SQUALLS, SPINNAKERS AND THE AZORES, OH MY!

Written by Tasha Sims, SV Deja Blue, and friends

The 2026 SDSA Azores Rally departed St. George's Harbour, Bermuda in early June with a lucky-number fleet of 13 Salty Dawg boats: Beta, Daydream, Deja Blue, Devona, Dragonfly, Exodus, Freestyle, Sonas, SparrowHawk, Think Twice, Tivoli, WanderCat, and Zia.  For many, it would be their longest passage at approximately 1,850nm, with most boats completing the journey in about 12 days.  Like all long passages, getting to the start was a feat unto itself.

The Long Road to the Rally

Months of planning, upgrading, and provisioning preceded departure: new electronics, backup autopilots, AIS, RADAR, new furlers, new sails.  And of course, the universe delivered a few surprise needs right at the last minute, because nothing says "bon voyage" like overnight shipping charges from a parts supplier 3,000 miles away.  Our wallets were lighter.  Our spirits were not.

In beautiful Bermuda, crews arrived, fun was had, and boats were well-provisioned while the fleet patiently waited for a weather window.  "Patiently" being a generous term when gale-force winds swept through the anchorage, dinghies turned into floating bathtubs, and boats dragged anchor in the night.  The crews made the most of time spent in Bermuda: lots more boat prep, Hamilton provisioning runs, and Captain's briefings at BYS.  The fleet kept the social calendar packed too, celebrating Bermuda Day, Bermuda Radio tours, Moongate Brewery happy hours, a Gosling's Rum party and dinner, BBQ at the Dinghy Club, and a final departure dinner at White Horse to send everyone off.  Eventually the weather window opened.  We weighed anchor grateful for the SDSA, our sailing network, family, and friends.

All the Sails, All the Conditions

Deja Blue got to use all her sail configurations, and then some.  Wing-on-wing to start, then the asymmetrical spinnaker and Code Zero in the light stuff, then the staysail once the squalls arrived.  And arrive they did.  What followed could only be described as Walls of Squalls: radar screens full of red blobs, lightning, two solid nights and days of downpours.  Water-soaked electronics acted up fleet-wide.  On Deja Blue, we pulled apart the binnacle mid-passage to dry out the furler buttons, and put out a call for "binnacle bonnet" ideas - essentially a shower cap for our instruments.  The winner: an extra-large vacuum bag, cut open and deployed with full seriousness.  We're not proud.  We're practical.

The upside of all those conditions?  We invented a new (to us) sail configuration… the Code Zero-G: deploy the genoa and run the its lazy sheet through the aft blocks like a code zero and the lazy sheet becomes the active sheet, repurpose the original active sheet as a barber hauler, and use two winches.  You get 8 to 9 knots on a 48-foot monohull, easily furl-able when the wind stops behaving.  Share freely.  We're sailors. 

One evening we also caught the pin holding the vang nearly working itself free.  Cotter pin gone, vang pin plotting its escape to the ocean floor.  We hammered it back in, installed a beefy replacement cotter pin, and sailed on.  Pulse rates almost normalized.  A reminder that deck walks are a daily chore for a reason.

Fleet MacGyver Moments

Rally crews loved solving problems together. A sampling of what the fleet figured out mid-passage:

• Kettle sliding off the counter: Gorilla double-sided tape.  Done.
• 50 yards of fishing line around the rudder: Skipper swam under the boat in 8 - 10-foot seas and 20 knots of wind to cut it free.  Actual heroes on voyage!
• Lost Code Zero halyard: Improvised with the spinnaker halyard, adjusted course.  Seamless-ish.
• Gennaker top-down furler let go mid-flight: Sail destroyed, four hours to recover, but no injuries and no boat damage.  A win, framed generously.
• Leaking escape hatch: Fixed with tampons and pads.  50/50 female-to-male crew ratio, for the win.  The men are now believers.
• Water through the front hatch: Blue painters’ tape.  Dry bunk.  Sail on.
• Short-handed crews: Pre-cook and freeze meals before departure.  Keep fruit and energy bars accessible.  Set the boat up so daily tasks don't fatigue you unnecessarily.

The Parts That Really Matter

Overall impressions from the fleet were overwhelmingly positive: crews celebrated anniversaries, birthdays, landed fish, spotted whales and dolphins, and many logged their longest passages to date.  Above all, what crews kept coming back to: have fun and savor it.  Embrace the rhythm.  Welcome the surprises.  The rally community was highly valued; e.g. the SDSA app, the programmed events and the informal gatherings in Bermuda and the Azores gave sailors the chance to connect, form new friendships, swap stories, and remember why we do this.

On the last day, as Faial, Azores finally appeared on the horizon, I had the same conflicting emotions I always do at landfall…happy to see new land, sad to end our time at sea.  Time offshore is rare and precious: real time with your crew, solving problems together, figuring out what you and your boat are made of.

The fleet celebrated our accomplishments together in Horta, with dinners at Café Peter Sport, Canto da Doca and Atletico Restaurant.  The Rally boats have now dispersed throughout the Azores, exploring these most beautiful islands.  Oh My!

One last note: Considering your own TransAt?  Start your upgrades now.  Get your crew together.  Order your parts early (learn from us).  Join the SDSA Rally!

Come find us along the way in the Azores, in Ireland or London, UK, we'll be the ones with the vacuum-bag binnacle bonnet, very pleased with ourselves.

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