-
Ready to go: Course Cape Town
Arrival The last few days in Punta del Este have been very exhausting. Firstly, our arrival kept dragging out. Two days before the arrival we had hoped to come in on Sunday morning. On Saturday it became clear that we would not arrive before Sunday lunchtime. Then the wind turned in the night to Sunday…
//
-
The downsides
Punta del Este is in reach. Only a few hundred nautical miles are remaining until the end of leg 1. It has been a wild mix of conditions. Heavy upwind sailing in the Bay of Biscay was pretty uncomfortable. Then we had virtually no winds near the Canaries. And lately some great downwind sailing in…
//
-
Last Push towards Punta del Este
The wind has turned a bit so that we make good speed towards the next stopover in Punta del Este. The reaching conditions (wind from side to aft) mean also our heel has reduced so the boat is much flatter. On the other hand we are rolling more from one side to the other as…
//
-
Upside Down
We did it: the equator is crossed and we are on the Southern hemisphere. It was last Tuesday in the late evening hours. The display on the nav instruments changed from N for north to S for south. I was off watch and should have been asleep. But then you don’t cross the equator every…
//
-
Doldrums’ Corridor
The last two days were not as exciting. After the wind had died down, we started our engine. Since then we have been motor-sailing along. It looks like we have reached some winds south of the equator. So now we need to get ourselves in the best position before we are planning to switch off…
//
-
Hunt for Squalls
We have reached the doldrums. That’s the name of the inner tropical convergence zone, an area known for its notoriously light winds. And it features quite a few squalls, which typically come with stronger gusts. So to make progress in these light winds we are looking for and the following the squalls and their gusts.…
//
-
Groundhog Day
Currently one day is just as the other. We will pass the Cape Verdes in a few hours. The other boats are in the vicinity but the last position update we received put us last. This impacts the moral on board. In addition it gets warmer every day. During the day it is almost impossible…
//
-
Past the Canaries
The area around the Canaries was pretty tricky. Lots of wind holes and even more marine traffic made the passage difficult. And we took the wrong turn more than once. Some boats were only a few miles away and would get much better winds. This can be very frustrating at times. Then one night we…
//
-
Back to the Start
We made good progress after the last three days. In a few hours we will pass the Canary Islands. Due to the weather forecast we have decided to pass inshore of the islands, meaning we will go through Fuerteventura and Lanzarote on one side and the African coast on the other. This is where we…
//
-
Start of the Second Race
After yesterday’s briefing we finished our tasks onboard before heading out for dinner. I would be our last meal on firm grounds for presumably the next 28 days. So we got some Tappas, fresh fish and a big portion of dessert. Well fed we can start into this first ocean crossing race towards Uruguay. The…
//
Florian's Clipper 2025-26 Race Campaign
The ocean is the limit
