We have now left the Caribbean behind and have begun a new chapter of our cruising life! As I write this we are 700 nm from Bermuda out of 850 nm in total. It will be our longest sail besides crossing the Atlantic, but surprisingly enough we have been very calm about the trip, and I have even thought it would be nice with a couple of days at sea.

I have however changed my mind about that already, since we've been sailing 50 degrees to the wind in 20 knots of wind for the last 24 hours. The boat is banging against the waves, and we are being pushed around.

The weather reports for the next couple of days suggest only a little wind, so it might become a bit nicer to be on the boat, though it isn't so good for getting to Bermuda of course. We only have enough fuel to sail under engine for 48 hours, so hopefully there'll be wind enough to push us forward under sail. Otherwise it will be a very long trip.

The Salty Dawg Rally
A lot of the participants in the Salty Dawg Rally have set their course directly to the Chesapeake Bay, but some of the boats are also sailing towards Bermuda like we are. The days up to the departure, we spent on social gatherings with the other Salty Dawgs and getting the boat ready. We are the only non-American boat participating in the Salty Dawg Rally this spring, and we are of course also the smallest boat by far. However, that hasn't kept us from challenging the other participants, who are also going to Bermuda, to race them there. They have just looked at us, though, like a German Sheppard would look at a barking poodle, and after just a day’s sail, we’re already fallen behind.

Sugar free diet
A lot people say that cruisers automatically loose weight, but unfortunately, that hasn't happened to us. We have therefore decided to go on a sugar detox diet while we’re off shore. The other Salty Dawgs think we’re raving mad, but we thought it was easier not to fall into temptations while at sea (with nothing tempting on board), than when we get to the States. However, we have already had some doubts about the reasonable in doing a detox diet at sea, because we’re both extremely tired all the time. But since we take turns sleeping all the time, we at least don’t have any problems with each other!

Salty Dawg Rally Spring 2014
Follow our position and the other Salty Dawgs in the Salty Dawg Rally Spring 2014

Every day we listen in on two different radio nets: A local net for the Salty Dawg round call and the Doo-Dah Net, who also keeps track with the Salty Dawg Fleet. At the Doo-Dah Net Chris Parker, the weather guru in the Caribbean gives weather reports according to our position and float plan. The Doo-Dah Net is daily recorded and posted on the Internet.

Signe Storr - Freelance Journalist & friend of Boatshed