Atlantic crossing - Day 4 - bioluminescence and stars light up the night

After an initially slow night, we are now cruising along with a whopping 6 to 7 knots. It is 4 Beaufort, and the wind has been shifting forward more and more. We are still on a broad reach, but any more wind shift, and it will be a beam reach. Our course takes us just past the untamed savage islands. I am contemplating whether we can stop there. The maps in this area are apparently unreliable, and we will only approach in daylight and settled weather.

Small flecks light up in the water at night. The stars are extremely bright. It is, as if someone dialed up the power setting. I can only imagine the impression the stars must have made on the cave man. Not only do we know what they are, we hide them from view by the light pollution.

Day break starts good. We are now on the first reef, and going over 8 knots. The sea is still relatively calm, and we are having a smooth and fast ride. A little bit later the reef comes out again. I need to wash the deck, again, as we are hit – again – by dirty rain from Africa. Hopefully this is the last time. We keep up a high speed during the day, and out 24 hour distance is 147 NM. We have seen 3 big ships today, and one came close enough, so that we hailed it over the VHF. They could see our radar signature at a distance of 16 NM.

There are some clouds, making the sunset even more spectacular. We set a reef to slow down the boat for the night, and in anticipation to some gusts from the clouds.

Another sunset at sea

Atlantic Crossing - Day 3 - on board pasta maker: Check

After a full day of sailing with 6-7 Beaufort, after sunset, the wind drops to 1 Beaufort, in the course of about half an hour. The wind and I play a little game, where I start the engine, the wind picks up, motor is stated, and so on. The wind finally settled at around 10 knots, and we move with a slow 4.5 knots. Not for long though. The wind picks up, and we are racing along with 6-7 knots.

As the night goes on, the speed of the boat slowly drops, until 1.5 knots in the morning. At this point, we decide to wash the deck. As we are walking around the boat, we spot some dolphins. We decide to start the engine, so see if they would follow us, and indeed they did. Charles shot some hopefully good footage with the Go-Pro his mum gave him. It looks like there are 3-4 small dolphins, most likely the striped ones. After the dolphins have gone away, we continued the deck clean. We also mop the floors on the inside. This is the usual procedure after an episode of African rain. Finally, I use the period of calm to replace the water maker filter. While most of the filter is a dirty grey, the inside is still white, so we catch the filter change just in time.

The waves are around 2.5 meters high, but very long, so we have quite a smooth ride. We are now over 100 Nautical Miles offshore, and we still see the occasional bird.

The shipping traffic, which was very busy at Gibraltar, and the shipping channel in the straight, slowly diminishes on our way South-West. We only had to hail two large ships that where on our course. Since we passed Casablanca, we haven't seen any more ships. Just the AIS display let us know that there are ships in the general area. We hear some chatter on channel 16, but we are now too far out to receive any weather updates from the shore stations. The radar reflector lights still come on, so we know that we are still being pinged by ships. However, since we left Gibraltar, the duration of the LED flashes is getting less and less. Once in the open ocean, we can set the alarm, so we will be warned if there appears a ship in radar range.

Elizabeth is using the period of calm, to get a French Lesson from Charles. Thereafter, Charles and I make a Caneloni, everything from scratch. We have a pasta maker on board, and we are not afraid to use it. Elizabeth and Charles give in to the after dinner dip, while I keep watch. The engine goes off, while the sail comes back up. The waves slowly subside, so we have a smooth ride at about 5 knots. Time for me to take a nap! The day ends with 123 Nautical miles completed.

These dolphins are around 150 NM offshore!

Atlantic crossing - Day 2 - Becalmed

Barreling along at high speed on the genoa

Rice with carrots, zuchinni, yogurt  & feta cheese

Sunset over SaltyPaws

Sunset Panorama

Today weather looks quite settled, and due to the waves it takes a lot of work to keep the genacker up. We decided to take it down, to get the crew some well deserved sleep. Charles and I decide to play the gentleman's role, and split up the night between us, so that Elizabeth can have a full night of sleep.

We haven't gone south that much, but the temperature is already up from 20 to 24 degrees. The wind is between 10 and 20 knots. The difference between armchair sailing, and Volvo Ocean style.

We make steady progress, until 11 at night, when windshift after winshift is thrown at the SaltyPaws. Murphy's Law dictates, that wind shifts are never in the right direction. Unfortunately, Murphy is usually right. Bravely, or stubbornly, you pick, I decide to beat our way against the wind. Finally, when the wind meter reads 0 Beaufort, we start the engine. Quite amazing, that so far out on the open ocean, it can be this calm. The Waves have subsided as well from yesterday, and I expect that the sea will look almost mirror flat when daybreak will come in a few hours from now. Running the engine is quite weird. It is something we would do in this case, however, it is the first time, that we don't have enough fuel, to make it to our destination, not even half way.

The calm sea is no meant to be, as just before sunrise, the wind picks up again. Also, this is not to last. The day breaks, and we find a swell from a new direction, and dark skies. Can the GRIB files ever get anything right? Even when 75 nautical miles offshore, the flies and other insects, still know how to find the SaltyPaws. This remarkable feature can only be explained by a homing beacon, installed by the flies in Gibraltar. Or would they be blown offshore in massive quanties?

While I go to bed slightly grumbling over having to run the engine, I wake up to the sound of water swooshing along the hull and no engine. Before we know it, we are sailing on 3 reefs! While we race along at 7.5 knots, we could not be happier! The waves are quickly growing, but they are nice and long. We have them at about 45 degree angle, and we are surfing happily off them, sometimes at over 8 knots. When the wind gusts over 35 knots, I turn the boat more downwind, to reduce the apparent wind speed, and stay withing the reefing guidelines.

With the help of the electric tennis racket, we slowly get the fly population under control. Tux likes to eat the fried flies that have been grilled with the racket. Another parting gift from Africa, is the layer of dust on the deck. With just a few minutes of this rain, the white deck is now a formerly white deck.

Charles is cooking, while outside it is raging 7 Beaufort. While this is in progress, the waves shift more onto the beam. I change the course by 10 degrees to get a slightly more comfortable angle to the waves.

We are around 75 nautical miles offshore, and we still see birds flying around over the sea. They dont seem to be bothered at all by the 7 beaufort that is raging around them

While on watch, I see on the AIS that a massive vessel is coming straight at us. It is going at a staggering 20 knots, and it is almost 300 meters long. I call the ship ahead over the VHF to let them know our position. They can see us on the radar at a distance of around 8 nautical miles. The person on the ship is very interactive, and asks for the ship name, course and speed. He even calls us back later over the VHF to confirm the distance, as the distance I reported initially was slightly off the radar target he received. When the 300 meter monster is passing us, I feel secure in the knowledge, that they know where we are.

We are now getting into fuel range of the Canaries. While we have never been becalmed for more than a few days, it is nice to know, that we can make the Canaries under our own power.

We achieved 142 nautical miles today. As we shifted the time zone, we would need to substract 6 Nautical Miles to get the real 24 hour number.

Pictures by Charles

Atlantic Crossing Day 1 - Leaving Gibraltar

Originally we planned on leaving on Tuesday for the great beyond. However, my wife managed to fully stock the boat, and this meant we were ready to leave, one day early. All of us have been looking forward to the crossing so much, that we could not wait any longer and decided to cast off the bowlines, and released the lines set to slip. Our neighbor at the dock let us know that they thought there would be no wind, and they where waiting for more wind. And indeed, when we left the marina, the sails went up, and we motor sailed out in 2 Beaufort. The sun was almost setting, and we were happy to be able to navigate the anchored tanker field in daylight. Some dolphins went by the SaltyPaws to wish us a safe journey. Our sail plan was to stay out of the shipping lane, and cross the shipping lane after it stopped at the call in point.

We happened to be lucky with the tides, we left just after high water Gibraltar, and this is the most favorable tide. In addition, it was full moon, so we had the strongest tide. The current at Gibraltar is always into Med, to resupply the evaporated water, but at high tide, with full moon, the current actually turns out for just 1 hour. Just before Tarifa, our ground speed dropped to a mere 3.5 knots, this with the wind in our back, and one engine on. However, our speed was due for an upgrade shortly. We have never done any straight without storm, and Gibraltar did also not disappoint the second time round. The 2 Beaufort quickly rose to 7, and we were racing out of Gibraltar with a staggering 8-10 knots. I was thinking about our dock mates that predicted no wind, when we decided to first set the first reef, then the second, and finally took the mainsail down altogether, and continued sailing on the genoa. The maximum wind we saw this night was 38 knots!

In the shipping lane, we where mostly lucky with the ships, with the exception of a 300 meter monster that was moving with 20 knots. At one point is was going straight for us. As we where in the direction of the traffic, that made the “monster” an overtaking vessel, and after the hart stopping moment of seeing the bow pointed straight at us, it quickly turned its side to us, and overtook us on starboard.

Needless to say, our shift plan fell apart, as we needed 2 people on deck for all the reefing and taking the sails down, and an extra pair of eyes in the shipping lane. After having woken up at 630 in the morning the Netherlands, after a full day of travelling, I finally went to sleep. At 1 in the morning. With the ship in the safe hands of my wife, I slept very well, even in the storm.

On the first day, just after noon, I have spotted a whale. I saw the water spout several times, and also a black shape, breaching the water. The whale is quite far off, perhaps 200 meters so it is hard to see which one it is.

As the wind lightened, we put up the genacker for some great light wind speed. Unfortunately, our friend mr duck tape needed to come to the aid, after an un fortunate rip. It took us quite some time to finally tape-up the genacker, and also involving a trip of Charles into the mast.

We still have the 24 hour distance record with a staggering 145 nautical miles. I hope we get to break it again later in this leg

Using the last light of the day to leave Gibraltar

Sunset over Spain, bay of Gibraltar

Sunrise the next morning over a very calm sea

Elizabeth marking a fruit salad

Pictures by Charles

The Coffee Conundrum

Most of the western world is addicted¹ to the thick, black slurry called coffee. While it is true that our coffee consumption has dropped, since we changed the office for SaltyPaws, we really appreciate a soy cappuccino in the morning. Also, there is nothing much really to make a sunrise feel better than a Skipper mug of Espresso.

When selecting the equipment for the SaltyPaws, I have been giving the coffee conundrum ample thought. The options are roughly:

• Forgo coffee (this one did get all the consideration possible in a fempto second)
• Instant coffee (Juck, this is undrinkable!)
• Run boiling water through a filter (dangerous)
• Nespresso (Don't like to sip the morning brew with George Clooney's face in my mind, and also expense per cup, capsules are not worldwide available)
• French press, combined with coffee grinder (this is a good option, and in our case the back-up)
• Espresso machine (yes, a bit overboard, but we enjoy it every day). Also needs: Inverter, solar panels, sufficient batteries to deliver the amps.

We use our coffee machine to make espresso, cappuccino, tea, instant soup and instant noodles. There is nothing better on a night shift than a quick cup of instant soup or noodles. Using the steam/water pipe from the coffee machine is a much safer alternative, compared to boiling water in a pan, and then poring this in the instant cup. Remember, we only do this in bad weather conditions. The kind of conditions where spilling boiling water over yourself or your cat is even less desirable than normal, but all the more likely.

At first Elizabeth and I where not of one mind when it came to the coffee machine. The arguments to take it have been along the lines of: “But we already have it, we might just as well bring it along”. Which was countered by: “I don't want it to take up any space in the kitchen” Followed by: “we will find space somewhere outside of the kitchen”. Initially I thought to have a special cabinet installed specially for the coffee machine. Later I found space on the desk in the owners hull, next to a 240v socket. Finally the coffee machine was given it's place on a space of the kitchen top, which is hard to use for e.g. cutting vegetables. It has proven very prudent to place the coffee machine in the kitchen, as we have experienced several spills, especially when we forgot to empty the water tray. The coffee machine is placed on an anti-slip mat, and it hasn't moved, even in 9 Beaufort. You can ask Elizabeth now if it is OK to take the coffee machine away, and weather she could use the instant coffee or the french press instead. I am sure the answer would very unladylike, and more in line with what a hardcore sailor like captain Haddock would say if they found out they are days away from land, and they run through their last bottle of whiskey.

1When I say addicted, I mean I could give it up any day, really, really, but I just don't want to.

Welcome back to the real world

We visited our relatives in the real world for a week. After living on a boat for five months, some adjustment was required. Our fear has always been that we could not adjust back to the real world. This is one of the reasons, why we opted for a fixed time trip. And rightly so. This is what I noticed after living just five months on a boat:

When opening the tap, for example to wash my hands, I don't open the tap all the way. Back on land, I notice myself switching of the water frequently, and running with a small water stream. After being back on the land, every time I leave the tap on, and use the maximum setting, I feel a little guilty for wasting so much good water. When measuring the amount of water to make a coffee, I found I put too much in the cup. On the boat I would have never wasted good clean water, but after a moment hesitation, I just pored it away into the sink.

Before I left on the sailing trip I had a long and hot shower every day. One of the things I found very hard to imagine is how to live with less and shorter showers. I need not have worried. On the boat, a shower usually consists of a swim, and a rinse off. If we used the solar showers, or we have run the port engine, the water is hot. Otherwise it is cold. Well, cold is relative. It is the 24 degrees from the tank, no the 4 degrees cold water that we have gotten used to in Norway.

Before applying soap or shampoo, I always stop the shower. For the rinse-off I start it again. Back on the maintain, I found myself having a long hot shower, and even brushing my teeth while wasting good water!

Before I went to bed, I found myself looking through the window, as if I could establish wind, waves, and boat position relative to the rocks or other obstacles. I stooped down to avoid the one bulkhead that does not fit my head.

We love our cappuccino in the morning. With our espresso machine we foam the soy milk, and add this to the espresso, produced from hot steam through freshly ground beans. However, our coffee consumption has drastically dropped when switching land life for sea life. Back on land the coffee consumption has immediately gone up again. I guess that when the anchor alarm goes off at three in the morning, no coffee is required for instant and full awakening. I guess back on land we could use adrenalin shots to substitute our espresso shots in the same manner.

When walking though the house I take small steps. The ones designed to have a sure footing in a rocking boat. I also walk slower than normal, to prevent bumping into things. While have a big boat, the corridors on our boat are not that long, and we find that we are always taking steps our rounding a corner, so we never have to walk fast.

 When waking up, the first thing I do is looking out of the window, to see what the weather is like today.

Why are people looking funny at me? It could not possibly be my flipflops, as I have been wearing this for the last 6 months and no-one looked funny at them at all? It is really only end of October, and the latitude is 52 North. I have never used the GPS to select appropriate footwear, but perhaps next time I will!

Flipflop model tux is showing the allegedly inappropriate footwear above latitude 52 N in Autumn/Winter

Costa Esmeralda – There be Superyachts

After our season in the Med, we have seen a fair amount of super yachts. From the super yachts we have seen we have learned a number of things. Such as:

1. Super yachts like to concentrate on spots with the best show off potential
2. Global warming is still denied by a number of people, including super yacht owners. We haven't seen a single solar panel, lights are left bathing the yacht in light at night, and stinky generators are always on.
3. Most people that are in the position to order a new super yacht being built prefer motor boats of the uglier looking variety.

For this reason we were not so keen to visit the famous Costa Esmeralda, on the north east tip of Sardinia, which is the play ground of the rich and famous, and home of many super yachts for the summer. But we were surprised. The conversation went something like this:

Walbert: “Hey, look Liefje, see that black sail over there?”

Elizabeth:”I see it, what about it?”

Walbert: “That is probably the most expensive mainsail you have ever seen, it's full carbon.”

Elizabeth:”I thought carbon was reserved for masts.”

Walbert:”Yes, carbon masts are quite fancy, but carbon sails give that edge in performance.”

Elizabeth:”Hey look, there are some more black sails over there. They must have a discount deal for carbon sails here in the Costa Esmeralda. I have never seen so many carbon sails.”

Walbert:”It is really refreshing that the super yacht owners are going for the sailing boat, rather than those ugly motor boats. It looks like they are practicing for races. See the team in the team color, all sitting on the edge”

Elizabeth:”That boat over there uses carbon sails, but yet it has a teak deck. The benefit of the carbon sails is probably off-set by the teak deck. I don't understand the choices that these boat owners make”

Walbert:”Hey look, the carbon sails are lining up over there, and the Genoas are down. It looks like they are lining up for a start.

We tacked, so SaltyPaws passed just under the downwind buoy. While we sailed past the buoy, we saw several roundings, where the spinnakers where frantically taken down, and the Genoa was very quickly winched in. From out position, we had the best seat in the house. As we were making our way into the straight of Bonefacio, we got in the upwind section of the second race. We saw a crash-tack due to a right of way situation, and we saw quite a few beautifully executed normal tacks. We saw the spinnakers go up at the upwind buoy. However, finally we saw a number of the black sails coming straight towards us. We like to have the best seat in the house, but not at the expense of disadvantaging competitors, to we carefully monitored the incoming yachts. Due to a stroke of luck, the yachts went upwind and down wind of us, and we did not have to tack or give any of the racing yachts space to pass.

While we were sailing, the wind was slowly building from the initial steady 4 Beaufort, to a gusty 6 Beaufort, and with the increase in wind, our sail size went proportionally down. After tremendously enjoying the races, we had a very nice sail, through the sheltered channel on the south side of the straight. The total distance covered was 21 nautical miles in a straight line. However, we have to make 21 tacks to get from our A to B. Because of the islands, the sea was allowed only a very limited fetch, and we were enjoying to sail in 6 Beaufort, without significant waves. In these conditions we could beat into 30 degrees of the apparent wind. Many of the yachts going the same direction were running on the engine. I could not understand why. We were not going much slower, and had a ton of fun sailing. The exception were the carbon sailed yachts. One of the yachts refused to give us right of way, even when it was not in a race. Part of the race was also the Gazprom boat. We could not understand how a company owned by shareholders could justify such an expensive yacht, but there you go.