The Cape Verde Passage

THE PASSAGE

 

Leaving Tenerife behind, Libra heads south through the eastern Atlantic for approximately 850 nautical miles to Mindelo, Cape Verde.

 

This is a true bluewater passage connecting two of the Atlantic’s great volcanic island groups. Once we leave the Canary Islands, there are no planned stops. For the next several days, our world becomes Libra, the crew and the open Atlantic as we sail steadily south toward the tropics.

 

LEAVING THE CANARY ISLANDS

 

Our passage begins among the towering volcanic islands of the Canaries.

 

Tenerife rises more than 12,000 feet from the Atlantic, creating dramatic local wind effects around the island. Departing the Canaries gives us an immediate lesson in wind acceleration zones, wind shadows and the influence that large islands can have on otherwise established weather patterns.

 

Once clear of the islands, those local effects begin to disappear and we settle into the broader weather patterns of the eastern Atlantic.

 

SAILING SOUTH

 

Each day takes us farther south and closer to the tropics.

 

As we move toward Cape Verde, we begin working more consistently with the northeast trade wind pattern. When conditions cooperate, this can mean long periods of reaching and downwind sailing with Libra covering mile after mile under sail.

 

But this isn't simply about pointing the boat south.

 

We continually evaluate weather, sea state, sail selection, course and boat speed, making decisions based on what we are experiencing now and what we expect several days ahead.

 

LIFE OFFSHORE

 

Libra sails around the clock.

 

The crew rotates through our three hours on, six hours off watch schedule in pairs. During your watch, you participate in helm, lookout, navigation, sail trim and monitoring the boat and changing conditions.

 

At night, the experience changes completely.

 

There are no city lights and often no other vessels in sight. Watches are spent beneath the stars, monitoring the sails and instruments and keeping Libra moving while the rest of the crew sleeps.

 

After several days, life develops its own offshore rhythm measured less by the clock than by watches, meals, sunsets and sunrises.

 

WEATHER ROUTING

 

An 850 nautical mile passage gives us the opportunity to make weather decisions that matter days later.

 

Before departure, we'll study the larger Atlantic pattern and determine the best route south. Once underway, we continue receiving forecasts and watching how the conditions actually developing around Libra compare with what was predicted.

 

The crew gets to participate in the decisions that determine our route, when we change sails, when we push for speed and when preserving comfort or equipment becomes more important than another knot.

 

This is weather routing learned by actually doing it.

 

CROSSING INTO THE TROPICS

 

One of the unique parts of this passage is experiencing the gradual transition from the subtropical Canary Islands toward tropical Cape Verde.

 

The days become warmer, the ocean changes and the northeast trade winds increasingly become part of our sailing environment.

 

Rather than arriving in the tropics by airplane, we watch the transition happen one degree of latitude at a time.

 

LANDFALL IN CAPE VERDE

 

After days of uninterrupted ocean, the volcanic peaks of Cape Verde eventually appear on the horizon.

 

Our destination is Mindelo on São Vicente, a historic Atlantic port and an important gathering place for ocean sailors preparing to continue west across the Atlantic.

 

Making landfall after several days offshore is one of the defining experiences of passage sailing. Navigation changes from hundreds of miles of open ocean to identifying islands, planning our approach and bringing Libra safely into port.

 

Then the anchor goes down, watches end and the crew steps ashore somewhere that only hours earlier existed as a waypoint on the chart.

 

BUILT FOR BLUEWATER EXPERIENCE

 

Tenerife to Cape Verde gives us enough distance to experience what an offshore passage really feels like.

 

You'll sail during the day and at night. You'll stand watches when you're tired. You'll see weather change, make sail changes, eat and sleep while underway and learn how a crew keeps a large cruising boat moving safely for days at a time.

 

For sailors preparing for their own offshore cruising, longer passages or an eventual Atlantic crossing, those experiences matter.