Wind Surf Day 10 – Surprise Sea Day on Transatlantic Voyage

 "In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect."
Alice Walker

Wind Surf Transatlantic Sailing Day 10

While, theoretically, every day on a transatlantic voyage is a sea day, the fact was that today’s was unexpected. Indeed, according to our Daily Schedule, today has been defined as “a surprise sea day”. So how does a “surprise sea day” happen on an ocean crossing voyage?

Well, the fact is that according to our original itinerary, today we were due in Ponta Delgada, on São Miguel Island, which is the capital of the Azores archipelago of Portugal. However, after altering our course to navigate around a large Atlantic storm for the past week, Wind Surf is no longer resupplying there. Hence, a “surprise sea day”.

None of which is a problem for us – instead of riding out a storm inside while dealing with sea sickness, we have instead enjoyed glorious weather and a beautiful voyage!

A fair trade in my opinion.

Morning on Wind Surf 

As usual, the day began with Sean going up on deck to photograph the sunrise, and it was another gorgeous one. I stayed below for a bit, finally managing to cancel our hostel reservations in northern Spain, booking accommodations in Cadiz, where we will start the Via Augusta and begin our trek northward onto the Via de la Plata and Camino Sanabrés, crossing 1200 km en route to Santiago de Compostela. 

I have also been figuring out how to transport and store our onboard suitcase for 40-50 days while we are hiking. All of these logistics needed to be resolved before our 24 hours of free Internet came to an end. When I finally joined him on deck, it was to find a beautiful, if slightly cooler than usual morning.

 

Yacht Club and Enrichment Talk

Together, we grabbed a coffee at the Yacht Club and went to the lounge for Pat and Rosemarie Keough's talk on photographing Cityscapes and Architecture. I think Sean already employs many of the techniques they mentioned, but as always, they have a very good way of explaining and distilling down complex subjects and principles into easy-to-understand concepts. 

We also enjoyed seeing the stunning photos they used to illustrate the points they were making about perspective, geometry, light, and composition.

Wandering the Decks

As usual, after the talk, we headed back up on deck to watch the waves and look for birds. We are hoping that as we get closer to land, we might begin to see some wildlife, but this morning we had little luck. 

We enjoyed watching the sea change colours, and we noticed that the seaweed floating past had taken on a slightly thicker and denser look, and had a bit of a different colour than the lighter yellow star-shaped bunches we've been seeing in the past few days. We also noticed that we weren't seeing any flying fish anymore.

     

As we wandered the deck outside the bridge, the Captain came out to chat. We complimented him on navigating a course that gave us the gift of another calm day at sea, and he shared a quote from Joseph Conrad “I have known the sea too long to believe in its respect for decency.” He also added that had we gone to Ponta Delgada today, where there were currently 7 m (21 ft) swells, it is likely we would not have been able to dock or go to shore anyway. 

Simply put, he and the crew had made a good call to divert us around the storm. I think it is hard to fully appreciate how lucky we are not to be getting tossed about like a cork when we are experiencing such lovely weather instead, but I am certainly glad to have another gorgeous day out on the sea instead of 7 m swells that would likely lead to sea sickness.

 

Lunch in Veranda

For lunch, we sat in Veranda, but instead of the usual selections of salads from the buffet, I ordered a poke bowl from the menu. It had a quinoa base, lots of different kinds of fresh and pickled veggies, tofu, and ginger sauce, and it was delicious. 

Sean had salad, but it was so windy on deck at this point that much of his lettuce was blown overboard. I guess this is a hazard of eating outdoors, but it was well worth the view regardless. Sean consoled himself with a piece of cake and ice cream. Another fair trade, at least in my opinion.

Especially exciting (at least for us) was spotting a cargo ship on the horizon as well as several birds while we ate outside – we must be getting closer to land!

Captain’s Noon Update  

Captain Trevor’s regular announcement rang out over the public system at precisely noon. As usual, people in their rooms, the hallways, and decks fell silent to listen. Accordingly, we were travelling at a speedy 23.3 knots at the moment. We had travelled 281 miles since yesterday and were presently 523 miles from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. 

The closest land to us was the island of El Hierro, which was 395 miles away and on the western end of the chain of islands that made up the Canaries. It is estimated that we will dock in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, at 9 AM tomorrow morning; however, passengers are not permitted to disembark unless they make this island their final destination.

 

Ship Shape on the Cruise Industry and Fire Prevention 

After spending a couple of hours after lunch strolling the deck to stretch our legs and keeping a lookout for birds, we headed into the lounge to get out of the sun. Indoors, we watched the early afternoon talk from Wind Surf’s Hotel General Manager, James, on ‘Shipshape Tales from the Cruise Industry”. While the topic is not something that I would have normally gravitated to, I have to be honest, James was hilarious telling his “behind the scenes” tales for a lifetime spent working in the cruise industry. 

Overall, it was an unexpectedly very good talk that ended with him answering questions from passengers. After this, Fourth Officer Kevin also gave a talk on how fires are prevented and dealt with on board ships, which was also an interesting talk.

 

Afternoon Trivia with Matt O

By late afternoon and snug in the plush lounge, we stayed to participate in Random Trivia with Matt O.

Once again proving to ourselves that we know very little by scoring a dismal 8 out of 20.

Hot Tubs and Backpacks

With the afternoon and day having passed by quickly, Sean decided to go for a soak in the hot tub at the aft of the ship. Not being one for these, I instead became a spectacle on board by taking our backpacks up to one of the loungers on deck to make repairs.

It seems that after completing the Trans Canada Trail, several pilgrimage routes, and then crossing England and Scotland on trails like Wainwright’s Coast to Coast, the Pennine Way, the West Highland Way, the Great Glen Way, and Hadrian’s Wall over the past 6 years, our hiking gear is getting worn out, and it needs patching.

As we packed to head out for Wind Surf this year and hike in Spain, the seams of Sean’s backpack began to pull and rather than looking for a new pack, he opted to volunteer me to attempt to repair it.

Looking at how threadbare so much of our gear now is, I am sure it is soon time for both of us to replace our backpacks, sleeping bags and other trail necessities – but it is hard to give up these companions of our adventures after such a long time.

Sunset at Compass Rose

With the logistics of our world sorted and backpacks temporarily patched, we enjoyed a couple of canapés at Compass Rose while enjoying a stunning sunset and a glass of rosé wine.

Once again, vibrant colours lit up both the sea and sky in ways that I have never seen on land!

    

 

More than this, it seemed as though it was a private show, as we were two of the only people on deck enjoying the display

Dinner in Amphora

Grateful for the opportunity to see so many glorious moments at sea, we headed indoors to have dinner in Amphora.

We began our evening meal with a crisp Market Salad and the dill lemon dressing that I have come to unreasonably crave.

For our main course, we both requested the Cashew and Vegetable Stroganoff with parsley, green peas and millet, which was both wonderful and filling. So much so that we opted to skip dessert and instead go for a walk to burn off some of the calories.

The meals on board Wind Surf have all been incredible – and I for one know that I will miss the daily vegetarian options as we trek across Spain.

Evening Trivia with Matt O

With our dinner and quick walk completed, we returned to the lounge to participate in the next round of trivia with Matt O. Tonight’s variation was not focused on a new topic but instead was more of a Game show format called the ‘Liars Club.’

Tonight, passengers were to listen to Matt O, along with three other crew members, as they told stories about various topics or definitions of words and judge who was telling the truth and who was lying.

The catch being that these were not words or phrases that any of us were familiar with, and included terms such as ‘Tittup’ and ‘Doodle-Sack’. A unique experience, it was ultimately a hilarious evening.

 

Music at Compass Rose

Now more knowledgeable of unique phrases, we returned outside for fresh air and a nightcap at the aft of the ship in Compass Rose. Here, as the cool breeze of the Atlantic washed over us, and the skies above filled with stars, we listened to the talented onboard musicians who tonight were playing as a group listed as the Top Deck Trio.

     

 

As our day came to an end, we took one last stroll around the deck before retiring to our room, where we found our stuffed companion sitting on our bed with a notice for yet another time change. Sigh....

This was not all that we found in our room, however. In addition to being refreshed, we had been given a plate of amazing chocolate cookies! I suppose a time change can be endured if it comes with a plate of warm and delicious cookies!

The ocean’s constancy reassured us, even as it hinted at changes ahead. Tomorrow we would wake to another dawn at sea, but soon the first signs of land would not be far away.

 
Read about Day 11 at Sea on Wind Surf →