own abilities and our own boat, no one else’s. This is tricky.
The whole reason for sailing all the way to St Johns,
Newfoundland, was so that we could sail the great circle
route over the North Atlantic, the fastest possible crossing
for that section of ocean. Although it is the shortest
mileage, timing is tricky. Leave in June and there are
icebergs everywhere; wait too long and the ice has gone
but it’s hurricane season. You have two choices:
mountains of water, or mountains of ice. We decided ice
would be better as you can sail around ice... if you can see
it. We kept a diligent lookout for the first 600 miles until
we were well clear of the Labrador Current.
Violently ill for the first two nights, it took five days for
my body to adjust to the swells and sleep patterns. Energy
and motivation was restored after week one and Luke and
I found our divine rhythm. We were in a water park along
for the ride, fine-tuning the sails and the Hydrovane. Days
would go by on the same tack with only the most minute
of adjustments. Gales and torrential rain would pass by,
stirring up the seas and making the simplest of tasks
effectively impossible, only to be followed by hours spent
floating upon a sea of mercury, rocking side to side in the
leftover swells, completely becalmed.
It took 17 days to cross the ocean. Two days of
headwinds, 15 days downwind, three days becalmed. We
never saw waves over 15ft, or winds higher than 45 knots.
We did see three icebergs and six cargo ships, over 102
watch changes. I kept waiting for it to get worse, to meet
God in a 30ft wave, to be locked inside the cabin under
bare poles. But it never got worse and I didn’t meet any
gods. The only thing that locked us inside was rain. We
considered ourselves extremely lucky.
Desireé came alive once out on the ocean, beamreaching in 35-40 knots of wind heavily reefed, the staysail
set with the Hydrovane self-steering gear engaged, and
she proved herself as a truly excellent ocean-going yacht.
However, in under 10 knots of wind the boat would start
to wallow in the dying swell, and it took a full sail change
using the big asymmetric and the mizzen staysail to get
her moving again. We had a bombproof set of Hyde Sails
and went through every possible sail combination several
times. We tried goosewinged, Twizzlerigged (double genoa
goosewinged), poled back asymmetric main, mizzen and
mizzen staysail, sometimes when really windy just sailing
on the staysail only. The inner forestay and staysail
combination was essential for this boat and this trip. The
Hydrovane was our best friend and our Mazu weather app
prepared us for the gales.Making landfall
On the 17th evening we flew by the legendary Bishop Rock
and made landfall in the Isles of Scilly under moonlight.
We dropped the hook in St Agnes under the stars. We
drank our last two beers and watched the sunrise in the
stillest of waters.
It was the greatest reward, and the greatest sense of
accomplishment. After 88 days since leaving Michigan
and 4,800 miles in total from ‘my house’ to ‘his house’,
Luke and I had solidified our joint capabilities. We had
short-cut years of married life getting to know each
other’s ‘worst’ selves. In very close quarters, we were forced
into endless physically and mentally uncomfortable
scenarios. When we made it to the other side, I can
honestly say I’d never felt so complete, so entirely
connected to another person, so in tune with how I
wanted to spend my life, my time, my money.
We believe that any decent coastal sailor is capable of
crossing the Atlantic, it is truly simpler than many of the
hazards that coastal sailing brings. I never expected to feel
so relaxed in the middle of an ocean; I became most
anxious when we closed in on land. The nervousness of
actually going often forces you to over-prepare, and all
those precautions stacked up make for an ultra-safe
vessel. And once you understand your ability to cross an
ocean, you can go anywhere.
We have agreed to sail Desireé back to my father in
Michigan. Now it’s just a question of if we’re going to take
the long way or the short way home.‘gales and torrential
rain would pass by,
stirring up the seas’
Sunshine in
St Agnes on the
Isles of ScillyCRUISING
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