At Sea in the Caribbean, en route to Curacao
We left St. John’s, Antigua at sunset last night. Within minutes of leaving the quay, crew set sails and Sea Cloud II headed for the southern Caribbean. We will be under sail for two full days. Before heading to sleep, many of us sat on deck to admire the sight of square sails in moonlight. So begins our 14 day voyage.
This morning, Expedition Leader Tom O’Brien and Captain Henrik Carlsson gave an introduction to the sails of the ship as the deck crew raised yet more sails. We all went forward to watch as the largest sail on the ship, the fore course, was set. What a sight! Our heading was SW, or about 220 degrees, with the wind at our port side. Sea Cloud II moved along at over 7 knots.
Today was a relaxing and gorgeous day under sail. It was punctuated by an abandon ship drill, staff introductions, and a talk by David Barnes on ‘The European Discovery of the Americas.’ Mostly, though, this perfect day was spent reading, relaxing, and getting our sea legs. We had planned to sail through tonight, but the wind has eased a bit. Rather than risk having to turn on the engines during the day tomorrow, sails were taken in at 5:00pm and we will motor tonight to cover ground. This will allow us to sail again all day tomorrow and still reach Curacao by Wednesday morning.
At the Captain’s Welcome Cocktail Party, we had champagne and caviar, and Captain Henrik Carlsson introduced many of the ship’s officers. Then we enjoyed an elegant and delicious Captain’s Welcome Dinner.
We left St. John’s, Antigua at sunset last night. Within minutes of leaving the quay, crew set sails and Sea Cloud II headed for the southern Caribbean. We will be under sail for two full days. Before heading to sleep, many of us sat on deck to admire the sight of square sails in moonlight. So begins our 14 day voyage.
This morning, Expedition Leader Tom O’Brien and Captain Henrik Carlsson gave an introduction to the sails of the ship as the deck crew raised yet more sails. We all went forward to watch as the largest sail on the ship, the fore course, was set. What a sight! Our heading was SW, or about 220 degrees, with the wind at our port side. Sea Cloud II moved along at over 7 knots.
Today was a relaxing and gorgeous day under sail. It was punctuated by an abandon ship drill, staff introductions, and a talk by David Barnes on ‘The European Discovery of the Americas.’ Mostly, though, this perfect day was spent reading, relaxing, and getting our sea legs. We had planned to sail through tonight, but the wind has eased a bit. Rather than risk having to turn on the engines during the day tomorrow, sails were taken in at 5:00pm and we will motor tonight to cover ground. This will allow us to sail again all day tomorrow and still reach Curacao by Wednesday morning.
At the Captain’s Welcome Cocktail Party, we had champagne and caviar, and Captain Henrik Carlsson introduced many of the ship’s officers. Then we enjoyed an elegant and delicious Captain’s Welcome Dinner.
