Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

37°19.2’N 35°47.2’W
SOG (Speed over Ground): 6.3 knots (sailing)
Heading: 060
Distance from Bermuda: 1,451nm
Distance to Horta: 348nm
ETA (Horta): Saturday (evening) May 31

By the time I went out last night the stars were gone. A front was moving in and the shift became one of watching the squalls approach on the radar, hoping each one would pass us by or be avoidable. Most missed by a couple of miles. 20 minutes before the end of my shift a squall formed on an intercept trajectory. I hate wishing bad on others but I was watching this one hoping my shift would end before it hit. I was the lucky one.

The big question right now, at least for me, is when will we arrive. We continue to progress at a rate that will get us in Saturday evening. While on the one hand we’re all settled in to life on the boat, the anticipation of being able to decompress builds each day. Even if we arrive after customs close, we’ll tie up to the dock and make the boat secure. For obvious reasons, we limit ourselves to a shared bottle of wine each day with our evening meal. We’ve agreed, with little debate, to relax this rule once we’re tied down.

36°53.6’N 36°43.1’W
SOG (Speed over Ground): 6.1 knots (sailing)
Heading: 060
Distance from Bermuda: 1,405nm
Distance to Horta: 397nm
ETA (Horta): Saturday (evening) May 31

In my previous logs it looks like I’ve been a bit confused about days of week in my ETAs. May 31 is not a Sunday so I’ve corrected this to Saturday. As of now our ETA is in the evening but this could easily end up being Sunday. Yesterday involved a few changes of sail configurations as the winds were variable. Our track for the day looks a little drunk as we coped with the changes in wind angle. We ended the day on a starboard tack for the first time this entire leg of the journey.

Apart from that very little of interest to report for yesterday. No wildlife sightings. No ships. No planks even. One orange float was spotted but we weren’t motivated to go and look. Still no fish on the hook. I finally finished my book.

Before this trip one of the unanswered questions I hoped to address was whether or not I would enjoy trips of this duration or greater. It was interesting to note that 20% of the boats that came up from Antigua had some sort of unplanned crew change upon arrival in Bermuda. Admittedly they were tested with some extreme weather but this affected people differently. I have come to the conclusion that ones experience of passages is dependent on two things: your inner self and your companions. I have already touched on my inner experiences. The acceptance of a new range of experience leads to highs and lows coming from different and surprising places. This places a lot of emphasis on crew compatibility. I can see how easily rifts and annoyances could build if tolerance was not universal. I am fortunate to be accompanied by the crew we have aboard Windancer. We have three very different backgrounds and perhaps would never have met under any other circumstances. This seems immaterial to the shared relationship we have aboard. We’re able to mix well as well as find time to be ourselves when we need to. We work well together when we need to. We’ve had a few good laughs.

Last night we completed a full cycle of the shift rota. Every had their preferences and as we may only have three nights left we decided to randomize tonights rota. As a result of certain constraints we had to repeat a previous shift so we used a pack of cards, assigned suits to the shifts and Jim (as cook) drew. So we’re back on shift 1. Tomorrow night will be shift 3 as it’s the exact opposite. So here I am at 1:22am (ship time) on standby and due upstairs at 2am. It’s a clear sky night so I’m looking forward to it.

36°26.9’N 38°15.3’W
SOG (Speed over Ground): 6.4 knots (sailing)
Heading: 095
Distance from Bermuda: 1,130nm
Distance to Horta: 476nm
ETA (Horta): Sunday May 31

Hmmm. Each day really is beginning to seem much the same as the one before. Highlights of yesterday were seeing 3 pods of dolphins and two whale sighting. I saw neither of the latter as each comprised seeing the tail as the animal took a dive and each time I was looking the wrong way. We passed the one week and two thirds point around the same time. This was celebrated with beer (it was a Bud Light so the term beer is a bit loose) and nachos up on the bridge. The latter was a nice surprise delivered by capt John.

We watched another movie last night, this time it was Across the Universe. Neither Jim and Bob had seen it before and both made notes to acquire for their collections at home. First stint of night shift was overcast and very dark. I could just see the horizon ? barely. For a while the boat lights were all turned off and all came up to watch the phosphorescence. This was not what I expected as I’ve heard about this before and I expected some sort of milky glow. What we got was something more akin to fireflies in the water. The water literally sparkled ? lots of tiny flashes around the boat. Jim said it was a 100 times better during his previous nights shift. He also got to see both whales today. For about 15 seconds I could swear some large fish or mammal was swimming alongside us. This was due to seeing a ghostly specter in the water ? a fish shaped shadow in the sparkles moving along with us. This could also be explained by a combination of the dark, erratic sleep and (according to Jim again) drugs. If it is the latter then something must have been spiked.

My second shift last night was similar to the second one the previous night. It was slightly better in that the winds picked up enough for me to try turning off the motor which worked. This woke up John who came up to find up what was up. We then set the genaker. We have been sailing thus since.

Jim’s last feature in today’s blog is as my sous-chef for last nights dinner where I made salad and pasta. I know this is not complicated but I don’t cook normally and this was my first preparation on this voyage. Up till now I have covered the washing up duties.

36°11.3’N 41°31.6’W
SOG (Speed over Ground): 6.7 knots (motor sailing)
Heading: 080
Distance from Bermuda: 1,170nm
Distance to Horta: 632nm
ETA (Horta): Sunday May 31
Distance to Horta: 632nm

On the current rotation I am now on standby and watch twice each night. Last night the two stints were two very separate experiences. The first watch was early enough to be not too cold. The stars were out, the sea was settled, the boat motoring on. The two hours can seem both very long and very short. Alone with the stars ones thoughts fly everywhere and nowhere. I’m glad I have music to listen to. The mood of each song is amplified in the solitude. Some songs make you want to sing (and you can cos noone will hear). Some songs can trigger profoundly emotional moments. A witnessed four meteors and some space objects shining in low orbit.

The second shift was quite different. Starting predawn it was colder and for me it was a two hour struggle to stay awake. There were clouds on the horizon so sunrise was obscured for an hour. It was a relief when the shift was over and I could rest.

This morning has provided fewer surprises than yesterday. We have seen a pod of dolphins which I finally had my camera ready for. Hopefully there will be some good pics.

Yesterday we made some plans for the Azores. John’s family arrive on 6th of June. Prior to the 6th we need to ready the boat and effect some repairs. Given the excellent time we have made from Bermuda we will have time for some R&R. We have decided to visit the vineyards on Pico and, if possible, get a guide to take us to the summit of Pico which is a 2,300m volcano.

When John’s family arrive we’ll need to be on our best behaviour. We have 3-4 days to get to Sao Miguel. We reckon on two overnight sails to maximize day time on the islands.

Later today we’ll pass the 1 week point since leaving Bermuda.

35°39.2’N 43°25.4’W
SOG (Speed over Ground): 6.2 knots (on engine)
Heading: 072
Distance from Bermuda: 1,076nm
Distance to Horta: 730nm
ETA (Horta): Sunday May 31st

What a day of excitement. Here is a list of the things we saw today :
5 turtles
3 freighters
1 ball – which we christened “Wilson”
2 pods of dolphins – the second of which played around the bows for a few mins
1 plank
2 floats, one of which we retrieved to be used as anchor float
Some birds and some jelly fish on regatta

We played games guessing the length and beam of the freighters/tankers and then tried calling them to see if we were right. The first two we could not establish contact but the last acknowledged us. My guess was way off.

The plank was accompanied by about three fish. It passed withing a few feet of the lure that we’ve been dragging off the back of the boat. The lure did not peak their interest. I think the trick to successful fishing is to get a lure that is more desirable to fish than a plank.

Jim saw a whale blow. He is convinced of it. This got us all excited for a while but there was no repeat.

We also got to launder and dry out many towels which were beginning to honk. Life is good.

We are told that as we approach the Azores we see more and more wildlife. If this excitement increases I don’t know how we will handle ourselves.

I’ve always believed experience is relative. The thrills of last couple of days can easily be seen as trivial against the trials of land life. But here aboard Windancer in the middle of nowhere the little things count and mean a lot. It’s kind of nice.