(July 16, 2017) Appreciation and Pride! It is the wind and a few hours of motoring that took us to Flores Island in the Azores SAFELY, 13 days and 6 hours crossing the Atlantic Ocean after leaving Bermuda. A total of 1,874 nautical miles. Remarkably respectfully, and thankfully, we didn’t have any boat issues during this trip. We used only a total of 17 gallons of diesel for 13 days to run the generator (for water maker and freezer) and to run the engine only about 12 hours.

About 40 miles away from the island, John said to me ‘Land Ho’

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Whale breath excitement

We are not far from our destination but there is no good wind to sail there in a straight line. We chased the forecasted wind and decided to sail north until we find more wind to sail to our destination. We have enough fuel to motor the boat but we prefer to sail. Motoring is noisy and smelly (Diesel).

Right now we are sailing gracefully downwind going 4-5 knots, smoothly surfing some small swells. It is slow but tranquil and comfortable. Listening to music, I was enjoying reading a book inside of the boat;

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Responded to a Sailboat Hit by Whale

We started the day with light wind. We have another four/five days to the destination. Today, I was motivated to cook since we no longer have home-made food. With a steady movement of the sea, I cooked like a storm making Chicken Pot Pie (Using Canned Chicken and Stuffing Mix), Chicken Salad, Cabbage with Sausage, Pineapple Cake, and Peanut Butter Cookies. When I was almost done with cooking, I heard someone announcing ‘Pan Pan’ (Pronounced ‘pahn-pahn’) on the VHF radio; it signifies an urgent communication indicating that the safety of the vessel or someone onboard is involved.

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Crossing the Atlantic Ocean is like we are in a weather Buffet restaurant

During last six days, we have experienced a variety of weather patterns. It has been mostly a very rough trip as if I was in a washing machine drum. It ranged from 20-32 knots during the last 24 hours with waves anywhere from 2-7 feet. We have been sailing with a double reef in the main sail and with 70% of the genoa sail out, and we are still making 6-9 knots. It is better than a ‘No Wind’ situation!

The cats are doing fine.

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It has been said that: “Open water sailing is days and days of endless boredom interspersed with moments of sheer terror.” This sailing trip has not been that so far. It has kept us busy and exhausted because of frequent weather changes the wind switches direction. The waves are often mad and confused. We have changed the sails up/down, left/right, and in/out and moved the heavy jib pole left/right and up/down. No time for relaxation or boredom yet. Definitely a lack of comfort and sleep as well.

For the last three days, we have not seen any boats on our AIS (Automatic Identification System).

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