atlantic crossing – week 36

during the atlantic crossing I posted daily on what was happening on the boat. I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did…

06/May/2022 00:00:35 UTC

018° 06.914N, 063° 02.507W / Course: 172° @ 0.0 knots

Wow, the time has finally come. The weather looks good, the boat is ready, all the shopping is done. We, Brian, Vanessa, Floriane from France and myself Sabrina from Switzerland are in good spirits for the passage. Tomorrow we start our crossing of the Atlantic from Saint Martin heading North East to the Azores, Portugal. We have left Marigot Bay after lunch to enjoy one last swim and walk on the beach, Anse Marcel, in the gorgeous Caribbean. Next time we set foot on land it will be Europe. We are aiming for the Azores but the weather will decide for us, it might be Madeira or Gibraltar depending on the conditions. Vanessa and Floriane are preparing another lovely dinner for us as I type and Brian picks on the cut up veggies and gets told off. Brian and I finished the last tasks on the boat to be ready for the sailing. Safety briefing and some explanations about navigating at sea. Ordinary day in paradise. We are enjoying the quiet bay, the rolling of the waves along the beach and one last good nights sleep. Stay tuned, you will hear from us again on the go…

07/May/2022 12:00:41 UTC

020° 25.436N, 062° 07.546W / Course: 15° @ 7.2 knots

The islands are fading away and we are off to Europe. How crazy is that!? Very difficult for the mind to grasp. The first few hours were a bit rough. SV BriVan was steaming ahead, fighting and dancing in the waves. Our bodies are adjusting and accepting the new normal in terms of noise (waves pondering on the bridge) and movement. We are looking into the infinite and harmony of the deep blue of the ocean. We are on our way making good progress. So far almost one day of sailing behind us and 144nm sailed. Only approximately 2090nm or so to go. 😉

08/May/2022 12:00:35 UTC

023° 06.568N, 061° 51.644W / Course: 10° @ 6.0 knots

Ahoi. Another beautiful rather calm night with loads of stars and steady winds has passed. We are enjoying a cup of tea or coffee and assessing the weather and working on our tactics. Seems to become Brian’s and my routine 🙂 Floriane and Vanessa are still settling in but doing great.

We sit on the saloon table and celebrate the champagne sailing. In the past 24hours we did about 170nm. We are stoaked about our progress so far. The Code 0 is up and the wind is blowing with gentle 10knots. To avoid the calm we are still heading North and hope to catch the Westerly winds in about 2 days time. Keep your fingers crossed for us please.

09/May/2022 12:00:35 UTC

025° 22.133N, 060° 57.599W / Course: 42° @ 6.8 knots

Beautiful sailing. We are flying across the sea and are very happy with our progress so far. Comfortable conditions with an average of about 14knots of wind, the Jib or the Code 0 is out at all times. Here and there a little calm but we do have to charge the batteries anyway… Thus, the motoring suits a dual purpose.

The fishing rods were out and we caught a Mahi-Mahi. Perfect addition for the others to our usually vegetarian/vegan dinners 🙂 Deliciousness- they loved it.
Because the conditions were so calm and perfect Floriane and I went on deck to do some exercises. During Vanessa’s night shift the sensor for the autopilot was playing up. Luckily Brian ordered a new one to the USVIs. He was able to replace it at night while I took over the shift.
We hope this problem is solved now, otherwise we would have to hand steer the remaining 1820nm – preferably not. 😉

10/May/2022 12:00:36 UTC

026° 55.489N, 058° 42.125W / Course: 50° @ 6.3 knots

The conditions and the mood on board are very good. We are eating and living like queens and kings. 🙂 We all have mounted our sailing legs and are enjoying the ride… To keep fit, for our entertainment and for the joy of Vanessa, as a spectator, we did an exercise session. She couldn’t stop giggling watching Brian to keep up with us. He did an amazing job though.

Brian and I are checking the weather on a regular basis to discuss our course and tactics. 1/4 of the miles are behind us. We are happy with our progress and hope we can keep up with it. We are certainly chasing the wind and having fun doing so. Stay tuned for more…

11/May/2022 12:00:32 UTC

029° 04.269N, 056° 37.024W / Course: 32° @ 7.9 knots

Ohlala. King Triton and King Neptun are a little upset. The swell rolls in with about 6 foot and a chop. This shakes the boat thoroughly. The wabble of BriVan makes it hard to cook, exercise, sleep and read… to counter the conditions and not letting us be dragged down we danced and jumped around the boat. Heaps of fun 🙂 We are still happy with our progress and plan our tactics with the newest weather forecast. Live is simple but beautiful. The vastness and the blue of the ocean is as mesmerising as the clear star sky. So in awe with the feeling this gives me of being smaller than a spec of dust. It feels like heaven on earth.

the swell and chop never really showed properly on footage. it was much worse than it now looks. promise.

12/May/2022 12:00:35 UTC

031° 30.181N, 055° 06.097W / Course: 34° @ 6.3 knots

Goosebumps all over. We spotted two whales with its calf only 50m away from the boat. They were peacefully cruising along. A moment of pure bliss. We also had a silent race with SV Helios, a monohull. Only the 5. boat we have seen on this passage. As we caught up with them we had a little chat over the radio 🙂 A French family sailing for 1.5years on their way home. We hopefully see them again on the go or latest upon our arrival in the Azores to cheers and have a beer. This was topped with our newest etmal (our record mileage of the past 24h) of this trip of 180nm. We exercised again in a really bumpy swell. Luckily the sea settled after dinner for us to have a good night sleep under another breathtaking star sky…

13/May/2022 12:00:35 UTC

032° 53.151N, 053° 16.390W / Course: 61° @ 6.0 knots

Chasing the wind and celebrating our Atlantic baptism. Waking up to a calm sea after the rather bumpy ride is a delightful change. We turn the engines on and we continue our journey north-east by motor sailing. Time to tidy up and desalinate the boat. Some washing is done on deck. The temperature is declining slowly. A slight crisp in the air but the contrasting sun kiss on the skin feels mighty pleasant. Another spotting of the probably most elegant and graceful creature on planet earth – a small pot of whales. Brian drops the sails, turns the motor and the autopilot off. It’s time for our Atlantic baptism – yes – a dip in the open ocean and – yes – it was my idea. N31’50.486 W054’43.909 we wonder how deep it is 5 or 6km?? Weeeeppeeee!! I couldn’t possibly feel more alive than this. Joy and pure happiness. I feel home. After our break we saddle the ponies again… riding into the night. The milky way – so many stars you wouldn’t know where to start looking. Surreal. Am I dreaming?