Psyched up for the Big Crossing

In Antigua, we spent 2 weeks getting ourselves psyched up for the Atlantic and doing repairs on the boat. We couldn't escape a few parties either since we were there during the famous race week, which over 300 sailboats from North America, the Caribbean and Europe come to every year. Quite a madhouse with mooring stern to the dock, or anchoring out, which was a nightmare with all the crazy sailors packed into tiny harbours.

While in English Harbour, we had a pleasant visit from Bob Christie on his way to a project in Venezuela. Bob likes swimming, snorkeling and sunbathing, especially on one beach in Falmouth harbour, where most of the girls parade around topless. I didn't mind it either although I am getting used to it by now. It was particularly interesting for me to visit Antigua again since I had spent some time there more than 20 years ago with my friend, Kaare Norgaard, on his 50 foot ketch. Not much change. The steel bands were just as good and the rum punch just as strong!

Barbara Neilan from Montana, our crew for the first leg of the Atlantic from Antigua to Bermuda (1000 nautical miles), arrived on April 28 in a terrific rain squall. A great start for Barbara, who wondered what she was getting herself into. This trip was her 40th birthday present from her husband, Steve. After sightseeing with Barb, a few more exotic Caribbean dinners, provisioning and fuelling up, we headed out for Bermuda on May 2. For Barbara, this was to be quite a birthday present. Strong, easterly Tradewinds all the way blowing steadily 20-25 knots. For Anne and I it was a fantastic passage except when we ripped our main sail about halfway to Bermuda in one of the strong squalls. Luckily, the sail tore just below the second reef point, so we could still use the top half.

Heaven & Hell

There is a saying in Bermuda that "it is a heavenly place to be but a hell of a place to get to". Bermuda is notorious for the dangerous reefs that circle most of the island and which in the sailing ship days claimed many lives. Hundreds of ships got lost in the strong winds and currents and poor visibility around the island. True to the saying, we got hit by a strong gale just 20 miles out of Bermuda. It took us 10 hours to fight our way right against the gale to just make it into St. Georges harbour before dark. We took on more water in the cockpit than on the whole trip so far - at times one foot of water. If we hadn't made it before dark, it would have been too dangerous to try before the next day!

B E R M U D A

Dark & Stormy

Our friend in Bermuda, Sidney Corbett, ex Post Master General, came down to the dock only half an hour after we arrived with a bottle of Goslings Black Seal rum and Ginger Ale, which together make up the famous "Dark and Stormy" Bermuda drink. Needless to say, this went down without any problem after the last 20-mile struggle. We were also relieved to have come right through the Bermuda Triangle without any mishaps. Barbara recovered quickly and we all spent the next few days sightseeing. The island is like a botanical garden, a super place to spend a holiday if you have lots of money.

Drama at Sea

We had a change of crew in Bermuda. Barbara went back to Montana and Hubert Bunce arrived from Vancouver to join us on the next leg to the Azores. While we were waiting for Hubert, a few sailboats left Bermuda to join some others on the way directly from Antigua to the Azores. This was in spite of storm warnings just east of Bermuda. And right enough, they got hit badly and for a while, five boats were missing, two of which eventually went down. Luckily, the crews, five from each boat, managed to get into their life rafts. All were rescued except one person who fell out of his life sling while being hoisted aboard the freighter which found them. The five in the other raft were picked up by another sailboat.

Since both boats were large, abt. 60 feet, we think the crew must have been inexperienced, maybe young daredevils, rushing back to England and a race in Jersey after participating in the Antigua races two weeks earlier. In any case, it was a bit nerve wracking listening on the radio to Bermuda Harbour Control and U.S. Coast Guard rescue stations searching for the five missing boats, eventually making contact with some of them. All were in the same area that we were heading for. One of the boats that left early came back and tied up next to us. They had an injured crewmember who had fallen and cracked a vertebrae in the neck.

Hurricane Warning

Hubert arrived on May 28 and we were scheduled to leave a couple of days later to give Hubert some time to see Bermuda. However, we got beaten to the punch by another weather system lurking further south in the Caribbean and which was heading our way. By Tuesday, June 1, the official opening of the Hurricane Season, this weather system had developed into Tropical Disturbance No. 1, moving North East at 16 knots, blowing 30-50 knots and expected to pass 8-10 miles south of Bermuda on June 3. With this forecast, we moved away from the dock in St. Georges Harbour to a small cover where we would be much safer if Bermuda got hit by the Big Blow. This turned out to be a good move and we were snugly anchored behind a little island which sheltered us from the gale. Again, we were listening to the radio, and a couple of sailboats that didn't make it into St. Georges Harbour in time before it hit. They rode it out safely, however, and the Disturbance passed about 30 miles south of us, giving us strong gale winds of over 40 knots but no problems. We kept anchor watch one night till it calmed down around 3 o'clock in the morning. The next day, we were away through the narrow cut of St. Georges Harbour on our expected 15-20 day sail to the Azores.

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Again, we lucked out, had perfect weather and winds all the way except for a brief squall on the 13th of June when we tore our main sail again. Just as well that I was on watch so I could swear only at myself. But I guess I did some dandies since both Anne and Hubert got out of their bunks pretty fast to see what was going on! This time it ripped above the top reefing point so we couldn't use it any more and carried on under reefed genoa. The only other casualty was Anne when she got hit on the nose by the toilet seat while she was on her hands and knees puking during the same blow. There was blood all over - more like a battlefield than a sailboat. Otherwise, we had a few days of total calm which was enjoyable and gave us a chance to do some sunbathing, swimming, reading and relaxing. We saw a few freighters on the way, one of them sneaking up behind us until we heard him joking on the radio that he was coming up on us and not to be scared if we thought he was getting too close. Nice to have a chat with someone. It breaks the monotony of such a long crossing.

We saw a lot of dolphins who some times put on a fantastic show leaping right out of the water. They become particularly playful if you go up on the bow and lean out to watch them. They definitely like to show off.

Anne was on the ham radio a couple of times a day talking to her contacts in Ottawa and Norway. Both my parents in Ottawa and Anne's mother and family in Norway were therefore able to follow us every step of the way and knew where and how we were doing every day.

A Z O R E S

After 15 days and 1950 nautical miles, we arrived safely in Horta on the island of Fayal in the Azores. The Azores, and in particular Horta, has been a stopover for ships crossing the Atlantic right back to Columbus' days. He was blown into the Azores by a terrific storm on his way back to Spain after his first trip to the "New World". Horta is a quaint little seaside town famous for its "wall" filled with graffiti by visiting sailors from around the world. Literally thousands (700-1000 boats per year) of signs decorate the dock - some extremely artistic. Hubert and I did a joint effort on our sign.

We spent a couple of weeks in the Azores doing sail repairs, maintaining and cleaning the boat, resting up and, of course, some sightseeing, mostly on our bikes. We even climbed the highest mountain in Portugal on the island of Pico. It is a live volcano, 7500 feet high, quite a hike and we were sore for days afterwards.

Change of Crew

In the Azores we changed crew again. Hubert left us and Anne's nephew Jim Brevig and his wife, Anne Ziffer, joined us for the last leg to Halden, Norway. We would have liked to go up the Irish Sea and through the Caledonian Canal in Scotland rather than the English Channel, but unfortunately, Jim and Anne had only 23 days available, so we did the crossing non-stop, covering 2300 nautical miles in 19 days. It is amazing how our average speed always seems to be a bit over 5 knots. I guess it is because we usually motor or motorsail if the speed drops below 2 knots or so. Although we don't motor that much - in 41 days and 5200 nautical miles from Antigua to Halden, we only motored a total of 5.5 days using only one tank of fuel. A pretty cheap way to travel, eh?

After we were treated by our new, green crew to a very fancy dinner at the most exclusive restaurant in the Azores, we were off again on the 3rd of July. We were a bit worried about getting into the famous "Azores High" which is an enormous area of high pressure usually lying east and north east of the Azores and in which you may be totally becalmed. This is one of the well-known doldrums from the sailing ships era. On the advice of our excellent weatherman, Herb in Bermuda, we headed north northeast the first several days until we picked up the westerlies which are the remains of the westerly gales that always blow from Newfoundland right across the Atlantic almost to the British Isles. As always, so far, we seemed to luck out and managed to sail pretty well the whole way to the British Channel. By now Jim and Anne were full-fledged sailors, Anne even fully operational in the Galley. This time we didn't have any excitement except when a cockroach crawled across Anne's (the other Anne) face when she was sleeping. Her screams woke up the rest of the crew who thought she had been murdered or something. This led us to an all out war on the cockroaches. We tried everything, Borax mixed with condensed milk and sugar, sprays, etc., but to no avail.

Cockroaches, Whales & King Size Tunas

Since Anne (my Anne) is the only one who ever sees whales, she was the one who was visited by one again on her watch. This one was swimming along just beside the boat for quite a while only a few feet away. After a while, it blew a few large blows, slowed down and crossed behind us and disappeared north to the unfriendly waters of the Norwegian sea. At least this one didn't try to go under us like the one on the Pacific side!

After fishing for several days, we got a big, beautiful Bluefin Tuna, which was so huge that we had to use our genoa winch to get him into the cockpit. After trying to kill it with an axe, the cockpit looked and smelled like a battle field, and Anne, who had been good for many days, got sick again. Thank God this didn't keep her from eating the tuna which we had for dinner for four days in a row. Unfortunately, we had to throw out most of it since we can't have the fridge on all the time when we sail since it takes so much electricity.