ATLANTIC CROSSING
Sailing from the Caribbean to England
The idea of crossing the Atlantic by sail surprised my parents when I told them about my project. In reality, the desire to sail across the Atlantic had never left me. It was the idea of taking to the open seas, of traveling at the pace of time, propelled solely by the force of the wind, that attracted me.
After a few searches on crew exchange websites, I came across an advertisement from a British skipper who was looking for a crew member to bring Trinket back to England, his yacht which had spent several years in the Caribbean and South America. I jumped at the chance, and after a few exchanges of e-mails I was quickly accepted on board to help bring Trinket back to Europe.
At the end of May 2012, the day after my last final exam at university, I found myself on an Air Caraïbes plane bound for Fort-de-France in Martinique to meet Cosmo, Paul, Carla and Oceana for the first time. The crossing would last 6 weeks, with a stopover in the Azores archipelago.
Swan 41, 12-meter monohull. Dockside to fill diesel tank and jerry cans. Final preparations before the Atlantic crossing. Le Marin, Martinique.
Passage from Guadeloupe.
Upwind, sails tucked in, we’re making 8 knots.
Daybreak, middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
After 21 days at sea, we arrived in the Azores archipelago.
View of a village on the island of Santa Cruz de Flores, Azores.
Card table.
Day shift. Every two hours, day and night, we
take turns at the helm. Atlantic Ocean, 10pm.
Quarter of the night. Atlantic Ocean 3am.
Heading east.
