From: Mike and Carol Kefford
Sent: August 02, 2014
To: ‘Will Curry’
Subject: RE: Hydrovane

Beneteau Oceanis 423 / Mike and Carol Kefford

Our Hydrovane was fitted by us (with the help of an engineer friend) in Gibraltar in 2011, having had it shipped there as we prepared to cross the Atlantic after three years cruising in the Mediterranean. Fitted with an excellent “stubby” wind vane to fit under the solar panel arch, we were able to learn how it worked and how we could best use it during our passage to Cape Verde via the islands of Madeira and Lanzarote. In particular, we understood how important it was to balance the sails so that the Hydrovane was not fighting to correct weather helm or lee helm. We discovered why our insurance company loves Hydrovane and we soon came to love “him” ourselves.

Like all other cruisers our steering assistants take on a personality of their own. Our Raymarine autopilot aka “Wilhelm” now had a companion “Barret”. So named after “Barret” Bonden, the coxswain in the Patrick O’Brien books, a favourite series of eighteenth century British Naval books and from which the film Master and Commander was made.

Barret was to steer us across the Atlantic in December 2011, to the Bahamas and North America in 2012 and back through the Caribbean in 2013 to Trinidad. We went through the Panama Canal in March 2014 and arrived in the Galapagos Islands in April.

The trip from Galapagos to the Marquesas Islands was to be our longest passage with just the two of us on board and “Barret” was an essential crew member for the 3000 mile crossing. He requires no power, we do not have to feed him and he never sleeps. He is the perfect crew member.

We departed from Academy Bay, Santa Cruz, Galapagos on 15 April and ran SW for the first few days with light winds between 4 and 12 knots, with the cruising chute pulling us along and Barret doing all the work. On 17 April a False Killer whale swam alongside the yacht, so close that Carol’s toes are in the photograph.

From 19 April to 3 May we travelled more westerly as the SE Trade Winds kicked in with 15 to 25 knots. However, from 25 to 30 April we also had a period of severe squalls and torrential rain. The wind was often gusting 30 to 40 knots on the edge of the squalls with the seas uncomfortably confused with crossing waves on top of the 3 metre southerly swell. During this period we often needed to hand steer for hours at a time as neither “Wilhelm” nor “Barret” could cope with the breaking following seas. This was not a reflection on “Barret” but on our steering wheel locking system which kept being thrown hard over by the following seas. We were reluctant to tie it down hard for fear of the forces breaking the rudder. We have since learnt to trust the strength of the yacht, to tie the wheel and let “Barret” do the rest.

From 4 May the squalls became less frequent, the seas were calmer and the wind backed to the east. At 10 degrees 20 minutes south we tacked back to the north for 24 hours to give ourselves a better angle of approach to the most southerly of the Marquesas’, the island of Fatu Hiva. We were then able to sail almost dead downwind with headsails poled out on either side and “Barret” doing a fine job on this most difficult point of steering.

We sighted the dramatic profile of Fatu Hiva at 0530 on 9 May, shortly after which the wind died for a while and we had to put “Barret” in neutral and motor sail until we rounded the northern tip of the island. The final three miles to Bay on Fatu Hiva was hand steering as it was such an emotional moment to approach that spectacularly beautiful bay.

Our passage had taken us 24 days, not fast at all as our conservative sail plan had been intended to look after the yacht, especially during the prolonged period of bad weather, and we still had 4000 miles to go to Australia. “Barret” had steered us the majority of the way and he and Tashi Delek had looked after us very well. We cannot wait for the next leg of the voyage and to see “Barret” deliver us, via the Tuamotus, Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to Bundaberg, in Queensland, Australia.

Contact