Atlantic Crossing Day 1 and 2

28 march 1000

The first night was bit rough. Heavy squalls followed by a nasty seastate. Most people seasick, including myself. After deploying J0 the boat was steadier and had more power to push through the waves. The seastate improved and currently we are cruising along in 12 knots of breeze with 10-12 knots of boat speed, depending on which of the guests is driving.

Regardless of the poor driving skills of some, the guests are generally a nice group. In my watch there are Marcel and Alec, who both live in the northeastern US. They are good sailors and enjoy the challenging conditions. I also like Thomasso, a 30-something consultant from Milan, who is on a sabbatical, thinking about what to do next.

29 march 0800

It’s Floor’s birthday today and the ocean has decided to mirror her personality.

The night was as beautiful as it gets. A bright moon illuminated our path, guiding us through the dark night, wavecrests flickering all around us. Once the moon had set, the milky way showed itself, with Ursa Major, the powerful mother bear, leading the way above the horizon just off our bow.

This morning the wind has backed and strengthened, so that we’re now beating into a fresh breeze and newly formed choppy waves. During the day the breeze will build further, eventually culminating into a full gale. For 10 hours it will be a lot of violent slamming and then, once we’ve passed the edge of the high pressure system, we will be back in settled, warm weather, sailing happily once more.