Trans-Atlantic – Day 8

Our position: 24* 49.938’N, 58*34.049’W, AWS 25 kts, SOG 3 kts, COG: 95 deg, BTW, 57 deg, DTW 1,844 nm.

We have now been at sea for the first full week of what is looking to be a three week passage from the BVIs to the Azores.

The sea state continues to be rough for the third day in a row and we are hoping that the PredictWind forecast for calmer winds from the South East, which we are supposed to be already enjoying, is only delayed a few hours and not entirely wrong.

Yesterday we saw no other ships of any kind but today a big NKK car carrier called the “Hercules Leader,” steaming south towards a destination given by AIS as “PA CTB,” passed 1.75nm to our Starboard, so I snapped a picture.

As it remains too rough to move about Nakee easily, we spend most of our time wedged in our bunks or seats reading or watching movies downloaded before we left. Learning to live on a yacht while on passage is challenging even for experienced sailors, as it is a very different experience than day-sailing from one anchorage to another, what most sailors are familiar with from chartering. In that type of sailing, crew spend most of their time in the cockpit and not below while under way. Cooking, cleaning and repairs are done when the boat is stationary at anchor, when there is also time for exercise like swimming. When offshore crew can’t avoid needing to spend a lot of time below, out of sight of the horizon, which can lead to seasickness. Doing all those daily tasks becomes much more challenging with unexpected lurches from slamming into big waves, resulting in numerous spills of drinks such as cups of tea and coffee, bottles of milk etc, as well as stumbles, falling against bulkheads, doors, interior furniture etc. Bruises and stubbed toes are common.

When we forget to follow the rule “one hand for you, one hand for the boat” and don’t stop to think through what we are about to try and do and how to do it, the sea will not miss a chance to remind us. Working in the galley is one of the more dangerous below-deck activities. Taking hot things out of the oven, working with sharp knives and boiling water is hazardous and everything takes much longer to do while on passage. Luckily there have been no injuries so far, but we carry on up the learning curve. Tonight the plan is to make cottage pie from scratch for our dinner. That should be interesting!