John Homer’s Atlantic Sailing Adventure
I recently phoned one of our clients, John Homer to congratulate him on the sailing expedition he had undertaken in November. He sailed in a Brigantine ‘small’ Tall Ship (400 tonne). Having previously sailed as crew of a yacht from Madeira to Gibraltar, he had some experience on the water, but shared with me that this was another level!
There were 6 cabins and he was one of 12 (4 couples and 4 individuals). Most were German, but also a retired Israeli policeman! They had a great laugh with wonderful camaraderie. In fact, that was probably the best part – learning how to get on with the wide range of fellow crew/passengers and enjoying each other’s company.
Pictured are the Watch members from Arizona, Tipperary, Kiel, Munich and Bristol, which John described as a heady mix. John’s watches were Midnight to 4am and Noon to 4pm.
They sailed from Tenerife to the Caribbean (Guadeloupe and Martinique) – 2800 miles. The winds could be up to Force 5 to 6 with the Trade winds. The ship only needed use of the engine for 9 hours in the entire 20-day voyage.
The period of 20 days and nights right in the middle of the Atlantic was particularly magical – with them only seeing 8 boats or ships and 2 planes as any other sign of humankind.
There were no real scary moments, as far as John was concerned. Although there were times of heavy wind and rain when the sails needed to be taken down and if they had fallen in then it would have taken the ship 30 minutes to turn around for them. So, if it had happened you would have to hope a fellow traveller saw you fall in and been able to throw you a life ring!
They saw a few whales, a pod of at least 100 dolphins, as well as flying fish. In total about 26 flying fish managed to ‘fly’ onto the deck of the ship.
All the crew had fishing lines – John didn’t catch a thing, but the skipper managed at least one a day. However, the bulk of the food was obtained from a big freezer that was fully prepped and stocked before they left land.
If you’re thinking you might like a try, John has personally guaranteed you will enjoy the experience immensely!
By Graeme Delf
Financial Adviser at Leabold Financial Management.