Yachting World - July 2018

35

“Crew agility and fitness becomes more important as

deck work and moving around the boat can be a challenge,

at least initially.”

On Skyelark, they make life easier by pre-cooking most

of the main meals and keeping lunches and breakfasts

simple, though “we carry some other celebration meals

for when conditions merit; a Sunday roast is great for

morale,” he says.

Hearty and warming meals are needed just at a time

when you will be sailing at an angle for perhaps days, so

anything that makes it easier is worth investing in.

A pressure cooker will come back into its own for

probably the first time since you left colder waters.

Round the world sailors Anne and Stuart Letton, who

have sailed two-handed back across the Atlantic several

times, recommend Mr D’s Thermal Cooker, a slow cooker

you can put all the ingredients in during the morning,

bring to a simmer and then leave to cook slowly

throughout the day to be ready in the evening.

You also need to unpack all those mid-layers and boots

that got stowed away when you reached the Tropics. By

day the temperatures might be warm enough for T-shirts

and shorts, but at night it can get quite cold. This also

makes watchkeeping more tiring, so you may want to

consider changing your previous rota.

Rolling watches or double watches can help the time

go by quicker, and give you as skipper more confidence

and rest, though it might mean you need more crew for

this route.

But the way across to Europe is one of the best ocean

voyages, argues Dan Bower. “With all of the above in mind,

this remains one of my favourite trips. You have powerful

upwind sailing, the days are getting longer, the weather

and skies becoming more interesting and the sea and bird

life are plentiful.

“The lighter winds midway give a chance for the boat

and crew to be scrubbed clean, and perhaps you get a

chance to have a mid-ocean swim and a midway

celebration, before (hopefully) a downwind ride to the

Azores, where the sense of accomplishment and the warm

welcome is remembered by every sailor who ever visits.”

The weather will

be cooling on a

west-east Atlantic

crossing... but

there might still

be a chance for a

mid-ocean swim

(below)

Tor Johnson

Isbjörn Sailing