Preparing a yacht for ocean crossings, which can take up to a month in a boat like Qi, takes a lot of thought, planning, effort and money. Thomas spent about ¾ of the cost of Qi on the preparations. Installing a water maker, wind generator, replacing engine blocks, the new sails, new electronics, new bottom paint and general maintenance took about 1 month. In the meantime, Thomas also underwent surgery to widen his ear canal. So, healing ended up taking a bit more time which meant they were going to be departing quite late to move towards Gibraltar and the Atlantic Crossing.
Preparations to cross the Atlantic included searching for crew as the decision was made that using the old auto pilot would have been too costly power wise. The mission was to use the wind pilot when possible, which hadn’t been as successful in the Med as Thomas had hoped, and hand steer the rest of the time. Several applicants came forward on FindaCrew and through word of mouth. Being late in the season, the pickings had become rather thin. But they were lucky to find a young Israeli couple, Hagi and Ori, who had trained as a skipper and crew. Wait time to leave was extended while they were on board to accommodate Thomas’ healing journey, so it wasn’t until mid-November when they cast off.
The night before leaving on their world circumnavigation, Gaylyn asked Thomas if he was ready. “Sure,“ he said, “but, I wish I’d got to experience a storm to see how the boat handles.” Be careful what you ask for, as the next evening after leaving the marina, they were tossed around in a wild storm. The sail shook with the vibration of the thunder as the lightning cracked around them. The waves were wild, and a planned excursion to Ibiza, was put on hold indefinitely. It was too dangerous to go near land. The Med is rather shallow in comparison to an ocean, and the waves were steep. Late at night on the second evening, at the beginning of her shift, Gaylyn had a sense that some water was going to engulf her. Not long after, with Thomas sitting in the cockpit facing her and having just removed his life vest and placed it on the floor as he waited to ensure she felt confident with taking over the helm in the wild conditions everything went crazy. Facing over the rear of the boat, his eyes suddenly widened as a green monster wave came over the back and splashed into the cockpit, pinning Gaylyn temporarily against the helm. Hagi, came rushing up to check on them and promptly closed the side windows of the cockpit as water was rushing in downstairs. As Thomas and Gaylyn regained composure, and Gaylyn continued to surf down the waves with Qi, Thomas’ self-inflating life vest flew into action and threw them into a fit of laughter. The cockpit took a while to drain and upon a quick inspection, they found their long hair entangled and creating a blockage. From then on, it became a checked item to clear the drains before a passage. Something experienced sailors would have probably known to do. Finally, as the storm subsided, they found a peaceful anchorage near Cabo de Gata and they all caught up on some much-needed rest before continuing their journey.
It was only a few days before they were nearing Gibraltar. In the early hours of the morning, Thomas came and woke Gaylyn to come up on deck to view a spectacular sight. There in amongst a sea full of tiny luminous plankton, was a pod of playful dolphins, swimming and leaping. The plankton lit the sides of the dolphins and they looked like mini torpedoes. As they leapt, the water sprinkled down in slow motion like shining fairy dust. The pod stayed with them as they entered the harbour and created such a mystical spectacle that they could have ever imagined.
An extended stay occurred in Gibraltar due to a faulty alternator. Time was spent exploring, provisioning, karaoke and watching the latest Twilight movie that had just been released. Once everything was in order and a weather window arrived, the crew left into the Atlantic, heading for a stopover in the Canary Islands.
