Beneteau 57 delivered across the Atlantic, from Almerimar to Barbados
About 900 miles from southern Spain to the Canaries, then 2,930 nautical miles straight across the Atlantic to Barbados, with the owner and his friend on board and one of the most experienced ocean skippers we know.
2,930 NM
Canaries to Barbados, by the GPS track
Nov to Dec
Season
2 legs
Almerimar to Tenerife · Tenerife to Barbados
14,000+ EUR
Price for this passage today
The price covers the delivery crew. The owner covers fuel, flights for 2 crew and part of the berthing fees.
The passage
Across the Atlantic in a year when the trade winds stayed away
The owner and his family had spent two years sailing the Mediterranean on their Beneteau 57 and wanted her in the Caribbean for the winter. We split the job in two. One of our skippers and two crew took the boat from Almerimar through the Strait of Gibraltar to Tenerife, where she was provisioned and made ready for the ocean.
For the crossing skipper Agnes took over, a Yachtmaster Ocean Instructor. It was something like her sixteenth Atlantic crossing, she has lost count. The owner and a friend of his sailed with her and one of our crew. They went straight from the Canaries to Barbados. The classic advice is to go south until the butter melts and then turn right, because that is where the trade winds blow. That winter they hardly did, and the last 1,000 miles were sailed in very little wind. The GPS track shows 2,930 miles. The boat reached Barbados on the last of her fuel, just in time for everyone to catch the last flights home before Christmas.
The route options we planned: 900 NM to the Canaries, then 2,700 NM direct or 3,000 NM via Cape Verde
Weather on the ocean leg
A light wind crossing is slow, but it is also a question of fuel, water and power. The boat had a watermaker, a generator, Starlink, an SSB radio, Iridium and an InReach tracker, so the crew had fresh forecasts every day and could plan the engine hours instead of guessing. We budget 6 to 10 litres of diesel a day on an ocean passage like this and about two hours of charging. This time every litre counted. The lesson we took from it is simple: carry three times the fuel you think you need, especially in an El Niño year like 2023, when the trade winds can simply fail to turn up.
The forecast below also shows why the shortest line on the chart is not always the best one. The direct great circle route runs further north, straight towards the deep low in the middle of the North Atlantic. A longer track to the south means more miles but far easier sailing, and on a delivery that is usually the better deal for the boat and for the owner.
The North Atlantic on 29 November 2023. The shorter northern route leads straight into the deep low, the southern one is longer and much kinder
What the owner said
I enjoyed the trip very much! I did not have to live in the engine room for 3 weeks :) The boat fared very well and the crew were great. Happy to leave a glowing review.
How we ran it
What the owner got, step by step.
Crew and plan
Two legs and two skippers. Route options, fuel and a fixed crew price agreed with the owner before the boat left Almerimar.
The passage
Gibraltar and the Atlantic coast of Africa to Tenerife, then straight across to Barbados with the owner and his friend on board.
Handover
The boat in Barbados before Christmas, in good shape, and one final account with every cost of the trip listed.
Planning a similar passage?
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