The Best of the Ocean

     So I realize I’ve mentioned more than a few of the challenges of sailing a long passage, but there’s also some amazing highs. Here are some of the highlights the ocean had to offer us.

     There is something both terrifying and exhilarating about being at sea on a sailboat completely at the mercy of the elements. There is an element of pure awe that envelopes you when you think a few pieces of big canvas can drag you across the ocean. It was also refreshing to be “out of the world” for a month. It gives you some time to live more simply and you realize you can live with a lot less. When we finally arrived in Martinique the first things we all did that day was check our emails, facebook, instagram etc. Almost instantly I felt bogged down and slightly overwhelmed. The Internet and all the media communication sites I use can be very convenient and at times addicting, but after a month without any tech communication I realized how inconsequential they are in my true overall happiness.  

Sailing into the horizon 

Always on the lookout 

Captain Chas 

Full power 

Mom on duty 

R&R

Darv loved to dive beside the boat

A lot of canvas 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY-O

The cake 

     The view. You have the same view in all direction for miles and you begin to grasp how vast the ocean is. Almost every sunrise and sunset you are given a spectacular show. I love sunrises for what they promise, the end of darkness (and a long night shift), but I’ll take a beautiful sunset over a sunrise any day. We saw skies that made all the worst parts of sailing worthwhile. 

I loved that we were sailing West so we were always sailing into the sunset 

The looked like it was on fire this particular night 

A typical view from the boat 

     The stars. They were always incredible. Without another light on the ocean I felt like we could see every star in the galaxy. I have never seen the starts seem as bright and infinite as on the sea.  Every night we would lay our heads out and count the shooting stars we saw. Some nights you could even navigate by the stars, although I’m quite happy to have modern navigation on board.

     We spent hundreds of hours floating on the surface of the water, but it’s what’s underneath us that excited us the most. We had some really great sightings on this trip. One night watch Darvil and I heard big swooshes of water and air. We shone the spotlight beside the boat and not ten feet from us was a massive 40 foot whale swimming beside the boat. Another time a  Minke Whale swan around our boat for about an hour diving down and coming back up. We saw many pods of dolphins that would play in the waves beside our boat. Darv swam in the water with them and took pictures. We also passed a group of about 10 pilot whales. Whales are super exciting to see when you're on the ocean, but you also have to be careful because many boats have been damaged hitting whales. 

A big Minke Whale swimming beside the boat 

BIRDS! They are an uncommon site on the ocean

You can't see them very well but there was large pod of pilot whales that we sailed past

Click HERE for a great compilation video Darv made of some of the best videos and pictures from the trip. 

      The SSB. When you are secluded on a boat for month without much contact with the outside world it’s nice to talk to someone other than your crew for a change. The SSB gave us this opportunity. We talked with two other boats twice a day and it was often the highlight of our day. Dad would sit at the navigation station talking over the SSB radio and I would sit on the stairs behind him hanging on every word. On the ocean can go days or weeks without seeing another boat so it’s nice to know you’re not along alone out there. 

Some of the other sailors we talked with over SSB