Week 9 - Bark Europa and the unexpected voyage from Ushuaia to Scheveningen

Chasing the wind. This could describe our sailing experience during the ninth week of our voyage. Compared to the old days of sailing we have weather reports at our disposal, but we cannot rely on them 100%. After all, weather prediction is not an exact science. It is what it says it is, a prediction and it may or may not be right. The methods developed over the years got more sophisticated and generally better but at the times they fail. And that was the case during this week.

There were several high-pressure systems developing over the North Atlantic, that could directly influence our progress. Mid-week, we were sailing almost straight east, but ultimately even though we would end up in an area closer to coast, it would have no wind. On the other hand behind us, another high-pressure system developed, moving the same easterly direction and speed as we did. It promised to bring westerly winds that could help us to get home faster. And here is the dilemma. What you in this situation? Continue sailing in somewhat favorable direction but knowing you end up in a “dead space” or turn around, sail a little more away from your intended destination in the hope you catch better winds that would eventually bring you closer and faster home. We did the latter, wore the ship, and turned towards the west. As crazy as it sounds, it made sense. It was a gamble but as we moved closer to the area where the westerlies should be, they disappeared from the weather forecast and we ended up in a “dead space” we wanted to avoid in the first place. This was not going to work and it becomes clear that this way, we may not meet our arrival deadline to Holland (yes, we have a deadline around 24th June). The use of the engine was discussed several times before, most notably when we were stuck at 21° latitude South or in Doldrums. We kept sailing and eventually the long-awaited winds came around not needing to touch the engine at all. Not this time though. Considering all circumstances and relatively calm seas that favor motoring, we turned on the engines for the first time (not counting the man overboard drill). A happy moment for some, a little bit disappointing for others. But even those in favor of motoring from the start, it felt somewhat sad. We were really hoping to make this trip on sail from start to finish.

The air temperature has dropped significantly this week. The wind is colder as well. It is not a refreshing breeze from the tropics that we enjoyed, but rather a chilly reality that makes us dress up more especially for helming. Putting on shorts and a t-shirt for the night watch is not enough anymore. Although the sun brings much-welcomed warmth during the day hours, prolonged stay in a shade requires an extra layer of clothing. We noticed a rise in the sea traffic this week with a couple of cargo ships passing by, some quite close to us. And then the icing on the cake, two yachts crossed our path. We had a short conversation over the radio with the crew of Spanish, privately owned Espiritu del Xaray, the first chat to other human beings since we left Ushuaia. Such a small and normal thing got us very excited. Many of us stayed on the deck observing the yacht with binoculars as she slowly disappeared behind the horizon as we continued our “wind chase” towards the west.

There was another kind of “traffic” to be observed on the ocean surface as well. A new species we haven’t seen before on this trip, the Atlantic Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis), also known as the man-of-war, blue bottle, or floating terror. It is mistaken to be a jellyfish but unlike jellyfish, it is not actually a single multicellular organism but a colonial organism made up of specialized individual animals called zooids or polyps. Its venomous tentacles can deliver a painful (and sometimes fatal) sting. Every now and then we can spot some floating in the water. I guess we won’t have a dip in these waters.

We are starting the week ten with the rumble of the engine, perhaps for another 12 hours, and then, hopefully, we set the sail again and continue our journey the way we prefer it, propelled forward by the wind.