Najad 460 passage from Sweden to the Caribbean
Infinity & beyond!
Since my first introduction to ocean sailing in c1950 when my father acquired the bermuda cutter Patna built by Camper & Nicholson in c1922, I have hankered after sailing across the ocean to foreign parts. However, the need to apply myself to a successful career in order to have the wherewithal had to take priority. In the interim, I took every opportunity to conserve my holidays for the sailing season. This initially involved dinghy regattas but in c1980 progressed to acquiring a Freedom 40 followed by a Hallberg Rassy 39 in c1992, which I cruised around the British Isles and French coast of Normandy & Brittany.
The ability to realise my lifelong goal came to fruition in c2002 when I acquired a Najad 460 from Orust, Sweden which at the time was widely considered to be the upper limit for a couple to manage. However, for the shake-down passage from Henan to the Hamble, England, we called upon our good friend George Malony to join us. We slipped our lines in early June, to make south for the Keil Canal which after an overnight stop in Denmark, channelled us through to Cuxhaven, Germany. This was a requirement of Volvo to enable one of their engineers to undertake the initial engine service. Following this, we continued on passage around the Hook of Holland for North Foreland, Kent and finally down the English Channel to complete the 750M passage to the Hamble. The weather was far from idyllic with a challenging W/NW 5/6 under bleak grey clouds and temperatures more synonymous with winter.
Following George’s departure and the survey for Song of the Sea's registration in Jersey, Jan and I, set sail to Falmouth Cornwall where we were to meet up with Jan’s father and stepmother. The town is the perfect venue not only for provisioning but making for the north coast of Spain. So far, the Summer weather had been exceedingly disappointing and despite a brief interlude in mid July, made us concerned about conditions in the Bay of Biscay, particularly in the light of a deep depression fast approaching the British Isles from the Atlantic. I telephoned the Met Office for a personal forecast and was told that if we made haste, we should be far enough south to avoid the severe weather and take advantage of an albeit strong but following northwesterly wind.
As a result, we slipped our lines in Falmouth with a northwesterly force 4 on the 22 July and headed south/southwest past the Lizard for Cape Finisterre with Jan's friend Jane Brenchly and an old sailing mate of mine from Freedom of Mann days, John Franklin. Falmouth Coastguard bid us bon voyage and we settled down into a three hour-on, three hour-off watch system with Song of the Sea speeding along at 7 1⁄2 knots under our delivery sails comprising of a Dacron mainsail and twin jibs. We had a full complement of high tech. spectra sails stowed in the forecastle but didn’t wish to use them until the Caribbean.
Visibility was good and the weather fair. However, off Ushant it started to deteriorate with Song of the Sea creaming along under Simbo Rig with reefed main & twin jibs in a Northerly 6. The boat revels in these conditions and cut through the turbulent sea at 8 knots like a knife through butter. Sleeping off-watch was tiresome but you can't have it both ways! We cheered ourselves with the thought that the more southing we made, the more clement the conditions would become. However, nobody forecasted the 'pea soup' fog we came across some 20 miles off Spain and as a result it wasn't until half a mile off Sada Marina that we spied land! The 435 miles had taken 62 hours and we were left thrilled by the performance and sea worthiness of our Najad 460.
Following Jane and John’s departure and our savouring the delights of Sada, we slipped our lines for Camariñas, a small fishing village in a dramatically beautiful estuary just north of the fabled Cape Finisterre. We should like to have lingered longer but felt a compelling desire to round the notorious Cape before 'Father Neptune' turned sour. The weather necessitated an initial motor-sail for a couple of hours before picking up the forecasted NW 7 to power around Cape Finisterre. We were in the company of a fleet of yachts which had been waiting for a weather window and it was gratifying to see how swiftly we overhauled them under the Simbo Rig on our downwind run. With time on hand, we whiled away the lazy summer days in the Spanish rías for 3 1/2 weeks whilst meandering south to Bayona. The balmy weather afforded blue skies and sunshine which regrettably gave rise to fog on coming into contact with the cool south flowing current, a common curse on this coast which was to hound us down the Iberian peninsular.
The cities of Porto and Lisbon are must-visit locations. We called into Póvoa de Varzim in respect of the former followed by Cascais with its equally convenient marina. We had been given to believe that the Portuguese authorities would be officious but this turned out to be a fallacy. From customs officers through to taxi drivers, we found the Portuguese helpful, hospitable and by far our favourite Europeans. However, on sailing down the coast, we came to realise the importance of retaining a close watch on the Atlantic weather for approaching depressions as these bring about southwesterly swells which create havoc in the west-facing marinas, such as Sines.
Following an overnight Simbo Rig run down the coast to Cape St. Vincent, we were able to bear-up on a reach along the south coast for Lagos. It has an excellent marina where one can safely leave a yacht and be within easy range of the international airport at Faro. It is also a good port from which to depart for Madeira and the Canary Islands. We slipped our lines from there for Porto Santo in light northeasterly winds to cover the 413 miles over three days. On arrival we found the marina full, so anchored in the harbour. Here we met with a close encounter following another yacht subsequently anchoring late at night ahead of us. On its departure next day when we were ashore, the yacht tripped our anchor and continued to sea. As a result, Song of the Sea was left to career off for the rocks along the harbour wall. Fortunately, Chris & Julia Pollard on yacht Mokusiga, had the presence of mind to call up the marina launch which came to the yacht’s rescue whilst we caught up with Song of the Sea in our dinghy with its 6hp outboard motor at full revs, to re-secure her on a then available mooring. It was a very salutary lesson for us, since when we have never permitted another yacht to anchor on top of us regardless of the hour or the circumstances!
Porto Santo is charming and worthy of a longer stay but we decided to make for Isla Graciosa at the northern tip of Lanzarote after only a couple of days. There was a deep depression approaching across the Atlantic and as a result our proposed visit to Madeira was deferred for another occasion. On a moonless night, we laid a course of 155° in a northerly force 6 under full Simbo Rig. It was as 'black as ink' as we charged through the mounting seas at 8-9 knots, beset by squalls and heavy cloud bursts. The 246 miles passage was covered in 39 hours which again left us mightily impressed with the Najad 460's scintillating sailing performance. She revels in strong winds and big seas like a runaway stallion with the bit between its teeth! However on rounding Isla Graciosa we made the mistake with our previous lack of experience in handling in-mast furling, in striking the mainsail on the wrong tack. We have since learnt the importance of furling it with the mast-slot open to the in-rolling mainsail and avoid hauling it around the mast slot on the alternative tack. Also, not to over-power the outhaul on setting the sail but rather allow the wind to naturally unroll it out of its mast stowage followed by final trimming with the winch.
Our objective for the first sector of our Atlantic crossing was Puerto Calero in Lanzarote. It's a well-managed, upmarket marina with excellent boatyard facilities. As a result, yachties are advised to book well in advance if requiring an autumn berth. In addition to the facilities, we were also able to make inexpensive flight home to the IOM in the knowledge that the yacht was in safe hands.
On our return from the UK in November, we had a memorable moonlit passage to Las Palmas in a north easterly force 5 with an appreciable northwesterly swell, to cover the 100 miles in twelve hours. On arrival we were shoe-horned into a harbour wall berth by zealous ARC officials, like a sardine in a tin! There was exactly one week to the start of the ARC and we were full-on finding adequate time to attend to the informative lectures plus provisioning the boat and preparing her for the Atlantic crossing. When the big day arrived there was hardly a breath of wind until the evening when we were beset by a gale. Song of the Sea was in her element and sailed through her class with relish. However, this turned out to be a disadvantage, as we were down to 24°N before we heard that those behind had turned for St Lucia at 25°N on the strength of an ARC weather forecast and as a result made considerable gains westward.
On picking up the Trade Winds, we set a course of 255° for Rodney Bay under full Simbo Rig. With the welcome easterly 5-7 and accompanying following Atlantic swell, we took 16 days, 9 hours, 41 minutes and 41 seconds to Rodney Bay, St Lucia. For the passage, we had been pleased to have been joined once again by our good friend, George Malony which in addition to his considerable experience enabled us all to enjoy the luxury of three hours on watch followed by six hours off.
The winds were unusually strong during the 2002 ARC, which allowed us to sail the whole course without recourse to the engine. At 1230 UTC on 30 November we experienced the sickening plea of a Mayday over the SSB when one of two brothers aboard a 51ft Formosa fell overboard and drowned. The survivor completed his passage with the assistance of crew borrowed from two nearby yachts. In another less distressful incidence, two crew and their alsatian dog were also rescued by the close at hand Lord Nelson training ship, as a result of their Hunter Legend 450 loosing its rudder and having to be scuppered.
This aside, Jan and I, loved our Atlantic experience and were sorry when it came to an end. We were happily ensconced in our maritime environment and didn't miss terra firma at all. The Najad 460 was an absolute dream to handle. She thrived under the Simbo Rig which reduces rolling to a minimum and all managed from the cockpit with minimal foredeck work, by just one watch-keeper. We never reefed but if we had needed to, our format was to let the weather jib fly to leeward on bearing-up onto a broad reach with the mainboom prevented sufficiently to reef the backed mainsail to then bear away with the upwind jib returned to weather. On further increase in the wind, the jibs could also have been easily reefed by releasing the weather sail to leeward under the blanket of the mainsail, to then divide the twin jibs on returning the upwind sail to weather. It was never necessary.
We only suffered two incidents. The first was when the guy to one of the forward whisker poles parted, breaking the pole. I should have spotted the wear on my daily rounds. However, on resetting the remaining pole to weather, sufficient wind was captured in the weather jib to keep the leeward sail full & by. The leeward whisker pole was in fact, only there to accommodate a downwind tack The second incident was when the snap-shackle securing the jibs to the forestay halyard car, metal-fatigued and tore one of the jibs. This culminated in George volunteering to go up the mast to retrieve the stranded car and our repairing the sail. The solution was to permanently dispense with the unreliable jib halyard snap-shackle in preference for a standard bolted shackle to take the strain of the twin jibs at their head for attaching to the single halyard.
The only thing I might do differently on another ARC is to sail in the racing division, having said that, I would still use the same sail plan. However, for the present, we are relaxing in the Caribbean and will leave such considerations for the future.