Tenerife to Sal: Our Longest Passage So Far

April 28, 2026•2 min read

This is going to be a longer video, and it is the first one right after the summer break.

Nike is back on board and we sail from Tenerife to Palmeira on Sal in Cabo Verde. For all of us this was about to be the longest passage so far, and well… it was not going to be the easiest either.

Before we left, there had been a couple of weeks with almost no wind. Friends of mine needed almost 10 days to reach Mindelo, which can be nerve-wracking as well, especially when you still have a bad sea state.

For our passage it looked like we would have about 20 knots, gusting 25, from aft. The kind of forecast that makes you think: alright, this should be fine.

When the Forecast Was Wrong

Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be true.

We left with around 30 knots of wind and a good three-meter wave, telling ourselves that this must just be the funnel between Gran Canaria and Tenerife.

It calmed down a bit on the second day, just to completely go bananas on the next one.

Most of the time we had a beam reach, cross seas, and a sea state that was simply exhausting. The boat was fine, but we were not amused.

Rough Nights, Cross Seas, and Camper Van Thoughts

Nike took a flying lesson in the middle of the night while trying not to break the stove.

For me it was one of the roughest crossings I can remember. And about halfway through the passage, somewhere off the coast of Mauritania, we were both ready to sell the boat and buy a camper van instead.