Today, January 14, 2019, it is double the amount of foie gras for Jean-Jacques, who is celebrating his 72nd birthday. As a bonus, Tonneins ham, a speciality from the southwest region, which he could not taste on New Year's Eve because "it is a speciality of the region the weather was not good enough It is therefore your left hand that holds the end crossing that constitutes the "well". With your right hand, you will grasp the current and pass it under the "tree" and in the same gesture, bring it back into the "well".
15 days late on the program
Despite not always easy weather conditions, the adventurer's morale remains excellent. For if the trade winds, during the few days following the departure on 26 December 2018, facilitated the progress towards the West-South-West, the barrel was then rocked by winds and currents from the West, then the South... Little risk of leaving the trade winds zone, given the speed of the drift - no more than two knots -, especially since Jean-Jacques does not hesitate to use a floating anchor when the heading is not good. To get rid of it as soon as the winds become favourable:" the interior is relieved and there are fewer jolts, which makes me gain speed. I make myself happy to finally go back in the right direction! SI HUGO A R?VÉ SON ÉCUME DE MER POUR PARTIR EN GRANDE CROISIÈRE, CELA NE L'EMPÊCHE PAS DE NAVIGUER SUR D'AUTRES VOILIERS. IL NOUS FAIT VIVRE AUJOURD'HUI DANS CET ÉPISODE, LA PARTICIPATION AUX VOILES DE SAINT-BARTH. POUR CELA IL INTÈGRE UN ÉQUIPAGE QUI PARTICIPE SUR UN J/122 (UN VOILIER DE COURSE-CROISIÈRE DE 12 M).
Squalls follow one another, the winds decrease, accelerate, then turn and return but nothing serious..." I'm a real cork! "In the end, the only consequence of these uncooperative winds is an increase in crossing time. The skipper, now 220 miles from the Canaries, estimates that he is 15 days behind - although he left land three weeks ago..." It's okay, but it shouldn't go on forever either." says Jean-Jacques. The sailor nevertheless fears, if his crossing proves to be much longer than expected (three months), that he will face the first tropical depressions of June.
A transatlantic crossing sometimes agitated...
After a few days of adaptation to his new environment, Jean-Jacques seems to have finished with seasickness. However, the days are sometimes hectic. " This morning (day 12), when I opened the hatch, after a swing before I could fix it, the panel suddenly closed on two fingers of my left hand. Good thing my ring cushioned the impact. Result tonight, I have the blue middle finger and open on the inner side. Don't worry, I got a splint and it's better. Then I wanted to empty my waterproof bucket and then the lid slipped off and flew away... At lunch, I was happy to finish my couscous from the day before, when a wave swung the barrel and sent all my dishes to the ground (cleaning done...) It is therefore your left hand that holds the end crossing that constitutes the "well". With your right hand, you will grasp the current and pass it under the "tree" and in the same gesture, bring it back into the "well".
A typical day aboard the barrel
Reading, music, logbook, inscriptions of the first names of the children who follow the journey of the barrel, diving, fairing, water production thanks to the watermaker (1,800 pump strokes for 4.5 litres of very pure water), Jean-Jacques does not seem bored! Here is his report of January 10, 2019, 15 After the launch of Seafaring 44 in 2016, the Slovenian shipyard of the same name launched its second model in 2019, the Seafaring 34 (10.80 m overall). Like its big brother, this elegant trawler will be available in a flybridge version, with optional solar panels. The boat's program, day of crossing:
"Very good weather, no wind and the ocean equal to Lacanau Lake.
10:00 am: I sit on the perch and see a boat on the horizon behind me; it is a cargo ship crossing from east to west about 3 km behind. I tried to contact him by VHF for an hour and unfortunately nothing, no answer. There, I had a thought for the shipwrecked who see their deliverance receding...
11:00 am: I hear a breath I know well. At 300 meters, a huge whale that has surfaced three times surfaced. She repeated her dance with me after my swim at the end of the evening.
12:00 pm: I see a beautiful turtle of my age coming to visit me. She'll have an hour to hit the hull. And then I have a new resident who came to introduce himself underwater, a 25 cm long fish, a grouper. I named it Thursday.
In the afternoon, I took the opportunity to do some more cleaning, a laundry. I keep writing my logbook and reading.
The wind rises and I head back to the Northeast, slowed down by the floating anchor.
Starry night, the crescent moon grows bigger and descends gently behind the horizon... The night will be sweet."
