Mozambique Cyclone Idai – Sailing towards a storm In March (a little earlier than planned-still in cyclone season!)

Mozambique Cyclone Idai – Sailing towards a storm, a little earlier than planned, during cyclone season…

Late April, May and June is the right time to sail this coast….We left mid March because of an extraordinary weather window which would carry us the first 1000 miles downwind, instead of upwind…

Was it 100% safe? NO.

Did we get more than we bargained for, or just what we signed up for? Watch the video to find out…

Also…Wish we were on Patreon? We aren’t…but you can support us in 5 other ways:

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What do most people do when they see a cyclone on the Predictwind forecast with their Iridium GO or other ways of getting weather at sea? They stay safely in port, right? We saw an opportunity to go south with the north winds that would be north of the cyclone in the the Southern Hemisphere near Tanzania and Mozambique. It promised, if we played it just right, to carry us at least 1000 miles south with nice north winds!

So we grabbed our last veggies and eggs for 3 weeks, and set sail to South Africa, chasing Cyclone Idai down  down the coast of Mozambique. We wanted to be close enough for the winds, but not too close!!! We later found out that this cyclone was the worst cyclone to ever hit Mozambique, killing thousands of people and demolishing even more homes. It’s a good thing we played it just right!

Even with that, we did get the remnants of it when we got a little too close…and we were socked with 50 knot winds for a bit, complete with driving rain and lots of thunder and lightening. Seas mounted fast. Luckily it was short lived.

Too bad it was too rough and most off all too dark, to film during the very worst of it, or I know Patrick would have been up filming it!

Hope you enjoy the video, give it a thumbs up, subscribe, and have a lovely Easter weekend! If you have any spare change, leave it in the TIP jar in the top right corner of the screen…thanks!

We studied the two following books/guides (click on either to see more detail), and utilized our Professional Subscription at Predictwind  to help make these very important and intricate decisions about our trip south. Des Cason, a local Weather and anchorage guru and long time cruiser in this area also provided daily updates and advice as we moved south.

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See our Track…from Year One to Now with Predictwind!

 

Mozambique In April, May and June

Mozambique Cyclone Sailing Tanzania to South Africa

Who is Patrick Childress..and why a YouTube Channel?

7364 Subscribers, 34 videos, and over 3 millions minutes of watch time now!

Watch the video to find out why Patrick loves YouTube…And Read below for his background…

Who is Patrick Childress, and why a Youtube channel? Patrick and Rebecca Childress are sailing around the world on their 1976 Valiant 40,  SV BRICK HOUSE, one of the sailing world’s most famous Bluewater Cruising sailboats.

Patrick learned to sail when he was a young child, and has played around and worked around both sailboats and powerboats for half a century.  Rebecca didn’t learn to sail until she was in her 20s when the sailing bug bit her hard!p, but has been at it with both feet in for a few decades now. But we are both still really young!!!

Patrick completed a solo-circumnavigation on Juggernaut, a Catalina 27 in his younger days. He has been published in most U.S. and many foreign sailing magazines, for both his writing and photography. He co-authored a book titled “The Cruising Guide to Narragansett Bay and the South Coast of Massachusetts”. He holds his 500 Ton Masters Captains License, and is an active delivery captain and instructor. His Ham license is a General.

Captain Patrick Childress owned a home improvement business in Newport, RI but retired in June 2007 to cruise a second time around the world on Brick House.

He is also, most importantly, Captain of SV Brick House, AND married to Rebecca Taft, now Rebecca Childress! (July 4, 2007)

Rebecca Childress is an accomplished sailor as well. She has owned many boats ranging from a 17′ MacGregor, a Catalina 27′ and a 36′ Catalina, and now the Valiant 40 that she purchased a few years before meeting Patrick. (Lucky Patrick hah?)

Before meeting Patrick and heading out on this circumnavigation, she had completed numerous blue water passages between Rhode Island and the Caribbean and passages across the Gulf of Mexico. Cruising has included the Bahama Islands, New England, Nova Scotia, the Florida coast and the BVIs, all in preparation for the day she could circumnavigate.

Rebecca holds her 50 Ton Masters Captains License with towing and sailing endorsements. She is also a General Licensed Ham Radio Operator.

She met Patrick on her first NARC Rally from Newport to Bermuda. She had always dreamed of sailing around the world, and knew that a passage to Bermuda in November would teach her more about heavy weather sailing since it is usually rough that time of year.

Several years later when Patrick and Rebecca got together, they set their sites on earning enough money to cruise around the world together! Three years later, they had saved just enough money and were ready to move aboard!

First mate Rebecca became a successful Realtor in Newport, RI, and has an extensive list of Computer Certifications and experience as well.

Now they are both retired!

After almost 8 years of exploring the Globe, they decided to add another crew member to Brick House. This was while in the island nation of Palau. They got Lily, a 7 week old practically wild little tiger kitten from a local apartment building. She has grown up on Brick House, learning how to sail ( the first time a freighter passed and stirred up a wake, she vomited at the sight of it. She hasn’t been sick since, even in 50 knots of wind!) She has learned how to fish, lets us know when people approach the boat, and has learned how to swim too.  With almost 15,000 miles and 18 countries under her belt, she is a well traveled cat. On the rare occasion she gets to a marina, she decides its time for her to to see the world! I guess she takes after us!

Together, we make a great team taking our home around the world,

Here is a good place to start…and continue your sailing education:

YouTube Sailboat How To Videos…Tools we use for growing our sailing Youtube channel that have worked

 

Ever wonder if Patrick wrote any books in his life?

FLASHBACK! The Day We Untied the docklines and left

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