Sailing towards Tristan da Cunha.

The beginning of the new day, still in darkness and for the first hours of the morning we sail in clouds and rain, with seas a good couple of meters high, and with the ship’s yards pulled all the way to the Starboard Stays, Europa sails Close Hauled to the Northwesterly winds.  

It blows up and down about the 30kn, the ship now and then dips her starboard to the swell or a wave beaks over her port bulwark.

Over the course of a long voyage, sailing along a range of different latitudes, including visits south of the Polar Front and back to areas close to the subtropics, there are noticeable temperature changes, sunshine, dampness, rain, sleet and snow. Sometimes the ship sails smooth, others she rolls and pitches and heels. Different conditions and situations that can perturb the tidiness of the ship, unsettle stomachs, upset sleep patterns and resting times, change moods.

Despite the unpleasant conditions of yesterday and this morning, we are better off now than further south. The temperature has been rising and we are not anymore in the discomfort that rain combined with freezing weather gives, when the lines are icy and the hands come quickly numb as you pull or furl or grab the wheel to steer.

But still she heels and jerks on the moderate seas and forceful winds. Still some drag with them the motion sickness, not everyone is over it yet. Still for going outside harnesses are necessary, clipped to the several safety ropes that crisscross her decks. Still we get soaking wet. Still it is difficult to get a good rest when your watch is over. When this moment arrives it not all done yet, then you deal with new difficulties such as taking off the wet “foulies”, find a spot where they may get drier for your next shift, climb onto a bunk walking over whatever carpets the cabin floor, boots, shirts, thermals, socks that haven’t been properly sea-stowed before.  

Next is to try to get a good sleep, which doesn't happen often on such conditions. 

But then, in the open ocean, everything can change in no time. During the morning the winds died quickly. From a sail configuration thought to deal with hard conditions we end up slowly sailing under Europa’s full canvas and before lunchtime, every single sail rigged is set. She steadies her movements. A situation that didn’t last long, the Westerly gradually started coming. Upper and Middle Staysails, Gaff Topsail -that has been set for the first time during our trip- are all pulled down and packed away once more. 

Nighttime brought yet more changes. Now it blows a good 25kn of a fair West-southwesterly. Time to call hands on deck and Square our yards. Sailing now somehow between Beam and Broad Reach, she speeds to 8, 9 sometimes 10kn on a North by East course. 

Far away from any land, sailing the South Atlantic Ocean. Now the game has changed from when we spent over a week along the northern coast of South Georgia. There the bits and pieces of the play are to put together a plan of visits ashore. Where to find more shelter, which anchorage might be better, how to deal with the breaking swell and surge at the beach for a landing, a rolling cloud over the mountains gives you a warning. A forecast of winds blowing over glaciers tell about a good chance for gusty katabatic forceful blows in this or that other bays.

Now, sailing our way to Tristan da Cunha, there’s no shelter, nowhere to anchor, but the Captain’s and Mate’s expertise of routing your course weaving your way between High and Low Pressure Systems. 

In the Roaring 40’s whether you are on a Low, or the next one is chasing you. One of them has passed, leaving a windless while, but then the winds from the next one give you another good pull. If you are well positioned for heading towards our destination, you ride on its back on fair wind.  

A bit further north on the low 40’s and 30’s latitudes, there’s another story to tell. Here is home for some High Pressure Systems. One of them is located to our Northeast. The so called Subtropical High is far to the Northwest. 

And on top of that, still in the area where we find ourselves,  there’s always the chance to come across some wandering iceberg. And again today one is spotted, a stray iceberg north of the Antarctic Convergence Area, melting as it drifts eastbound in waters that are about 10ºC.