We sailed into Bequia, late afternoon on the 7th December after a two week crossing from Cp Verde.

Bequia is a beautiful little Caribbean island with the basic needs to re provision fresh veg and clear customs.

The next day we enjoyed the beach and walking around the town. We were invited to join the local kids in a “reading session” at a local Cafe. Issy and Max enjoyed the integration with kids their own age.

The next day we got a tour of the island with a driver called Fat Man. Fat Man showed us the old British fort, then drove us across island to visit the Turtle sanctuary.

The Old Hegg turtle sanctuary was created by Orrin “Brother” King in the 1990’s. He takes the turtles hatching at the nearby beach and raises them in the protection of the Sanctury until they are three years old. Giving them a better chance of survival from their biggest predator – humans!

Did you know that hawk bill turtles don’t reach sexual maturity until they are 55 years old! http://turtles.bequia.net/

We also visited the fishing village on the west side of the island. Lobster is the primary industry of Bequia, with the majority being shipped to the US. Sadly only the tales are shipped and the head and legs (the best bits) are thrown back in the sea.

Bequians fish out of fast skiff designs, powered by 85hp Yamaha Enduro outboards. They are a sleek looking and seaworthy skiff, and I would love to find the plans and make one myself one day.

The next two days it bucketed down with rain so we made the most of the wet days doing maintenance on the boat and using the fresh water to give Sunday Island a good wash.

We departed Bequia in 15th December and sailed south to Tobago Keys to meet up with an Australian family onboard “What Next”.

We are enjoying snorkeling the coral reefs with the turtles and fish. On the island today we saw some iguanas who were 80cm long.

While in Bequia a beautiful Swan 65 ketch sailed into the bay. As it turns out she was owned by the same previous owner of Sunday Island. You can see a striking resemblance between the two designs and I was told that Sunday Island was commissioned by Dutch designer, Koopmans Sr. to redesign his succesfull standard centerboard 45’ hull and make it a ketch with a deck – layout of the swan 65’.

Sunday Islsnd is a cruising yacht yet sails remarkably well thanks to the designer, before starting a serie of centerboard- designs he made different hullmodels in scale and had them tested in the testtank and researchlabaratory of the shipdesign- departement of the Technical University in Delft. And he was a member of a research team that made a lot of studies and recommandations for the Dutch Yachtbuilding organisation.

Our days now we are amongst the islands, consist of a long morning swim while the family wake up, followed by a family sup, walk along the beach, snorkel, then school, lunch, afternoon chill out of the sun, another snorkel, then meet and make friends in the early evenings before dinner and early bed.

> Today we arrive in Bequae! It has been an amazing adventure sailing across the Atlantic ocean with a family of four. Everybody has enjoyed the voyage, and grown in many ways. >
> When Emilie and I decided to go off cruising with the family we were apprehensive about how hard it may be on our relationship and our relationship with the children. We gave ourselves a minimum of two years of cruising because we thought the first year would be really tough. Whilst both Emilie and I already have a vast number of sea miles under our keels, sailing with family is a different dimention. At sea you must resolve any differences quickly, and sort any problems out as they occur. >
> We departed Hinderloopen in the Netherlands in late October last year and I am happy to say that our first year of cruising has been amazing. Everybody is well and truely settled into boat life. We all have a great routine that manages our rest appropriatly and maximises our time as a family. The kids schooling is going well, everybody feels at home, and the boat is amazing. >
> Our voyage across the Atlantic is the cream on the cake for our fist year of cruising, proving our ability to work togeather as a family and as a team. >
> A few stats for our voyage so far:
> Distance sailed since leaving NL: 8000nm (approx as difficult to calculate distance in canals > Distance sailed at sea since departing french canals: 7000nm > Distance sailed this voyage: 2187nm
> Distance motored: 800nm
> Sail changes; 10
> Gybes: 12
> Tacks: 2
> Max wind: 28kts
> Min wind: 0kts
> Max temp: 33*
> Min temp: 25*
> Yachts seen: 6
> Fishing boats seen: 14
> Aeroplanes seen: 15
> Diesel Consumed (battery charging): 400L
> Bags of rubbish: 2.5 (still not full)
> Fish caught: 8
> Pods of Dolphins: 4
> Whales: 0
> Sea Birds: 20
> Land Birds: 2
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> The weather patterns for the voyage were quite standard at the beginning, but then the intense low pressure systems in the North Atlantic before our voyage and in the last half of our voyage confused the trade winds that have been reliable since humans have been keeping records. The weather in the north Atlantic has a massive effect on the climate and winds towards the equator. Consiquently we have had very little wind for the past week, so have had to motor a lot more than we hoped. On a positve side I guess our carbon footprint crossing the Atlantic by boat has been a lot less than the four of us flying. >
> We were expecting to see a lot more sea life during this voyage and catch a lot more fish. The amount of sea life and sea birds has definatly decreased since my last Atlantic crossing in 2011 and Mini Transat 2013. This is disappointing, as one of us was always on deck keeeping watch and we made a point of searching for sea life to show the children. >
> Max has been facinated with a documentary about sperm whales in Bequae. Bequae is also famous for its turtles, so we hope we have a lot of marine life to enjoy in the months to come. We are all desperatly keen to get in the water snorkle the reefs, and tomorrow all the toys will start coming out so we can row, sail, sup and snorkle our way around the reefs. >
> We will be anchored at approximalty 4pm today. We have had the day to clean the boat inside and out so she looks (and smells) like she has just crossed the bay, not sailed across the Atlantic ocean. Once the anchor is in position, Sunday Island can relax while we go ashore to clear customs and begin to discover new lands and seas. >
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> Winds have now returned at 10kts from the north and we are making a steady course for Bequae at 6.5kts, with our planned arrival tomorrow evening. >
> Early this morning was quite eventful as the wind returned and we started healing the boat to Starboard and I found water in the bilge. This was a bit concerning given Sunday Island is such a dry boat. While mopping out the water I noticed a loose hose clamp between our shower sump and the water maker brine outlet and the drainage in the sink. Brine water from the water maker had been filling the bilge rather than going over the side! I mopped out the water (2 buckets only), gave the bilge a fresh water rinse and tightened the hose clamp. We will replace the length of hose and re design the drainage system when we arrive in Bequae to ensure a dry bilge in future. >
> We have been sailing too fast for fishing today, so no lines in the water. I have spent much of the day listing the items that require attention in our next yard period in April when we return to Tassie. Emails have been prepaired so we can send off for quotes when we arrive. It is most likley we will do the work in Grenada in April and May 2023, allowing us to spend more time enjoing the many islands of the Caribbean for the year of 2023. Of course this will keep us in the Caribbean over hurricane season, but given the atributes of Sunday Island and daily weather forecasting and hurricane watch we will be well prepaired for changing weather. >
> During the afternoon a large container ship was passing and Issy took a photo of it. By chance in the photo there is a large black object in the water between us and the ship…. possibly the first whale we have encountered for the entire trip. >
> Tomorrow evenng we will arrive in Bequae and enjoy a well earned beer, and a large salad for Emilie! >

> Winds have now died off completely. Mainsail is down and we are motoring towards Barbados and then on towards Bequae. Dolphins this morning much to everybody’s delight, and a few smaller fishing vessels in the area. >
> In the afternoon we caught a good sized tuna, which put up a nice fight before we landed it on deck. Unfortunately as we were finishing the cleaning we observed some worms in the meat. Whilst I was keen to freeze it and cook it well on the bbq, everybody insisted I throw it back overboard. Later in the afternoon I saw some large tuna jumping around the boat, but unfortunatily none took a fancy to our lure. >
> We are starting to see a few smaller fishing boats, they look like steel tuna boats, about 30 ft long and painted blue and white. We are still 200nm from Barbados so they are a fair way offshore to catch the big fish. >
> Most of the afternoon was spent sorting through remaining food to clear some space in the saloon cupboards and remove the extra food storage boxes from the saloon. While sorting the food we gave the bilges and cupboards a good clean, another job ticked off that we would normally do on arrival after a long voyage. >
> Kids were kept busy re building their Lego. Max and Issy are getting very good at building from the plans that we kept, and it keeps them entertained for hours, with the occasional help from Mum or Dad to find that missing piece. >
> We began to measure up the material for the awning but found we did not have enough to make the awning the size we want, so will use the material that we were given to make up cushion covers instead. I found some webbing onboard that we can use to repair the old awning until we can have a new “Taj Mahal” awning made. Due to the sorting of food and bilges taking longer than we expected the awning sewing repairs will need to wait until tomorrow. >
> The wind has returned this evening, however it is shy off the bow but slowly swinging to the north. Hopefully in the next few hours the wind will be at a suitable angle for us to resume sailing. >
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> Yesterday evening the wind died off completely. The forecasted evening breeze did not eventuate so we spent a lovely evening sitting on the cabin roof listening to music and watching the sun set. >
> The setting sun lit up the stormy clouds in a spectacular light show. To the East the rising moon completed the scene. >
> Just as we were putting the kids to bed the breeze developed into a trickle from the south so I deployed the Genoa again. At midnight when I woke up for my watch we had a nice consistent breeze from the south and we were reaching along at 5-6kts. Mid early morning we were doing 5.5-6.7kts. >
> I downloaded a new weather forecast GRIB file and put it into the system. The winds we were sailing with were not forecasted in the previous grib but showed true on the new GRIB, driven by a huge depression to the 800nm to the north with a low depression of 982mb, I was glad our route had us below 15*N or we would be experiencing 20kt headwinds at the moment, further north, closer to the centre of the low we would be 50kt winds! Instead we were enjoying a nice reach in 10kts. The wind stayed with us until Midday today when it started to drop off. >
> This morning Emilie and the kids went on deck and called to the dolphins to come. We have not seen a dolphin on this passage since before Cp Verde. The call magically worked and a pod of bottle nose dolphins came swimming towards Sunday Island and stayed with us for half an hour. >
> For the rest of the day we experienced rain squalls and variable wind giving us a lot of time down below. With only three days to go until Bequae we are making the most of the calm to do a bit of spring cleaning and maintenance so we can concentrate on having fun on arrival to land. One big job before we arrive is to sew a new awning, this has been an ongoing project but we need to bite the bullet now before anchored in the Caribbean sun. >
> Check out our position at http://cms.winlink.org:444/maps/positionreports.aspx?callsign=vk7hew >

> Yesterday afternoon we hoisted the Code 0. A large sail, cross between a big Genoa and a Spinnaker that flys from its own forward stay. We were pleasantly surprised when the wind swung further south, giving us a true wind angle of 130 degrees at 10kts and Sunday Island happily sailing at 5kts. >
> Later in the evening the wind came back to the ESE, and dropped to 8kts, so we started the engine, but kept our speed of 5.5kts with the help of the code zero, main and missen. The breeze remained with us until the morning when it picked up again allowing us to turn off the engine, prior to the any breeze completely disappearing for the rest of the day. >
> This morning the kids began decorating their Christmas gingerbread cookies. I taught Issy how to make a paper chain like I used to make when I went to primary school and Issy proceeded to make a paper chain as long as the boat. Kids also drew and coloured in stockings and other decorations so the saloon is getting a Christmas vibe. There is rumour that we will be getting a Christmas tree however unless its deck cargo I’m not a fan of trees on boats! I think I will loose my battle and we will have a decorated Christmas tree in the saloon shortly after making landfall! >
> At midday big rain clouds were approaching and everybody stripped off for a shower on deck and to clean the boat. With sails down and calm seas it was a good afternoon for some maintenance, including polishing of stainless, and removing the bird poo from our visitors yesterday. I also took the opportunity to go up the mast and re run the lazy jacks and courtesy flag halyards that had come detached over the past week of wind. >
> During the afternoon we came across a mini ecosystem. There were Portuguese men-o-war, flying fish, and small tuna boiling in the sea. The tuna were too busy catching flying fish to notice our lure trailing behind Sunday Island, so no fish as yet today. The kids remained up the bow even in the rain watching the fish, jelly fish and flying fish passing by. >
> Emilie has mastered the art of making bread and her latest loves would match that of any bakery. Emiilie is certainly making use of the new Espace Ocean Chef oven baking cookies, foccasia and various other assortments. Tonight we try cooking Pizza in the oven for the first time! >
> We hope to get a bit of breeze tonight once the rain clouds disappear, otherwise the weather forecast shows no wind until we reach Barbados. It is a good chance to fully charge the batteries and fill the tanks up with water from the, but we would prefer to be sailing! >
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> Winds are light 8kts from the East as we sail wing on wing towards the Caribbean. We are making 4kts slowly towards our destination. >
> Last night we had two hitchikers land onboard. Two white birds that look to be of the kingfisher family, but have longer necks and legs like gannets landed onboard shortly after midnight and roosted on the missen boom. This morning they moved to the bow of the boat and strutting about making them selves at home. >
> Fishing line is out with a green squid lure hoping to catch some Mahi for dinner. >

> A hot mid Atlantic day. Air temp is 32*C, Sea temp is 28*C. Wind has dropped below 10kts as forecasted, and we are trying to use the last of the wind before it drops off compleatly. Our days run is now only 125nm from midday to midday. >
> Going further south does not avoid the light winds, so our course is now west towards the Caribbean. We may stop in Barbados for a few days and wait until the wind picks up again. This shortens our crossing by 100nm. >
> Time for some fishing!
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> Yesterday afternoon we were experiencing squalls bringing rain and variable wind. The wind changed in direction 90* and strength from 0 – 30kts depending our location in relation to the squall. Squalls differed in their intensity, however most sucked the wind away whenever they were in the vicinity. We approached the evening with caution putting a reef into the mainsail and having all sails ready to furl away quickly if required. The conditions are very common closer to the conditions of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) or doldrums. >
> Our speed dropped below three knots and it was hard to maintain course and our battery voltage was low so we started the engine and motored into the early evening, stopping the engine when the wind returned. >
> Our watches were busy changing sail configurations and settings from poled out, to a close reach as required. Sailing the boat and trimming Peter the Aeries to ensure we were going the right direction took constant attention. >
> The squalls and variable wind remained until 0400 this morning when the squalls finally disappeared opening the sky up to a beautiful clear night with shining stars and constant wind. I trimmed the sails for a broad reach, with wind from a true wind angle (TWA) of 120* and our course of 245*T then fell asleep exhausted in the cockpit at 0530 towards the end of my watch waking up with a start (not realising id fallen asleep) with the dawn light at 0645. Emilie and the kids were still resting below and Peter was keeping SI on course. >
> Our course of 245* will hopefully take us south of the worst of the low pressure trough, allowing us to sail more and use the motor less. If our weather routing is correct we will only need to motor for two days for the remaining 900nm (7- 8 days to Bequae). We have 70% or 350L of Diesel remaining, this gives us 750nm of motoring left, or 7 days of slow motoring (4.5kts) left if required. >
> The increased intensity of watches means less time for Emilie and I to relax and sleep. In addition to our six hour on six hour off watches we must keep the kids safe and entertained, cook, clean, school, navigate, check weather, maintain the boat and fix any odd items that come up through the day. At the most we will get 5 hours sleep in a row if not disturbed by the children or a sail change. On average we both get about 7 hours of broken sleep per day. It is quite exhausting on the mind and body and Emilie and I work hard at noticing simptoms of tiredness in the other and encourage each other to sleep. It is tempting some times to do extra hours in a watch to let the other sleep, however, from experiance this develops a dangerouse pattern where watches get out of sync, and hence our sleep patterns get out of sync, so we are strict to maintain our watch times, and concentrate on letting our partner sleep when they are off watch. >
> This morning the sun is out, drying this mornings washing hanging in the rigging, and topping up our batteries. Water maker is on to make the most of the solar, I see Albacore Tuna jumping next to the boat chasing flying fish. During the kids “recess” the fishing rod comes out. The kids have selected a rather large blue squid lure for the day. Too big for Albacore tuna, and hopefully a perfect size for Mahi. >
> The wind swung towards the east over the course of the morning and we poled out the Genoa. We enjoyed a lunch of prawns, couscous and falafal in the cockpit.. >
> Check out our position at http://cms.winlink.org:444/maps/positionreports.aspx?callsign=vk7hew >

> Sunday Island is experiencing squally conditions today. Wind ranging from 10kts from 090 to 30 kts from 180. The holiday is over and now we need to work a bit to make the most out of the wind we have. >
> We have been talking about how much Sunday Island needs a wash down after the dust that settled everywhere in Cp Verde, and now we have torrents of fresh water flushing the boat from top to bottom with every squall. >
> Our Freezer has been getting increasingly warmer, and today I found the compressor had stopped working when the batteries dropped below 12.4V. I discovered a voltage drop of 0.5V between the batteries and the switchboard so I disconnected the compressor from the switchboard and re wired the compressor directly to the batteries. Now everything seems to be working well and the freezer is coming back down in temperature. . I have checked all the connections at the battery and switchboard and everything looks ok, I can find no stray currents, so I will need to conduct an investigation in Bequae of the wiring will need to to find out why there was such a big voltage drop between the batteries and the switchboard. >
> Its the 1st of December today so the kids had a day off school and started their advent calendars and made a few decorations for the boat. We also baked ginger bread men and assorted other shapes. >
> Everything on deck is saturated wet, and down below is dry as a bone but steamy in the 31*C heat. I took the opportunity while I was re wiring the freezer to lift the floor boards and I was happy to find bilges all dry. >
> Peter the Aires wind vane is handling the squalls well, even when the apparent wind comes to 90 degrees at 26kts, but there is a lot more action on deck increasing the work load of Emilie and I. I’m sure we are going to be working for our supper for the next few days. Lucky Peter does not require any food or rest. >