Sail Cloudy Bay – Sailing Blog
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Our Boat
  • Cruising route
  • Where is Cloudy Bay?
Sail Cloudy Bay
Fakarava to Rangiroa, via Toau
Fakarava south to north
Night from hell!
Fakarava, south pass
Makemo to Tahanea
Marquises to Makemo, Tuamotus atolls
Marquesas, ticked!
Resting and chores
Arrival day. Well sort of….
The day before arrival
Sail Cloudy Bay – Sailing Blog
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Our Boat
  • Cruising route
  • Where is Cloudy Bay?
Category:

Bahamas

    broadreach with Parasailor
    twin sails
    track day 2: midnight to midnight
    BahamasJamaica

    Great sailing with Parasailor

    by Glen February 22, 2020
    written by Glen

    Saturday 22 Feb, Passage BHS to Cayman, day 2: From Clarence Town to the Windward Passage, east end of Cuba. Great day sailing with Parasailor until the squally weather front caught us up.

    From 1 to 4am, while Oana is on shift, we motored SE, away from Long Island in very light winds. This was actually good because we needed to recharge batteries and make water too. By 4am the wind was back with 12-14kts from astern (from NNW) and we started sailing on starboard tack with poled-out genoa to starboard. Relatively slow progress and a lot of clattering as the sails shake when Cloudy rolls on the small waves that are now coming from the NW.

    Dawn breaks behind a menacing looking bank of clouds. But thankfully they blow away downwind, leaving clear skies with the odd puffy cloud. After breakfast, armed with the latest forecast from PredictWind downloaded using IridiumGo, it looks like good conditions for the spinnaker until late afternoon when the front will catch us.
    So up it goes and we 2-sail run on starboard tack with wind slightly on the quarter. Thank goodness, the spinnaker stabilizes the boat and also stops all the clattering we get from the poled-out genoa. The wind is 10-15kts and we are doing 6-7kts. Should be faster than this, but sea is rather choppy and is throwing the spinnaker about a bit, disturbing any smooth airflow. We sail like this for the next 8 hours.

    At 4pm dark clouds come from behind and we are sure the wind will blow. But I’m rather determined to hold onto the spinnaker for as long as possible following my regrets last night. On the radar we can see the first rain squall approaching. It’s still 6 miles away and we monitor the rain-track until we are sure it’s gonna get us! When 3 miles away I start thinking about dropping the spinnaker. Seems a shame because the wind is only 8-10kts. We’ll be dead in the water without it.
    But then, just off our starboard side, I spot a twister. A dark spiral reaching down from a particularly dark patch of angry cloud. It almost touches the water. In an instant I’m calling Oana on deck and I’ve already started to pull the snuffler over the spinnaker. Once snuffled, Oana drops the halyard while I stuff the sock & spinnaker down the fore hatch. The very moment we close the hatch, the rain starts and the wind steadily increases. Then it’s all hands to put the sides and rear panels on the cockpit tent.

    I just finish this when Oana shouts from the cockpit “27kts!” (wind speed). We still have the full mainsail out. I try to furl some away but it’s hopeless downwind, the pressure on it is already too much. So we hang on as Cloudy just takes off, energised by the squall. Her bow wave is curling away like we are a speed boat! The autohelm is doing its job but I sit behind the wheel ready for action. Even though we have the gybe preventer on, we can’t afford an accidental gybe in these conditions.
    The peak wind in the squall was 32kts but mostly top 20s. And our top speed 11.5kts. Quite a thrill. And best of all, Cloudy gets really stable in such conditions. Rather nice after all the previous rolling downwind.

    Then comes the rain. Absolute buckets of it. It’s coming off the foot of the mainsail onto the deck in a sheet of water, flooding the side decks. The scuppers cannot keep up with the flow. Nothing like a good rain shower to desalt the boat though. And nice to have such rain without lightening for once. We hate electrical storms.
    Once it’s passed the wind stays at 20-25kts and we unfurl the genoa on the pole to get some more stability. With main only, Cloudy has the tendency to corkscrew to windward when caught on a bad wave. With genoa out (with 2 reef dots in) we are sitting at a steady 9-10kts, going like a freight train (that is: not very fast, but bloody fast for a yacht, and not stoppable!).
    We stay like this till darkness approaches. With the arrival of the front the wind has also clocked round to east of north so we gybe over the mainsail in a lull of wind and re-pole-out the genoa on the opposite side. We are now on port tack directly on track for the East tip of Cuba.

    Lots of shipping around here, and it’s not long before we have an encounter. The Severn Seas Explorer, a 750ft cruiseliner, is on a close collision course approaching us at 22kts from our starboard side. We call on VHF saying that it looks like we will just narrowly cross his bow, and would he please turn slightly to port, because THIS freight train ain’t stopping! He replies that he has seen us on AIS, but says he will turn to starboard. Odd, port would be the obvious. We see him turn (on AIS) then hold steady, now on an absolute collision course with us! But 3 miles away he turns even more, likely over 20degees in total and eventually passes in front of us at 1/2nm distance. A slight port turn would surely have been easier? But we are happy to see his stern rather than narrowly cross his bow, so all is well that ends well. And the huge brightly lit floating city disappears off in the distance. To Antigua, according to his AIS data. Always nice to chat to someone on the high seas. But I wonder if his first mate is as gorgeous as mine 🙂

    Talking of which, Oana has not had a great day. She’s been reading most of the time but is generally feeling seasick. And once darkness comes she gets worse. So she retires to bed early. I hope she can get some sleep. Cloudy is rather playing the bucking-bronco this evening as we approach the windward passage between Haiti and Cuba.

    At midnight we are 3nm offshore from the lighthouse on the eastern tip of Cuba. The sea is even more bouncy here. Must be conflicting currents. But once around the Cabo, the Caribbean sea becomes very tranquil, as does the wind which has dropped to 15kts. And we finish the day gently sailing downwind again at a tidy 7.5kts. We are about half way to Cayman now.

    February 22, 2020 1 comment
    3 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • BahamasJamaica

    Departure day

    by Glen February 21, 2020
    by Glen February 21, 2020

    Friday 21 Feb, BHS day 52, from George Town to Clarence Town: Leaving George Town and the Bahamas in very calm conditions, and we reacquaint ourselves with the Parasailor. We wake up…

    4 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • Bahamas

    Preparing for our 700nm passage to Grand Cayman

    by Glen February 21, 2020
    by Glen February 21, 2020

    Thursday 20 Feb, BHS day 51, George Town: Customs cleared, provisions and petrol top-up, and decks ready for downwind sailing. After breakfast we study weather routing on Predictwind and decide firmly that…

    10 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • Bahamas

    Tamed sting-rays at Chat’N’Chill beach

    by Glen February 19, 2020
    by Glen February 19, 2020

    Wednesday 19 Feb, BHS day 50, George Town: Setting our departure day and small preparations for it, followed by afternoon drinks at Chat’N’Chill. At breakfast we listen to the net as usual.…

    1 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • Bahamas

    Wet dinghy ride to visit George Town

    by Glen February 18, 2020
    by Glen February 18, 2020

    Tuesday 18 Feb, BHS day 49: Walk through George Town, food shopping, and VHF DSC problems. We were glad we took down our large sunshade last evening. The wind was gusting 20kts…

    4 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • Bahamas

    Cockpit in Mediterranean mode

    by Glen February 17, 2020
    by Glen February 17, 2020

    Monday 17 Feb, BHS 48: Chill day in George Town anchorage with Cloudy in summer mode. We wake up well rested in this nicely protected anchorage with no tidal current, for once.…

    8 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • Bahamas

    Social scene on Stocking Island

    by Oana February 16, 2020
    by Oana February 16, 2020

    Sunday 16 Feb, BHS day 48, from Boysie Cay to George Town: Bumpy motorsail, join the hundreds of boats anchored behind Stocking Island, and head ashore for a sample of the social…

    1 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • Bahamas

    Complete privacy in Boysie Cay

    by Oana February 15, 2020
    by Oana February 15, 2020

    Saturday 15 Feb, BHS day 47, from Lee Stocking Cay to Boysie Cay: Magical Boysie Cay with no other boat in sight, so time for my bath tub! Last night, drums sounds…

    4 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 8

About us

About us

Sail Cloudy Bay

Hi there! We are Glen & Oana, restless spirits with travel and adventure in our hearts. In mid-2016 we decided to put an end to our working days, and travel the world. And what better way to do it, if not sailing! We are aspiring to complete a circumnavigation, and this is our blog where we try to keep a record of our adventures. We live on s/v Cloudy Bay (and sometimes in Bucharest), have a long list of places to sail to, and we like coffee and good cocktails.

Treat us to a coffee

If you like what we do, please support us on Ko-fi

Recent Posts

  • Fakarava to Rangiroa, via Toau

    May 19, 2023
  • Fakarava south to north

    May 17, 2023
  • Night from hell!

    May 12, 2023
  • Fakarava, south pass

    May 9, 2023

Recent Comments

  • John Hemingway on Night from hell!
  • Jim on Fakarava, south pass
  • Jim on Makemo to Tahanea
  • Peter Gambin on Marquises to Makemo, Tuamotus atolls
  • Jim on Marquesas, ticked!

Follow Me

Sail Cloudy Bay

Cruising clock

Keep in touch

Facebook Instagram Behance Youtube

Categories

  • Americas (908)
    • Anguilla (6)
    • Antigua & Barbuda (36)
    • Bahamas (57)
    • Barbados (8)
    • Bermuda (11)
    • British Virgin Islands (14)
    • Cayman (60)
    • Colombia (8)
    • Cuba (8)
    • Dominica (10)
    • Dominican Republic (16)
    • Grenada (25)
    • Guadeloupe (4)
    • Honduras (18)
    • Jamaica (22)
    • Martinique (28)
    • Mexico (16)
    • Montserrat (3)
    • Panama (3)
    • Puerto Rico (19)
    • Saba (3)
    • Spanish Virgin Islands (11)
    • St. Barth (7)
    • St. Eustatius (3)
    • St. Kitts & Nevis (20)
    • St. Martin (28)
    • St.Lucia (10)
    • St.Vincent & Grenadines (28)
    • Turks & Caicos (8)
    • US Virgin Islands (10)
    • USA (424)
  • Europe (6)
  • Passages (109)
    • Antigua to USA (12)
    • Atlantic crossing (20)
    • Cayman to Chesapeake (16)
    • Charleston to Maine (12)
    • Panama to French Polynesia (17)
    • Turks&Caicos to USA (11)
    • USA to Antigua (11)
    • USA to Colombia (7)
    • USA to Mexico (3)
  • Personal stories (7)
  • Projects / Maintenance (313)
  • South Pacific (8)
    • French Polynesia (7)
    • Marquesas (2)
    • Tuamotus (6)

Tag Cloud

Chesapeake Bay Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Herrington Harbour North Maine Martha's Vineyard Maryland Massachusetts Nantucket New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Rhode Island South Carolina Virginia

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

sailcloudybay

Cloudy Bay anchored next to Josh's Cay (Graham's P Cloudy Bay anchored next to Josh's Cay (Graham's Place) in Guanaja, Honduras
.
.
.
.
.
.
#sailcloudybay #guanaja #bayislands #honduras #anchorage #grahamsplace #hallbergrassy #hallbergrassy54 #sailing #sailboat #yachting #sailinglife #sailingboat #sailingstagram #sailingyacht #sailinglifestyle #sailingadventure #boatlife #sailingworld #beautyofsailing
Cambridge Cay and the nearby Bells Cay. #cambridg Cambridge Cay and the nearby Bells Cay.  #cambridgecay #littlebellcay #bellscay #bellisland #exumas #bahamas #goplaces #islandlife #sailinglife #cruisinglife #sailcloudybay #hallbergrassy #hr54
Superb sandbanks and beaches in Norman’s Cay, co Superb sandbanks and beaches in Norman’s Cay, complete with the most amazing shades of blue water.  #perfectbeaches #50shadesofblue #normanscay #exumas #bahamas #sandbank #sailcloudybay #goplaces #dothings #islandlife #sailinglife #cruisinglife
Cloudy Bay anchored in Hawksbill Cay, Bahamas. #de Cloudy Bay anchored in Hawksbill Cay, Bahamas.
#deliciouswatercolor #coffeewithaview #bluewatersailing #cantgetanybetterthanthis 
#sailinglife #cruisinglife #islandlife #sailingbahamas 
#hawksbillcay #bahamas
#goplaces #dothings
#sailcloudybay #hallbergrassy #hr54
We couldn’t miss the nurse sharks experience in We couldn’t miss the nurse sharks experience in Compass Cay Marina. #sharkslikepuppydogs #keeptoesandfingersaway #nursesharksdontbiteuntiltheybite #nursesharksarethecutest #compasscay #bahamas #cruisinglife #sailinglife #goplaces #dothings #sailcloudybay
Load More... Follow on Instagram

LATEST TRAVEL TIPS

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Garmin
  • Youtube

@2018 - SailCloudyBay.com. All rights reserved.


Back To Top