Single-handed to the Azores & my series drogue deployment!
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- čas přidán 23. 09. 2020
- This is my account of my first single-handed offshore passage from the Canary Islands to the Azores.
Once lockdown had ended in July 2020 I got on the first flight to Gran Canaria to see what state the boat was in after 7 months left unattended.
A few days of prep and she was ready to sail! I set off with the intention to sail first to Madeira and rest there for a couple of days whilst some bad weather blew through, and then carry on to the Azores. However, since I couldn't quite point high enough to get to Madeira, I decided to carry on directly to the Azores.
The bad weather turned into a sustained 45kts and abnormally high breaking waves for the wind strength, caused by large swell from northern Spain and an acceleration effect from Madeira. I ripped the main sail whilst reefing and it meant I couldn't heave-to. Then a broken down engine meant I couldn't make safe progress to windward. If I ran of before the wind and waves then I'd loose a lot of ground South West into the Atlantic and with no main or engine I'd potentially not make it up to the Azores at all. I decided to use the Jordan Series Drogue.
Vessel: Seastream 43
(Falmouth built)
I've been an (Austrian) skipper since 2005 and have been watching videos on CZcams since then. I also know many sailors who tell a lot in the pub, but are in the harbor at 4 Beaufort and cannot be woken up. For me, your video is the best of a single-handed sailor I've seen since. Honest, solution-oriented and personable. Congratulations ...
Agree with everyone - you've done a brilliant job single-handed with all the dramas you had. Inspirational mate, thank you.
Nice to see someone with head protection. I was only talking to my son about this subject this morning.
Excellent video! Well done. I can't talk myself into buying the J drogue, but maybe I should give it a rethink. Shame about the torn sail. Hope it was easily repaired. (For the record, on my first solo trip to the Azores 4 years ago, I was visited by a gale as well, and lost my engine (diesel bug) and ripped the luff on my mainsail as well. :-) Many valuable lessons learned on that passage --- as I am sure you did as well.) Keep going!
I have to be honest. I am envious of your lovely boat. Good speed and fair winds .
Very neat to see someone actually uses a drogue in a real situation and then show retrieving it. Great video...fair winds.
Dude that was so well done! You stayed calm did what was necessary and made it all happen. Great to see the effectiveness of series drogue and recovery. Nice boat too. Enjoy your time in the Azores. :)
Fantastic effort, you are an absolute breath of fresh air to watch and great quality filming work. Loved your safety sense and the fact you don’t overdramatise anything. Nice section on the drogue and a good call. This is what a sailing channel should look like, fair winds ⛵️
Great video, thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge, looking forward to watching more, I wish you safe travels ahead ⚓⛵
Thanks for video and descriptions, congratulations from a lonely sailor on Adriatic sea......
i was lockes down in the caribbean, st martin. i sailed direct to the azores july 2020.had perfect sailing all the way, 32 days in a 26 footer
Excellent video! Thanks for sharing your experience with the drogue, relating your safety measures by trailing a fender, fixing the engine and bonus points for having a spare main!
Great job. Well presented and narrated with display of some good skills and creative thinking. Safe travels.
Thanks for the info and first class demonstration of drogue deployment and personal safety measures. Great video, well done.
"Why have I got a fat fender in the ly in the water with a mooring line attached to in?"
Lovely video, really enjoyed it!
Fabulous video. Never really knew how to do this in a storm. Wow. Thank you.
This is a very good informative video. Thanks for filming and sharing it man, good learning for me
A great video of your journey. And what fantastic shot to finish on.
Great job i really enjoyed how much information you explained throughout the video. Alot of sailing videos show them making coffee at some point with a ton of ads then they beg at the end for us to support them . You have alot of diversity with the camera angles and a great attitude 👍👍