ATLANTIC CROSSING GRAIN DE SABLE

SILENCE AND JUNGLE!!!!

4/2/2016

We are in Suriname!!!!.....Deep inside the Suriname river in smallest marina ever we ever been:)...Quiet, remote and very very beautiful place...We are in Waterland marina of Suriname. After 18 days at Sea that's just perfect:) Still is hard to believe there is no noise of wind outside...and no need to tie all things because water is so still that sometimes its looks that we stay on a hard . Atlantic was so wavy last 10 days that we forgot what is means to put a glass of wine on table:)
But all is done. Our fourth Atlantic crossing is finished! In few sentences it was different ...like all they were,,, but this time it was with OUR boat so it was special:) We are glad to say that our Grain was performing great. Now we trust it more than before and like it more ...much more!!! We saw its weak points( like automatic and and wind vane steering system), but they all are fixable ,,,need just time and money. We will manage.

There were many days with so little wind and days with lots of it and in all time Grain sailed nicely. its very stable and rigid boat,so we glad about it. Maybe its not the fastest sailing boat, but when you are in middle of Atlantic with huge waves that is not important. You need to feel safe in a ship you are,,,and so thats how we felt . ALl way till Suriname, which we reached in a deep deep night.

After 18 days of no land in windy night we arrived to Suriname river entrance. It was 38 miles which we had to sail till marina. Unfortunately tides that day were not favorable during the day, so we needed to enter at night. What was quite stressful in beginning till we reached first boy . After we saw that the lights works perfectly, Boys location are the same as in Open Cpn and Garmin charts ...and there were no trafic at all , so we relaxed and after 7 hours of sailing and motoring we safely reached Waterland marina. It was very windy in the entrance with short steep waves so we used motor and reefed jib in front to get more speed, so care in needed. But apart of all that finally we saw that it was even better to enter river at night. it was more easy to distinguish all light than in day , when green can easily disappear between color of water. ALso we had bright moon which was helping all way so much. Only to stay awake and attent all night was little bit tiring .. But when you see the contours of land after almost three weeks of sailing you forget a sleep totally.
We always say no more time of entering unknown place at night, but after again it happens to get close to shore before down and we go forward. Its not easy..not at all....but after all its all experience..and its never enough.
Now its time to make some tourism, move our legs on land on and see what this wild and so unknown for us country can offer.

And here are some photos of crossing..this time is not too much, because once at sea we forget a camera totally. Need to force my self to use it and so that's not the same as in land. Probably because is the place which i think any photo can express........how the sea is ..how we feel. ,,the colors...the movement...all.... Is a place where one has to enjoy the moment by its own and see how fast all around is changing. Photos would show the same...but in reality there is never nothing the same at Sea ....