0500. Wind SW at 8-12 knots, and Isbjorn is going smooth on a close reach at 7.5 knots. This is the first time the wind has been forward of the beam since leaving Hampton Roads!
Our morning aboard Isbjorn began with this message from Rally Control.
It's very strange in our little isolated bubble on Isbjorn to be getting news in chunks from afar, and I'm sure the fleet feels the same. Interestingly, last year while the yachts were at sea, the Paris terrorist attacks happened. Makes you realize how connected you are ashore, and how nice - but weird - it is to be so disconnected.
"Hey! It's been super windy with big seas! The real deal!"
This blog has nothing to do with politics. We're just all curious on the big day today!
0545. I'm taking my first solo watch of the trip. Typically I don't stand watches - rather, our crew pair up, Mia takes a solo watch & I'm on-call, the crew doing three-on, six-off rotations. Tom, though, is majorly seasick and hasn't taken a watch since Day 1. For a while Ed & David and Mia & Bruce did 4-on, 4-off, but it's finally calmed down a bit so they're getting a needed break.
Caribbean 1500: Isbjorn to Sojourner
Back to Sea: Caribbean 1500 Passage South
The Maritime Bhangra Group...Just for Fun
Interviewing Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
Big news! Mia and I just got back from the Southampton Boat Show in the UK on Friday, and I've been DYING to tell everyone about it! The purpose of our trip was to get in some in-person interviews. It started by reaching out to Bob Shepton, 2013 Yachtsman of the Year and known to me from the Vertical Sailing Greenland video series. He immediately said yes! Then I asked photographer Rick Tomlinson, and finally Sir Robin Knox-Johnston himself! Sir Robin airs October 4. In the meantime, tech guru, anarchist & sailor Moxie Marlinspike airs tomorrow Sept. 26! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
Isbjorn is Northbound & Headed for the Arctic!
The 2018 Passage Calendar has officially been released! Isbjorn is heading NORTH in 2018. After wintering in Sweden & preparing Isbjorn for the Arctic, we'll set sail for Scotland, Norway and the far north. After exploring the Lofoten Islands in Norway, we'll stage in Tromso for the 500-mile passage to Svalbard, that mythical land of polar bears, walrus and icebergs. From there, it's 1,200 miles to Reykjavik, Iceland, then back across the Atlantic to Ireland. Don't miss this opportunity of a lifetime to join us and visit one of the last great wildernesses on Earth - before it's gone.
Iconic interviews & some cool new boats in Southampton.
PHOTOS: '16 Leg 9: Lunenburg to Annapolis
The final leg of the Canadian summer started in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. This was the forth time Andy & Mia have been up there, twice on Isbjorn and once on Arcturus. Lunenburg is such a sweet little town with everything a sailor could want. The trip south was fairly uneventful with some upwind sailing towards the end before we entered the Delaware Bay and sailed back home to Annapolis
Delaware Bay Bound
We've officially been headed enough now that the Chesapeake Bay is out of the question. In Lunenburg, we plotted two routes on the chart, for each scenario, and had always kept the Delaware option in our back pocket. I had a hunch that south was key in this leg, so we kept going that way and I'm glad we did.
The Magic of Light-Air Sailing
0900 Wednesday August 10. We're sailing again, close-reaching on the port tack now, careful to stay south of our rhumb line in anticipation of a SW'ly shift as we approach the Chesapeake. It's beautifully warm outside now. The sun is strong enough to require the bimini again, but it's not the humid, stifling heat of the Bay. Yet. We're far offshore, 155 miles SSE of Nantucket and 275 miles E of Cape May, 10,000 feet of ocean under our keel.
Into Deep Ocean
Hey all, friend of the crew Rory Finneren writing. I was pleasantly surprised when Andy contacted me yesterday via his YellowBrick from offshore. He asked if I could post blogs during this passage since Liz, who would normally do so, is currently onboard. Recently having returned home to Taiwan after my own 5500 nm offshore voyage from Tahiti to Alaska, I'm happy to help. Here is the latest from Andy & the crew of Isbjorn, homeward bound to Annapolis from the cool fog of Nova Scotia.
PHOTOS: '16 Leg 8: St. John's to Lunenburg via St. Pierre
After a fun and relaxing week up in St. John's, Newfoundland, David and Dough arrived a few days early to explore the town before departing south towards Lunenburg. Dan, our 3rd crew, sailed with us up from Lunenburg and stayed onboard during the stop over in St. John's. As we departed, the fog rolled in pretty quickly and we had a nice cruise down to St. Pierre, arriving early in the morning in thick fog. St. Pierre really surprised us and the crew, amazing food, great hiking and the deserts people just could dream of.
30-Hours Under Spinnaker
We last left off after a magical ‘recce’ past mythical Sable Island. While the scenery was dramatic and the mood aboard Isbjorn at perhaps an all-time high, the actual sailing left much to be desired. We’d been motoring for almost 24 hours through a very flat calm and very heavy fog. That all changed after our visit to Sable.
An Afternoon 'Recce' to Mythical Sable Island
A Foggy Entrance to St. Pierre
Isbjorn makes a fog-bound entrance into the tiny French outpost of St. Pierre & Miquelon. The crew finds lots of brie and wine ashore, and the battered hull of Oman Sail, the MOD70 trimaran that capsized in the recent Quebec-St. Malo trans-Atlantic race. It was the foggiest passage of Andy & Mia's career.
Dilly & Tony Save the Day
WRI Weather Forecast for leaving St. Johns
Exploring NewfoundLAND
Finally, around midday, with 40 or so miles to go, the weather changed for good. The fog lifted and stayed lifted and the first chink in the low layer of clouds opened up suddenly to reveal a blue sky filled with the puffy cumulous so common with the onset of fair weather. Almost as suddenly a westerly breeze tickled the water and immediately filled in at a gusty 15 knots, propelling Isbjorn along the coastline at nearly hull speed in the flat, sheltered water along the cliffs.
