​The adventures of
Saecwen and her crew

If you ask a Brazilian sailor about their favourite cruising destinations, the chances are Fernando de Noronha will be at the top of their list.  This archipelago is situated 350 miles off the north east coast of Brazil and hosts a pristine ecosystem of diverse marine and bird life, unique geological structures and wildly beautiful beaches. The islands were discovered in the early 1500s by Fernao de Loronha and have since been under Dutch, English and French rule before being

Unlike a traditional downwind passage direct to the Caribbean from the Cape Verde Islands, a voyage to Brazil is an altogether more challenging undertaking given it involves crossing several very different weather systems. The passage can essentially be divided into three discreet sections. Firstly, it starts whilst still in the NE trade wind belt, involving classic downwind sailing for the initial few hundred miles heading south from the Cape Verdes. Refuelling in Mindelo,

Our final stop in the group of Atlantic islands known as Macaronesia, (made up of the Canaries, Azores, Maderia and the Cape Verdes) took us to the first African nation in our voyage the Cape Verde Islands.  This archipelago is made up of 10 volcanic islands a few hundred miles west of Cap-Vert, in Senegal, the most westerly point of the African continent.  Palmeira Harbour, Ilha do Sal, Cape Verde  Our first stop was Ilha do Sal, the most north easterly of the islands where