The weather wasn’t so cooperative for the eight-day passage to the Canary Islands from Gibraltar. It was a rough crossing and had our crew quite queasy. On route, Hagi caught a Benito tuna and it took quite an effort for him to give it a ‘good death’ as he liked to put it. The back deck looked like a blood bath and everybody was quickly over fishing on the Atlantic. It was a relief to get into port out of the rough ocean at Grand Canaria. Hagi’s training as a skipper in a small port came in handy as he and Thomas did a spectacular manoeuvre to turn the boat 180°just outside the berth. It was very impressive and they didn’t even start the engine. Turning the boat was necessary for access and hadn’t been accomplished on arrival due to exhaustion and darkness.
Other than provisioning and a few minor repairs, the crew went off exploring. The island was full of spectacular hikes and scenery. It was a great respite before the long 22-day passage to the Caribbean.
It would have been a lonely crossing had it not been for 3 birds coming to rest for a few hours on the back deck, 4 humpback whales swimming around the hull and several boats contacting them. One was a boat with four Frenchmen asking Gaylyn if she was alone. They were only a few hundred metres off their starboard side. Another yacht told them about a lone German sailor who had lost his rudder. He was about 30 nautical miles back and ended up being towed by a carbon-free sailing boat that did deliveries across the Atlantic. Another call for company, was a German woman and her husband who were making a documentary about selling everything up and going sailing. Thomas kept the call short and the exchange was uneventful. Thomas had a tight schedule for the shifts that meant that everyone tried to catch as many hours sleep as possible when they weren’t on watch.
The passage was slow due to the low winds and the long, gentle swell of the Atlantic lifted Qi gently and rolled her forward. The crew explored options with the ginnakker, a large asymmetrical sail, which increased the boat speed from 3 knots to 5. This worked well until a cleat at the top broke. It was a slow journey and cracks began to show in the crew’s morale. A mutiny was diverted after the Captain realised he was outnumbered when he suggested a stop-over at the Cape Verdi Islands as they were sailing within 100 nautical miles of them. But, with the dragged-out departures and the crew’s seasickness issue, the last thing anyone wanted was another stopover.
It was recognised that having another couple on board was problematic as they kept to themselves and didn’t join in the chatter for the day. After they’d got over their 3 days of seasickness, they began to eat copious amounts of food and Gaylyn had to reassess the supplies. Understandings about special diets, even though a lot of care had been taken to make three different dinners a day, became a problem when a dietary requirement had been overlooked due to lack of attention or tiredness. It broke the camel’s back. It was complicated and the Captain had to calm the crew and recall the harmony of the beginning of the journey. Luckily, they’d nearly arrived at their destination, Martinique. Parting ways on the 1st January, 2013 was a relief for everyone.
