Easing into the journey

6 January 2025

Easing into the journey

At the start of a voyage—especially longer ones—it’s always nice to ease into things. It gives everyone time to adjust to the ship’s movements. But this journey started off a little less relaxed… Right from departure, we faced strong winds of force 6-7, relentless rain, and waves that made their presence known. After 24 hours of pouring rain, with minimal sail and wave after wave crashing over the deck, the constant drizzle turned into heavy showers. However, the wind and waves remained as strong as ever. As Matu aptly put it: “It is dry, when it is not raining.”

Thankfully, the wind has now eased significantly, and today the sun is even shining, making everything much more pleasant. The sea is gradually calming down as well. The sails are just staying full without flapping, and we’re able to add a bit more sail every few hours. For now, we’re still heading east. The good news is that everyone seems to have found their sea legs. Breakfast this morning was well-attended, and it was noticeably quieter near the railing on the ship’s leeward side. The forecast shows that we’ll likely pass through the core of a low-pressure system—hopefully just along its northern edge so we can keep the wind at our backs. On the eastern side of this system, we’re expecting northerly winds, which will allow us to turn southward. To the east lies a massive high-pressure area, and if we can pass along its southern edge, we should encounter westerly winds. Fingers crossed we can ride those for a while. We’ll see.

By now, almost everyone has found their rhythm aboard the ship. And this afternoon, we’ll cross the International Date Line! That means we get to live this beautiful day all over again. It’s a strange thought that this afternoon will suddenly become yesterday afternoon.