On this page we will share updates daily about our progress and the situation onboard. They will be posted when time allows.
Four months have passed since we made our landfall in the Caribbean on December 19th after crossing the Atlantic Ocean from east to west through the trade winds. More than ten months have passed since we left Sweden on June 11. With our heads full of memories, we feel ready to set sail again toward the ocean.
From Saint Martin, our plan was to head toward Bermuda, make a stop for some days before proceeding toward the Azores. We kept monitoring the weather twice daily since we got Lovisa back in the water and ready to go. The weather in the area of Bermuda has been unusually unstable. The cold fronts that are quite characteristic in the beginning of spring and that kept bringing strong winds and high seas between Saint Martin and Bermuda early April left the space to unusual thunderstorms. In the meantime direct routes towards the Azores opened. And so we decided to adjust our plan and head straight towards the Azores. The good thing is that Lovisa already knows that route. It will be her second Atlantic passage from west to east. She made her first one with her previous owners Ann Christin and Anders in 2012 on their way home towards Sweden after sailing Lovisa around the world. They left Saint Barthélemy on 20th April and reached Horta on 7th of May. They sailed the 2309 Nm that separates Saint Barthélemy from Horta in just 17 days and 9 hours. 5,5 knots average. That was a very fast passage.
Here is what we are taking with us for this passage.
Food: We are carrying same quantity of meals as for the crossing from Canary Islands to Bequia. At that time, the quantity was calculated for three persons and with that quantity the two of us managed to stay three weeks in the Grenadines relying mostly on our food onboard without having to touch our reserves. Going with same quantity should be largely sufficient until the Azores.
We will also try to catch some fishes on the way. We bought two new jigs to have in case we loose some. We have been quite lucky since the Canary Islands so we hope the luck will continue.
Water: We are leaving with full tank of water (200L) produced with watermaker and we carry an emergency reserve of 16 sealed 1,5L mineral water bottles.
Fuel: We are leaving with full tank of diesel, that is 130L and we have 160L of diesel in jerrycans stored on deck. So in total we have 290L of diesel that corresponds to about 6 days running on engine with motor consuming 2L/h at 1800 rpm. This corresponds roughly to 720 Nm if we are able to do 5 knots at that 1800 rpm.
The distances for a direct passage and its duration are as per below.
Distance from Saint Martin to Horta (Azores): 2230 Nm, approximately 18 days at 5 knots. We expect it will take a bit longer.
Our actual position on Marinetraffic and Vesselfinder will stop updating shortly after the coasts of Saint Martin and Anguilla will be out of sight. However we will transmit our position via Satellite with our Iridium GO every 4 hours and it will appear on our PredictWind tracker.
Soon it will be time to lift the anchor and set sail toward the horizon, towards a new chapter in this adventure. Wish us fair winds !
Day 1