The ship’s journal from the Delivery from Mallorca to Fiji

Update 30/01/25 0100 GMT North of Cabo Verde.

All you can eat!

I remember from previous crossings when we had to motor a few days to look for the trade winds. Or had to resist the temptation to luff up for speed because you’d sail into a lightwind area. Neither of these challenges is applicable to this crossing so far. And looking at the weather forecast, it will stay that way. 

Like an all-you-can-eat buffet, we are served a strong breeze across the pond. As much as you want and then some! Nothing crazy or scary, but relentless and accompanied by a 3 to 4 meter swell. 

Yesterday morning this luxurious breeze kindly informed us that it had plans to go towards 30 knots. The growing NE swell further encouraged us to stay on a SW course staying nice and square in front of the waves. Take anything over 3 meters on the quarter or let alone the beam, and you can scrap the sales-chat that catamarans don’t roll. They role and lurch any of our crew’s guts out. Except for Jan. Jan doesn’t know what nausea is. 

With these predictions it seems a waste of time to go any further south. So we’re now pointing at St Maarten. 

I’m under a lot of pressure from our amazing galley team, who have taken my glorious tales of big game fishing into consideration as part of their provisioning plan! Eating beans will be my punishment should I fail to produce a fish.

Jan, An, and Sara are amazing in the galley, and our lunches and dinners are healthy, tasty, and well-balanced meals we enjoy together. And there’s always seconds, all you can eat! Two nights ago though, Ocean’s dinner came back out at about the same speed it had gone in minutes before. The relief he expressed and the good mood that came with it was adorable to witness. Charlie Beau’s lunch from yesterday had followed the same down and up trajectory. But kids are so resilient and generally upbeat, especially when Charlie defeated me in a game of chess and Oceaan slayed Bowser on his Nintendo… but when it comes to schoolwork… the motion of the ocean is too uncomfortable. I relate though. Sara and I have a fair amount of remote work to do, and a steady four hours of 18-knot winds and 1.5-meter swell would be preferable. But hey, not complaining here. Our magic swirling ship rambles on and is technically behaving as well. 

A pod of enthusiastic dolphins approached us in the afternoon. All the crew were notified by Sara’s very excited screeching. I think I heard one dolphin say to the other “That chick needs to chill out.” After which they disappeared faster than they came!