The last few days before our departure were a confused mix of excitment to finally cast off and utter exhaustion. Our plan to get a full days rest before leaving seemed like a distant dream as our efficiancy was on a downwards spiral. Rana, our documentary filmmaker friend who will join us on our journey, arrived to lend a hand with our final preparations and get aquainted with the boat since he has never sailed before.
We felt it was time to leave so we ignored the remainder of the “to do” list to fuel up and store the final supplies. It was a glorious feeling to cast off and cruise out of Lewisporte marina where a crowd of people had come to wish us luck, cheering and sounding their air horns. The sun was out and while we had to motor out of the bay we still enjoyed every minute of it knowing that it might be our last day of summer.
A few miles out we decided to set sail when the wind started to freshen, being a little too excited we managed to rip the mainsail quite significantly while hoisting it. With spirits still high we didn’t think much of it and started repairing the sails. Hours later in the dark of night the waves picked up and we where still struggeling with the needle and thread. Having no more energy or patience we decided to let the boat drift and go to sleep. We woke Rana up after a long sleep to go on watch since we had no forward momentum but he felt instantly sick in the high waves and complete darkness. I fell asleep to the unhappy sound of Rana’s stomach beeing emptied over the side of the boat.
After hours of well needed sleep we hoisted our sails and headed north toward Greenland. The summer quickly disappeared and was replaced with a thick fog and six degree temperatures. We got back into the familiar rythm of the four hour watches, it will take a few days to adapt and in the mean time the fog, light winds and fatigue have brought a very mellow feeling to the boat.
