An account of our sail from Canary Islands to the Azores. The seven-day, 740-nautical-mile journey included squalls, seasickness, and challenging waves. We successfully navigated the passage and reached our destination, supported by new technology like Starlink.

LAT|36|09.05|NLON|24|13.34|W VIA Telnet Day 6 of maybe a few more Canary Islands to Santa Maria, Azores. Daily miles sailed: (Tue-Wed) 12 noon-12 noon 89 nm (69.9nm to go. Well the early part of the day was a hard earned 35nm, the rest under the iron genny) Current position: Roughly 70nm […]

LAT|35|07.61|NLON|22|46.35|W VIA Telnet Summary Day 5 of many Canary Islands to Santa Maria, AzoresTotal miles sailed: (Tue-Wed) 12 noon-12 noon 117nm (158nm to go. Pleased with that given the conditions yesterday morning and afternoon) Current position: Roughly two thirds of way between Madeira and Santa Maria, heading 285 deg, speed: […]

LAT|33|35.59|NLON|21|18.38|W VIA Telnet: Summary Day 4 of many Canary Islands to Santa Maria, AzoresTotal miles sailed: (Tue-Wed) 12 noon-12 noon 106nm (284nm to go – we passed halfway at 18:00 yesterday) Current position: Roughly halfway between Madeira and Santa Maria, heading 321deg, speed: 5.5 knots. Sea state: 1.3m Passage notes: […]

LAT|32|12.73|NLON|19|51.64|W VIA Telnet: Summary Day 3 of many Canary Islands to Santa Maria, AzoresTotal miles sailed: (Mon-Tue) 12 noon-12 noon 109nm (390nm to go – almost halfway) Current position: Approx 130nm west of Madeira Island , heading 321deg, speed: 3 knots. Sea state: 2m Passage notes: Day three. Another night […]

LAT|31|05.02|NLON|18|30.31|W VIA Telnet: Summary Day 2 of many Canary Islands to Santa Maria AzoresTotal miles sailed: (Sun-Mon) 12 noon-12 noon 126.7 nm (482nm to go) Current position: Approx 120nm South west Madeira Island (typo yesterday!) , heading 325deg, speed: 5.1knots. Sea state:1.3m but decreasing a tad (apart from the squalls […]

LAT|29|37.44|NLON|17|06.79|W VIA Telnet: Summary Day 1 of many Canary Islands to Santa Maria AzoresTotal miles sailed: (Sat-Sun) 12 noon-12 noon 94.6 nm Current position: Approx 100nm South west Madeira Island , heading 325deg, speed: 5.8knots. Sea state:1.5m but decreasing a tad (spoke too soon) Passage notes: Well day one, sheesh. […]

After 20 months in Porto Santo, Emerald’s crew sailed south, docking at Las Palmas for essential repairs, and upgrades. The uncertainty about availability and the return of Med-mooring challenges had a happy ending. We settled into the convenience of marina life, pleasantly surprised by the peacefulness, despite the city setting.

Departing Porto Santo for Gran Canaria, 310nm south, we anticipated challenging conditions, with 3m seas astern. Departing with a downwind rig and despite uncomfortable movement and little sleep, we managed through changing winds and rig adjustments. After three days and a precarious night entry into Las Palmas, we arrived, relieved.

Conditions eased on day two of our passage from Porto Santo to The Canary Islands. We dropped the downwind rig and changed to a more comfortable sail plan for a broad reach.

Our report from day one of our passage from Porto Santo to the Canary Islands. Under the downwind rig, we rolled through the day and night, with sleep eluding us.

Porto Santo’s winds are influenced by the Azores High. The harbour provides good protection from the prevailing north/northeast winds. However, south to southwest winds bring challenges, and an occasional named storm can bring uncomfortable conditions for boats both on the moorings and pontoons.

After a tricky departure from the pontoon in blustery conditions, we returned to the boatyard to investigate the overheating propeller shaft. We made repairs, replaced damaged cutlass bearings, and recalibrated the alignment between engine and prop shaft. Back in the water, testing showed no overheating, allowing sailing plans to resume.

With Emerald back afloat, we were making plans to sail away south. But unknown to us, our batteries were starting to fail. Was this the right time to change to Lithium LiFePO4?

We were feeling low after our failed attempt to sail away from Porto Santo. We couldn’t fix the propeller shaft bearings until a space came free in the yard. In the meantime, we needed to restore our spirits, so we went in search of some festive fun in Funchal.