L'ORIENT wins Caribbean 1500 !!!! Sort of.......
First of all, the positives. We saw two whales, had numerous dolphin encounters, and the crew caught three fish including a 44 inch dorado, which was totally yummy. We also learned a lot about weather and wind forecasts, which was definitely a blind spot for us prior to the trip. Sailing in high winds in pitch blackness at night was also thrilling. Also among the huge positives was our new friend Bob Poole. He was a much needed voice of reason and calm during the trip.
A special thanks goes out to Herb........no not Herb Hilgenberg, the guru of offshore weather. Our Herb was better. Herb Hellwig was the singular source of accurate weather information throughout the trip. We all anxiously waited for our Iridium satellite phone to buzz for our next update. Without his information, we certainly would have finished a day later, if not more.
Probably the biggest positive of all was our boat. L'ORIENT took care of us. The entire trip, only one navigation bulb and a minor water heater valve malfunctioned. Both were repaired on the spot. Our engine, sails, rigging, and electronics performed flawlessly. No leaks, no drips, no anxious moments. Being hundreds of miles beyond any possible help, that feeling was certainly a luxury. Our advice to anyone going offshore- sounds self evident but it's all about the boat.
Now the negatives (and there were some). I'll be charitable and say we never gelled as a team. Kirstin and I sailed with two experienced offshore sailors which seemed like a great idea when we planned this. We thought safety on our first offshore passage would be enhanced by the experience of the crew. Instead, the operative emotion on board was stress. Some crew members refused to accept our sailing philosophy- let's be relaxed and laid-back- and instead made this a Volvo off-shore race. Where's the gulf stream eddy? How can we outsmart everyone and steer our own course? Who cares? I ended up having two shout downs on the trip. There was drama, brooding, passive aggressive behavior and more. The tension was at times unbearable.
More advice to people contemplating offshore cruising? Do more than casual research into who you sail with. There are some real personality mismatches out there. Personally, I will never sail with someone I don't know extremely well again. Lesson learned.
But enough about the negatives. We never dreamed that our weekend course at Annapolis Sailing School in 2005 would lead to this..........our first ocean passage and a year in the Caribbean on our French super-boat. We are thrilled to be here and can't wait to return to Tortola and our boat/home.
In 23 days, the fun begins. We will enjoy Thanksgiving with Kirstin's family, a Packer game, and then Tom will be working for a few weeks. December 16th we come back to BVI and start our year. Once we have a faster internet connection we will post videos and more pictures. Have to go - rum punch time!