Trip Report #1:  The Transatlantic Crossing

Filed from Bequia, the Grenadines

13  00.17N   61  14.57W

March 4, 2005 

Photo:  Sunset in the Atlantic Ocean

    On January 8, after a week of preparation, Tom, Peg and Garry cast off the lines and set sail into the Atlantic Ocean.  During our stay in the marina at Puerto Mogan, we made a new friend who owned the boat berthed next to ours.  She kept an eye on our boat while we were in the U.S. for Christmas, writing us to tell us that our "defenders" were in place, and was a wonderful, thoughtful and entertaining neighbor.  It was sad to say good-bye to Sophie Chacoux, our delightful French friend on her sailboat, Enomis.

Photo:  Sophie Chacoux on her sailboat, Enomis

    Another person who was very helpful to us was Mayla, proprietor of the Sunshine Maritime Ship Chandlery.  Mayla helped us source many items, including a supply of dry ice and R134A refrigerant to keep our freezer, which was having a problem, going during the trip. 

Photo:  Mayla, proprietor of the Sunshine Maritime Chandlery

    We motor sailed until we were about 5 miles away from Gran Canaria.  At that point, the wind picked up, gradually building to 25 knots from the ESE, giving us a broad reach with the yankee and mainsail.  The waves also picked up and the rolling motion of the boat began to affect all of us.  Garry put his Trans-derm Scop patch on (probably should have done it earlier) and took advantage of being off watch to go down below to sleep it off.  Tom and I went directly to our usual mal-de-mer treatment: nibbling on dry crackers, keeping a careful eye on the horizon, and limiting our charting, log-keeping and time below deck to only what was necessary.

    A touch of sea sickness continued to affect all of us for the first 2 days, but we gradually became acclimated to the waves and motion of the boat and by the 3rd day, we were all starting to feel pretty hungry. 

Photo:  Large waves follow us, difficult to capture the size on film 

    When we first started the trip, it was quite cold at night, requiring us to wear everything warm that we had, including a watch cap.  The wind continued to blow from an easterly direction at velocities ranging from 20-30 knots for the first 8-9 days.  We were happy to be putting an average 150 nm a day behind us.  But the waves were at least 12 feet high and it was fairly strenuous sailing.  It required quite a lot of energy to move around the boat and carry out tasks, and a special agility and sense of balance to prepare and cook meals.

Photo:  Peg does a balancing act in the galley

    Tom carefully checked lines, sheets, sails and equipment daily for signs of chafe and wear.

Photo:  Tom returning from one of his daily inspection tours

    We saw very little wildlife on this trip.  A large pod of dolphins followed us for a while, two days off shore; but away from shore, we saw no more dolphins or whales and no bird life.  Every morning we had flying fish of varying sizes and the occasional small squid on deck.  We did some fishing and caught 3 beautiful fish:  a dorado, a wahoo and a yellow fin snapper (we think), all of which made great meals.  We also hooked, but failed to land, 10 other fish, including a good sized tuna which we lost at the boat.  We really are very amateur fishermen.

Photo:  Various sizes of flying fish found on the deck

    On the 9th day out, our wind diminished considerably.  The sailing was actually pretty delightful and we used the time and easier motion of the boat to do some tasks, like laundry.  Garry had a brand new package of underwear taken from his luggage (apparently during the inspection process) on the trip from New York.  So he did his laundry and vowed never to take new, unopened packages of anything on future trips.

Photo:  Garry hangs his laundry on a light air day

    Light air meant changing sails to keep the boat moving.  Not only did the wind get light, but it changed direction frequently and we found ourselves jibing often, using the drifter and using all three sails downwind.

Photo:  Tom & Garry deploy the drifter on a light air day

Photo:  Downwind with all sails pulling

    We used our Monitor wind vane, which we dubbed "Bob", to steer most of the way and "Bob" did a great job.  At one point, we were smacked broadside by an enormous wave and Bob lost control of the boat, but we simply switched to "Otto", our autohelm, until Bob was able to get his head back on straight and continue.  

    We used very little diesel on this trip.  On only two nights did we switch on the motor to get to the wind, and those were nights when the wind velocity was 0-5 and the waves were still big enough to roll us from side to side.  Motoring in those conditions meant that the off-duty watch rested a little more comfortably.  We did have to run the motor 2 hours a day to keep our batteries charged.

    We strictly adhered to all safety rules.  We ran with our tricolor light on at night so other ships could see us.  We maintained a watch in the cockpit at all times.  We wore our life vests and harnesses on watch and never went forward or out of the cockpit without them and without another person on deck.

    We were in contact with a group of other boats who were also crossing and it was great to be able to talk with them twice a day.  We also talked each evening with Herb Hilgenberg, "Southbound Two", who routed us around light air and bad weather.  We checked in with Trudy in Barbados each noon and it was a delight to talk with her and receive her weather reports.  We feel as though all of these folks were on the crew, helping us to make this passage a very good one.

    We had no breakdowns of equipment and everything went so smoothly, thanks to Tom's diligent attention to detail and planning.  

    As we approached Martinique, Tom was mourning the end of a great sailing trip and Garry and I were looking forward to getting to land - he to see Lorraine and I to get a good night's sleep on a non-moving surface.  Our last meal at sea was a grilled wahoo and some steamed carrots with a hint of tarragon.

Photo:  Wahoo reeled in by Tom and hauled aboard by Garry, eaten by Peg

Photo:  Peg serves up the last meal at sea

    We pulled into Martinique, explored the harbor at St. Anne, and were anchored at 2 pm.

Photo:  Garry toasting our arrival in Martinique

Photo:  The anchorage at St. Anne's on Martinique

    We had a wonderful crossing, accomplished with the help of wonderful people, including Herb and Trudy, and everything worked as we planned that it would.  We were very fortunate.  Many of our friends who have sailed in the Pacific Ocean have told us that sailing in the Atlantic is so much harder than sailing in the Pacific.  Is the Pacific another horizon for us?  We'll sail a little in the Caribbean before making any decisions.

Photo:  Sunrise in the Atlantic Ocean

                    73s, 88s, love & hugs

                    Peg & Tom

                    S/V Starboard Home

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To see detailed daily reports posted during the passage, click here.