Seeing the ice in clear skies was a hell of a reward for the heavy weather yesterday. Thus far we’ve stopped to admire two big bergs from close range, bringing in ICEBEAR under power (the wind, after all that fuss, shut down completely around 1200 noon as we rounded Cape Race) to within a hundred yards or so. I put the drone up to get a bird’s eye view, and the crew stopped to admire the beauty of nature’s most striking sculpture. Both bergs we stopped for had at some point in their decay rolled, for the tops of them were pure white and smooth as marble, highlighted in spots by deep turquoise cracks where they’d broken apart and re-frozen during their lifespan.
This has been all over my Facebook page the past couple of days, thanks to Kevin King, who crewed with us and took the footage. When the whale first approached, we were in awe, and just enjoyed his company. Kevin wanted to film right away, but I kind of discouraged him - if you're always behind the camera, you can't appreciate what's right in front of you. But the whale kept coming back! I was afraid jamming the camera down in the water might scare him off (he thinking it might be a harpoon!), but eventually we gave it a go. I think it was worth it!
This was written yesterday, posted today (Monday). Photos below.
We arrived into St. Croix yesterday afternoon after what I think was probably the easiest passage I’ve ever done. We sailed on starboard tack the whole way, broad reaching in anywhere from 8-25 knots, and only motoring for one hour, through a pretty calm spot when the sails were banging around and we had to roll up the jib.
I will have WAY more to say about this in due time, but wanted to post it immediately. Thanks to Dave for sharing - you know who you are. Might we have finally reached a tipping point when it comes to taking offshore sailing seriously, instead of a ride to warmer weather?
I just had an interesting email exchange with a friend whose in the (years-long) process of outfitting his boat for extended ocean cruising. The boat is similar to Arcturus, and we have similar ideas about things, and somehow got in touch a few years back. Anyway, we've had several of these types of exchanges. I won't say who it is out of respect for his privacy, but I want to publish my response to his latest email about rigging, sails and engines. I'll preface each section with what I'm about to discuss, but won't include anything specific that he's emailed me. What's your take?
After Andy's sister Kaitie's wedding in Key West, Mia, Andy, Liz & Thierry rendezvoused at Pam Wall's house to record the first episode of the new TV show! Then, crew joined Isbjorn on the canal across the street for the return voyage north to Annapolis. We tempted fate and left on a Friday - which I won't do again! Rough, upwind conditions dictated the trip, but it was punctuated by a calm ride around Cape Hatteras and a good finish!
Don't let anybody tell you ocean sailing is easy. Of all the endurance sports I've dabbled in over the years - marathon running, triathlon, cross-country skiing, cycling - offshore sailing is easily the most grueling. In those other sports, no matter how knackered you are in the moment, you know you'll be in your bed that night.
'Variable' is the word for the weather on this passage north from Florida to Annapolis. Since departing Friday morning, we've had it all - light downwind sailing, light close reaching, heavy downwind sailing and currently even heavier close reaching, which later today is going to become a dead beat to windward.
The full crew is here and we're preparing for our chart briefing dockside tonight in the canal by Pam Wall's house, just off the 17th Street Causeway in Ft. Lauderdale. The weather looks marginal and constantly changing, so we're keeping a close eye on that (and keeping options open for a potential detour to Savannah or Charleston).
It's been a fantasy-camp of sorts since we got to Florida the other day. Both Pam and Etienne are heroes of ours, so it's super-cool to hang out together now as friends. I still have to pinch myself that we're so lucky to get to do all this! We visited Etienne's shop yesterday down past the airport, and after our little sunset sail, he joined us at Pam's house for a wonderful meal Liz and Mia cooked up for us all. Then we spent the rest of the evening drinking wine and listening to Pam and Etienne tell stories.
