We’re not there yet, but people have been asking how we are getting on, so here’s how the passage is going so far!

We left Hampton on a chilly morning on November 4 with the rest of the Salty Dawgs pack. Crewing with us on this trip are Tim Guy, who owns a similar sized racing boat to ours; and Bill Colehower, a neighbor and long-time Etchells sailor. Both are fellow Eastern YC members. We were able to sail initially, but then had to motor. With a nasty storm brewing we headed south to try to avoid the worst of it, and entered the Gulf Stream just off Cape Hatteras. It immediately felt warmer which was a big relief after the past few chilly weeks. During the morning of the second day the wind filled in and we were able to sail comfortably.

At this point we were close to other Marblehead boats Thirst and Carried Away – not that we were racing them! During the afternoon we started to reef, and by dinner time we were sailing under the third reef and a small jib. Overnight the wind continued to build and we saw huge seas and gusts up to 36 knots for around 12 hours. The motion and noise in the cabin were horrible and no one really slept. We were lucky to have been able to get so far south, as boats to the north of us saw gusts in the 40’s. The conditions were pretty uncomfortable but we were pleased that the boat and the crew handled it well. Although it was very windy the sky remained clear, giving us a view of the full moon over the huge waves. This video may give some idea of what it was like – but remember that the waves always look smaller on video!

Towards the end of the day on the 6th, the wind came round and started to drop, and the seas finally calmed down. We had a beautiful sunset and a pleasant night with good sailing.

November 7 was a calmer day, and we were able to take stock. No one had eaten much the previous day so I made breakfast burritos for everyone. We had a problem with our steering quadrant and auto helm; fortunately Jeremy had the needed spare parts, and he and Tim were able to make the necessary repairs. We’ll need to take another look at it in Antigua. Other boats hadn’t got off so easily, with multiple breakages and failures, and about 35 of the boats on the rally put into Bermuda for repairs, fuel, and a break from the weather. One boat was abandoned, with the crew rescued by the Coast Guard. Their skipper, Buster Price, is apparently a Marblehead local and by all accounts did a great job. Another boat lost contact and at the time of writing still hasn’t been heard from. Neither of these were Salty Dawg boats but it has shaken people up. We decided to keep going. The forecast called for a lot of calm weather which would require motoring more than we’d hoped, but we felt that by being conservative and sailing whenever we could, even if going very slowly, we can make it to Antigua.

The night was squally and choppy, and we were a little worried about fuel, but by now felt committed. On the morning of the 8th, we added fuel from 7 of our 14 jerry jugs to the main tank, which was quite an operation in rolling seas and passing showers. As we were motoring and had plenty of hot water, everyone took a shower and felt better. Later in the day we caught a Mahi mahi which is always exciting! The wind picked up and we were able to start sailing again, big relief. We declared this our midpoint and celebrated with halfway beers and ceviche!

November 9 felt like a turning point! I was on watch from 0300 – 0600 and then went back to bed, waking up later to a lovely sunny day with pleasant sailing. The wind died mid-afternoon and we were back to motoring again as we went into the night. The sleeping arrangements on board aren’t ideal when there are four of us, so Tim and Bill have the two aft cabins, Jeremy sleeps in the main cabin so he can monitor what’s going on, and I wedge myself in wherever I can find space. Our usual cabin is full of sails and things not needed on the passage, including a printer and mysteriously 6 coat hangers. Due to the time we’d spent on starboard tack, everything in the cabin had sagged to one side and I was able to wedge myself into a small sliver of bunk. Alas! During the night we started sailing and tacked and I realized I was in danger of being buried alive under an avalanche of stuff, and had to bail out in a hurry!

That night, we were hit by some strong squalls with incredibly vivid lightning. Although we could see them coming on a radar there was little we could do to avoid them: the largest had a diameter of 12 miles and blew up only a few miles ahead of us. Jeremy and Tim got quite wet.

By the morning of November 10 we were sailing close hauled, close to the Rhumb line to Antigua. The wind has been light but for fuel economy we are sailing whenever we can. We settled into a warm weather routine of chat in the cockpit during the morning and general laziness and sun avoidance during the afternoon. It’s getting hot and clammy down below and we’re working hard to keep cool! Although there always seems to be something for Jeremy to fix – this time he was working on an issue with the inverter which seems to be preventing the solar panels from charging the battery (it’s to do with the battery management system, apparently). We have a workaround, but will troubleshoot further in Antigua..

We went into the evening sailing gently. I went on deck for the 2100 – 2400 watch and admired a clear, bright sky. Squalls went by but fortunately missed us. Around 2300 Jeremy realized the batteries were very low and dashed up to turn on the engine.

Today is November 11 and has been much like the last two! It’s warm, sunny and not terribly busy, and we are trying to hit the right balance of sailing and motoring. The models right now have us motoring until sometime tonight, then being able to sail directly to Antigua in light winds on a reach. Sounds like Code Zero time. We have about 370 miles to go and hope to be there late Thursday or early Friday. We can’t wait!