#catamaransailing #leopard48catamaran #sailing
Antigua here we come! 1700 miles in 12 days of pure ocean sailing.
Pilar and crew left the Hampton dock at Blue Water Marina at 4 AM November 2 to catch the outgoing tide. We navigated our way out of the Chesapeake Bay harbor in the dark of course. Surprisingly for such a busy harbor, there were unmarked bouys we had to spotlight. Waters were rougher than we had planned. But we were glad to be on our way. Our previous departure window of 10/28 had been delayed and we had been watching for the best weather window to cross the gulf stream and sail east as far as possible in order to be in the right position to pick up the trade winds south of Bermuda.
We had about a day delay in the "parking lot" as many rally members called it, waiting out Hurricane Tammy that was dissipating in the Bermuda area.
Gulf stream crossing was actually some of the calmest water of our entire trip.
Fish caught include Mahi and Wahoo.
We hit the trade winds Thursday around 430 PM. From then on, it was pedal to the medal sailing. 20-25 knot winds between 60-90 degrees off the wind. Constant speeds around 9-10 knots until we hit the Antigua harbor.
With this trip, the crew on PILAR have all achieved Ocean Status as sailors.
TIMELINE:
00:00 Introduction
00:17 Salty Dawg 2023 Caribbean Rally - we departed Hampton VA 4 AM - 11/2
01:05 Previously...Provisioning for Atlantic crossing - 11/1
02:17 Catching our first mahi - 11/4 - Day 3
04:39 Night watch - 11/4
05:50 Engine won't start! - 11/5 - Day 4
06:35 Trip Update - 11/5
08:16 Sail Work - 11/6 - Day 5
10:20 Ocean
10:40 Well Trimmed New Sails - 11/7 - Day 6
11:48 Parasailor in light winds - 11/8 - Day 7
12:40 Fishing Rig Setup - 11/9 - Day 8
15:45 Wahoo catch!
16:22 Sunset on the Ocean is 5 PM!
17:02 Trade Wind Sailing and Rough Seas - 11/10 - Day 9
20:50 This is not a race - 11/12 - Day 11
22:15 Land! - 11/13 - Day 12
25:25 Trip Statistics
26:18 Salty Dawg Rally Boat Tracks
FULL BLOG POST: bluedotvoyages.com/sailing-17...
LINKS:
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COMPLETE PLAYLIST: SAILING & CRUISING VIDEOS
• Sailing Pilar Episodes...
CATAMARAN MAINTENANCE VIDEOS:
• Catamaran Yacht Mainte...
Blue Dot Voyages is a Sailing Adventure Company. We recently packed up our belongings, sold our house and moved on to our Leopard48 Sailing Catamaran PILAR, where we are traveling the world. We offer travel advice as well as boat maintenance tips. We offer charter sailing experience trips when we can. Watch our videos and live vicariously through us!
Master Captain: Stephen Bell
First Officer: Dawn Bell