Sailing Canary Islands to Cape Verde on Classic Schooner
What makes this special The Journey What it feels like Mid December in Tenerife. The Canaries fade behind. Twister points south, the trade winds pick up, and the open ocean takes over. Christmas Day somewhere in the big blue. Twelve days of sea and exploration time, deep blue water, big skies, and the slow settling…
What makes this special
- Ocean Nomads Expedition leg. Prime crew, discovery call before booking, Julie onboard as trip host
- Christmas at sea. 5 to 7 days of open-water trade wind sailing between the Canaries and Cape Verde
- Arriving Mindelo before New Year to meet the fleet: Koen’s kite expedition and SV Windfall
- Small crew, everyone participates, no passengers onboard
The Journey
What it feels like
Mid December in Tenerife. The Canaries fade behind. Twister points south, the trade winds pick up, and the open ocean takes over. Christmas Day somewhere in the big blue. Twelve days of sea and exploration time, deep blue water, big skies, and the slow settling into ocean rhythm. Arriving Mindelo before New Year, where Koen, SV Windfall, and many Ocean Nomads are preparing to sail out with us on the next leg.
Route & rhythm
The weather always rules. From Tenerife south to Mindelo, Cape Verde, around 850 nautical miles of ocean. The actual open-water passage runs 5 to 7 days depending on the trade winds. The remaining days of the twelve-day trip we shape into the route: exploring some Canary islands before we head south, and the Cape Verde archipelago (Sal, Boa Vista, Santiago) on the way to Mindelo. Weather and logistics decide the exact shape as we go.
The day runs on watches. A few hours on, a few hours off, around the clock. In between: cooking, eating together, sleeping, reading, sail handling, staring at the big blue. The boat is your base, the ocean is your backyard. Conversations on watch get deep fast. No experience needed. You learn by doing.
Experience
Twister carries a small crew, big enough for real community at sea. Strangers stop feeling like strangers faster than you’d expect. Christmas Day mid-Atlantic. Away from the commerce madness. Just the crew, a boat, a big sky. Arriving Mindelo before New Year, into the biggest Ocean Nomads gathering of the whole expedition.
4/5
Intensity
4/5
Wild Factor
4/5
Comfort
5/5
Participation
No sailing experience needed. You learn by doing. Life onboard is simple and shared. We sail, cook, and live together as a crew. The weather always rules and we adjust as we go. That’s part of it.
Moments
Departure morning in Tenerife, sails going up as the Canaries fade behind. First nights at sea under December stars. Phosphorescence in the wake on a night watch. Christmas Day mid-Atlantic with your crew. Carrying surfboards into Mindelo harbour for Clean Ocean Project. Stepping ashore in a different country, ready to meet the fleet gathering for the Atlantic crossing.
What stays with you
- Real offshore miles on the trade wind route
- Christmas Day at sea, a memory that stays
- The confidence that comes with living simply on a boat
- Ocean people you meet in Mindelo and keep crossing paths with
- The rhythm of sea time that tends to stick after you step off
Your TRIP SUPPORT
Brianna
Brianna joined us sailing from Madeira to the Canaries a few years back and continued ocean nomad life ever since. She’s the steady presence behind the applications, communication, and preparation, making sure you arrive informed and ready.
Your TRIP HOST
Julie
Julie joined the original Ocean Nomads Atlantic expedition as a novice and never left. She hitchhiked across the Atlantic herself, made the Caribbean home, and has been building her sailing life ever since. She knows this route from the inside and what it asks of you. She’ll be on board welcoming you, helping you find your sea legs, and making sure you arrive in Cape Verde as crew, not just a passenger.
Your ADMIRAL
Suzanne
Suzanne is the founder of Ocean Nomads, a Yachtmaster Offshore captain, and author of the books Ocean Nomad and Salz auf der Haut. She flippered to SV Twister in an anchorage a few years ago to say hi, and here we are sailing the world all together. If there’s one thing she learned from sailing 50.000+ nautical miles on many different boats, it’s the people who make the trip.
Included
- 12 days sailing on SV Twister, Tenerife to Mindelo
- The boat & organisation
- Professional captain & crew
- All meals on board (vegetarian)
- Bedding, safety equipment, foul-weather gear
- Ocean Nomads community membership
- Access to Zero to Ocean Nomad online course
Not included
- Flights to Tenerife and from Mindelo
- Travel insurance (required, must cover offshore sailing)
- Personal expenses ashore
- Alcohol (we don’t consume it at sea)
Additional Info
Ocean Nomads Vibes & Values
Ocean Nomads is about more than travel. It’s about living closer to nature, connecting with like-minded people, and stepping into a different rhythm. These trips are where it starts.
Trips aligned with a more conscious way of traveling
A community you can tap into along the way
Continue beyond the trip through connection and new opportunities
Adventure
Exploration, new places and experience powered by wind and curiosity
Community
Connection at sea goes deeper in one day than months on land
Lifestyle
Tips, tools, and connections to accelerate your journey beyond the trip
Skillbuilding
Seamanship, navigation, resilience, conscious living & learn by doing
Impact
Travel consciously & protect what we explore
It’s the people who make the adventure
“No-alcohol, vegetarian trips completely change the vibe. It’s all about fun, sailing, friendly atmosphere, and being together with pristine nature. From one to five, they get six stars!”
Maciej Z.
“I met 9 really beautiful people that I now know will be a part of my life for the rest of my life. There is something really unifying about sailing.”
Simon N.
If not now, when?
18 to 29 December 2026. Tenerife to Cape Verde. Christmas at sea, arriving Mindelo before New Year.
