DOUBLE TROUBLE SALING to the EQUATOR
January 16, 2026 · 22 min · 74K views · Fernando de Noronha
Sailboat cuts through open ocean under spinnaker at sunset
What this video covers
Barry Perrins departs Fernando de Noronha bound north for the Caribbean, crossing the equator roughly a week into the passage.▶ 0:25 The departure is immediately complicated when sailing companion John's engine fails at anchor; Perrins waits on the radio while John diagnoses and restarts it, then both vessels get underway together.▶ 0:33 Within an hour, Perrins's own engine begins blowing oil out of the dipstick tube, flooding the bilge with oil after only five minutes at low revs.▶ 3:35 He shuts it down immediately to prevent fire, then uses a stirrup pump to drain the sump and remove what appears to be an overfill — though the cause remains uncertain.▶ 4:22 The rest of the passage north runs under sail alone through the doldrums, with repeated squalls, confused cross-seas near an underwater ocean ridge, and a wind turbine peaking at 26 amps in the worst conditions.▶ 9:17 A forgotten open hatch during a squall soaks hard drives and electronics below.▶ 10:41 At 20 miles out, Perrins crosses the equator — his first time in the Northern Hemisphere in six years — marking the moment with a shaved beard and a brief ceremony to King Neptune.▶ 18:17 The engine oil incident underscores the risk of inaccurate dipstick readings on a rolling boat and the value of carrying a sump-drain pump offshore.
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