Among my good intentions, almost always unfulfilled, was that of writing about this experience every day. Then every day I put it off. Not because I didn’t have something to tell, incredible things were happening around me and I was part of an unimaginable adventure. I just couldn’t taste it.
It took me a while. A little time to get used to the waves, a little time to get used to the few hours of sleep, the limited space, the fear, the ocean.
We left Gran Canaria on November 21 for what is the greatest adventure of our life, the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean to Santa Lucia in the Caribbean.
Today is the seventeenth day in the middle of the sea and under this more aware sky I can tell you about my ADVENTURE.
I left without thinking too much about what awaited me, perhaps because, knowing myself, I knew it would not always be easy for me.
I have been sailing for four years and for four years I have suffered from seasickness. It is not a constant but I know it can happen and in fact it did.
We spent the first four days in an air bubble, flat sea, sun … we took advantage of it for a dip in the ocean and a bit of fishing, the night shifts ran quietly under a thousand stars and the boat was silent and cautious. We knew that while we waited for the wind, the days passed and the goal was moving away.
At dawn on the fifth day there is the wind and with it a lot of waves of 5 meters and more. The beginning of my agony, of days lying in the dinette or in the cockpit, unable to eat and drink, completely without strength. In the meantime, the sea around us increasingly imposing to fill me with terror in the nights, the boat and its din to fill every silence.
Until the morning of Mayday.
Wednesday 01 December at 8.00 UTC, I finally wake up hungry, prepare the tea and take the packet of biscuits to the cockpit.
“Mayday Mayday”
The alert among us was already high after the news of a member of a competing crew who died in an accident, the rest of the rescue team and the boat left adrift.
“Mayday Mayday”
Channel 16 echoes throughout the boat. We are among the closest to the boat in difficulty so we veer and approach the coordinates to give help.
I will never forget the scene of the crew on the raft cutting the rope leaving the boat adrift. A deep sadness grips me and I hope that nothing so terrible will happen to us for the long days of travel that still await us.
Jk’s crew is the most beautiful surprise of this experience, a group of Neapolitan guys, kind and funny people, the days with them go by with a thousand laughs and the team spirit is strong m. The nights pass more tiring and the boat has become a large camp, everyone in the dinette sleeping between the sails on the ground and the sofas, these have become my favorite moments. Listening to their exchanges between one shift change and another, seeing how ready they are for action, having a chat between one squall and another made my nights less restless, full of sleep but more serene.
The Moon brings with it fears and fears, the din of the boat seems to get louder, the sea more violent and the squalls arrive undeterred. We found ourselves facing several problems with the sails, the water on board and I continually feel that feeling of helplessness, promptly raised by the boys who promptly find a remedy. What an adventure. What emotions.
There are just over 500 miles to go and I am already missing this experience that I hated and loved as Santa Lucia approaches. This small world in the middle of the immense ocean, without internet or telephones, has brought indescribable emotions to light.
Yesterday in the middle of the sea I saw a whale. About fifteen meters from the boat, it was turned to the side and I managed to see the belly, too bad it immediately went deep.
The ocean repays every effort, every tear. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean is the adventure of my life, I’m curious to find out what awaits me in the middle, while I enjoy this crazy journey.
Cri
From the ocean
