Sailing SV Cordelia · video

What this video covers

The crew of the 46-ft ketch SV Cordelia completes a 1,500-mile non-stop passage from St Martin to Guatemala across the Caribbean Sea. During the 14-day transit, the crew encounters 2-meter seas and challenging downwind conditions that force them to hand-steer when their autopilot fails and their Hydrovane wind-vane steering struggles to maintain a course in heavy following seas.8:22 To mitigate security risks while transiting the waters off Nicaragua and Honduras, the crew disables their AIS transmitter and runs without navigation lights at night.15:07 They navigate through reefs and shoals south of Jamaica, where depth changes from 4,000 meters to 20 meters create turbulent sea states.9:11 The crew loses footage of the heaviest conditions after an Insta360 camera is damaged on deck.2:53 Upon arrival in Guatemala, the vessel anchors in an unfamiliar bay in total darkness.22:23 The passage demonstrates that maintaining a consistent watch and manual steering are necessary when automated systems fail in extreme sea states.

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