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FAST Ocean SAILING to South America | Sailing Florence Ep.142
25 November 2022 · 17 min · 71K views
What this video covers
Matt and Amy sail their 37-foot sailboat, *Florence*, 1,300 miles from Fernando de Noronha to French Guiana.0:11 To maximize speed, they route the vessel to intercept the Guyana Current, which provides a three-to-four-knot boost to their base speed of 7.2 knots.2:09 During the passage, they encounter 25-to-30-knot winds and a cross swell, requiring three reefs in the mainsail and a reefed genoa.10:08 The crew uses an Aries windvane to maintain course while navigating the hazards of the Amazon basin, where they maintain a 150-mile offshore distance to avoid floating logs and debris.3:27 After crossing the equator, the wind eases, allowing them to shake out a reef and deploy a staysail to maintain an 8-to-10-knot pace.15:14 They supplement their provisions by catching a skipjack tuna, which they process and pan-fry.15:45 The passage highlights the effectiveness of current-routing for small-vessel ocean crossings and the physical toll of maintaining a two-person watch schedule in rough, squally conditions.
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