Crossing the Atlantic Ocean – we did it! Finally, after two months we have found the motivation to write this blog. Crossing an ocean on a sailboat sounds like the most romantic adventure to some people, and to others, it sounds like their worst nightmare, understandably. Once you let go of the lines you are on your own. Sailing non-stop through day and night, through wind and waves and all the ups and downs that come with an ocean crossing. For us, it was an adventure of a lifetime. But also one we definitely aren‘t going to do again. Before going on this trip, we were aware that it was possible that we would hate doing such a long passage, almost expecting it. For some people, it is the most fun thing to do and they are incredibly happy, for others (probably most), it is something to endure.
Crossing an ocean is incredibly boring if everything goes according to plan (and that is of course what you are hoping for). Getting seasick makes the whole undertaking even more boring, as most activities that take your focus away from the horizon make you sick, such as cooking, reading or watching a movie. So you just sit there all day long looking out into the ocean. Furthermore, you barely get any sleep. You are rocking and rolling around in your bed all the time like being on a rollercoaster and the creaking of the boat in the wind and waves makes a lot of noise. On top of that, somebody has to be on watch during the night so you always have to get up in the middle of the night and do your shift. And that is what you do for three weeks non-stop.
The first week of our crossing was quite good. The sea state was not too bad, which meant the seasickness wasn’t horrible and we even went swimming one day. The second week was also okay, we got into the groove of the offshore passage sailing life, but it was incredibly boring. The third and final week was really bad. The wind and the waves grew and the mileage left did not seem to decrease as quickly as we hoped, Jenny and I lost a lot of mental strength and it was very difficult to stay motivated on our goal.
Nevertheless, we had some amazing moments which we will hopefully never forget. The good thing about our sailing-related memories is, that we seem to forget all the bad stuff and only remember the good moments. We saw some beautiful wildlife on the water, from dolphins to the many thousand flying fish to bioluminescent algae shining as bright as stars in the water. We saw absolutely stunning night skies and some of us watched the stars for hours. And we had some great times sitting on our roof sailing into the sunset.
If we could go back in time a few months I would definitely do it all again. But, it crystallised quite quickly, that once is enough for us. Jenny has written a diary during our time on the Atlantic so we decided to give a more detailed and personal description of our experiences and that it would be a good idea to tell you how it really was.
Day 1
We spent the morning preparing the last little things in the marina, feeling very anxious but also a bit impatient, to finally go. We all had a last sandwich and then let the lines go, leaving land for three weeks, a surreal feeling! Once out of the harbour, we tested our watermaker for the first time after installing the new pump and the chlorine treatment, and fresh, non-sulphuric-smelling water came out. We felt happy and proud that we managed to fix something again. We were slowly getting better at it.
We spent the day motoring down the coast of Tenerife. We were in the lee of the island and the northerly winds would only kick in once we properly left the islands behind. After already two hours we all started to get bored. Yuri and Flurina started crocheting which was quite funny and entertaining (mostly because Yuri was quite bad at it and had to start over and over again). For dinner, we had Fajitas, which we had prepared the day before.
Day 2
Andrin woke me up during the night to show me bioluminescent plankton in the water. With every wave that disturbed them they lit up like stars, it was magical. Our own Christmas lights this year.
During the day I was so incredibly tired that I slept most of the time. The seasickness wasn‘t too bad, but a little queasiness came and went. We had some rather strong winds and made some good progress going quite fast downwind.
The boys made an interesting construction for their fishing line with an empty soda can as an alarm. I was quite relieved that we didn‘t catch a fish on the first day because I think we still felt too sick to take it apart. But we already lost the squid bait, which meant that probably something did bite.
All in all, it was a good day. I wasn‘t too bored, our spirits were still high and everybody was quite happy. Especially after feeling so nervous about having this daunting crossing before us, we were glad it was going well so far. We are finally doing it and are looking forward to spending a couple of relaxing months in the Caribbean.
Day 3
The night was pretty rough. We were all feeling sick and tired and were barely able to do our shifts. The only good thing was a beautiful shooting star. I have never seen one so bright and long before. It was amazing. And we also saw the bioluminescence in the water again, beautiful too.
In the morning we all tried to catch up on some sleep as the night was pretty restless. After breakfast, the waves started to die down and we all started feeling better. I was very excited when a small insect landed on my arm, he made it out onto the ocean all by himself! Just like us 🙂
In the evening we all sat together on the roof, having dinner and sailing with our Gennaker into the sunset. It was a really pleasant evening. Everybody said that this was how they imagined crossing the Atlantic would be. But sadly, not every day can be like this. We found the first flying fish that made it onto our boat and it was already quite smelly. (Flying fish are a very common species around the tropics. They get scared by the boat and they try to evade it, jumping out of the water and flying with their little wings in a random direction, sometimes unluckily landing on the boat, where you usually find them only hours later once they are already long dead and very smelly.)
Day 4
Although I didn‘t sleep much last night, it was quite relaxing. In the first half, we still had our Gennaker up and were doing around 9 knots of average speed with 14 knots of true wind. Then the wind died down and the sea became incredibly calm. You could even see the reflection of the stars in the water. And by switching off our navigation lights the night sky was incredible. In the morning after breakfast, we stopped the motor and we all jumped into the water (making sure somebody always stayed on the boat, just to be sure). It was so fun and refreshing, especially the shower afterwards. It was an interesting experience swimming in the Atlantic Ocean 300 nm off the nearest coast.
There was a little wind in the afternoon so we made slow progress with the Gennaker. Nobody was seasick and we had a good time together, talking, eating and sleeping. In the evening the soda can jiggled, a fish! But when pulling in the line it managed to get free and we lost it. Soon after, it jiggled again, but we had the same fate again. Just as we pulled the last meter in, the fish caught a wave and jumped up high into the air, at least two meters. This made him unstuck and he was free again. Just as we sat down for dinner, the soda can jingled once more, and this time we managed to get it out, a small tuna! Killing it was a bloodbath, blood splattered over the whole deck, quite macabre. We had to look up how to dissect a tuna as it’s different from other fish. But Owen managed to make some fillets and we put them into our freezer – very exciting.
Day 5
I didn‘t sleep again and when I did, I was dreaming of being on solid ground again. My night watch was fine as I wasn‘t tired anyway and I just listened to some music. I guess I‘m just not doing enough during the day.
We saw our first dolphins on this crossing. They were probably bottlenose dolphins as they were huge! Motivation was a little low this morning as we sailed through low winds and didn‘t make much progress distance-wise. Luckily the wind picked up a bit during the day.
Andrin and I tried to watch a video but already after a few minutes the seasickness came back, so we went back to the helm and it got better again. Even after five days and with very little waves, we still couldn‘t watch a video without getting sick.
We started planning our next year a bit. I really didn‘t feel like doing another Atlantic crossing back to Europe, so we were thinking about putting the boat on a container ship to get it back to Europe.
I also hand-steered the boat for an hour and it was quite tough with the wind constantly changing, but also quite fun.
Day 6
At least I slept a little tonight. During my shift, a bird tried to land on our boat again. Yesterday I heard a loud clatter behind me and when I looked in the dinghy there was a shearwater, struggling to get out, slipping on the plastic with its big feet. I was happy to see the dinghy empty a while later, but as usual, it left a present or two behind for us to clean later. We kept seeing large swarms of flying fish fleeing from our boat, the first time I thought it was a new small bird that had made it out here because it was gliding above the waves for so long.
Today was tough though. We didn‘t do more than 4 knots because there was no real wind and there isn‘t any more predicted for the next 3 days. And we didn‘t want to motor through that, since we were still early in the crossing and didn‘t want to use up all our Diesel during the first week. So it’s going to take a lot longer than the 20 days we hoped for. I just want to arrive… (We met a charter boat later which turned on the motor whenever they were doing less than 5 knots. They crossed at the same time as us and motored most of the way.)
In the evening we started making friendship bracelets while listening to sea shanties which was quite fun.
Day 7
Last night was really quiet. We were going 180° downwind with just our Genoa out, the main sail was taken down so it wouldn‘t bang around and creak all the time in the light winds. (When there is not enough wind, especially downwind, the boom is not stable and will go up and down banging a lot. To prevent this we put up a line that fixed the boom to the side of the boat, a so-called preventer. And on top of that, we pulled up the topping lift, a rope connecting the boom to the top of the mast. But when the boom was fixed like this, it started creaking, which was also quite annoying and didn‘t sound very healthy for the boom.) The waves were coming from behind and for the first time in a couple of days, I slept really well.
During the day we continued making bracelets which was fun for some time but then got boring very quickly. Otherwise, it was much of the same: wind, waves and lots and lots of blue. But we have completed our first week which is quite an achievement and I have to admit that it doesn’t feel very long so far. All in all a good day.
Day 8
Today was a fishy day. In the morning we had another flying fish on the deck – the first one I saw from close up. I wanted to lift its wing for a photo but that wasn‘t possible anymore. It was rigid like a stick. Later we caught another one – a Mahi mahi. It was very pretty and less of a blood bath than last time.
Andrin and Flurina did a push-up challenge today: 5 push-ups every minute for 1 hour. Andrin has done 350 push-ups so far and I passed the 1000 mark for this trip. (We joked about doing a challenge we saw in a YouTube video of another boat crossing the Atlantic. Somebody attempted to do 1 push-up for every nautical mile. With an average speed of 6 knots, that’s 144 push-ups a day.)
Another milestone was passed today: The Distance-to-Destination counter on our chart plotter now says less than 2000 nm to go!
Day 9
We had a good start to the day with a big pancake feast – yum!
During the whole day, the boys built their own fish bait out of an old Doritos crisps bag. But so far they didn‘t catch anything with it. I felt a little homesick today though. In the afternoon we saw the first sailboat in a week and got really excited. They changed course to get closer to us and then called us on VHF. Turns out they were Swiss (though from the French-speaking part).
As the sun was setting we saw the first squalls in the distance. They didn‘t hit us but still a little annoying as we wanted to keep up the Gennaker during the night and now I didn‘t dare to anymore because we might get strong winds. So instead we put up the main sail and were a little disappointed as we didn‘t really gain any speed with it. But that‘s how sailing across an ocean is. We can‘t keep going at the same speed at night if we don‘t want to break anything.
Day 10
I woke up during the night and thought it was strange that the sound of the sails had changed. But as I was very sleepy I was just lying there and didn‘t do anything. Only later when Andrin woke up too did I ask him if he heard it too and he went out to have a look. The reefing line that pulls the clew (the edge of the main sail at the back of the ship) down to the boom had ripped and the two people on watch were happily chatting to each other without having noticed anything at all. The whole mainsail was hanging in the lazy jacks. So we took it down. Andrin decided to hoist the Gennaker again during the night, mostly out of spite because we were going so slow. I was really nervous during my shift and kept looking out for squalls and didn‘t take my eyes off the wind speed. But it turned out alright.
Today was shower day which also felt really good as the last one had been a while back. In the afternoon Andrin and I watched some videos we downloaded, this time without getting too seasick for the first time.
Later we saw the Swiss boat Sargo again. They came really close to us which was a bit stressful. We had both our Gennaker and Genoa out, one on the left and one on the right in a so-called butterfly position. This meant we could only go dead downwind and were not able to change course. So we took the Genoa in and changed course because they had the way of right and otherwise we would have collided.
Day 11
During the night we were overtaken by the other sailboats around us (on the AIS) as we only had our Genoa out. But we still made decent progress. As soon as we had daylight we took out the Gennaker again and were back up to speed.
We had quite a lot of program during the day: playing Mario Kart, watching Videos, listening to Sherlock Holmes and reading my book (The Seabird‘s Cry). It felt good doing all these activities, like on a normal lazy weekend at home.
Day 12
Tonight was very stressful for me as we were having the Gennaker and the Genoa out again and the wind kept getting stronger. During the last night shift Clara came to wake us up as the wind got over the threshold we set the evening before. I went to the furling line for the Gennaker and started pulling it in. Halfway through I couldn‘t pull anymore because the wind was going so strong and Andrin came to help me. The Gennaker wasn’t nicely furled, but it was furled nonetheless. For safety, we also lowered the furled-up Gennaker down and stowed it away. But soon after the wind died down and we put it back up again.
I started reading a book about Auroras and had a question I asked Andrin which turned out to become a full physics lesson which was quite interesting. In the evening everything was getting a little much for me though. People started to get on my nerves (which is probably normal after 12 days on the same 13 by 7 square meters). But reading really helped keeping me entertained.
Day 13
Tonight we had the first rain, luckily no squall which meant no strong winds, and sadly not enough rain to properly wash the boat. Everything was dirty and full of salt on the outside. Other than that it was a quiet night.
During the whole day, we were sailing through sargassum seaweed, big carpets of gold floating on the water. It made fishing rather difficult though as we only kept catching seaweed. Otherwise, the day was okay, much of the same: reading, watching some videos and listening to audiobooks. With some good wind and the Gennaker out the Distance-to-Destination started decreasing a little quicker which was amazing to see.
Day 14
After sunset we were lying on the roof and looked at the night sky – it was beautiful. We saw loads of stars, shooting stars, the Orion nebula and even the Andromeda galaxy. We used our binoculars which made everything a whole lot clearer (after you finally managed to keep them stable enough).
The day was quiet, I read a good book and did quite a few push-ups. At sunset, just as we were cooking dinner, Andrin caught his first fish – some kind of mackerel.
When I was trying to fall asleep I heard a loud bang. I thought we hit something in the water, maybe a container which could be devastating. Looking out of the window I was relieved to “only” see the Gennaker missing – the halyard had ripped. The whole sail was hanging under our portside hull. Everybody got together and we managed to pull it out of the water. Miraculously it wasn‘t damaged at all and we stowed it away. It was quite annoying as I had told Andrin this morning we should check the Gennaker for chafing as it was up for over 24 hours. But we didn‘t do it and here we had the result – a noobie mistake.
Day 15
During my shifts we were followed by thunderstorms behind us – I was really nervous. I‘m just scared of more things breaking or the boat being struck by lightning. We were all very tired after this wild night. I felt miserable, tired and hot all day. At least the shower in the afternoon helped with the mood.
We also sailed through a patch of seaweed, as big as a football field. We were slowed down a lot and were really afraid we would get stuck in it, we could have sailed around it but were just too lazy. Luckily after a while, we made it out.
After the sun went down Andrin and I started to feel a little queasy again as the waves had picked up. After two weeks at sea, it was still possible to get seasick. Today was the worst day so far. At least we should have less than one week left.
Day 16
It was a tough night. We had a lot of wind and waves, and the worst of all – lots of thunderstorms but luckily only in the distance. Watching the lightning on the horizon would have been incredible if we had been enjoying it from the safety of our home. But being the tallest thing on the ocean with a 19 m metal mast pointing into the sky is quite frightening. I had to wake up Andrin because I was so anxious but he obviously couldn‘t help either.
The day was also very uncomfortable, being shaken around all the time and things falling everywhere around us was very tiring. I couldn‘t find any motivation to do my push-ups today. I desperately want to escape this mess and finally arrive.
Day 17
Tonight was finally quieter again. I don‘t know how many more of these thundery nights I could have handled.
As soon as we had daylight I got out of bed, although I hadn‘t slept much. But it was the 6th of December and I made Grättimänner for everyone. It was a great success and lifted our spirits, especially since we were all struggling the last couple of days. Later I fell into a deep sleep which felt really good for a change.
Looking at our weatherrouting it promised us only 5 days to go, the end is in sight, finally!
Day 18
Not much has happened today. We had a more or less quiet night (that still means being thrown around in bed all the time, the sound of waves crashing onto the hulls and maybe sleeping for two hours at a time before checking if everything was still alright) and a boring day.
In the afternoon Andrin was so bored that he started fishing. The excitement was great when a beautiful and big Mahi mahi bit, but we sadly lost it while pulling it in. Afterwards, there was no more fishing luck, although we had already planned dinner with fish in mind.
I am very very impatient to finally arrive now and find it difficult to motivate myself to do anything.
Day 19
Today was better again. Everybody seemed to be in a better mood and the Distance-to-Destination number was decreasing quite quickly again. Flurina made us some tasty cookies which was quite good for keeping our mood up.
We all took one last shower on the back of the boat during the afternoon and sat on the roof having our aperitivo (always non-alcoholic while sailing). It was fun, everyone being together again and just talking. Sailing into the sunset with everybody on the roof was the best part of the trip, sadly the sun always sets incredibly quickly so close to the equator and these good moments never lasted long.
Day 20
Tonight was beautiful! A clear night sky again with so many stars. I was incredibly sleepy though.
In the morning I got up early and made some cinnamon rolls. It was a little tricky though and I am not sure they turned out great. The gluten-free ones were not that good. I finished another book and am just trying to wait patiently to arrive.
Day 21
Tonight was really bad again. We suddenly had a knot of current going against us. Crosswaves were hitting the boat from the side and I got drenched in salty water. As if that wasn‘t enough, squalls kept coming and I had to reef the sails every 15 minutes. It was a rollercoaster and not one of the fun kind.
Just before sunset we were all struggling a little (Andrin especially). We just finished dinner when I heard dolphins snorting. It was a huge pod with dolphins of every age and they stayed with us for a really long time. They kept jumping up high and twisting in the air. We then sailed into a beautiful sunset with all possible colours showing. That saved the day!
Day 22
Tonight was great, it was so quiet! I slept like I hadn’t on the whole crossing, a deep and relaxing sleep. Andrin even covered my shift in the morning because I was so sleepy and other than him I was actually able to sleep.
Andrin and Yuri built a little sailboat today out of egg cartons, paper and spaghetti. It immediately toppled over though which was quite a laugh, but at least swam upside down. Today I made it – 3110 push-ups, one for every nautical mile. It took a lot of discipline but also helped my sanity along the trip.
During the night we saw the sky getting a little bit brighter in two certain spots. One of them was Trinidad and the other was Tobago – almost land in sight!
Day 23 – The Finale!
I didn‘t sleep much tonight. But that‘s okay – we almost made it! When it was my shift I was very confused after waking up because I just dreamed we had already arrived. After waking up properly I saw the lights of Grenada in the distance, what a relief. It was raining a little but luckily most of it went down on the island and I didn‘t get too wet. I was able to smell the rain and the wet ground from the island. It was wonderful smelling land again after so long. I woke up Andrin because I didn‘t know what to do with all the land and rocks around us on the chart plotter – it all seemed so narrow after such a long time with no land in sight (but it definitely wasn‘t).
We arrived at the marina in the dark and were put on the superyacht pontoon, right in between two enormous superyachts. It was quite a sight in the morning seeing our small floating home in between them. Exhausted, we all collapsed into our bed and fell asleep. It was just so quiet, calm and still, nothing moved – what a treat!
In the morning we started cleaning the boat and it felt great getting rid of all the nasty stuff. But what really did it for me was the shower. Finally standing back on solid ground and feeling the cool water washing away all the salt and sweat was incredible. Only then did it suddenly hit me, all the feelings of achievement, happiness and relief came rushing over me. I didn‘t want it to stop. I could finally breathe again.
Grenada was an amazing place to make landfall. Looking up at these lush green hills, the tropical smells and all the exotic birds singing in the morning was very special. We sailed across and ocean and were finally rewarded by arriving in such a different and wonderful place. And just moving around freely on solid ground felt great. I couldn‘t stop smiling for the rest of the day.
Hallo, ihr Lieben
Wir haben eure Berichte stets mit Spannung verfolgt. Was für ein Abenteuer!
Vielen Dank, dass ihr uns in eurem Blog daran teilhaben lässt.
Weiterhin viele schöne Erlebnisse!
Lucky und Berni