Transatlantic Sailing: Canary Islands to the Caribbean

Our journey begins in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, where we will meet on board and complete the final preparations for the transatlantic passage. We will organise provisions, check the yacht and equipment and prepare everything necessary for the weeks ahead.

Once the yacht and crew are ready and conditions are suitable, we will leave the Canary Islands and sail south towards Cape Verde. This first offshore leg is expected to take approximately one week. We plan to spend one or two days in Cape Verde before continuing across the Atlantic.

From Cape Verde, we will head west towards Barbados for the main part of our journey: approximately 18 days and more than 2,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic, without scheduled stops.

During these weeks we will experience the Atlantic in all its variety. There can be days of steady trade winds and excellent sailing, long rolling swells, stronger winds and tropical squalls, as well as periods of very light wind when the surface of the ocean becomes remarkably calm.

When the yacht is stopped and it is safe to do so, we may have the opportunity to swim in the open Atlantic, surrounded by nothing but blue water and with several kilometres of ocean beneath us. We will also be able to fish along the way and keep an eye out for dolphins, flying fish, seabirds and other marine life that we may encounter during the passage.

Far offshore, the nights are particularly impressive. With virtually no light pollution, on clear nights the Milky Way and thousands of stars are visible above the yacht, sometimes with moonlight illuminating the water and sometimes in almost complete darkness. Away from shipping lanes and populated coasts, there are moments when the only sounds are the wind in the sails and the water passing along the hull.

Over the course of the crossing, the scenery and the sailing constantly change: warm days on deck, spectacular sunsets, sudden rain showers, stronger seas, quiet mornings and nights spent sailing under the stars. It is a rare opportunity to spend an extended period completely away from cities, traffic and the usual distractions of life ashore.

After almost three weeks at sea, seeing land again is an experience in itself. Barbados will be our first Caribbean landfall, completing the main Atlantic crossing before we continue towards Martinique.

After arriving in Barbados, we will continue north through the Caribbean towards Martinique.

This final leg will take us from the open Atlantic into the Caribbean islands and complete our journey from the Canary Islands. We expect to reach Martinique around 25–27 December, where we plan to finish the passage shortly before New Year.