Wind Surf Day 14 – Wind Surf, Simply the Best

 "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."
Beverly Sills

Wind Surf Transatlantic Sailing Day 14

180 Degrees from Normal

Today is our last full day on board Wind Surf. The goal of more than two weeks of sailing across the Atlantic is near - Europe is on the horizon.

    

Final Day at Sea

This morning dawned completely calm. The ocean in every direction was flat and blue, with not a single whitecap, and only ripples on the surface. After the active seas of yesterday, it was almost an eerie feeling. The clean white lines of the sails stood out against the clear blue sky, which was broken by a series of interesting cloud formations. Today is our last full day at sea on board Wind Surf, and we are trying hard to keep the sadness at bay. The last two weeks seem to have slipped away, and we are far from ready to leave behind the calming expanse of the ocean and the friends we've connected with during the voyage.

We'd had a late night, sitting up in Compass Rose after the Crew Talent Show, and Sean had stayed up throughout the evening, editing the photos he took during the performance. He wants to give a set of photos to the crew as a small token of his gratitude for all their amazing efforts during this sailing, and it is a lot of editing to do very quickly. As a result, he spent much of the morning sitting at the Yacht Club editing and drinking coffee. I kept him company, photographing one of the ship's guidebooks on Andalucía for future use during our pilgrimage en route to Santiago de Compostela.

Morning Trivia with Matt O

At 11:15 AM, we transferred into the lounge for a round of general knowledge trivia. As per usual, we didn’t do too well, ending up with a score of only 13/20. However, as always, it was a fun event, and we learned something - in this case that Japan has two national flowers, which are the cherry blossom and the chrysanthemum. We will really miss the teasing and camaraderie of these daily trivia sessions with Matt O!

After trivia, we headed out on deck to soak up some sunshine and warmth, and were amazed to see a flock of Rock Doves circling the mast. Several passengers said they had seen sparrow-like birds huddling on the deck again, and Rosemarie reported seeing a pair of swallows following the ship. What were all these land birds doing so far from shore? Had they been blown off course by the storm we’ve been navigating around? Beside the ship, a pair of Northern Gannets was keeping pace with us - the first of several pairs we'd spot throughout the day.

Captain’s Noon Update and Marine Life 

At noon, the Captain started to give his daily update, but instead reported that there were whale spouts off the port side of the ship. At the time, Sean was taking a shower in an effort to wake up and (in his words) “had to jump out and run up on deck.” 

We saw several impressive spouts, the hint of a long, grey back, as well as a pod of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins.

Flying above them were pairs of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and more Northern Gannets! What an exciting wildlife day!

With the excitement of whales seemingly passed, the Captain's noon announcement informed us that the Wind Surf had travelled 260 miles since yesterday, and with the sails up, we were travelling at a speed of around 11 knots. The nearest point of land was Casablanca in Morocco, which was around 75 miles east of us, and we still had 193 miles to cover to reach Cadiz. It was a balmy 20°C, with gentle winds and calm seas, and we were still expecting to reach Cadiz around 6:30 AM tomorrow morning.

Lunch and Final Preparations 

I don't think anyone was anxious to reach Cadiz and disembark. The two weeks we spent at sea have been a relaxing, rejuvenating, and truly wonderful experience, and it feels like we've become part of a large family. When we headed out to Veranda for lunch on the deck, people were talking about their plans for tomorrow, exchanging contact information, and preparing to say goodbye. It felt like we had to make every moment last as long as possible.

After lunch, we made our way back to Compass Rose to complete repairs on our backpacks and hiking gear. The final touch to our gear was added when I tied our shells from innumerable Camino Pilgrimages onto the tops of our packs. Now we just needed our health and good blessings to get to Santiago de Compostela.

As I patched and sewed, Sean was editing his photos of the Crew Talent Show, and two of the bartenders from Compass Rose asked if they could see their photos. They quickly called over other staff who were also performers, amid a lot of laughing and teasing.

Several of them asked for copies to send to their families, so we hope this is one way we can give something back to a truly exceptional crew that has gone way above and beyond to make this an amazing crossing for all the passengers.

   

Interestingly, as we sat there, we began to see flies, then butterflies fluttering up onto the back awning, and then bees on deck! All these small sightings again made me wonder what these tiny, delicate creatures were doing so far from shore?

However they do it, the fact that we are now being joined is a reflection that we were approaching land!

Trivia and Dedication

The afternoon seemed to dissolve quickly, as the sun sank towards the horizon and the back deck heated up. At 4:00 PM, we went inside for one last round of trivia with Matt O. Today's theme was 'Who Sang It? Rock and Roll Trivia, which required the teams to name the singers of songs from the 1950s and 1960s. Once again, it was surprisingly difficult, and even the best teams did less well than usual, but everyone knew the songs, and there was much singing along and kidding around.

 

One of the aspects of this sailing that I think makes it truly unique is that the entertainment is interactive, with Matt O and the musicians tailoring their programs to the audience. The onboard musicians, who are very talented, took requests, and when they didn't know the songs, they would learn them and come back to perform them a day or two later.

 

Over the course of two weeks, Matt O has designed and led 23 sessions of trivia that he thought the group would enjoy (and they did), and he also took requests for certain themes. This amount of responsiveness takes an incredible amount of dedication and work, and it really made a huge difference to the enjoyment of the passengers.

Today, he concluded his final trivia session by joyously announcing:

“Tomorrow you reach land! We may not be docking in the city or even the country originally intended, but you will reach land! Thank you to everyone for a wonderful voyage!” Matt O

Captain’s Farewell and Crew Appreciation

Unfortunately, the afternoon and evening continued to fly by. Having refreshed ourselves with a quick shower and changed into evening clothes, and came back to the lounge just in time for the Captain's Farewell.

The event began with Danyi playing violin. He is an extremely talented musician, and it felt like tonight he was let off the leash. He played classical music with skill and passion, clearly demonstrating his skill and love of music.

After this excellent performance, the winners of the silent auction for a signed 40th anniversary Windstar flag were announced, and the Captain gave a recap of the voyage and brought all the crew up on stage to thank them.

He also awarded Matt O the 'Queen's Award' in lieu of an employee of the month award for the excellent job he did during the voyage, and ended by thanking the passengers.

Right until the end, there was a sense that we had made the voyage together, and everyone was appreciated.

The rumour is that when the ship reaches Gibraltar, the Captain will retire to take a role working in the shipyards, so it must have been a difficult farewell for him as well as the passengers. Captain Trevor has made this journey extraordinary, incomparable, and memorable.

Dinner at Candles 

There was only one perfect way to have dinner on our final night on Wind Surf – at Candles out on the deck! We were fortunate to be able to get another set of reservations at Candles, as it turned out, so did many others. 

It was a gorgeous evening sitting outside and watching the sky turn pink as the sun began to set.

We had mostly the same meal as during our first visit - watermelon and tomato salad and shitake mushroom coquette to begin, and the black pepper tofu for the main course, but this time we asked to split the main course.

This turned out to be a good decision, and to celebrate the end of the voyage, I had a chocolate mousse cake for dessert.

 

Evening at Compass Rose

Not wanting the night or our sailing voyage to end, we went back to Compass Rose. It was one of the most beautiful evenings of the entire voyage. The huge red disc of the sun sank to the horizon, turning the sea to liquid gold, pink, and orange.

       

Once again, around us, the skies lit up with the impossible beauty of liquid sunsets.

Sailing into a sunset is like chasing the light.

On the far side of the ship, the moon rose, having swelled from a mere sliver when we boarded to now being almost completely full. Ahead of the ship, we could see a solid-looking wall of fog. This only made the sunset more romantic-looking, but it also felt very appropriate. The sun was setting on a beautiful voyage, and ahead lay only the unknown.

Still reluctant to bring the day to a close, we stayed up talking to friends. At some point, the winds began to pick up, and the ship began to rock in the waves. The Captain came back to chat to the guests and to sit with some of them.

Escort of Birds and the Approach of Land

He has been letting Sean and me know of all his bird sightings from the bridge, and he took Sean to the front of the boat to show him a group of miserable-looking Rock Doves or Feral Pigeons huddled out of the wind on one of the life rafts. He says this is an indication of foul weather coming our way in the next few days. Ah well.

We all enjoyed one last night of excellent music from the musicians, and although it will be an early start tomorrow for many, no one wanted the night to end.

By the time we went to bed, the wind was howling, and the ship was being escorted by a flock of gulls who were wheeling and playing alongside. The beds on Wind Surf are extremely comfortable, and it felt so cozy to be inside, listening to the wind and feeling the waves gently rock us to sleep. We are going to miss this so very much! The thought of albergues on the Via Augusta, the Via de la Plata and the Camino Sanabrés over the next 40-45 days is not very appealing right now.

Tomorrow, land would no longer be just an idea but a reality, and the crossing that had defined us for two weeks would give way to something new.

Read about the last day of our Atlantic Crossing on Wind Surf →