Ahead just a clean liquid sheet. The route is set but fluid, no tracks in front of us, and none will be left behind.
'Well it might be a long time till we raise another glass
You can rest assured that next time we'll have ourselves a laugh'
giovedì 21 dicembre 2017
On y va! - Atlantic crossing 17.10
21/12/17 - Islas Canarias
Winter solstice. The sun starts going north again, and finally we go west. Since many people like symbology, this is the best day for departure.
Ahead just a clean liquid sheet. The route is set but fluid, no tracks in front of us, and none will be left behind.
'Well it might be a long time till we raise another glass
You can rest assured that next time we'll have ourselves a laugh'
Ahead just a clean liquid sheet. The route is set but fluid, no tracks in front of us, and none will be left behind.
'Well it might be a long time till we raise another glass
You can rest assured that next time we'll have ourselves a laugh'
Che senso ha vivere senza un amico pazzo? - Atlantic crossing 17.9
martedì 19 dicembre 2017
Cirrus - Atlantic crossing 17.8
Cirrus is Rocio's and Gaspar's home, and he will bring them across two oceans, all the way to New Zealand.
He is small, only 9.5 meters, and his hull is made in aluminum. As far as I know he has crossed this ocean already twice, so if we treat him well he will safely bring us to the Caribbean. For now we have only managed to load every little space of it's body with food and gear...but even with this additional weight, he feels very nimble. He is ready to go!
'La nave è fulmine, torpedine, miccia, scintillante bellezza, fosforo e fantasia,
molecole d'acciaio, pistone, rabbia, guerra lampo e poesia.'
Clandestino - Atlantic crossing 17.7
We are cruisers, we enjoy the sea, we are spoiled. You can track us, talk to us. We know where we are going, even if often we don't know why. We have fancy gear, plenty of water and food...
Today, instead, while we were swiftly covering the 65 miles from La Palma to El Hierro with 25-30 knots of wind from the NE and 2.5 meters of wave, the spanish Coast Guard was looking for a wooden boat without engine and with 70 people on board, adrift between Africa and the Canaries.
We want a globalized world? Then we should accept that we are all part of it, and we are all responsible if lives are lost at sea in the attempt for achieving a better job, or medical care, or safety from wars.
Looking in awe at those steep waves, today, I knew that someone was looking at them with terror. I am part of the problem, I want to be a seed in the solution.
"Soy una raya en el mar
Fantasma en la ciudad"
domenica 17 dicembre 2017
E vado vía, vado vía - Atlantic crossing 17.6
As you can see from the picture, La Palma has become too cold for us. Even car tires are frozen and are wearing scarves. So tomorrow before sunrise we will start heading south, bound to El Hierro.
For this short trip (65 miles) and for the whole Atlantic crossing you will be able to follow us here. Keep one eye on us, and say hi once in a while!
Someone to lava - Atlantic crossing 17.5
Waking up early to catch the first bus towards El Paso, we hiked 'la ruta de los volcanes', a 24 km long route over the southern ridge of the island (La Palma).
Main themes of the day where: shrooms gathering (Gaspar), pictures (Matteo), withRocio keeping a caring eye on us.
Apart from bring immersed in the clouds for most of the day (with even some rain towards the end), we enjoyed the trek over the lava, around old craters and through silent forests.
Our shoes are now in a bucket full of soapy water, to clean up the dust ( and the smell) and we are all in our bunks.
I have a dream I hope will come true
That you're here with me and I'm here with you
I wish that the earth, sea, the sky up above-a
Will send me someone to lava
sabato 16 dicembre 2017
venerdì 15 dicembre 2017
giovedì 14 dicembre 2017
The suitcase game - Atlantic crossing 17.2
I do this game with my family, generally when we are on long car trips, or during night shifts while sailing, which is called the suitcase game. Taking turns everyone states what he or she would put in a suitcase to go at a predefined place. The following player repeats what has just bin put in the suitcase, and adds something...this goes on with every player, remembering each time all the items that have been already mentioned, all in the right order. The game ends when someone does not remember the items anymore (and trust me, it could go on forever).
Today I played alone, trying to remember everything that I am bringing on this Atlantic crossing.
I am bringing two backpacks in my trip across the Atlantic. In them I have:
my foul weather clothes, trekking shoes, sailing shoes, sailing boots, a pair of woolly socks, a pair of trekking socks, a pair of long pants, 3 pairs of shorts pants, 2 bermudas, 2 speedos, 6 pairs of undies (plus 1 for New year's), 3 t-shirts, a polo shirt, 2 shirts, a tie for Christmas, a green jumper, a blue fleece, a baselayer, a fleece neck cover, a woolly hat, a pair of thin woolly gloves, a pair of sailing gloves, a hat for the sun, a light towel, a robe, and a small towel, 3 headlamps, of which two with their chargers, a sewing kit that my mum made for me, 2 handkerchiefs, 5 chocolate bars, some chewing gum and candies from my friend Jack, 2 liters of freshly pressed olive oil, 2 salamis, 3 pieces of rope of different length and thickness, 1 duck tape, 4 electrical tapes, 1 screwdriver with 20 long screwbits and 5 short ones, my Leatherman with some spare bits, a piece of rope and a whistle to tie it down, first aid kit with scissors, tweezers, wound cloth, bandages, plasters, tape, thermal cover, ibuprofen, antiseptic cream, betadine, paracetamol, antibiotic cream and pills, cortisone cream and pills, anti-nausea, Imodium, plasil, vitamins, sunblock, arnica cream, condoms, cellphone with charger and 2. Pairs of headphones, watch with charger, laptop with charger and plug converter, 4 USB sticks, 1 with documents and 3 with music and movies, a wallet with driver's license, bank card, health insurance card, some cash, a folder with 2 passports, SSN, a medical certificate, STCW certificates, a letter from Santa Claus to be opened only on Christmas day at local noon, a sextant with nautical almanacs, a book on celestial navigation, a book for stars' ID, a compass, sunglasses with their cover and cloth, snorkel, goggles and antifogging liquid, ukulele with a book about blues theory and excerxises, new strings, 2 pens, 2 pencils, an eraser, 3 notebooks, inflatable lifejacket with spare activation and CO2 canister, climbing harness, a wind jacket, sleeping bag and sheet, toothbrush and a couple of good reasons to come back.
