Bali 4.1 Zephyr, the idea of a dream, crossing the atlantic

In February 2020, we took delivery of our BALI 4.1, christened Zéphyr, with the family moving aboard in October 2020. This catamaran is perfect for our family of 5. The children are self-sufficient and take part in the day-to-day life of the boat. Thanks to the different living areas (aft and forward cockpits, saloon and flybridge) each of us can have our own space and create a little bubble of privacy. 

We spent one of the periods of lockdown living on board in the port of Hyères, and this time enabled us to fine-tune our preparations for our forthcoming Atlantic crossing. From there, we cast off, bound for Lan- zarote. The weather conditions in the Mediterranean in December are not the easiest: head-on waves, 30 knots of wind and a head-on current. This forced us to make several stops - in Alicante, Motril and Ceuta, before passing through the Straits of Gibraltar on a very calm day. 

The ocean brought a change of scenery: long and relaxing swell and sunny days until we reached Lanzarote, where we waited for a week for the trade winds to settle in. 

But there was nothing, no wind, a few puffs at most... 

Eventually, we decided to push on south towards Cape Verde with the idea of catching the trade winds off Mauritania. An ambitious plan that didn’t come to fruition! We arrived at Mindelo on the island of São Vicente without the slightest hint of any easterly breeze... 

But 3 days after our arrival, the wind woke us up one morning and the departure signal was sounded! A few last-minute errands and we were finally able to head out on our transatlantic journey, towards Martinique. 

After 17 days, 21 hours, and 2,117 nautical miles and 180 litres of diesel, used when there was no wind at all, hundreds of flying fish, 2 cargo ships, seagulls, a red-billed tropicbird and tons of sargassum seaweed, we arrived in the early hours of the morning off Le Marin. 

What a magical adventure on our comfortable and efficient Bali. 

We choose our anchorage in Grand Case Bay on the island of Saint Martin, where we used to live a few years ago, the lapping of the waves lulled us to sleep, the turquoise water still amazed us, and the sunshine helped us forget the frosty weather back home where we know how hard times are through the pandemic. We were to stay here for two months. 

After this long break we set sail for Martinique and then Guadeloupe where we met up with several friends. For this passage, the weather conditions were good. During the crossing our speed under sail varied between 3.5 and 11 knots depending on the windspeed and direction. 

By 15th April, it was time for the return transatlantic crossing. Three of us set off, and two returned home including our 16-year-old daughter. Impending school exams meant that Clara had to return by air! The wind, although strong in the anchorage, wasn’t consistent enough to sail and forced us to head west and then north, before we could set a course for the Azores. 

It took us 23 days to reach Horta, where we had to stop to replace our topping lift. En route, we met some whales, orcas, dolphins and turtles. We were doing so well on board that we could have continued on to our home port of Hyères without this enforced stopover! 

We spent 2 nights in Horta, did our obligatory painting, visited 3 restaurants, and met loads of people, then cast off again bound for Gibraltar. The only bad weather conditions encountered on this return leg were along the coast of Cadiz where the wind was blowing head on at 38 Kts. However, Zéphyr made good progress and we passed Gibraltar in calmer weather! We had left Hyères during the lockdown without a boat in sight. We returned on a beautiful day in May, and it seemed like everyone was now out and about sailing happily around us!