Here, I follow each movement of the ship that appears in the distance with much excitement, and I greet every seabird like a long lost friend. It didn’t matter how I would make it to Bermuda, what would happen tomorrow, or even how I would survive those first four hours.
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Glowin’ in the Dark
…. [A]s the sunset and darkness set in around us, the bioluminescence began to show itself. I have never seen anything like it; the way the crashing waves sent these tiny creatures into a tizzy, causing them to glow in the dark!
Read MoreeXXpedition Round Britain gets off to an amazing start!
eXXpedition Round Britain is a three-part mission aboard S/V Sea Dragon, circumnavigating Great Britain in August/September 2017
Read MoreWho’s on First Watch
Captain Eric says he almost caught us a tuna, but everyone was in such a coma from the intense labor of daily life on a sailing yacht that we did not hear his cries for help, and the fish got away right at the moment of truth.
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Thunderstorm Sailing
Flashes of light burst, reflecting all around us and we kept away from the backstay. The cracks grew more spine tingling and the booms fiercer. Surely, even with my nerves, I told myself we’d been in this situation before. The beauty of the weather was all around us and just as I thought we might be getting a reprieve from the most intense of the lightning and thunder, one giant crack proved me wrong.
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Setting off from Key West
We set out from Key West yesterday evening after making some final preparations and having dinner on the deck. We hoisted our sails in the midst of a fleet of catamarans and old-time schooners taking tourists out for a sunset cruise, which made for a very pleasant sendoff.
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Preparing to Set Sail
The generator on Sea Dragon is a pernicious beast, a result of taking full advantage of the available space, which leaves next to no room to actually work on it place. Instead, once a year we spend 4 days or so dismantling the walls and ceiling, hooking up block and tackle to overhead beams, and after unbolting and disconnecting everything connected to the generator, haul its 400 pounds out of the engine room and lower it into the hallway where we can easily access all sides of it to check that all is well.
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Dominique and his Amazing Circus Cats
If you walk a bit further South along the waterfront, you’ll soon come to the best show in Key West. At first, it is a bit unprepossessing – what is this grey-haired, scraggly man wearing outrageous cat socks doing with all those cages?
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A Look Back: Cayman to Key West
We are here in Key West! Our sail lasted only three days, a short passage. The storm helped push us along; in fact, we clocked out at an all time high of 13.3 knots! I have never had so much fun puking, and would do it all again in a heart beat (may try a different nausea medication though).
Read MoreA Thick Black Line Obscuring the Horizon
… A thick black line obscured the horizon, where just minutes before was nothing but grey overcast. We quickly rolled the yankee and got a first reef in the main before it hit, with horizontal rain and steady winds blowing 40-45 kts stinging our eyes.
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Cayman to Key West Day #2
The evening of Day 2 underway found us just off the coast of Cuba, hoping for a favorable windshift that would allow an easy turn east and a quick reach over the next few days to Key West.
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Cayman to Key West
On Sunday, we set sail from Grand Cayman! Weather was awesome, partly cloudy with a 17 knot breeze from the east; on a broad reach all day. Among the excitement was Shanley cleaning the poop deck three times.
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