Wind Surf Day 5 – Sunshine, Trivia and Music

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
Jacques Cousteau

Wind Surf Transatlantic Sailing Day 5


Yesterday had tested both ship and passengers with the Atlantic’s shifting moods. By dawn, the Wind Surf felt steadier, and so did we. It was as though the sea had accepted us into its rhythm, allowing us to journey its sea lanes more easily.


Breakfast on Board Wind Surf


We did not have a time change last night, but it again felt like dawn arrived early. Sean was up very early on deck to photograph it, and he reports that it was a dramatic one, as the sun rose amid a rain shower. 


I joined him somewhat later and we went up to Verandah for our favourite breakfast of muesli, fresh fruit, fruit smoothie and coffee. As we sat enjoying it, we noticed that when looking down the length of the ship, the horizon appeared to be rising and falling more than when we boarded the ship, but by this point, we didn't even feel the movement anymore. At some point between days 3 and 4, we must have found our sea legs. The motion of the ship no longer seems so noticeable to us.


After breakfast, we walked the deck in the bright sunshine, scanning the glowing cerulean blue seas for signs of birds or sea turtles. The white caps were huge, which made it difficult to spot anything among all the turbulent swells and waves. We saw many phantom whale spouts among the highly active seas, but flying fish seemed to be our only visible companions. 


However, we did stop to watch the Captain at the front of the ship demonstrating to two younger bridge officers how to use an astrolabe. It is comforting to know that knowledge of a technology that has served us well for centuries is still alive and available if needed, even in this highly digital time. Though I’m not sure the young bridge officers agreed that an astrolabe was better than Google Earth or GPS satellites.

Enrichment Talk


At 9:30 AM, we headed inside to the lounge to listen to Pat and Rosemarie Keough's lecture on Greenland. Today they spoke about the geography, history, and culture of the island, as well as the effects of climate change. As always, the photos and videos that accompanied the presentation were phenomenal. It tickled us to hear some of the same information we included in the StoryMap we just created for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society about our hike across Canada being presented, such as the various definitions of 'the Arctic' and the relationship between the Thule and Inuit peoples.

Camino Plans Change...Again


With our change of course, the Camino Norte seems to be slipping away as a possibility to trek along. After the lecture, one of the birders we met in St. Maarten came over, suggested another route and shared a fantastic resource for the Via de la Plata that he had looked up for us. It was a website created by Girard Kelly, which looked like it had a lot of extremely useful information. He also stopped to chat for a bit, telling us about his pilgrimage along the Camino Frances with his daughter. It was very kind of him, and always a pleasure to talk about the Camino with a fellow pilgrim.


Soon afterward, we headed back outside to warm up in the sunshine, since the air-conditioned room always leaves us feeling a little chilly. We were surprised to see a cargo ship passing behind us, heading northwest. It was the second vessel we've seen since leaving St. Maarten five days ago, and it was a lot closer than the first cargo ship we'd spotted. 


To our even greater surprise, the waves were hitting it broadside, creating huge plumes that were whipped over the top by the wind. Huge volumes of water were dropped on top of the containers and then came pouring down over the sides in waterfalls. It made us extremely grateful that we were heading into the wind, skirting around the storm, and not getting pummeled in a similar fashion.

Captain’s Noon Update

We relaxed in the sunshine on the deck, keeping a lookout for whales and birds with no luck until around noon. The Captain's announcement informed us that we had travelled 253 miles since noon yesterday, maintaining an average speed of 12 knots. We are still sailing into a strong headwind of 15 - 25 knots, with 3 - 3.5 m seas, and the current temperature is 25°C. The nearest land is Guadeloupe, which is 740 miles away. After looking it up, we discovered that Guadeloupe is an island in the Caribbean chain, located a little bit southwest of St. Maarten.


When we went up to lunch, again choosing a selection of different salads from the buffet, the server commented that it felt as if the winds had shifted, and you could feel the cold coming from Europe. He was right in that it definitely did feel as if something had shifted. The breeze wasn't cold, but there was an undercurrent that no longer belonged to the soft, warm breeze of the Caribbean.

180 Degrees from Normal

As usual, we spent a lazy afternoon in the sunshine, being gently rocked by the waves, hanging out on deck, and talking to our fellow passengers. We stopped in to check out the shop, which offers a variety of clothing, artwork, and practical items. 


We purchased a painted card and a t-shirt with the Windstar motto on the back '180 degrees from normal.' We are not usually ones for buying t-shirts, but this motto strikes us as something to strive for, or at the very least, is an apt description of a Waldorf-educated student who has now hiked more than 25000 km around the world.
 

Trivia with Matt O


After checking out the store, we stopped by the lounge where Matt O was doing trivia. This afternoon's session involved visual trivia, requiring participants to identify the title of movies based on their posters, only the names of the films had been removed or hidden. Sean guessed 32 of the 38 posters correctly, and I recognized about 4 of them :( As with all of Matt's events, it was very well thought out and presented with such flair and good humour that it was a lot of fun.

Evening at Compass Rose

Still feeling rather full from yesterday, we changed for dinner, but then ended up sitting on the back deck under the stars, not really feeling like heading inside to a warm dining room for a three-course meal. 


A group of other passengers had the bright idea to order room service and have it delivered to Compass Rose, but we didn't have much luck with this. Instead, we had a bowl of popcorn and listened to the female singer, who has an amazing voice. She was taking requests, and it turned out to be a fun evening, featuring songs by Billy Joel, the Beatles, Adele, Rod Stewart and others.

Lounge Entertainment

Around 9:30 PM, we headed back down to the lounge where four of the ship's musicians were playing together. Together they played piano, guitar, and sang. They were all very talented, the music was lively, and quite a few people were dancing. Even though the average age on the ship is well over 70, Matt and the musicians managed to keep the party going until 10:30 PM. 


It was another fun night on board. Sadly, when we turned in for the night, we were met with our roommate and companion, Windsor the stuffed bear, who nightly appears with treats but also often with his message of despair – Time Change Tonight.


Evening brought the reminder and reassurance that every storm brings with it new possibilities as well as new challenges. While we may yet have rough weather ahead of us, the fact that we are sailing under clear skies is a reminder that life at sea unfolds one wave at a time.

Read about Day 6 of our Atlantic Crossing on Wind Surf →
Location: Guadeloupe

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