Heading Offshore
July 21, 2024 | Day 1 at Sea
Offshore Bergen
The first 24 hours of any trip with a heavy upwind start are always going to be chaotic. This past day has not been an exception. A scene akin to the climax of the film Triangle of Sadness came to mind as Mia and I handed over to one another at 10pm last night. “There is a bucket stationed in every area,” she said to me, to the familiar background track of hurling. Someone had gone for round two. But I’ll tell you—I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so much puke come with so many smiling faces. The crew are determined to soak up every last second that they can on deck. And so on they go, braving the undressing and dressing manoeuvre again and again and again. Impressive!
The good news is that the wind has veered around to the west now as forecast. So hopefully we will have a bit of reprieve from the bashing soon. It’s already tracking round to the right, with Kaitie on the helm doing a stellar job following her course whilst the crew of Jaime and Lindsey trim sails to the changing wind. We had the staysail up all night with three reefs in as the wind exceeded 30 knots. Now happily flying a slightly reefed jib and one reef in the main, zooming straight at Amsterdam at 8 knots! But now thinking that through… you can probably see that on the tracker :)
— Nikki
NikkiHenderson
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HMS Night Watch Party
Wing on wing worked well until the wind shifted then the helm became the cone of despair for our night watch crew of three (H, M and S) Alex made the decision to drop the pole, shifting wing on wing to a close reach. Wind increased to low teens and speed picked up to a flying pace. Day spent wandering toward Ensenada. Alex, Adam and David got us into port under another starry night.
No Kitemares Today
After a night marked by sudden wind accelerations peeling off Point Conception, and a vibrant, pulsating sky blistered with shooting stars, the off-watch woke to commotion on the foredeck. The wind had gone light and the swell had tapered just enough to raise the spinnaker. The sail filled with an urgent pop, the sheet strained and Falken charged down the face of the next wave. By mid-day, we doused the spinnaker and set our minds to the more precise task of safely punching through a gap in the notorious Cortez Bank. The border to Mexico looms ahead.
The California coast
We had a very lively first day of sailing with steady winds between 25 and 30 kn gusting to mid 30s. All of the crew got experience at difficult downwind helming as we covered 200 nautical miles in the first 24 hours. This morning brings winds in the teens and calmer seas. The sun is still shining, and the green monster has been slayed by those afflicted!