Nick;
I am wondering about why you were concerned with the length of the passage when you left Antigua? Food issues? General concern about the boat holding up? The constant motion being tiring and annoying? I'm just trying to understand the psychology of it.
How did the Contessa hold up? Leaking windows, that seems to happen to everyone who hasn't rebed the windows.
What would you do different?
Thanks for the vids, makes me wish I could drop it all and head for open water.
hey skylark.
at the time when i shot that video (i presume you mean the start where i'm talking about having to sail north to the US), i was a little depressed about having to move on so quickly. i had no money left, and i didn't want to just leave the boat somewhere in the caribbean. also, i didn't feel as though i had properly recovered from my atlantic crossing. it was only three weeks prior to sailing for nearly another month nonstop, that i was about to do it again, and during that three weeks i'd sailed up from barbados, so i hadn't really had a rest at all. also, a tradewind passage is fairly straightforward - the conditions are usually very predictable, and about the worst thing that can happen, is you get a squall going overhead. however, moving up and out of that zone into the horse latitudes is different: the conditions are unpredictable, and the wind is highly inconsistent.
i had done a lot of mental preparation for the atlantic, and talked to many people who'd done it, so i felt quite prepared mentally. however, i'd spoken to very few if any people about my proposed non-stop voyage north to new york, and while i'd talked about it since the canaries, i was never 100% sure i'd go through with it. i was however, always dedicated to my atlantic crossing - i'd been thinking about it everyday since june of 2006. basically it was all mental - i felt i didn't know what i going to experience on the antigua->ny passage.
i think that going into the atlantic crossing, i didn't really know what to expect - yet when i set out for new york, i knew exactly what it was going to be like... i knew it was going to be hard, and i would be under stress again - it's difficult to explain, but when you're out alone on a long passage, there is a strong element of stress at all times. you tweak to any abnormality in the boat, whether it's a sound, or a shift in movement, at all hours. i remember being able to wake up from a dead sleep for the smallest things - being on edge like this is a stressful but necessary requirement to stay safe. you can't just layabout and pretend everything is ok: you're 110% aware all the time, and if anything goes wrong and you were not quick enough to respond, you're in serious trouble. there is no one to help, no one to rely on.
as for the contessa, she held up very well. while she's an old vessel from 1972, and is stock standard except for the windvane, i'm frankly very impressed at what a good boat she is. would i do anything different? for some reason i've been terribly nervous about the rig, and wished nearly every day that i'd had the money to replace the standing rigging. i really learnt that anything can break on a boat, EXCEPT, you cannot get a hole, and you cannot lose your mast. There isn't much you can do about crashing into something and holing the boat, but you can put extra care into the rig. so, with that in mind, in long island i promptly pulled the thing off, and am in the process of getting new standing rigging and chainplates. i would also have a good downwind rig, with two spinnaker poles to hold the jibs out. other than that, i'm as happy as larry!
glad you enjoyed the vids! i hope it encourages at least one person to follow their dream - then my work is done!
nick
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