Happy Koumata: the Atlantic in the wake

We are staying in the port of Le Marin, in Martinique, for 2 more days. We left from Lanzarote on 18th November, and 19 days later we had finished our first major ocean crossing, that of the Atlantic. This went with no major problems. We met some new friends there, 3 times, with the company of fin whales, including a couple who followed us, playing with the hulls of our catamaran for almost 5 hours. Unforgettable. We also met another companion from the maritime world, for the first time, but it ended up on our plates; 4 dolphin fish were attracted by our lures, thus consecrating us as new round the world sailors. The 3,000 miles of the crossing were covered essentially with the wind aft, and 180m² of headsails, gennaker and jib goosewinged, with no mainsail. We used our code D type spinnaker very little. As for comfort, even aboard a cat, the crossed swells accompanied us for three quarters of the crossing, with as a result a constant movement from one side to the other. In a few days, we will be setting off to visit Martinique. At first we will be staying on the leeward side of the island, then we will risk sailing on the windward side, passing the coral barriers. As our round the world trip is planned for the next five years, we will be enjoying the Caribbean this year and next, before going through the Panama Canal.

Catherine and Bruno aboard Happy Koumata