Swiss family on an Atlantic voyage
Bertrand Favre from Morges is a well-known personality on Lake Geneva as a series master of the TF35. He took a break between 2022 and 2023 and sailed around the Atlantic with his family on a Dufour 45. It’s quite possible that his experiences will awaken ambitions in readers. He also has a few useful tips for them.
An Atlantic cruise to the Antilles is ideal for a one-year break. You sail mainly downwind, enjoy the warm, mild fall in Europe, visit the islands in the Atlantic and spend the winter before the hurricane season in the Caribbean before heading back to Europe via the Azores in time for the summer. Different routes are available depending on preferences and abilities. The Favre family opted for a direct Atlantic crossing from the Canary Islands to the Antilles and had the yacht transferred by a professional skipper on the way back. Although this option costs a little more, it gives them more time in the Antilles and eliminates the often arduous return journey across the Atlantic.
Quick familiarization
The Favres bought their Mediterranean-based Black Pearl at Easter 2022 and set off on their big voyage in mid-August. They sailed a few coastal legs to acclimatize before taking the first crossing from Rosas in northern Spain to Menorca under the bow. “We spent almost two months on the Balearic Islands. They are ideal for settling in. The islands are less crowded than in summer and the autumn climate is very pleasant. What’s more, there are so many safe anchorages that we were hardly ever in a marina,” says Bertrand Favre. Menorca is the best choice, he adds. “The island is so small that you can quickly change coast if the weather changes.”
They found out off Cabrera that life on a sailing boat can also have its pitfalls. There, they encountered a weather phenomenon that is becoming increasingly common in the Mediterranean. A short but incredibly violent storm came out of nowhere. The father of the family remembers it well: “The wind picked up extremely quickly and strongly, blowing at more than 60 knots for over an hour. We took shelter on the middle deck and I had doubled the lines beforehand. Everything held, the boat didn’t suffer any major damage. The bimini was torn off, the outboard motor fell into the sea and the boat was lying on the water with the mast a few times.”
After this moment of horror, which fortunately turned out to be harmless, the family sailed on to Cartagena. From there they went to Gibraltar, where they stayed for two weeks as Bertrand had work to do. The problem with the contaminated diesel also had to be solved. “Presumably the tank was shaken so much in the storm in Cabrera that the fungi in it came loose and got into the fuel. The tank had to be completely cleaned and the diesel filtered. Now we are smarter and will never leave the tank half empty in winter, because the condensation water encourages the growth of bacteria and thus diesel pest. After the painstaking work, I added a filter and regularly added additive.”
Farewell Mediterranean
As soon as the problems had been resolved, the Black Pearl crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and made its way to the Canary Islands. The Favres had actually intended to sail to the Gulf of CĂĄdiz and the Algarve, but as the incidents with orcas had increased, they abandoned the idea. “There are apps that boat captains use to share information about killer whale attacks, and the situation didn’t look good at the time. I didn’t want to put us in unnecessary danger. Besides, the weather was good at the time, which is why we chose La Graciosa.” Despite initial fears, the crossing of the strait did not prove to be particularly complicated. “However, you should have a well-functioning AIS and study the currents carefully beforehand, as they can be very strong,” recommends Bertrand Favre. Otherwise, the first six-day offshore route was a good opportunity for everyone to get used to longer legs without stopping. “My wife ClĂ©m and the children are also sailing, they’ve taken on all the watches. It’s important not to rush things, but to wait for a good weather window. We took turns every 2.5 hours and were able to sleep for six to seven hours at a time at night.”
The Favres spent just over a month on the Spanish archipelago and visited almost all the islands, with the exception of La Gomera and El Hierro. “The Canary Islands are really all worth a visit. There is a lot to see and as mass tourism is concentrated in a few hotspots, you can easily avoid it. La Palma, where we prepared for the Atlantic crossing, is fantastic, as are the other islands in the west. There are vineyards, waterfalls, banana plantations and the tourists are mainly hikers. Hotels are in short supply. I can only recommend the island!” enthuses Bertrand. As they had spent the festive season with their family in the Canary Islands, the Favres decided not to visit Cape Verde due to time constraints and headed straight for the open Atlantic, towards St. Lucia. “The crossing went very well. It took us 17 days, which corresponds to an average of just over 150 nautical miles per day. We stopped four times and motored for three hours. We didn’t have a spinnaker pole, but I would recommend one, as it allows you to sail deeper into the wind and save nautical miles.”
Enjoy the Antilles
Bertrand recommends landing in St. Lucia, more precisely in the Rodney Bay marina. It is the destination port for the annual ARC rally and the people in charge have lots of useful tips for the newly arrived sailors. The Favre family spent several days there to prepare for the rest of their journey. They then moved on to the Grenadines, where the children obtained their diving license. Afterwards, they headed north again at a leisurely pace. “We mainly went diving and hiking,” says Bertrand. “The big islands offer so much that you should definitely explore them on foot.”
The first month was spent island hopping. The Favres quickly realized that they wanted to enjoy this life for as long as possible and that a transfer was the only option for the return journey. “I had to be available for work from the end of May to the beginning of June, so we would have had to travel home earlier. It wasn’t easy to find the right people, but in the end it worked out. The transfer saved us a lot of time, so we were able to continue our journey of discovery.” The family used the extra days to stray off the beaten track and visit the Dutch Antilles after a detour to Antigua and Barbuda. Sint Eustatius and Saba are considered must-see pearls. The navigation and anchorages are complicated, says Bertrand Favre, “but they are very different from the rest of the Antilles and are really worthwhile. It’s hard to believe how many different people live there.” St. Martin, St. Barth and the Virgin Islands were also on the Black Pearl’s route. “The return journey from the Virgin Islands to St. Martin was the worst of the whole trip,” recalls Bertrand. “You have to sail almost 100 miles on the wind in often strong trade winds. It was the only crossing where we couldn’t wait for a favorable weather window, because we had a deadline to meet.” Back in St. Martin, the family was able to hand over the Black Pearl to the transfer crew before flying to Europe.
The transfer crew had very good weather on the return journey to Europe and were able to sail before the wind. However, they encountered orcas six nautical miles from the port of destination. “The killer whales tore off the lower part of the rudder blade. But as the stainless steel rudder shaft extends to the middle of the rudder blade, there was enough left to finish the crossing.” Bertrand took delivery of his boat in Gibraltar. After the necessary repairs, he brought it back to the south of France during his vacation.
Tips from Bertrand Favre
“I opted for a boat that was ready to sail. My busy schedule left me no time for long, time-consuming work. We traveled from Switzerland to the Mediterranean three times to test the boat and carry out the usual maintenance work before the big launch.
45 feet is a good size, but it could have been 40 or 46. I wanted a safe, healthy and energy self-sufficient boat with three cabins so that every child has their own place to retreat to. The harbor fees are affordable up to 49 feet, after that it gets very expensive. Incidentally, our draught of 2 meters was never a problem.
We had an Iridium GO! satellite system on board, which provided us with useful services for weather forecasts. It can be linked to Predict Wind Offshore, is simple to configure, easy to operate and affordable. The children were ten and twelve years old, which for me is the upper limit for such a project. It would have been more complicated with teenagers. Anyone planning such a trip should not wait until the kids are too old. The school issues are still quite easy to deal with in these age groups. We only did the bare minimum and gave preference to life school. The children made up for what they had missed on their return without any problems.
The various Atlantic routes
The classic route for a one-year cruise leads from Europe to the Canary Islands and possibly to Cape Verde. The Atlantic is usually crossed between mid-December and mid-January. Landings are possible in various places, but as the Antilles are preferably sailed from south to north, the south is more practical. If you cross the Atlantic in December, you can plan a five-month stay in the Antilles arch.
The intrepid take a detour to the Greater Antilles, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. However, this lengthens the route considerably. The return journey usually takes place in May or June via the Azores. Expect 8,000 nautical miles for a minimalist variant and 10,000 nautical miles with detours.
Some stop on the outward journey in Madeira or even in Africa – in Morocco or Senegal, usually in Casamance. These routes offer more exoticism, but are also more difficult. Another option is to sail from Cape Verde to Brazil or Guyana. This shortens the Atlantic crossing, but the route is longer overall, which is why it is more recommended for two-year trips.
There is no way around the Azores on the return journey. If you want to divide the journey even further, you can make a stopover in Bermuda. It is around 900 nautical miles from the northern Antilles to Bermuda and a further 1800 nautical miles from Bermuda to the Azores. The direct route from St. Martin to Horta is 2300 nautical miles. Another option is the northern route via the Bahamas, the west coast of the USA (visa required) and Canada and from Newfoundland to the Azores. The crossing from St. Pierre and Miquelon south of Newfoundland to Flores, the easternmost island of the Azores, is only 1300 nautical miles – the same as from Flores to Gibraltar or Brittany. So there are many options and it doesn’t always have to be the classic route.
Photos ) Clémentine and Tanguy Favre
IN THE JUNGLE OF ST. LUCIA.
