December 31, 2014
Unlike our first Atlantic Crossing, I am not going to break up the posts into 2-3 day sections and regale you with what happened on a daily basis. Â I can’t, or every post would go something like this: Â ‘Woke up. Â Winds were heavy but steady. Â Waves were heavy but steady. Â I can’t go outside without getting wet. Â Prepared meals, napped, and waited for the next day to come‘.
I can do that for you every day if you’d like, but the truth is I’d still like you to come back to our blog every few days and I know that’s not the best way to hook or even keep you. Â So instead I will be breaking our crossing into two posts where I’ll get a little technical and give conditions plus milage, and then a little snippet of something that happened that day, just to keep your interest if even just a little bit.
Day 1 – December 18, 2014
- Winds ESE 10-15 knots; Seas 1-2 meters
- Before leaving, Matt cut his thumb with a drill. No stitches this time; We finally found the sun outside of Las Palmas; Accidentally woke up Matt with the air horn while tacking; Cuddled in the cockpit listening to UB40 while watching the sunset and watched Gran Canaria light up.
Day 2 – December 19, 2014
- Winds NE 15-20 knots; Seas 1-2 meters; 120 nm
- Still quite cold out, our gauge is showing the water is only 57. That can’t be right. Stayed below deck for most of the day.
Day 3 – December 20, 2014
- Winds ENE 20-25 knots; Seas 2-3 meters; 125 nm – 245 total
- Saw a flash in the sky, maybe a supernova? Had to hand feed Georgie her dry food. She wanted the cheese I was eating and kept nudging me, timing her nudges with the rocking of the boat.
Day 4 – December 21, 2014
- Winds ENE 15-20 knots; Seas 1-2 meters; 124 nm – 369 total
- Found a buddy boat. Well, on AIS at least. The first boat we’ve seen outside of Gran Canaria. They’re 36 ft and sailing in the same direction, only 4 nm from us.
Day 5 – December 22, 2014
- Winds NE 12-17 knots; Seas 1-2 meters; 115 nm – 484 total
- Read books and made pasta salad. Without being able to fill our propane in Gran Canaria we have about 1 week’s worth of propane left and have to portion it out.
Day 6 – December 23, 2014
- Winds E 5-10 knots; Seas 0.5-1 meters; 92 nm – 576 total
- Had a hard time getting a satellite phone signal. With the light winds, tried to lay out on deck and catch a tan. Speeds dropped down to 2 knots.
Day 7 – December 24, 2014
- Winds E 2-6 knots; Seas 0-1 meters; 41 nm – 617 total
- Drifted in the morning with no autopilot; Made guacamole and enjoyed in the cockpit with a beer; Trimmed my split ends. Not good according to sailing superstitions. I should have known better. Got a text from my dad that storms were on their way.
Day 8 – December 25, 2014
- Winds E 5-10 building to 10-15; Seas 1-2 meters; 60 nm – 676 total
- Merry Christmas! Warm and productive day. Enjoyed 2 cups of coffee, did a little laundry, and had my first shower since leaving. (Ick, I know). Made a nice chicken and potato dinner. Watched the forecast, we have a depression and front on the way.
Day 9 – December 26, 2014
- Winds E 20-25 knots; Seas 1-2 meters; 89 nm – 765 total
- Day started with lots of wind and growing waves, but it died down by the afternoon. Debated stopping at the Cape Verdes but the weather looks ok for us to continue.
Day 10 – December 27, 2014
- Winds E 20-25 knots; Seas 1-2 meters; 93 nm – 858 total
- Went into the night with the spinnaker pole up. At 3 am the winds jumped from 15 knots to 30 and stayed strong until the early afternoon when they died down to 10-15 knots.
Day 11 – December 28, 2014
- Winds E 20-25 knots; Seas 2-3 meters; 121 nm – 979 total
- Changed our course from S to WSW. Matt caught a tuna but lost it before getting it on board. Got seasick and spent the rest of the day in a foul mood, made Matt cook dinner.
Day 12 – December 29, 2014
- Winds E 15-20 knots; Seas 2-3 meters; 114 nm – 1,093 total
- Sick again. Matt left the dishes overnight for me to clean. Thanks Matt. Caught 2.5 ft mahi. Cleaned and filleted it even though I felt like I was going to throw up in the sink.
Day 13 – December 30, 2014
- Winds E 20-25 knots; Seas 2-3 meters; 115 nm – 1,208 total
- Still overcast, still feeling blah. Finally washed my hair for the first time in 5 days. Made a nice chicken, potato, carrot stew for dinner.
Day 14 – December 31, 2014
- Winds E 20-25 knots; Seas 2-3 meters; 121 nm – 1,329 total
- More of the same. Clouds, strong winds, feeling gross. Read the book Slaughterhouse V. It was…interesting.
I love this format of these crossing posts! I feel like I was really there with you through it all. Congrats on sailing back across the Atlantic and into paradise:). You two are awesome.