While Tivano's crew usually treats us with their videos, this time the episode will be written. It was the computer on board that didn't like the vicious wave that sprayed it. Similarly, this lack of computers does not offer us many photos.
But Charlotte gives us here a beautiful sea story with the chance to celebrate her 30th birthday in the dream setting of the Grenadines. Happy birthday Charlotte!
Here is the story of our deckchair...
Nestled in the hollow of the cockpit, head leaning against the wheel and eyes riveted on the electronic screen indicating the direction and speed of the wind, I am about to pass my penultimate quarter of transatlantic race.
Grain!
For a few nights we have been dealing with"squalls". In a few seconds, the wind strength increases, changes direction and a torrential rain falls on the boat. You must then roll the genoa as quickly as possible, change direction on the pilot and close all the openings of the boat! The whole on a sea which smokes foam and a boat which lies down, there is enough to make panic the neophyte of the sea that I am!
I therefore scan with the greatest vigilance the screen indicating the wind speed. Suddenly, it indicates a gust to 15 knots. I get up, my heart beating and grab the genoa furling halyard. Ready to roll, I wait to see if the wind continues to rise. Now he's calming down again, I can lie down. And start to write down these fifteen days of transatlantic crossing that we have just experienced before all these first impressions are forgotten.
It's hard to leave Cape Verde
We left our anchorage in Tarrafal, on the island of Santiago (Cape Verde) on 7 January 2018. Direction Praia to find Anna, our partner and make the departure formalities at the customs officers. This mandatory step will be quick. Several cases of piracy have taken place recently in the capital, so we don't want to go on forever... On the other hand, we take the time to take a break for several days in the south of the island of Brava, at the foot of a small fishing village that offers us an incredible welcome.
There we find a buddy boat, the catamaran"Mission Océan". The boys are invited by the fishermen to go fishing with them (underwater hunting), and bring us fresh fish and lobsters in abundance. In the water, Pierre makes his first encounter with sharks... We are then invited to a feast on the beach. The fishermen organised a barbecue with their fishing, with a papaya compote caramelised over a wood fire for dessert... We all spend three fantastic days together, before setting sail for the big start...
Managing the two children in a deckchair
The first few days are tiring. The wind is steady, the sea rough, and our bodies struggle to dock. Thanks to Stugeron, a sea-sickness medication, none of us are sick. The rolling of the boat annoys the children, who are grumpy. Julia adopts her"mini despot" mode and chains caprices. After a few days, nervously exhausted from hearing him chouiner all day long, we strengthen our frame. At every whim she is isolated for a moment in her room. Immediately she becomes adorable again, and our daily life becomes much more pleasant!
The incessant rhythm changes of our new life are very difficult to manage for our little bull... But she adapts remarkably well, and develops a beautiful opening to the world and others. Gabriel remains imperturbably joyful and savours every moment of the journey. The crossings are for him privileged moments of time shared with his parents and his sister and he takes advantage of it to water us of hugs. Well moored now, he no longer hurts himself and this transatlantic race is a physical victory: no bruises or bumps are to be declared!
Our little foams attach themselves very quickly to Anna who takes care of them wonderfully. Pierre is on his side delighted: with his spinnaker and staysail, Tivano looks great! We're approaching 7-knot averages for the first few days!
The importance of good cooking
Finally, the weather calms down after the third day. We roll the staysail and drop the second reef to adopt our cruising pace: one reef in the mainsail and genoa in tangled chisel. Our days follow one another with a fairly regular rhythm. Meals are of the utmost importance, and I enjoy cooking different dishes every day, with a cake for each snack. So we spend most of the day eating! Otherwise, we take turns taking care of the children so that we can take a nap.
Adapted activities
We listen to many podcasts of France Culture downloaded before departure. With Anna, we put ourselves at the ukulele for the greatest happiness of the little ears of Julia and Gabriel. Pierre occasionally launches fishing lines, when the weather lends itself to it. We thus fish two large dolphin bream of 4 kilos each! Unfortunately, when a huge tuna is hit, the fish wins the battle and snatches the rod from Peter's hands.
The quiet rhythm of a transatlantic race
The days follow one another and are similar. The nights are calm, and we allow ourselves to sleep during our shifts. An alarm clock every half hour allows us to check that no boat is on the horizon. In the end, the first boat we see is seen on the 11th day! Every three days, we turn on our satellite phone to take a weather forecast and receive news from our loved ones. What a joy to read these few words from each other in the middle of the ocean!
The skipper only closes one eye
Pierre is happier than ever in his element, in the middle of the ocean and surrounded by his family. He amazes me with his sea sense. It is able to wake up in the middle of the night because it feels in its sleep that the sails are not set in the optimum way, or that the course is not the right one. Without getting out of his berth, he gives us the instructions to restore the boat to its proper speed. During the squalls too, we barely have time to call him when he has already jumped out of his berth and started rolling the genoa! Ingenious and do-it-yourselfer, he gradually repairs the various minimal breakages that we wipe, of which the biggest fear will have been the tearing off of our column of bar at the time of a wild gybe.
Landing in the Grenadines
Continuation of story, Thursday, January 25, 2018.
We arrived in Union at the beginning of the afternoon, after a last night in grain and a last fishing: a big tuna of 4 kilos! The turquoise sea, coconut trees and white sand beaches welcome us... We hasten to dive into the warm Caribbean water! What happiness to feel your muscles relax, after 15 days of sheathing to keep us in balance!
15 days to find the land
We then go ashore to make the formalities of entry then to taste an ice cream promised to the children. Gabriel is pitching and struggling to walk straight, he looks completely drunk. For us, it is the explosion of colours and smells that plunges us into a second state. It's hard to realize. We did it, we crossed the Atlantic! And yet, nothing has changed. In fact, we just spent 15 days at sea. This incredible ordeal that I had so apprehended finally took place in such a calm and serene way that I lost the mystical and initiatory character that I had conferred on it. Whatever, the important thing is to be there, together, in this magnificent setting and this soft tropical heat...
