Transatlantic: Day 1

The day was June 14, 2018. We were not ready, and we were never going to be ready, but today was the day that we left on our voyage. Knowing then what we know now, we would not have left on this date. If fact, we would have waited about a full week more before setting off on the voyage.

Why did we leave at the wrong time? Improper management of crew. We had a crew member that was not a good fit for us, and we were trying to make it work out.

Huge tip: If you have crew, it should work before you leave port. If you are struggling to make it work in port, problems are only going to escalate out at sea!

Our crew member was a firm believer in following a schedule and would become angry and belligerent if a schedule was ever broken. Easy fix: Don’t have a schedule! Haha, if only it were that easy of a fix. He would take it upon himself to make a schedule and then force everyone to hold to that imaginary and arbitrary schedule that he came up with.

Why did we bend over backwards for him if he wasn’t a good fit? Everyone told us we needed to have crew for such a journey (but we had never asked anyone who had made the voyage if they needed crew) so we felt obligated to keep him along. We were worried that he would leave us and we would then be in a scramble to find crew for the crossing in a really small window of time. We then made the horrible mistake of thinking we were better off appeasing his uncalled for schedules instead of telling him where he could find a crew position where he calls the shots!

Maddie and I discussed in private our options:

Option 1: Tell him where he can put his opinions and schedules, but risk having him walk away from the boat and leaving us without the perceived need of a crew member.

Option 2: Shove off and float around while we wait for better weather and then start making our way to the Azores! He can’t abandon ship if there is no land in sight!

We chose Option 2, but this was a huge mistake! We should have chosen Option 1 and had a great time crossing when the weather was right. Learn from our mistake: You don’t need crew, and you should wait for the right weather!

We left West Palm Springs on June 14th with the outgoing tide. We slowly made our way from land, and we were all watching the lights slowly fade away on the horizon. We were now sailing, and the voyage has begun!

We made pretty good time, leaving in the afternoon and making our way from land through the night.

In the series of blog posts to follow, the maps will have highlighted the distance covered in a 24 hour period from Midnight to Midnight. In our log book, we kept track of the miles covered in a day from Noon to Noon, because I was measuring these distances with a sextant by taking a noon sight.

Wind Speed and Sea State

The Beaufort Scale is used as a method for judging wind speeds based on sea states. Wind drives the formation of waves, so the stronger the wind, the larger the seas will be.  

The problem with this is waves take time to form, and in the beginning, the sea state will be relatively calm compared to the photos of the sea states that correspond to each Beaufort level.  

Here, we see a view of the ocean on what looks like a mildly choppy day. There are scattered whitecaps and bits of spray flying through the air. The winds were sustained at 50 knots with gusts of 83 knots.  

Since the winds cropped up out of nowhere, the seas did not have time to mature into the towering walls that you would expect with these winds. 

These conditions are Force 10 and should produce waves of 29-41 feet! These waves look no taller than 6-10 feet.

Why the discrepancy? Well, a few factors can come into play here. First is duration of the wind. Second is depth of the water.  

The water in the picture is about 400 feet deep close to the shore and 4000 feet deep just a bit past the shore. Deep water allows waves to mature into their full size without breaking, as the water is deep enough to support the wave and allow it to move without interruption.  

The second is the duration of the wind. At the time of this photo, the winds had only been at this level for about an hour. To fully mature into the giants of the Beaufort scale, they would need at least a full day.  

If you find yourself out at sea in horrible conditions like these bit feel like putting off reefing down to your storm sails “because the seas don’t look all that bad”, consider how hard it would be to reef once they pick up! 

Reef before the storm hits they way you are safe and prepared for the winds and seas to come! 

Red Right Returning

The old phrase to help you remember how to work with buoy navigation lights doesn’t always work! 

The concept is simple, red buoys on your right as you return to port, Red Right Returning. 

Red Right Returning Shirt

The problem is, not all countries work this way, and the opposite setup can also be found.  

Portugal is one such country we have found to use the opposite method. Here, the idea is that the lights to aid navigation are to match your own running lights as you return to port. So your starboard light which is green will match up to the green light on your starboard. Red light on your port. 

It pays to look at the charts before you get into new waters so that you don’t get confused and run aground, misled by the very lights that were intended to keep you safe.  

If you are cruising only in the United States, enjoy the mnemonic of Red Right Returning to keep your aids to navigation in order! 

Judging Water Depth from a Distance

Land is something we search for when out at sea, but also something that can destroy our yachts if we bump into it. How close can you get to land? 

An easy way to think of land is to ignore the water you see. Now, you will be looking at topography without the water obscuring your view. The land you see is actually just taller points of the ocean floor that managed to perforate the surface of the water. 

Since the water is out of the picture, simply visualize the land extending off into the distance. You know how deep the water you are floating in is, so you know how far down the island needs to reach to make it all the way to the oceans floor. If the edge of the land comes in steep, then it is safe to interpret that the topography will continue on its steep path all the way down into the water. If the land comes in nice and gradually, then you can assume that it will also continue to proceed at a slight slope under the water.  

Steep land means that it will probably be very deep right up to the waters edge, while slow and gradual land will be shallow far from shore.  

With these ideas in mind, you can figure out how safest to navigate around land masses. Steep cliffs will be deep but the landmass can destroy your hull, while gradual shores will be shallow (and provide a bottom that your anchor could possibly reach). 

Light Houses

Light houses are a beacon of civilization on a dark and lonely ocean. They make great tourist attractions and are often listed in tour guides, but this is only when they are viewed from land.

At sea, light houses carry a different meaning. They are a beacon of danger. They are usually perched on the edge of a cliff signaling the presence of dangerous rocks.

The color of a light house light can vary as well. White simply means that you are being warned of the danger where they are located. Yellow and Red indicate danger, and when you see that color, it means you are in harms way and need to move out to sea in a hurry!

While they stand to identify danger, they also signify the presence of human civilization. When you have been out at sea for weeks on end, seeing the flashing light of a light house will tell you that you have found your new land, and which direction to go to get to shore. You have been alone for so long, and suddenly, you are being guided towards humanity. You will no longer be alone, you will no longer be tossed around, you will soon arrive!