle of burned and raw and said they were not bad. Later she confessed to her stomach hurting a little. I love these guys!

Monday 10:00 (+0 UTC) 2360 miles sailed, wind NNE 5-10 knots, seas 3-4, speed 4.5 knots (Parker is sitting in the sun steering)