Smoke and Roses - We Are "GOBOW"

Logged 758 Nautical Miles, 122.5 Hours

111.75 Hours Sailing 10.75 Hours Motoring

January 31 - February 10

St Helena to Ascension Island

I must have been an island girl in a past life as I can’t seem to get enough of theses remote islands with their diverse mountain hikes, stunning beaches, unique flora and fauna as well as the laid back lifestyle of the friendly islanders. In additions to doing some unique hikes on Ascension Island we got to watch the endangered green turtle lay eggs on Long Beach, just inshore from our anchorage.

Ascension Island is approximately 700 miles north of St Helena, both islands are UK overseas territories sharing similar climate and remote geographical locations in the South Atlantic between Africa and South America, yet they differ greatly in terrain and ecology. St Helena has more lush greenery and Ascension has more beaches. With a population of just 800 Ascension Island is also home to a US military Air Force Base.

There are numerous reasons why we chose alternate route from St Helena to Cabedelo instead of following the World ARC route first to Salvador and then to Cabedelo. Our route breaks the second half of the South Atlantic crossing into shorter legs by stopping at two islands, Ascension and Fernando. In addition to being several hundred miles shorter overall, the shorter sailing distances between stops is much easier, especially when double handling. We heard negative reports about Salvador such as it being dirty, noisy and having a high crime rate. Also the popular Brazil Carnival will not be taking place in Salvador during the WARC visit this year; instead we will go to Carnival from Cabedelo. I personally prefer remote island anchorages to big city marinas. The typical weather pattern means Salvador to Cabedelo is against the wind for nearly 500 miles, our alternate route is downwind sailing much more comfortable, especially for catamarans. There are commercial flights to Brazil frequently, there are no commercial flights to Ascension and Fernando has limited access. The opportunity to visit these islands is rare. On the World ARC YB tracker the five of us boats that have chosen the alternate route have been greyed out, we are no longer in color. So, this renegade mini fleet is now referring to themselves as “GOBOW” which stands for “greyed out boats out wandering.” Seriously, this route was a no brainer for me and I wish the best for the rest of the fleet.

On the morning of January 31, 2019, the Gobow fleet consisting of “Aurora Polaris”, “Cayuse”, “Influencer”, “Mad Monkey” and “Smoke and Roses” left St Helena for the five day cruise to Ascension Island. With 15 – 20 knots of wind we flew the gennaker day and night until the third day when we had a little squall with 28 knots and took it down for the next 8 hours. On the first day we had sloppy seas with waves hitting our aft quarter, by the second day it was sunny and bright. The water temperature is 78 degrees. On the third night just after my midnight to 4:00 am watch, Dan called for my help as the gennaker halyard broke and the whole sail was under the boat! It took about 45 minutes to pull it out of the water. Leaving the mainsail up I put the boat in irons to slow down. The tack and clew of the gennaker were still attached to the boat, Dan pulled and pulled. The clew sheet was caught on a prop or keel so once the sail was onboard we detached the line from the bow and pulled it through. Fortunately, it appears as no damage was done to the sail, a new halyard will need to be run inside the mast. That afternoon, in light wind we motored some then sailed slow going 4 to 5 knots wing and wing through the night. It was frustrating as we knew how much faster the gennnaker would be. The last couple days were sunny and warm, with slow sailing and a current helping us, this was some of the most relaxed ocean sailing. “Cayuse” and “Influencer” were in later on the 4th while the rest of us got in the morning of the 5th. As we sailed around the south of Ascension towards Clarence Bay we caught two fish, and then anchored out from the golden sands of Long beach on the northern side of Georgetown.

Agnes Long