Crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a sailboat (part 1)

 We have now arrived in the Caribbean after a wonderful crossing aboard Oyai.  It took us just over 19 days and we had lots of different conditions along the way: strong winds, ideal winds, very light winds, sunshine, rain and squalls.  The sunsets, sunrises, stars and moon were our constant companions guiding us along the way.

We left Las Palmas in grand fashion, with all of the other 150-ish ARC boats as a mass start.  It was pretty amazing to see that many sailboats all charging off together.  The start of the ARC was scheduled for November 20th, and the wind was quite strong, gusting to 45 knots on the southeast side of Gran Canaria. 

Crossing an ocean brings many experiences and emotions at different times and we are proud to have experienced them all!  From elation to fear.  From boredom to sheer joy.  Life quickly finds a way of shrinking down around you, allowing you to feel all of these things so simply and intensely.  It is truly an amazing experience - one that we will all cherish for a lifetime.  

In the next sunset photo, you can see our map and where we are on day 7 (far off of the west coast of Africa).

We tried our hands at fishing, but were only able to entice very small fish on board.  This was an Atlantic Bonito which is a small type of tuna.  It was tiny, but still delicious.  We caught 3 of these and nothing else on our crossing.  We did have something big on the line at one point and we saw it jump out of the water.  It quickly bit through our steel leader line and was gone with the lure.  Perhaps its best we didn't try to haul that beast on board!

The sailing was sublime for most of the trip, and Oyai was purpose-built to sail in these tradewinds.  We mostly sailed dead downwind for the first week under twin headsails.  We would average a speed of about 7 knots day and night while sailing in the trades.

Having the ARC fleet of boats to share the experience was also incredible.  We stayed in SSB radio contact with a few boats, but rarely saw anyone on the horizon - the ocean is so vast!  All-in-all there were just under 150 boats in the rally, and we got to know most of the crews.  We especially made close friends with all of the "kid boats" that were part of the rally and have made bonds which will be lifelong.  

We would all occasionally sit at the bow of the boat and have our feet splashed by the bow wake.  The water got quickly warmer as we nudged into the tradewind belt south of 20 N latitude.

The fleet had its share of issues, as one would expect when crossing an ocean.  The most dramatic event happened about 7 days into the rally when a Swedish "kid boat" was dismasted in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  Luckily nobody was seriously injured and they cut away the rig quickly without damaging the hull.  With the support of a handful of other boats, they were able to get enough fuel to motor all the way to the Caribbean without further incident.  They have quite an harrowing story to tell!

We will post a second blog entry in few days about the second half of our Atlantic crossing.  So many memories and photos/videos to share!  Next up will be mid-ocean swimming, dolphins playing in the bow wake, squalls and more!  Stay tuned and share the blog with anyone you think may be interested in our voyage.