Our year on Namani in summary
Wolfratshausen, Germany
Nana
We're back in the fatherland now and slowly transitioning again into land-locked life... There are a few items which we still have on our list to post here as some kind of a "wrap-up"; here's the first installment - our year aboard Namani in summary (in somewaht random order...):
10,268 sea miles
360 nights aboard Namani
70 nights at sea
19 countries visited
4 broken toes (3 within first 10 days, 1 towards the end)
Longest passage with us 2 adults: Milos (Greece) to Malta, 6 days, 636 miles
Longest passage overall (3 adults): Atlantic crossing, 26 days, 3192 miles
Shortest day's sail: Mayreau to Tobago Cays, 3 miles
Easternmost point of cruise: Greece: Sifnos (Vathi) 024°41 E
Southernmost point of cruise: Grenada: Prickly Bay 11°59.59 S
Westernmost point of cruise: Florida: Fort Pierce 080°19 W
Northernmost point of cruise: Maine: Snow Island 43°49 N
Of our 360 days aboard Namani:
129 we sailed with friends on board
156 we sailed in company with another sailboat
A total of 247 days (excluding overlaps) we sailed either with friends on board or in company of friends on another boat
Roughest conditions:
Europa Point off Gibraltar - big, confused seas
Atlantic crossing: 1 rough night mid Atlantic, big seas last 50 miles into Antigua
North of St Vincent
Barbuda to St Kitts - big following seas
We never experienced more than a Force 7 (perhaps low 8) at sea
Sails
9 sails carried, 6 used
Never used: storm sail, spare main, spare genoa
Most used: Mainsail, #2 genoa, large staysail
Used just once: spinnaker, small staysail
Most valuable equipment: tow/wind generator, Lego, Rocna anchor, SSB + Pactor modem, solar garden lamp as anchor light
Longest time spent in one place: 3 weeks in Fort Pierce, Florida, waiting for engine parts & repair; 3 weeks Jolly Harbour, Antigua after crossing and celebrating holidays
Biggest problems: (not too bad, considering)
break in self steering with 1000 miles to go in Atlantic crossing; had to hand steer
engine problems started with flooding through exhaust in Atlantic, later caused failure in Bahamas and Florida
Favorite places:
Valletta, Malta
Mahon, Menorca
Tobago Cays, St Vincent & Grenadines
Les Saintes, Guadeloupe
Portsmouth, Dominica
Grenada in general
Bahia de Almodovar, Culebra
Snow Island, Maine
Most scenic points of our cruise:
Pitons, St Lucia
Tobago Cays
Snow Island, Maine
Barbuda
Culebra
Cala Covas, Menorca
Most special sights:
whales in Atlantic
many dolphins off Lanzarote
lunar eclipse inTobago Cays
space station passing overhead, Florida,
swimming with sting rays and turtles, Tobago Cays
swim call in the open sea in water 3000 meters deep
Longest stretch of only anchoring: 36 days in Windward islands
Windiest anchorages: Canouan 32 kt winds, St Kitts 38 kts (measured at deck level)
Most expensive repairs:
Engine repair US $750, Florida
New bracket for self steering: US $630, Antigua
Best beer: Dogfish 60 Minute IPA, Maine
Worst beer: Anheuser Busch sampling, Florida
Best Mediterranean beer: Ichnusa (Sardinia)
Best Caribbean beer: Piton (St Lucia)
Things we would do differently next cruise:
More solar panels and maybe a permanently mounted wind generator
Keep a slower pace than we had in the Mediterranean
Sign up with Chris Parker or similar weatherman / router sooner
Get rid of hot water heater for more space
Better insulate fridge
Different wind vane steering system (we liked our old Windpilot's separate rudder but it was frequently knocked off course in big following seas)
Anchor windlass set-up that can handle mixed rode (we had to manually attach / detach line from chain)
Things we liked most about our boat:
Good mix between a hardy, sea going vessel and a roomy, livable home
Spacious cockpit
Small enough to be affordable (upkeep, bottom paint, marina fees), big enough to work well and be comfortable
Comments
Ken & Lori Newe...
Thu, 01/01/1970 - 00:33
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Great trip summary. We
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