Bermuda to Azores, Day 1: Sweet Life in a Tractor
A little over a week ago, the weather forecast showed some weird low pressure systems on our planned route from Bermuda to the Azores, as well as some big patches with no wind in between.
This meant that we would be beating into the wind and/or motoring a lot more than our boat probably has the capacity to do.
After beating in the wind for 10 days on our way to Bermuda, we said “no thank you” to sailing upwind across an ocean, and we made the decision to wait for a better weather window.
And it paid off! After a few extra days on anchor, we could see the easterlies that we were looking for already settling in.
But the easterlies didn’t exactly start in Bermuda, meaning we’d have to motor, motorsail or sail upwind north in very light winds for two days before we’d be able to ride downwind towards Horta.
So here we are! We managed to sail upwind north/northeast a bit outside of Bermuda before the sails started to flap and we had to turn the engine on.
Whenever we start the engine on a passage because of a lack of wind, Polar Seal turns into a very loud tractor, and life onboard gets tiring quickly. Imagine trying to sleep on top of your tractor’s engine and you’ll get the picture.
(What? Do you not own a tractor? ;) )
The engine was on for a good part of the night, until Anett and Ryan shook out the reefs in our mainsail, and we were able to sail for a little while.
Tonight, we are able to get between 3.5 and 5 knots at a 60 degree angle to the wind. It doesn’t blow very hard, and our speed goes up and down a lot, but at least we’re saving some fuel.
We aren’t making great speed, but on the bright side, it makes it so much easier to write these updates, as the risk of getting seasick while looking at my screen is considerably reduced.
The sun is currently rising on our port side, and I am downloading the latest weather forecast.
Fingers crossed that we are able to catch those easterlies a little earlier than planned and sweet life in a tractor ends!
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Playlist of the day: "Telling Me So," "Pink Wine" and "Spring" by St. Paul de Vence.