Katie’s first sea voyage

We were finally ready to set sail late morning on Saturday 19th May, after going ashore to check out with the authorities and buy a few last minute groceries. Katie’s rash still hadn’t gone but it didn’t seem to be of concern to either her or the doctor.
Our only concern was the crew’s drink problem, which had become apparent the night before!



So… the dinghy and engine were hoisted on deck (Clare’s first job as crew), we all jumped in for one last swim round the boat then up with the sails and we were soon goosewinging away from St Martin. As night fell, we saw the light of Sombrero island disappear behind, our last sight of land for 865 miles.

We had a gentle start for the first three days. The seas were calm, the skies were blue and a gentle southeasterly breeze pushed us along at around 4 knots. This gave us a chance to slowly get into the rhythm of life on board. Dave and Clare split the night watches (two shifts of three hours each) and I relieved them for the odd hour or two between night feeds. During the day, we were all up and about at various times, with normally one nap each.



Katie had a Moses basket lashed below for night-times and a cot wedged behind the wheelhouse table for during the day. Still, she ended up spending most of the time being cuddled by one or other of us, or in her favourite place – the carrying sling. She can’t have been too unhappy about life at sea as we were treated to her first smile the second day out!



On day four, the mast fitting for the topsail broke and Dave had to climb the mast to replace it – thankfully the seas were still calm at this stage. The sky however had clouded over completely and that night we were surrounded by drizzly rain and lightning. The wind had swung round almost head on so we had started the engine and were motorsailing.

The following day, the swell started building. We had been unable to get weatherfax broadcasts for several days due to poor reception so we prepared for the worst by bringing down all sails except the main and lashing down any loose items. That night the wind picked up ... and up… until we were in gale conditions.



The motion inside was pretty uncomfortable to say the least and drips kept finding their way in around the hatches until the floor was slippery with salt water. I stayed below in the safety of our saloon bunk all night, as simply feeding and changing Katie was enough of a challenge. We had to pad out the sides of Katie’s cot to stop her arms flying up with each lurch of the boat. She certainly didn’t need any rocking to sleep!

Conditions were so bad that Clare abandoned her cabin and ended up ‘hot-bunking’ with us – alternating with Dave to share our makeshift bed (the middle of the boat has the least violent motion). I wasn’t sure when I woke who I would find next to me!

The strong winds and seas continued for two days and nights before slowly moderating. Through it all, the engine kept on going and with the mainsail steadying us we ploughed slowly through the seas towards Bermuda, still making progress at about 3 knots.



Finally, the wind dropped off and the last two days were calm, sunny and enjoyable once more. We all regained our appetites (Katie had never lost hers, thankfully) and it was a relief to be able to cook and eat ‘proper food’ after two days on mostly bread and jam. Clare even used the sextant to take a sun sight, but so far is still mid-calculation and we are eagerly awaiting the final position.

The wind stayed from the NE (the direction we were heading) so we kept the engine going and motor-sailed the last 200 miles into Bermuda. We arrived at 10.30pm on Sunday 27th May, after 8 ½ days at sea. After clearing customs and dropping anchor in ‘Convict Bay’, we cracked open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate our safe arrival.



Clare has coped well as crew - standing night watches, cooking meals and keeping her cool in the rough seas. And that’s on top of living in close quarters with us for two weeks - putting up with our funny habits, nappy changes on the dining table and endless inane comments of ‘Isn’t Katie’s hair getting longer??’
(Which it is… plus she’s grown 1 1/2 inches… and her eyes are turning brown…)

But over to Clare:

I'm a very happy crew member but equally very happy to be on dry land for a few days! The McCabe family are an amazing team. Dave is constantly fixing, tweaking and generally making sure we are all ok, never losing his cool. Hazel has the extraordinary ability to keep us all cheerful with snacks and drinks, and chats even in the middle of a dark and stormy night(cliche but true), whilst feeding Katie, and keeping the good ship, Ros Ailither, a smooth running home.

Next stop America.

Ready for sea

We have now had a couple of weeks to settle back in to life on the trawler and Katie seems to have adapted well to her new floating home. She spends a lot of time staring up at the beams - either she likes the contrast or she’s going to be a budding carpenter! She has had her first trip to the beach to watch the sun go down but hasn't yet braved the waters.



There have been two birthdays aboard - the captain turned forty and the youngest crew one month old.
Both were celebrated with a few happy hour beers at the yacht club, shown here with a typical mega yacht in the background. This is a great spot to meet up with fellow cruisers - both old and new - many of whom are also heading out to sea, either back across the Atlantic, or north to Bermuda like us.



The trawler is now ready for sea again, all systems have been checked out and the cupboards (and freezer) stocked with provisions. The next step is to set sail for Bermuda and the US, retracing last year’s route. We have put off leaving all week as Katie has been suffering from an unidentified body rash. Today we got the all clear from the doctor so will be off at the next favourable weather forecast.

Clare, our crew for the next leg, joined us last Sunday and, like all good crew, has already shown an aptitude for multi-tasking.



But she’s going to speak for herself:
Crew blog

We will have our work cut out for us over the next 10 days or so. Le Capitaine has been very thorough with his instructions. Hazel, Katie and I have zipped back and forth on the inflatable to check the ever changing weather forecasts. All the gear has been stowed. Lee cloths have been made on board and installed. Katie’s cots have been bolted in place. Despite much encouragement, I’ve so far managed to resist climbing up to the top of the mast, but I have jumped off the bow sprit into the beautifully clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean. Life’s not so bad.

BACK TO THE CARIBBEAN

First of all, apologies for our hasty departure from Topsham but Captain McCabe felt the need to be back on his boat and surrounded by water again. Katie also had a Caribbean outfit that she was itching to wear!



Her passport arrived last Wednesday, we were on the internet booking flights the following day and on a plane to Paris by the Saturday. Not bad for a 14 day-old baby… Katie took it all in her stride and slept through the whole experience.



After a day’s rest and recuperation in Paris, we boarded a Corsair jumbo on Sunday for the 8-hour flight to St Maarten. We were allocated the best seats on the plane - row 1, right in the nose, window seats with a view almost looking forward and all the legroom in the world. Also a clever cot for Katie that clipped onto the bulkhead. So clever that we were tempted to see if they had a spare one for the boat!




Again, Katie slept through the majority of the flight and didn’t seem to suffer too badly on landing, feeding as the plane came down. We got this great shot out of the window as we were about to land in St Maarten over the beach where we got sand-blasted waving off the Whittons back in January.



We were relieved to find that all was well on ‘Ros Ailither‘ - the paint and varnish was in amazingly good condition after 3 months in the sun and the inside was well aired out thanks to leaving the portholes open. We have now all had a couple of days to adjust to the time difference, the heat (about 28 degrees) and the new surroundings and Katie seems to be settling in well on board. She has already had her first open-air bath on deck, several swings in the hammock with her daddy, and a trip to the local yacht club for happy hour!



We are now busy getting the boat ready for the trip north which we hope to be starting within a couple of weeks. It is lovely to be back ‘home’, but it has been brilliant to catch up with everybody in Topsham, and Katie would like to say thank you for all her lovely presents, cards and cuddles. And special thanks to the Topsham Birthing Centre for letting her be a true Topsham girl!