Solo Sailing Up The Gambian & Senegalese Coast: Dodging Nets, Lasers, & Chased By The Coast Guard

Leaving the calm of the Casamance River was the easy part. Getting Galopin safely to Dakar with a torn Genoa and a "toy" storm sail was a different story. In this episode: •The Bar: Navigating the treacherous mouth of the Casamance. With only 5 meters of depth miles offshore, the breaking waves were a constant threat to capsize us. •The "Toy" Sail: My big Genoa is gone. I’m crossing open water with a used main and a tiny storm sail. No motor noise, no vibration, and no fear of a tangled prop. Surprisingly, Galopin found his stride, giving us 6 hours of pure, silent sailing bliss. •The Invisible Minefield: Darkness brings a new set of obstacles. Fishing buoys and nets are everywhere, and catching a line in the prop means diving under the hull in the dark—something I desperately wanted to avoid. •The Laser Game: Out of the dark, a green laser tagged my sails. Then, six massive spotlights blinded me. Fishermen guarding their nets or a phantom Coast Guard? I had to steer off-course and hope they wouldn't follow. •Surreal Beauty: Despite the stress, the ocean provided a light show. The hull was cutting through clouds of blue bioluminescence, a spellbinding sight that video never quite captures perfectly. •The Cat Nap: Sleep is a luxury you can't afford. My night was a cycle of 20-minute alarms—wake up, check the AIS, scan the horizon for unlit boats, and repeat. •Night Terrors: The Gambian coast is a minefield of fishing nets and unlit buoys. Just as the bioluminescence began its surreal light show, I was targeted by green lasers and strobe lights. Was it fishermen protecting their nets, or the Coast Guard? •The Race: A 20-minute cat-nap cycle and a race against a closing weather window. When you’re 65 and solo, you learn to trust your gut—especially when it tells you to drop the sails before the wind hits. 00:00 Intro 00:30 Breaking waves 02:20 WTF is this? 02:56 Pure sailing pleasure 04:57 Laser beamed & chased 06:06 Dancing around cargos 07:13 Ominous ahead 09:11 Got dancing seal legs 11:06 Mission accomplished Some say it’s The Best Sailing Channel on YouTube! Agree or disagree, make your voice heard. Subscribe, like, dislike, or comment. DISCLAIMER: This series is simply intended to offer and give an alternative to conventional TV... for FREE! And if anyone has the good will to reward this series purely on merit because it's somehow funny, mildly interesting, slightly stupid, or bizarrely entertaining, you can do so by giving it a tip on Patreon or Ko-fi: https://www.patreon.com/SailorAlex? ko-fi.com/sailoralex Stay up to date with the following Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/windedvoyage/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/windedvoyage/ Winded Voyage Website: http://www.windedvoyage.com/ Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cuckooracha/ X: https://mobile.twitter.com/SwissSailorAlex/ Help keep Galopin moving toward the next horizon by joining our Patreon. #SailingSenegal #WindedVoyage #SoloSailing #GambiaCoast #BoatLife #SailingAfrica