Day 4
June 21, 2024 | 14:00 UTC
The wind picked up yesterday from the southwest, and we have since been sailing wing on wing on a fairly deep course of 150 degrees to the apparent wind. As the swell picked up progressively from behind, helming became more and more challenging for the crew, some of whom have never sailed in such conditions. Over the span of 24 hours, the improvement is remarkable—the learning curve is steep. We could say we have gone from “steering the boat left and right” to “trimming the rudder for waves and gusts.” In the meantime, we have gone back to “flying” mode, covering 213 nm in the last 24 hours without even trying. It feels like it would be difficult to do less. In a few more hours, we’ll be past the halfway point, 600 nm in.
What has been remarkable on this leg, particularly, is the abundance of wildlife around us. It has been said in previous blogs, but as we saw a group of whales (that we are still trying to identify) very close by yesterday, I’ll mention it again. It remains one of the most beautiful and impressive things I have been given to see. Out here, it truly feels inhabited, and we are just passing guests.
- Manot
The wind picked up yesterday from the southwest, and we have since been sailing wing on wing on a fairly deep course of 150 degrees to the apparent wind. As the swell picked up progressively from behind, helming became more and more challenging for the crew, some of whom have never sailed in such conditions. Over the span of 24 hours, the improvement is remarkable—the learning curve is steep. We could say we have gone from “steering the boat left and right” to “trimming the rudder for waves and gusts.” In the meantime, we have gone back to “flying” mode, covering 213 nm in the last 24 hours without even trying. It feels like it would be difficult to do less. In a few more hours, we’ll be past the halfway point, 600 nm in.
What has been remarkable on this leg, particularly, is the abundance of wildlife around us. It has been said in previous blogs, but as we saw a group of whales (that we are still trying to identify) very close by yesterday, I’ll mention it again. It remains one of the most beautiful and impressive things I have been given to see. Out here, it truly feels inhabited, and we are just passing guests.
- Manot
ManotBerger
View more passage logs
Hat overboard!
On June 4, we reviewed our passage plan before our departure from the marina in Hjellested.
Departure from Bergen!
The crew on the women’s sail training on Isbjorn is settling into a great routine for managing the boat and life onboard.
The sun sets on another journey
The hardest part of sailing across French Polynesia wasn't the night watches, the heat, or the open ocean — it was the prospect of being trapped on a small boat with a group of strangers. First-timer Natalie boards as a self-described land crab and discovers that the sea has a way of reshaping both your sea legs and your assumptions. What follows is dolphins, sharks, the Milky Way in full technicolour, and a crew that somehow made the whole thing better than she ever imagined.