BVIs towards Jamaica End of Day 5

These Blog entries are edited versions of the messages we sent back as we completed the passage.  They were sent by radio using a laptop that controls a modem and the HF/SSB radio, using the SailMail system.  We sent the messages daily to my daughter Charlotte and she then forwarded them on to a list of family members.

2359hrs (EST, GMT-5) 19 Jan 2020

Dear All,

Overnight we had 20-25 knot winds which was a nice amount but the seas were a little more confused as we worked our way along the southern side of Haiti so BV rolled around a bit and it was harder to get good sleep off watch.  The Windward Passage between Haiti and Jamaica has been busy with shipping which generally we sailed clear of but Nicky did have to talk to one ship on the VHF radio which seemed intent on running us down.  Once comms were established the watch officer confirmed that he was receiving our AIS signal and turned away from us which made things much more relaxed as all of his previous turns had been directly towards us.

Over breakfast, based upon the weather forecast we received overnight, we made the decision that we will go to Jamaica rather than directly to Cayman Brac.  The weather just doesn't look settled enough when we would be arriving there and it would be a shame to miss out on visiting Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

So, Port Antonio on the north eastern corner of Jamaica is our new destination which was about 90 miles away at breakfast time.  Even with our normal daytime speeds we couldn't arrive there before dark so we have left our overnight 3 reefs sailplan up and are cruising along at about 6 knots.  Our pilot book warns that the coastline in the area around the harbour is littered with lobster-pot markers and that there is too much risk of getting caught on one for a night arrival.  We are expecting to have to stop and sit hove-to for several hours overnight to time our daylight entry into the harbour.  A daytime arrival will also make things easier for dealing with Customs and Immigration when we get there.

At 10am we sailed through the 75W line of longitude so we have changed time zone to EST/R time which is 5 hours behind UTC.

Nicky worked though the calculations for her several days of sunsights this afternoon. 2 were about 16 miles out, one 6 miles out and one was just one mile out.  We work on a result within 10 miles being OK and within 5nm being good.  As she says, it's not the best set of sights that she's done but she hasn't done any for  while so this just goes to prove the requirement for keeping in practice - you never know when you might just need the sextant for real.

Jamaica is really there…

We caught our first proper glimpse of the eastern end of Jamaica at 1715hrs.  A covering of cloud made it a late spot at 35 miles; we should have seen it before that because Jamaica is very mountainous.

…. and a little more clearly

With about 45 miles left to go to Port Antonio at that stage we rolled away the genoa and continued with just the staysail and a triple-reefed main; enough sail to keep us sailing slowly, not so much that we arrive off the port too soon and have to spend 9hrs hove to, waiting for dawn.

Love to all,

Reg and Nicky

Passage statistics:

Position at midday 19 Jan: N17 47 W75 17

Position at midnight 19 Jan: N18 16 W76 12

Midday to midday distance (25 hrs): 181 nautical miles (Average 7.2 knots)

Midnight to midnight distance (25 hrs): 163 nautical miles (Average 6.5 knots)

Total miles covered:  757 nautical miles

Approximate distance to go (direct line to Port Antonio): 20 nautical miles

Approximate distance to go (direct line to Cayman Brac): 222 nautical miles

BVIs towards Jamaica, End of Day 5