Melting Butter

During the age of nautical exploration, a saying was adopted that stated, “Sail South until the butter melts, then hang a right”. The basis of that advice was for ships leaving Europe headed to the new lands of the Carribean and North America. To cross the expansive Atlantic Ocean, sailors would need to ride the “trade winds” pattern that is predictable and dependable. These trade winds consistently blow from East to West in the lower latitudes (tropical region). Passages that attempted to sail directly West from Europe were plagued by patterns that would strand ships in the middle of the Atlantic with no winds for weeks. Therefore, the approach of sailing South until you reach the warmer tropical airs before heading West was adopted as a standard passage route. That age old nautical advice still holds true today …

Queen’s Dream left the chilly water of France 8 days ago and has now traveled the open seas for over 1,000 miles South. The passage plan is to indeed continue South until we reach warmer, tropical temperatures before heading West across the Atlantic. Our waypoint destination is the small Portuguese island of Maderia. The island is located roughly 400 miles West of Morocco. There, we will set foot on land again for a few days and re-provision our supplies for the 4-week ocean journey West. This island was well known by sailors traveling to the New World and became a regular stop for many historical ships heading west. Queen’s Dream will follow that same historical route. We anticipate making landfall by mid-day tomorrow. Anyone for melted butter?

Crossing Shipping Channels (Frogger)

We ushered in our fourth night at sea aboard QD. Following the events of the evening before (rounding the tip of Spain), the next mission was more methodical. We needed to start bearing West away from the coastline of Portugal. While the fishing vessels would lessen in frequency, a daunting obstacle awaited – the busy shipping lanes of Portugal. Large Tankers and Cargo ships traverse a steady route between the Strait of Gibraltar and the numerous Northern ports of Europe. As the interactive chart plotter is reviewed, it is clear there is a steady “ocean highway” of two lanes North and two lanes South. These large ships (100m-300m) fall into formation and form parallel lines of continuous vessels in rows traveling various speeds of 9 knots to 20 knots. How was a modest 42-foot sailboat supposed to make it to the other side?

Imagine the popular arcade game from decades ago – Frogger! The object of the 1981 arcade action game was to direct a frog to its home by crossing a busy road and hazardous river. Likewise, we must find the gaps in the lines of ships and quickly move through and on to the next lane without getting squashed. And do it all at night! Armed with the deep knowledge of a seasoned seaman on board, we were coached on how to use our state-of-the-art navigation equipment to set bearings to oncoming ships and “time our leaps”. As soon one ship was successfully cleared, another was waiting its turn to take a crack at squashing little QD. However, a methodical approach, patience and solid math prevailed easily. Over the course of the next 4-5 hours, QD worked her way through the busy lanes to reach the open ocean with a clear path south. We always knew those arcade game skills from our youth would be useful one day. Queen’s Dream is now heading South the next 4-5 days to our provisioning destination – Maderia.

*Actual screen shot of our nav station during the “Frogger Game”. Each of the green triangles are large ships moving much quicker than QD.

The Death Coast

Three days into our Atlantic Crossing scored 380 miles of water under the sturdy hulls of Queen’s Dream. Traversing the Bay of Biscay was an honorable warm-up for the awaiting turn at the NW top of Spain. The legendary area around Costa Da Morte is historically known as the “Death Coast” due to the substantial number of ships it has claimed over the centuries. After a close review of the weather conditions, we entered the region just as a wonderful sunset disappeared from the daylight hours.

In preparation, the main sail was double reefed to lessen the overall sail area exposed to potential winds. Our weather routing software showed a noted “compression” zone of increased winds traveling around the corner. QD entered the area with full confidence and ready crew. As the forecast called for, the sea state rose, and the winds increased to eventually level out steadily above 30 knots of True wind. Many gusts exceeded that into full Gale range. QD powered through the seige easily showing she was certainly built to be a “blue water” soldier. The ride was rough, but the crew was safe as QD pushed forward on her planned route. The area is congested with sizeable fishing vessels. Constant vigilance is needed to ensure we weave through the sizeable ships fishing the area as they have done for centuries. It felt like a scene from “Deadliest Catch”. The coming days should display QD clearing the full turn of Spain and southward down the Portugal coast. Gazing over the waters here fuels the imagination of the exact waters that early Atlantic explorers left from and the unknown lands ahead. We have an advantage – we know what exists on the other side of the Atlantic!

Atlantic Crossing – First Day

After much preparation, we sailed out of France the morning of Jan 30. The crowded harbor slowly disappeared behind us as we sailed into the vastness of the North Atlantic Ocean. A routed 10-day sail calls for us to clear the Bay of Biscay around the tip of Spain and head south (to warmer waters). Our destination is the island of Maderia off the coast of Morocco. That will serve as our forward launch point to sail straight West for 4-5 more weeks. If we do everything right, land should appear at the conclusion of the passage!

The watch shifts are currently 6hrs on / 6hrs off with staggered crew assignments to ensure there are 2 on each shift. As the voyage continues that will drop to single watch schedules of 3hrs on/ 9hrs off. The first day was exhilarating with fair winds and calm seas. Within hours a few dolphins appeared and played in our bow wake as if they were escorting us into the vastness that awaited. Later, a large pod of 20-30 dolphins welcomed us and played for 20mins. The sea is alive and welcomed Queen’s Dream. With sails full, the daylight faded into darkness. The evening was tranquil and surreal before the early morning sun awoke on the horizon, changing the watery landscape. This will be the same dance over-and-over again until we reach the stage #1 destination of Ft. Lauderdale. This is really happening …

The Atlantic Ocean Awaits

The Dream is real. We stepped off the plane in Paris on January 26th hauling backpacks, carry-duffels and extra pieces of luggage loaded with electronics and tech toys. Do we have enough “stuff” for 6-weeks on the open ocean? A long taxi ride to the Mont Parnasse train station delivered us to the “fast train” across France. Queen’s Dream awaited us in La Rochelle. Her hulls have been in the water for a few weeks and her systems are nearing full completion. As we stepped onto her from the dock, the reality was thick in the chilly salt air. This time we were not just visiting again to check on the progress – this time we were staying! The second largest Ocean in the world awaits a crossing. Three full days of preparations, system adjustments and continuous provisioning runs have QD almost ready to leave her European birth home and point her bow at the open sea horizon. There has been little time to invest in the pondering apprehension that built up to this point. A few remaining tasks need to be completed and then …. It’s Game Time!

A Dream evolves …

This life journey began in 2010 as guests on our first sailing trip with friends. A deep curiosity was sparked that grew into a passion in the following years. Sail school in 2011 provided the confidence to begin chartering sailboats and exploring the Carribean and sailing lifestyle. By 2014 a “Dream” emerged of owning our own sailboat some day and exploring the world full time. By 2015, that Dream evolved into a fully detailed life “Plan”. That plan was persistently executed over the next 6 years to prepare for our future life. June 2021, we signed the build contract to have our custom Dream Sailboat built in France. We now sit just one week away from arriving in France to cast the lines and set sail across the Atlantic. Reality is upon us … and it smells so good!