Arrival in Ascension!

1910Z 17MAY22, anchored in Georgetown, Ascension Island! The weather was a bit cloud covered but we enjoyed nice views of an interesting volcanic island along our approach.

Position: 07 55S / 014 25W
10.5 hour progress: 53nm, 5kts avg SOG. Last 4.5 hours motor sailing to arrive by sunset.

731 nautical miles sailed
6 days, 10.5 hours
4.7 knots average speed over ground
7.4 hours of engine time
1 birthday
8 plankton samples taken
8 water samples taken for eDNA
0 fish caught by us, but tuna that was gifted to us in St Helena made 3 delicious meals
Major Casualties: None! But a crisis was narrowly averted. The halyard for the asymmetric had significant chaffing. A longer anti-chaffe sleeve will be installed here and it's a good reminder to check lines when sails remain up for extended periods. Other minor repairs and chores will be attended to, but the passage was pretty easy on Zephyros overall.

For Tuesday, it was a bit less wind than expected and the sailing slowed down. As we were so close and it was Ronan's birthday, we decided to turn on the engine and motor sail the final 25nm. Ascension is a bit tricky to enter at night due to the anchorage being between an unlit mooring field and a large floating hose that moves quite a bit. So rather than arrive a couple of hours after sunset and enter in the dark or have to mill around offshore waiting for daylight, we turned on the iron topsail and pushed forward. We waited just a little too long or timed it perfectly, depending on your perspective.

We rounded the corner of the island, coming into view of the anchorage as the sun was just about to set, chute flying and us motor sailing, making 7+kts. Our friends on Skylark called us to welcome us and give some pointers on the anchorage.

Shortly afterwards, we called the Harbour Master. We probably should have waited as the sun was now setting, the sails were still up, and the radio communication was quite broken. In the end Skylark relayed for us and we got the instructions from the Harbour Master and were cleared into the anchorage. There is no swimming due to sharks and there is a swell warning through the 18th so we need to stay on the boat until we can safely come ashore to check in, likely on the morning of the 19th.

We then doused the sails and proceeded in to drop our anchor. The daylight was fading and we quickly settled on a spot. We were relieved to have arrived and sorted things out before dark.

The rest of the evening was spent cleaning up, enjoying a birthday meal - lamb & potatoes - and enjoying some relaxed together time for Ronan's birthday.

This was a very easy passage, though a bit slow. We will spend a few days here and then carry on to Grenada, approximately 3100nm away. We are happy to have the short break and to explore a new spot. We hope that the next part of this passage will be just as smooth and easy with steady trade winds.

Thank you for following along with us! We'll be back posting again as soon as we are back underway in a few day.