May 30 – First mate/potato scrubber/deck swabber Golden reporting:
Writing time is precious. It’s been stormy weather for days now so the laptop cannot go above deck. And to go below deck is to invite seasickness. And to work on a computer below deck is sure death. Seasickness is my current nemesis [...]
Did I say “drizzle” in my last posting??? I’ve certainly jinxed myself then, b/c “drizzle” has been replaced by a steady downpour. Jeff was the first to take advantage of the many showers with a shower himself.
We’ve again been witnessing a lot of bird activity. I am completely awed by them. Where are they going? [...]
“Here comes the sun…here comes the sun…here comes the sun and I say, it’s alright”. I send this to the sun god with the hopes that we will be graced with the sun’s presence sometime in the near future. We have not felt its warmth since Saturday and though we are only experiencing a small [...]
Read the full post »Today is a good day for two very good reasons: The rain has subsided, the seas are not quite as steep, no more 30 knt gusts, and everyone seems to be feeling better. David and I celebrate our three year wedding anniversary somewhere near the middle of the Atlantic! Pretty amazing…I don’t think we will [...]
Read the full post »I’m starting to feel like I’m sounding like a broken record…but here it goes. Conditions for the past 36 hours are reminiscent of parts of our passage to Bermuda. Squalls, steep seas, 35 knt gusts. Unfortunately, the abatement of the guy’s seasickness was short lived and as weather conditions worsened, so did theirs. The good [...]
Read the full post »Yesterday’s trend of light winds continued. We finally threw up our genneker and though we were making a mere 3 knots, we were happy to have the engine off. The seas were perfectly glassy and we enjoyed the calm of the ride. Funny how entertainment takes on a more loose definition out here. Spending the [...]
Read the full post »Finally…dolphins! We have not seen them since Conception Island and what a treat to be visited by them on the first day of our passage. They were playful and hung out for a while. We are convinced that they like when you clap for them, so we of course gave them a standing ovation.
We began [...]
We departed Bermuda yesterday (Friday) morning at about 7:30am, after delaying our departure two days for more favorable weather and to take in the dinghy races taking place on Bermuda Day (national holiday). The races ended up getting canceled due to high winds.
The channel out of the harbor is a very narrow cut, after which [...]
It is early morning on Friday, May 24 and we are just about ready to hoist the sails and sail out of Bermuda Harbor enroute to the Azores! In roughly 1800 miles and 2 weeks we should arrive at our destination in Horta. We are now a little [...]
Read the full post »Leg 1 of our passage is complete and we are resting comfortably in Bermuda! It was a long and arduous journey, especially for just two people, and after eight days and 900 miles at sea, we were incredibly relieved to get here, get some sleep, and start ramping up [...]
Read the full post »Blue skies, nothing but blue skies. We enjoyed a beautiful, rainless sunrise this morning. Our limp has been elevated to a skip and we are now blazing along at a good clip. The seas have calmed and the slamming has subsided. We are in the homestretch with less than [...]
Read the full post »Surprising: How many birds we have seen out here in the middle of nowhere. I think that they are just as surprised at the sight of us as they circle our boat and we call to them. Disturbing: The plastic that we continue to see floating by our boat.
Read the full post »We have been doing so much “hurry up and wait” as of late. By midnight last night, the winds had clocked enough that we were able to make a move. Because we were getting so beaten up by the waves, we decided to fall off our course a bit [...]
Read the full post »We spent another night last night getting beat up by squalls. The worst of it now seems to be over, that is as long as we say below 27 degrees north…which is proving to be a bit of a challenge given that the winds have kicked up and even [...]
Read the full post »Conditions changed dramatically overnight. Whereas before the Atlantic was like a placid lake offering us perfect winds, those conditions have been replaced by rain…sheets and sheets of it never ending, wind, and lightening in every direction. Not exactly the kind of thing you want to see when [...]
Read the full post »