So after getting home from Mexico, I pack my duffel bag and fly to the Canary Islands (named after dogs, not birds), where I again join "Song of the Sea", my friend's 40-meter Swan yacht, to sail westward across the Atlantic during December.
Good weather over England drove the bad-weather low-pressure systems south towards us, so we really did not see the traditional tradewinds, and we had the wind against us much of the way. Our 3100 mile passage took 15 days, sailing 218 miles/day (9.1K). Our best 24-hour run was 298 miles (12.4 knots) We used the engine 122.5 hours (5.1 days), and used 3241 liters of fuel, 48% of our capacity of 6730 liters.
The three-person crew was great and two of them had had previous experience on the Atlantic. They were fun and capable. And the young French-Canadian chef kept serving marvelous meals day after day.
John Steinbeck says it well (from "The Log of the Sea of Cortez"):
" One thing impressed us deeply on this voyage: the
great world dropped away very quickly. We lost the fear and
fierceness and contagion of war and economic certainty.
The matters we had left were not important....Our pace had
slowed greatly; the hundred thousand small reactions of our
daily world were reduced to very few. When the boat was
moving we sat by the hour watching...a playful fish,
jumping and spinning, absorbed us completely. There was
time to observe..."
The accomodations were exquisite, so I won't describe my teak-paneled, quiet cabin, with the Carrara-marble bathroom, temperature-controlled shower, my own CD player. I had TWO bunks, one for each tack!
The star of the trip is the boat itself. It is big, with complex electrical, mechanical and hydraulic systems. But it sails so very well, responding nicely to the wind strength and direction. Often we had dinner in the main cabin while the boat was sailing very smoothly at 11 knots...It is definitely a responsive sailboat...it goes fast and smoothly. Without steering, it rounds up quickly into the wind and stops (as I found out when I pushed the wrong autopilot button in 24 knots of wind ...pretty exciting). The jib- and main-sheet lines are super-high-tech, slightly less than 7/8" diameter, not too much larger than the docklines on my boat "Impetuous". Impressive.
Once we got south far enough, the weather was warm, so we could do night watches in t-shirts, shorts and bare feet. We got into the rhythm of standing watches, sleeping, reading, etc.
Steinbeck again...
" The pattern of a book, or a day, of a trip, becomes
a characteristic design. The factors in a trip by boat,
the many-formed personality phases all shuffled together,
changing a little to fit into the box and yet bringing
their own lumps and corners, make the trip. And from all
these factors your expedition has a character of its own,
so that one may say of it, "That was a good, kind trip."
Or, "That was a mean one." "
We had a good, kind trip.
The crew is three or four people.
The captain is Mark Welch and he did a wonderful job keeping this complex venture going, with the able help from Teresa, the "stewardess/gofer/sous-chef/rigging checker/etc." They are very capable sailors and had been in Antigua before. I particularly appreciated their knowledge and interest in getting text and FAX weather reports, so we knew what to expect from the weather. They are British and not at all "stuffy"; we enjoyed their company.
Usually on a boat this size, there is an "engineer" who keeps all the systems running, does all the several daily tasks, and fixes things that need fixing. The previous engineer ("Doc" Manfred, and his lady Beata) were not able to continue, and we were most sorry to see them go. A replacement engineer did not work out, so we crossed the Atlantic somewhat short-handed. Skipper Mark did a marvelous job of being skipper and engineer together, though I think he had much less sleep than we did.
A most important person on the boat is the chef, and we had Francois...outstanding. As you can see from my daily notes, he made marvellous meals day after day....French, Italian, sushi, fresh fish...you name it. He even used that horrible green Italian liquor in a wonderful sauce. Formidable!
Me? I was "guest" and tried to be helpful and stay out of the way. I did the "navigation" across the Atlantic, which consisted of leaving the harbor (visual navigation), setting one waypoint a couple of thousand miles away, plotting the noon position on the chart each day (traditional), and again staying out of the way for the morning (visual) landfall in Antigua. Mainly, I enjoyed myself, read books and slept during the day so I could help out standing watch on the midnight-to-4AM watch.
Special thanks to the behind-the-scene support from:
These photos are from the Norway trip.
The very interesting boat specifications are at
The most memorable numbers are:
(These photos are about 55KBytes each)
The one that got the most votes?
(This is usually the major request on all boats I have been on.)
Other items:
- "Death in Venice" - Thomas Mann
- A classic short story. Glad I read it.
- "Look Back in Anger" - John Osborne
- A heavy-duty play, not for reading on a boat trip.
- "Log of the Sea of Cortez" - John Steinbeck
- Outstanding. Perfect for reading on a boat trip,
especially to Mexico. Philosophical insights
mixed with dail observations. Wonderful.
- "Carribean" - James Michener
- Just got started on this one.
- "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" - Dai Si Jie
- Very outstanding. Highly recommended
- "Best New American Voices" - a collection of short stories
- Really depressing to read all these detailed personal
problem stories while on a boat cruise
- "Green Shadows, White Whale" - Ray Bradbury
- Wonderful evocative writing about visiting Ireland,
done by a master writer. Highly recommended.
- "Hotel of the Saints" - Ursula Hegi
- Good writing, but the theme of each of these short
stories is divorce or death of a spouse or parent.
The first "title" story is fun, the others are depressing.
FRI 6 DEC
(Sorta the flight from hell)
- 630A marylyn takes me to SFO to catch 820A AA flight
- 1st AA flight to JFK late - "broken door"
Should have left at 8:20A...it left about 10:20
- 1st flight would have missed connection to Madrid, so
AA personnel changed my flight to depart 10:06A
to Chicago and from there to Madrid.
- This 2nd flight also had mechanical problems "broken engine
de-icing bypass valve", so it was also delayed!
It left the gat (finally) at 12:19P, and would have
arrived at Chicago around 5:50P, probably missing
Madrid flight departing at 6:05P. Ground traffic
at SFO delayed it even further...takeoff from SFO was at 12:54P
- Confusion at Chicago, as they "recommended" an itinerary
for Madrid-boud passengers, except me. So after running
between gates, I get on AA flight to Heathrow (after 20
minutes waiting for AA person to refigure on the computer).
- OK flight, poor food.
SAT 7 DEC
- Arrive Heathrow, to find that AA and Iberia have not
coordinated, so I have to sort that out. Fortunately
AA and Iberia laides sit within 10 feet of each other.
Then a mad dash to the Iberia gate, to catch flight
to Santiago de Compostela(!).
- Santiago de Compostela is a very nice small Spanish
airport, so had a good time there. BUT my AA-recommended
flight to the Canary Islands is not on a carrier that
recognizes AA tickets, so I have to pay for this leg myself.
- Arrive in Canary Islands around two hours after my original
plan...Gaymond has already been to the airport to see
if I was there. Took taxi to the boat (showed
Purplefinder printout to taxi driver) and arrived just
as Gaymond was talking to Marylyn on the phone.
- Baggage (of course) is redirected elsewhere, this time to
Frankfurt.
SUN 8 DEC
- Gaymond and I go to very interesting volcanic park,
then to airport to pick up my luggage and Cindy,
who arrive on the same flight. (Cindy had to fly
to Mallorca the day before to pick up the very special
rope/line for the main boom outhaul.
- Rack of lamb for dinner
MON 9 DEC
- Today is a holiday in Spain, so we take it easy
- Cindy, Gaymond and crew off to volcano
- Sun came out about 11 AM, so switch to warm weather clothes
- My camera fails, so I buy a cardboard camera at the local store
TUE 10 DEC
- A tense morning, as we had to let our engineer go....it was not
working out, and best to do this before a long crossing
* Dinner
- Cream of carrot soup
- Filet of sole with special sauce
- Green beans and blueberries
- Couscous with sauteed nuts
Dessert
- Crisps and bananas with sauce made from GREEN LIQUER!!!!
WED 11 DEC
- Drizzle
- Email from Shona (travel agent) - OK on changing me return from
23 DEC to 27 DEC
- No email from M
- Called M - email not wokring at home
- 10:56A departure - trip log = 7240 miles
- Outstanding meal: Fried chicken, unusually-shaped small
potatoes.
THU 12 DEC
- Brisk (22 knot) SOUTHERLY wind, so some pounding.
- Wind is 26K at 190 degrees at noon. Later wind increases
to 35K, gusting to 40K
- Good stuff: trail mix with dried fruit
- My cabin is the most comfortable place on the boat
- 11PM tack - wind still at 30K
FRI 13 DEC
- Next time - Bring reading glasses for navigation, reading books
- Next time - bring earplugs
- Sunny in AM. Winds 12-15K but still from 270 (west), so
we motorsailed.
- A slow-speed afternoon, with various projects...tying down
spinnaker pole, changing sails, checking the boom, etc.
- Dinner was too spicy
- 8PM - motoring in a calm sea
SAT 14 DEC
- 2AM - sailing! without the motor. Moderate winds, right
direction, etc.
- Used my leather deck shoes - much better - canvas ones were
no good when wet (on plastic) and also no good when dry on wood.
- Fruit smoothies for breakfast
- Cook made a tarte tatin (from scratch)
- A beautiful sail (though to windward)...the boat rides so
smoothly that except for the angle of heel, it seems like
we are standing still, instead of moving at 9+ knots
SUN 15 DEC
- 9AM - strong 16K winds - seas calm so far, so our speed = 11K
- 4PM - sailing directly south with VMG = 0. Yuck!
MON 16 DEC
- 2AM - wind shifted from 265 to 235, so we (finally) tacked.
VMG now about 8K rather than zero
- Nice and warm though - t-shirts in cockpit at 3AM
- Printer is now sorta useful
- 4PM - sailing NW, into low pressure area
- 6PM - wind FINALLY shifts a bit...we gt SO tired of seeing
the wind angle of 250 degrees
- Another fine dinner and dessert
TUE 17 DEC
- 6AM...Enough of chasing the variable wind. Furled jib, turned
on motor and went directly toward Antigua at 9-10K. Much
more satisfying than seeing TTG (time-to-go) of several weeks.
- Everyone got a good sleep...no bumps in the night
- Turned on air conditioner.
- Noon - an extra hour...Gaymond reading book, chef reading
cookbook, etc.
- Great sailing - wind from (almost) north, so we could
sail directly on course at 9K
* Outstanding dinner - Duck with kumquat sauce, blue carrots,
cooked celery hearts, chocolate ice cream.
- Almost a full moon
WED 18 DEC
- Chef worked at Michelin 3-star restaurant in Bresse, France
(look it up in Peter Mayle's book)
- Light winds, still motoring
* Washing! "+" washer and dryer, and a crew to do it
* Fish! Three at once! I got to reel one in.
THU 19 DEC
- Halfway! (at 830A) Still motoring, clouds, wind SE at 12K
- A great American-style breakfast; Gaymond did sausage and
eggs over easy, we had excellent toast from bread from the
new breadmaker, and the cheg served banana smoothies.
- Lunch - "merely" vichysoisse and grilled focaccia bread
- Spotted two whales, who followed us for a bit.
- "Why I will never use Windows XP..reason #857" - confusing
logoff sequence & it does not ask if it is OK to shut
down processes. I kept shutting down the weatherfax program.
- A completely blue sky - sailing at 7-8K, sailing until
well into the evening
- Sushi sauce contest - each had to make a sauce, then we used
them at a lavish sushi dinner and voted...a 3-way tie for
first (Mark, Gaymond and me), mine because I was so creative...
Heineckens, garlic powder, ginger powder, wasabi and crushed
peppermint candy cane! Lot of fun.
FRI 20 DEC
- Great sailing until 3AM, when the wind shifted 80 degrees,
back to our "favorite" wind direction of 250 degrees,
so we turned on the motor
- Scattered grey clouds today, and it cleared up later
for a fine day. Light winds, so continued to motor
- Swimming!!! A mid-Atlantic tradition...the furthest
point from lad (which happened to be Venezuela and
the Cape Verde Islands). Tough to make the boat really
stop, as it wants to keep sailing.
SAT 21 DEC
- Warm day, more humid. Wind still from the west, so we
keep motoring. Gray clouds
- Cindy made French toast, after finally finding some
non-green bread
- Caught two fish, BUT I *BADLY* tangled fishing line
- "Discussion" with Mark about "tickets"
SUN 22 DEC
- 0100A "tradewinds" (not really) finally kick in.
Wind 18-24K from N.E. Put preventer on boom.
- All of us not sleeping well, due to rolling motion and
new noises, caused by our change from reaching to downwind
- Overcast . Gray clouds
- Great lunch - seared tuna (yesterday's catch), with
kiwi "palm tree" dessert
- Winds down a bit -- 17K -- and seas down, so we get
a nice ride (and some sleep) in afternoon and evening
- Dinner - a wonderful "fish sandwich" a la Francois
MON 23 DEC
- Not the tradewinds, but a nice sail - 16K wind gives 8K
boatspeed. Sunny with scattered clouds, no squalls
- Caught 2 fish: Yahoo and mahi-mahi
- Used satellite phone and finally got ahold of
travel agent to resked to the 29th. Unable to contact M.
left messages with Chris.
- 1 AM - got it touch with M
- Winds lightened and from wrong angle. Gaymond doused sails
and motored downwind. Rolling without sails, so sails
went back up and we did downwind off-the-wind sailing.
TUE 24 DEC
- Gray skies with occasional showers. Good wind angle, so
we got sustained VMG of 11-12K. A rolly ride - boom tip
in the water twice. Good sailing all day, with a few small
rain showers
- Christmas eve...will celebrate tomorrow
- I caused a roundup my mistakenly pressing the "standby" button(!)
WED 25 DEC
- Merry Christmas! Santa DID put presents under the tree/poinsetta
- Some sun, winds 28 +/- 2 K 200 miles to go
- Great speed - 283 miles in last 24 hours
- Kinda rolly (and noisy in aft cabin), so Gaymond and Cindy
did not sleep too well.
- 1100A - Gybe. a 70-degree course change at 15 30' N 59 01'W
- Pancakes for breakfast - from scratch - thanks to Cindy
- Christmas dinner/celebration is deferred until we are at anchor
- Exchanged presents. Teresa and Cindy appreciated the chocolates.
Cindy impressed by the wrapping on her present.
Gaymond, sleepless, did not join in.
- 2AM - Gybe - Pretty impressive in 22K of wind. Only 50
miles to go. Cindy came up and asked how long the
gybe would take..."seems like an hour"....it was an hour,
including the reefing.
- Air conditioner on all night to facilitate sleeping,
but it sure got cold in the main cabin.
THU 26 DEC
- A lovely sunrise landfall at Antigua
- 0814 - Sails down - I stay out of the way, as there
are sufficient chiefs and Indians without me
- Approach: Too many charts
- Straightforward arrival and anchoring in Falmouth harbor,
though the bow thruster did not work. Did not need the
very accurate waypoints
- Took a dinghy tour of the harbor. Some VERY nice LARGE
yachts here (e.g. "Georgia"), as it is the beginning of
the caribbean season. I got checked IN with customs...
now to get checked OUT
- A fabulous Christmas celebration dinner - Xmas "crackers",
lamb, turkey, nine kinds of veggies, two kinds of red
wine, and two desserts: (1) Traditional flaming English
pudding with rum/butter sauce [with a chorus of "Good
King Wenceslas"], and (2) Haagen-Daz ice cream.
All done "formally", using the rosewood table.
- Did "Cavitation Blues" between dinner and dessert...a fine
performance...Gaymond read well, with rhythm
- Then early to bed, for 11 hours of sleep. No standing
watch...hooray
FRI 27 DEC
- Got up at 7AM - a warm, sunny day
- A day of "stuff" - crew cleaned boat, I went to airport to
get a printed ticket. I went to Nelson's park...used ATM there.
- Sat around and had pina coladas at the dockside bar
SAT 28 DEC
- Rain (short) during night....I stayed dry but others got wet.
- A fine, sunny morning
- To customs with Mark to check out...no problem with electronic
post-dated ticket
- A lazy afternoon...shopping, email and a few odds and ends.
Cooler due to 14K breeze.
- Francois perfected his pina colada receipe, overcoming his
hesitancy about putting ice into the newly-repaired blender
- Great mussel pizza for lunch
- Cindy asked for "red meat" for dinner, so we had a wonderful
filet, with a goat cheese/roasted piminento/chardonnay sauce
SUN 29 DEC
- I depart
* After all the wonderful food on the boat, I declined all
the airline food
- On American Airlines, same bad "bistro" food, same bad video
as three weeks ago. Boo...
- But connections were good, and Marylyn nd my baggage were
waiting for me