Day 6 Saturday February 4

9:00 We didn’t expect this kind of weather . The forecast was for wind forse sex but the wind is forse four 15-18 kts of wind, which is uncomfortable when sailing downwind. Approximately 70 nautical miles remain to our destination and sailing with 5kts means that we will arrive after sundown and reaching an unknown port in the darkness is hard. Yorgos turns on the engine to charge Filizi’s batteries and this time he decides to use the propeller to increase our speed.

The day is sunny and the sky clear but strangely, the colour of the sea is not as blue as before but a more greenish colour. I feel a bit tired, but I do not like to leave our home dirty, so I start cleaning the kitchen and the cupboard of dishes (and the dishes are skating on the counter), and generally tidy up. Last I wash some of Gorgos T-shirts including the brand new white Gustavia Yacht Club polo shirt that he got as a present. My baby is at the cockpit studying his book Ocean Passages and Landfalls and keeping an eye on our course.

– “I washed the new shirt!” I said and get a sweet kiss in return and a cheerful smile. I hang the laundry up to dry on the safety lines.

11:00 The weather is changing the sky is still blue but a huge cloud, something like a fog is spreading to the south. So thick and gloomy one would think that the Black Perl would suddenly appear. Worried that rain is coming, I take the laundry in – still a bit wet – along with pillows, books all we had spread outside.

12.00 After half an hour, nothing happened, no raifall and the mist thinned. I hang the laundry up again and then lie down on the cockpit, closing my eyes, letting the sun warm me up. Yorgos is preparing one of our favorites: spaghetti, aglio, olio & pepperoncini, extra spicy.

– “Don’t be shy on the garlic, we are staying in tonight” I ask him.

13.00 We are enjoying our lunch and the spirits are high wheh a wave breaks on the left, next to the drying clothes.

– “Oops,” I say and dart fast to pick them up again

– “Use the safety line at the right side, where they will not get wet” Yorgos suggests speaking wisely.

As I hang out his white new polo shirt I see a bright red stain on the sleeve, like ketchup!

– “Oh my! How did this happen? ” I exclaim

Looking closely, I see not only one, but four stains.

– “What did you do to my new the shirt?Was there rust on the safetylines? “Yorgos sais exasperated taking the shirt from my hands .

-” Of course not! Besides, rust doesn’t have such bright red color!” , I answer and turn to look him in the eye.

– “Karina! You are bleeding! “he says, surprised. It looks like a splatter movie, blood runs from my neck almost to the belly. We get to the bathroom, cleaning the wound that was, despite all the bleeding, just a scratch. I wash the blood off the shirt immediately, while puts a bandage on my wound.

– “It’s all clean! The secret is to use cold water as the girl said in the movie «Lobster» that we saw a few days ago. Bless you Lanthimos (the film director) …

14:00 The wind is about 15 kts from behind us and we sail slow, with 4,5 kts with a strong current running against us . We raise the mainsail in sail to sail- butterfly- configuration to help our speed, securing the boom with the preventer. The current and big waves make things very difficult, not Otto(electronic automatic)nor Stubby (Hydrovane) manage to steer the boat and so Captain Yorgos takes the helm. 15:30 I try to get some sleep first in the cabin and then at the cockpit. Yorgos continues steering for 1.5 hour until he furles the main to save some of his energy. I get out of bed and cut some fruit for us when I hear him calling:

– “Come quickly to see an incredible sight!” I run out and follow his pointed finger. About a mile away to the east, countless tiny fish are jumping over the waves. The herd, spread out over 500 meters long, is approaching like a huge wave of silver arrows, countless little fish jumping, diving, in a continuous flight to survival. Magnetized, I track them hoping for them to come closer, but the herd is turning course disappearing in the the horizon.

17:00 The captain is hungry and asks me to heat the remaining pasta, while he unfurls the mainsail, again. We are sailing fast now, as we turned a little and the angle to the wind changed .

We eat withour dishes in hand, as the motion of Filizi is very strong. After a while I hear beeps from the cell phone.

– “Yorgos, we have Colombia mobile connection !! I tell him, going at the cockpit to see nothing more than this strange haze in the horizon.

– “Where are we going, baby? “I ask

– ‘We are going nowhere! “je jokes and I, remembering my girlfriend Valeria’s great song” Nowhere “I start singing. Yorgos takes a video of the moment when suddenly, through a large wave that pops beside us jump two dolphins!

– “Look !!” Six , seven dolphins are performing amazing tricks

– »Welcome to Colombia!!» my baby says and embrace

18:00 The wind is gone up 25-30 kts and the current is even stronger than before, almost 3 kts against . The sun is setting but fortunately the moon is already up and has big enough tolight our way. We get into shallower waters and the swell is huge.

19:00 We experience an unprecedented bad weather, the waves are roaring around and it’s blowing terribly strong. The anemometer shows the apparent wind 35-45 kts so the true wind must be be over 50. Yorgos gives the helm and disconnects the Hydrovane.

I steer with a great effort as the waves and the raging wind push the boat to turn left. Picking at the plotter I see Maracaibo close to Santa Marta, bringing the old song to my mind and I start singing again. At some point, a increddible gust and a large wave pulls the steering wheel to the left. Yorgo reaches out and turns the helm with me stabilizing our course.

“May I take it now?” he asks and I have no objection.

We are in great tension. The captain is absolutely focused, there’s absolutely no margin for error right now!

The lights of Santa Marta glimmer through the spray of t he storm.

– “Hopefully, when we passed the island the waves with be smaller. The current, however worsens the situation enormously It is almost four knots!”says almost shouting to make its voice heard over the howling wind.

Me with the iPad in hand check the map trying to figure our course.

With relief we see the waves become smaller as we pass the islet. The wind still terrifying, blowing gusts of 50 kts

20:00 We have now entered the bay of Santa Marta and try to locate the marina. Now it’s time to furl our genoa we decide. Yorgos turns right and I furl the filled with air genoa with strength I did not know I possesed. After a while, the wind gives us a break and drops for two minutes, but long enough for us to furl our mainsail, too. We really are relieved as we did not want our new sails to be damaged. I go to the VHF and talk to channel 72

– “Marina Santa Marta, Marina Santa Marta, Marina Santa Marta this is sail yacht Filizi, over»

– »This is Marina Santa Marta» the voice answers and continues in Spanish.

»Hola! Soy Barca Vella Filizi y tenemos reservazion»I say with my very poor spanish. Fortunately someone else comes who speaks English.

– »Hola Filizi! Come to the fuel dock », he says.

We enter the marina. At the low floating dock five people are waiting for us.

Yorgos maneuvers the boat and I tie the fenders and prepare the ropes.

“Let’s moor from the starboard side, so we may have the breeze in our cabin” I suggest.

20.30 After five minutes we are tied at the dock and the people of our marina welcome us

Yorgos treats them with cold beers.

– “Bienvenido a Colombia!» they say

Oh captain, my captain! We made it to Colombia…