Our Atlantic crossing and how to cook a baby dolphin
We made it!
We finally managed to sail Mutiny across the vastness of the Atlantic ocean.
To be honest with you, the headlines would be drawing way more attention if we didn’t make it to the other side.
For many centuries sailors have been “hitchhiking” these trade winds along this very same route towards the same destination.
If you decide to inflate your flamingo pool animal an surround yourself with enough food and water to stay alive, you will eventually end up here too. No sailing skills required.
The victory that lies in this simple, yet strangely satisfying accomplishment, is measured by how you spend your time and deal with your mind along the way.
-If it isn’t breaking, you aren’t sailing-
Instead of paying top dollars for a yoga retreat where you aren’t allowed to speak or eat proper food for weeks on end, I would strongly suggest to surround yourself with billions of litres of –undrinkable– water and start contemplating life.
Sure, taking in all the shooting stars during the night, listening to the waves gently brushing against the hull, letting your thoughts drift along the tide and snacking on fresh seafood does occur. But as a lover of sarcasm and being a “balloon popper”, I would like to shine some light at places that struggle to remain hidden.
26 Rivets, One Autopilot, and Zero Regrets
So, what’s the damage? The spinnaker pole that is extremely useful when sailing downwind, decided to part ways with the main mast.
Some heavy gusts and horrible sea state, caused 26 pop rivets to snap clean off the track that holds the 2,5 meter aluminium pole attached to the main mast.
Luckily, it happened during day time when the breeze had settled. The consequences otherwise would have been disastrous.
Next thing to go was our autopilot. Yes my dear non sailors, boats have autopilots. Do you really think that people actually steer the boat by standing at the wheel for weeks on end? Those days are over.
Lucky for us, we have our windvane that brought us to where we needed to be.
Luckily, it happened during day time when the breeze had settled.
Last few things are actually hardly worth mentioning; the companion way hatch is jammed, some electronical devices aren’t that fond of salt water, and a few clothes are ready for another life as oil rags.
I must say that we are pretty proud of the fact that each time less stuff is breaking down and that our improvised repairs seem to actually do the job.
Sailing is all about fixing your boat in tropical places. The sooner you accept that, the merrier life will be.
Oh, the calm sea rocking you gently asleep 🤔
Sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s a load of BS. Instead of a long and steady Atlantic swell, we ended up in leftover short waves that were spat out by some crazy storms in the north Atlantic.
That meant that Mutiny turned into a corkscrewing washing machine, 24 hours a day!
Simple tasks like going to the toilet, getting something from the cupboard, reefing a sail, or even scratching your head with your free hand, where simply made impossible. Let alone sleep!
More than a few times, the freshly prepared meal or coffee found it’s way flying across the saloon, covering bedsheets and walls with remains of all our efforts to lift our already broken morale.
Our vocabulary grew with new curses and swearwords, unheard before in even the bowels of hell and unfit for human ears.
How did Styx handle it?
Like a champ! This Greek little feline managed to cross 8 time zones with us (from Türkiye to here), and still manages to pinpoint 17:30 local time to remind us of his dinner time.
Although he feasted daily on half a dozen of flying fish that washed up on deck, he still managed to gobble up huge amounts of snacks and treats to keep him occupied.
Even after throwing up his entire cat belly contents all over the boat, he still manages to stuff himself with even more flying fish as they reappear on the boat.
It was like Mutiny turned into a giant cat buffet and Styx was like a cocaine fuelled Tasmanian devil, racing against the clock to devour as many sea creatures as possible under a few minutes.
Was it Scary?
A topic not easily addressed by those who go out to sea, but definitely gnawing in the back of your mind when the pitch-black night falls, the wind is howling at you and there is no land in sight for weeks.
Mutiny is not fitted with the usual “safety gear”, that is required by law or common sense.
This might sound a bit irresponsible to some of you, but to tell you the truth, speeding down a highway at 130 kilometres an hour with thousands of emotional unstable strangers driving little metal boxes, sounds to me like a daily form of Russian roulette that seems to be totally acceptable in daily life.
Even the best boat buddies have their limits 😅
Lucky for us, we had a “buddy boat” accompanying us. Another great couple that where heading the same way and who would be in radio contact with us, all the way from A to Z.
Well…they made it until C. After tree days they parted ways because they were tired of slowing down for us to still be able to stay in touch. Don’t get me wrong, we don’t blame them at all. We are slower than slow.
Mutiny is about as slow as a stoned turtle swimming backwards against the tide when it comes to downwind sailing. The major downside was our lack of daily weather forecasts that we received via radio from them. They had detailed updates via Starlink (roaming internet), that was truly appreciated.
The last news from our buddy boat contained a message that they were heading a few hundred miles south to avoid a huge high pressure system coming in from the west, consisting of near gale force winds with 3 meter waves with 4 second intervals. “If you continue heading West, you will get pounded”. Then, they raised the sails and disappeared out of contact, heading safely south towards Brazil.
We pointed our bow towards a direction Mutiny is more familiar with and would increase her speed. We headed West.
very welcoming squalls.
Westward
Mutiny is an absolute legend when it comes to close hauled sailing (very close to the wind), and she seems happy when she is challenged by some heavy weather.
Also, our confidence as crew had grown exponentially dealing with stronger winds and waves. So we prepared our storm sails and buckled up. We were escorted by dozens of dolphins heading for the same direction. We always consider this to be a very good omen.
A few days later, when we would have been at the centre of the storm, all that was left of the horrible weather prediction was a very confused sea, some gusts up to 35 knots, and a few dozen
These squalls bring strong winds that only last for maybe 20 minutes and if you are lucky, you can see or hear them approaching. The good thing about these squalls sneaking up to you from all sides, is the fresh downpour of heavy, much needed, priceless rain it brings.
Why Barbados?
Simply because it was the first land in sight. It might as well could have been Suriname, Tobago, Guadeloupe, or any other bit of soil with palm trees. For the time being, the Caribbean will be our home until we move elsewhere.
All the islands are relatively close together and there are some great places to discover and explore. As long as we stay clear of the hurricane season in the northern parts of the Caribbean, staring around June, we will stay on the move almost constantly.
Now it’s time for the usual repairs, scouting for parts, finding ways to finance our lifestyle, and enjoy doing so.
Thank you!
We are incredibly thankful for all the support from those who never stopped believing in us since we started living and sailing on Mutiny. You know who you are!
We also like to thank those who have always discouraged us and tried to wave our dreams off as if they were idiotic, irresponsible, daydreams. Thanks to you we are always encouraged to go that extra mile.
Oh…why the title “Our Atlantic crossing and how to cook a baby dolphin”? It got you reading, didn’t it? Dolphins -being the majestic beings they are- should always be eaten raw with a good bottle of Sake.
Thanks for taking your time reading this rant and we wish you find your freedom and happiness in whatever you do and wherever you are.
This is Mutiny, standing by on channel 16…out…
