The Dolley Family cast off on October 11th, 2020 for a 3 year family trip around the world on KUMBAYA - a brand new Nautitech 46 Open catamaran. Leaving from the Port des Minimes in La Rochelle, they tell us about their first month of sailing!
When did you get your catamaran back?
We recovered the keys of our catamaran on September 25, 2020. We made 3 outings with it, then we made it available to the company Nautitech during the open house which took place from 1st to 4th October. As the weather was not good, we waited for storm Alex to pass before setting out to sea.
Did you have a schedule to respect and a place to join for the beginning of November?
Yes, we left on 11 October 2020 and the aim was to reach the Canary Islands as soon as possible. We wanted to leave the bad weather and the winter depressions and sail in one go to the island north of the Canaries on the island of La Graciosa. The weather being capricious, we had to stop in Cascais next to Lisbon on October 16th, 2020, after 5 days of sailing. First stop of 5 days, which allowed us to regain our strength, make our first anchorage and sail up the Tagus to visit Lisbon.
We set sail again on 21 October 2020 and reached our first target on 26 October 2020. We tell ourselves that this is it, our round the world trip is well under way, we've already covered 1400 miles!
Your longest sailing with the children is 5 days non-stop, did you encounter any difficulties?
We have 4 children between the ages of 3 and 9. The first night, they all gathered in our room and slept together as a foursome. Since then, we are very lucky, everyone sleeps very well even during the night navigation. The catamaran is also very safe, we have a very good visibility on the whole boat and the awnings on the side allow us to close the outside area for more security.
What are the first highlights since your departure?
Dolphin hunts in the middle of the night. With our LED navigation lights on the hulls, we noticed that the fish were attracted by the green and we could witness several hunts with 5 to 6 dolphins shooting like torpedoes at 1 meter from the boat to come and eat small fish.
The discovery of a warm stable wind of 15 knots off Essaouira which enabled us to sail downwind for several hours and take off our watch jacket for the first time!
Our first catch, a dorado, was a moment of sharing and euphoria for the whole family, we cooked and ate it all together.
We arrived at the Graciosa anchorage with a lunar, volcanic landscape and about forty dolphins escorted us to the anchorage as if to welcome us. It was magical.
What difficulties have you encountered?
On a physical level, the fatigue that accumulates after several nights of sailing. On the navigation level, it will be the crossing of the rail with the cargo ships at night, fortunately without surprise.
Another difficulty is getting the school on board. At the beginning it was a bit complicated. The children started to work 1 or 2 hours in the morning from Porto. Before that it was not possible with the acclimatization to this new lifestyle. Since then, we have established a routine, school in the morning even if the children are quickly distracted as soon as they see a bird or something...
Technically speaking, we're keeping our fingers crossed, everything's going well for the moment. The boat has been very well prepared. No breakage to report. We were really well advised and accompanied by Nautitech and Neo Marine Atlantic.
As you know, France is once again confined since Friday 30 October 2020 and the practice of pleasure boating is notably forbidden. For your part, are you affected by the health crisis?
We're so lucky to have been able to set sail at the right time. Right now, we're realizing how lucky we are, savoring our freedom. Of course we have to wear the mask when we go ashore, but there is no containment. We've decided to stay a month in the Canaries and depending on the health situation we'll decide whether or not to go to Cape Verde. We will adjust our program in due time, for the moment we are enjoying our new family life on Kumbaya.
