I joined the ship on Friday 10th February 2023 in Marigot bay on the Dutch side of the island of Sint Maarten, the other half of which is administered by France. The next day I helped set the top sail and t-gallant on both the fore and main masts and hoisted the fore course, top sail and t-gallants and later climbed to set the royal on the main mast. We now had eleven sails including jibs flying. we sailed past Anguila between Dog Island and Prickly Pear Cays heading approximately 20 deg West of North for Bermuda.
I was on the 8-12 watch and during the night I was able to helm by the North Star and during the day watch we saw several minke whales. On Tuesday the morning watch started with fine sunny weather but soon the clouds gathered and started slowly to rain. Took the royal and t-gallants down, braced and later, when the rain was at its heaviest Anna and I climbed to release the spanker by which time we were all thoroughly soaked. Ended watch at 12 for a nice lunch. I got roped into doing a lot of sail work last night just as our watch was finishing but managed to get a good night sleep despite my stiff neck. On Wednesday morning we were making slow progress, only around 5 knots towards Bermuda with a NE wind so climbed with Anna to release the t-gallants on both masts. Thursday was a very quiet day with light winds from NE so no good for sailing so we had to use the engine again. We were aiming to reach Bermuda by Friday afternoon to meet the pilot before 17:00 and the plan is to stay in Bermuda over the weekend as the wind is not in favour.
We arrived in Bermuda slightly ahead of schedule and had to wait for the pilot to take us in through the cut into St George’s. The Roald Amundson was also waiting to enter and moored along the bay from us. We packed up the sails before we came into harbour and I worked the royal on my own before the pilot came onboard to guide us into harbour. On Saturday we caught the bus into Hamilton for the day visiting the art gallery, underwater experience centre and the fort. On Sunday visited the crystal caves followed by lunch at swizzles then back to St.George’s where I just caught the end of a carnival or pageant show, not quite sure what it was.
Most of Monday was spent on board preparing to leave and waiting for passport control and pilot who came about 15:00. Pelican of London was also on port so whilst we waited I went say hello to the captain and some of the crew who I’d sailed with before on the Darwin 200 voyage in 2021. Once we were escorted out of the cut by the pilot we set sails, I set both sides of the fore mast t-gallant. Weather was fair but rain was on the way. My night watch of 8-12 was very wet with the wind from starboard veering to aft. The captain, Jacob took the helm for the first hourI then I helmed for the rest of the watch and got pretty wet with water running up my arm. Had a reasonable night sleep even though the ship was pitching and rolling a lot.
On Tuesday the weather was dry with warm breeze and we watched a lighting storm flashed on the distance, slowly going around us from the stern to port following the track of the low pressure system. During the night after our watch probably during blue watch, 4-8 the topsail on the fore mast ripped and block, or something fell on the deck above my bunk with an almighty bang and continued rolling around the deck all night. The noise and the rolling of the ship and not having my lee board fitted meant I had a very restless night and got very little sleep. When I came on watch I saw the damage to the topsail and helped Jakob take it down for repair. Night watch was good, full sails and good SW wind and up to 10 knots. I helmed for three hours after Jakob. Towards the end of watch Jakob asked us to take down the royals to make it easier to for the next watch helm and a couple of the guys asked why we should make it easier for the next watch, to which the captain replied as “because they don’t have a George” which I took as a huge compliment ?
With big rolling seas, strong winds, torrential rain and speeds of 9 knots plus no one else on my watch wanted to take the helm so we’d settled into a routine where Jakob would helm for the first hour then I would do the remaining three hours. With the weather worsening helming became quite a challenge with the ship was rolling violently and water even flowing over the aft deck. On Sunday whilst we were having coffee on the aft deck someone noticed smoke coming from the cockpit then the smoke alarm sounded and all hands were on deck. Jakob and Rob attempted to trace the cause and we had a extinguisher on standby. All electrics were shut off and eventually the fault was traced to the emergency batteries which had become loose during the night and were shorting against the hull which burned out an earth wire.
On Monday 27th we woke to torrential rain, very heavy rolling seas and strong winds. I was sitting on the chair the port side when a squall whipped up and threw my side of the ship underwater. I was deluged up to my knees. But before I could make a move we lurched again and I watched as the water came towards me, floating the life ring out of its housing and it’s rope floated by me as the water continued to rise above my chest. I realised that if I stood up I’d most likely be swept overboard, in a moment I considered grabbing the life ring but then the ship righted itself and I managed to get to the high side. During this squall the main topsail was ripped almost to its full height. All hands were on deck at this point as things were quite serious. Three of professional crew went aloft to pack the sail and the others on the main mast, leaving the furled top sail on the fore mast. We started the engine to get us out of the danger zone and pretty soon the rain stopped and things got a little better, although the seas were still violent and the wind was extreme. The captain reckoned the squall was a force 12 on the Beaufort scale, basically hurricane strength.
The next day started with blue sky and sunshine but it didn’t last pretty soon we had to get our waterproofs on again. At around 10:30 Sylvi went below to get her waterproofs, and as the ship heeled she had very bad fall. I was on helm for a while but then it got really bad and Jakob took over. The wind was brutal and the driving rain felt like whole body acupuncture with thunder and lighting nearby too, the sea was a violent cauldron. We started to clear the weather front and Jakob gave me the helm back, the rain eased but the wind was still fierce and the waves kept the ship rolling violently at times. We didn’t realise how bad Sylvi’s injuries were until we came off watch and and found here being treated on the floor of the saloon with the medic trying to stitch her head wound and first mate trying to keep her stable as the ship heeled violently. The crew tried to make Sylvi as comfortable as possible in the saloon wedged in with mattresses to try and keep her as secure as possible whilst we made best possible speed to The Azores for medical assistance. We arrived in Horta on Friday and paramedics took Sylvi to the hospital even before we were fully berthed.
The captain decided to stay in Horta for a bit longer to try and get the main topsail repaired and to wait for news about Sylvi. So a few of us did some hiking to the Monte de Guia caldera then back along the beach to the ship for lunch. We went to the hospital to see Sylvi but they still had some covid restrictions we weren’t allowed in but were assured she was stable and out of danger. Spent the rest of the day painting the ships tag on the quay. On Monday we had a short tour of the island but unfortunately our car broke down, so our guide called for another car to pick us up and take us to Lighthouse of Ponta dos Capelinhos which was the site of a major volcanic eruption in 1956. We finished the day with a visit to the scrimshaw museum and Pete’s bar as usual.
We left Horta on Tuesday around 10:30 and we sailed past the last Islands of the Azores heading for the channel but we were unlikely to stop anywhere before Rotterdam due to the delay in Horta. On Friday we sighted a sunfish fun in the morning. Another of my watch mates had a bad fall on deck but suffered only a few bruises. On Saturday we were enveloped in fog. but did spot two or three minke whales at around 16:30.
Sunday 12th March is a day I won’t forget in a hurry, the night watch was pretty rough with high winds and a heavy rolling sea. For most of the voyage I’d been doing the bulk of the helming on my watch a couple of the guys agreed to do a bit to give me a break. Sam went on helm first and because of the rough conditions he wore a harness. I suggested to Sam and Simon that we do 30 min each so I took over from San around 21:00. Although it was tough the ship was responding well and I was quite comfortable helming without a harness. At around 21:40 I asked Simon if he wanted to take over, I could tell he wasn’t keen so I said I’d stay on but he insisted he was ok. He stepped onto the platform and grabbed the helm with both hands, which wasn’t a good idea in the conditions. I hooked his harness into the safety line and whilst holding onto the spanker ropes I told him the compass bearing and how the helm was handling. At that moment I knew I was in the wrong position and the ship heeled to port and as Simon was only holding the wheel he came crashing across me sending me flying off the platform. I came down heavily on the safety line hitting my lower ribs on my left side. Simon landed heavily on my right leg which was still on the platform. Anna and others came rushing to help but I was badly winded and took a moment to catch my breath. I followed Lotte below where she examined me, took my blood pressure and listened to my breathing. I was in a lot of pain but it didn’t look like anything was broken and my leg seemed ok. After a while I went back to the watch but soon realised I couldn’t continue and told Jakob I was going below. I was in a lot of pain so it took quite an effort getting out of my foul weather gear. Anna came to check on me but I had a very restless uncomfortable night. I was in a fair amount of pain but all I had was some ibuprofen and some heat patches.
On Tuesday the captain decided to stop over in Alderney due a change in the wind. I called my GP for advice and she persuaded the pharmacist in St. Ann’s to give stronger pain killers to my crewmates who’d gone ashore for me, having earlier refused. I had been planning too stay over in Rotterdam and meet up with a friend but it made more sense to get home ASAP so I managed to book a flight from Schipol and arrange airport assistance. We left Alderney around 11:00 on Wednesday and Diana and Rodney offered to help me get to the airport and my friend, Emma had kindly offered to meet me at Edinburgh. Although the painkillers were helping I was still in considerable pain and had difficulty moving around and even got stuck in my bunk wedged up against the leeboard. It took me a good hour to get out and I found the whole experience hysterical, but it hurt to laugh :-).
After our last night on board in Rotterdam we said our farewells and Rodney, Diana and I caught a taxi to the airport where I was met by airport assistance and whisked through jumping all the queues and reaching my terminal gate with a good couple of hours to spare. If I’m ever late for a flight in the future I’ll try this again. I was helped onto the flight by another couple of very nice people and met at Edinburgh with a wheelchair and once again whisked through all the barriers. When I finally saw my GP at home she confirmed I’d broken two or three ribs. All in all a very memorable voyage, with extreme weather (force 12), three ripped mainsails, one crew member hospitalised, who we later learned had been flown back to the Netherlands for surgery on her badly fractured leg. Me being dipped in the Atlantic swell and ending up with broken ribs.
Voyage stats: 35 days on board, 116 night hours and 4430 nautical miles