West to East Across the Atlantic - Bermuda to Flores

"Why did you cop out of sailing from the Cape Verdes to Barbados (known as the milk run - so easy sailing the trades that you could do it in a milk float) and then agree to the harder sail from Bermuda to the Azores ( unpredictable winds from unpredictable direction)? That's the question everyone asks me. The answer is that the first crossing would have been Scruffbag and I on our own, a watch pattern of four hours on and four hours off. I was too daunted by the prospect of sleeplessness and exhaustion.I was also worried about coping had anything untoward occurred. The Bermuda crossing was done with a third crew member, Nick Thomas, a friend and experienced sailor who had already completed a circumnavigation. The prospect of a 3 hours on 6 hours off watch pattern was far less daunting and the idea of a third person to help in the event of any major problem was also reassuring.

In the event, I did not enjoy the 19 day crossing, even though, by anyone's standards, it was relatively easy. We had lots of light winds and used a lot of diesel and in the end decided to go to Flores, which was 100 miles or so nearer than Faisal, our original destination,. Once there we could buy more fuel. That said we did have a fair bit of sailing in force five winds, mainly on or just forward of the beam.

The watch pattern was much better and I did get more sleep. That said, neither Scruffbag or I slept particularly well. I did get exhausted. That I feel is the worst aspect of ocean sailing and I did become nervous and tearful as a result.

We saw literally thousands of Portuguese men of war all the way across even in heavy weather. At one point Scruffbag pulled in the water generator and began to remove what he took to be shreds of plastic from the blades. They were, in fact man of war tentacles and he got stung on the arm. (spraying with the alcohol we keep to spray on fish to kill them eased it.)

I had my first clear siting of whales as a small pod went past blowing spouts of water. A couple of weeks later, a whale of about 20 feet in length came right u to the boat and swam alongside. It the turned face on to us before swimming away. Unfortunately the photos we took were of very poor quality but the memories will last forever..

We saw dolphins quite often and sadly saw what may have been a dying dolphin or a dying whale and was very upsetting.

Most of our fresh food lasted about a week, with onions, potatoes, oranges and lemons lasting longer. Part baked bread rolls were useful and the fact that Nick made good bread was a godsend, meaning that we never ran out. We ate well and were very creative with tins and we had brought along plenty of treats, which were much appreciated,. . Scruffbag baked a chocolate cake to celebrate being half way there and we thoroughly enjoyed it. He also caught a large yellow fin tuna which fed all 3 of us for 4 meals.

The men ran out of beer at the start of week 3 and a few days later the last of the whiskey and brandy were gone and we were a dry boat


We were all very grateful to our daughter Heather, who gave us invaluable weather forecasts every couple of days via sat phone, which reassured and helped us enormously.

The worst part of the trip for me was the last 2 days. The wind was between 60 and 50 degrees and gradually built up until it was gusting 30 knots with big waves. I was terrified and I am afraid I did not handle it well as I got into a panic. I truly hated it. In the end we headed for the island in the hope of getting shelter in its lee and heading to an anchorage that reputedly gave good shelter in easterly and south easterly winds. Although in the event we got no shelter from the lee of the island, with gusts of 34 knots still blowing, surprisingly once we got into the anchorage the sea flattened and the wind dropped. I cannot describe my relief!!

Some hours later and the world was a different place. The wind had dropped and we were able to motor around the corner of the island and enter the marina for a well earned 2 days rest. The loss of tension and the joy of being on land again were priceless - cold beer, cold wine, fresh food and peaceful uninterrupted sleep. Bliss!