When the North Atlantic starts acting up! - Chapter 11

We are finally back in the windy parts of the North Atlantic, and it did not dissapoint! We set off from Torshavn, Faroe Islands, and adjust the course to Cullivoe on Shetland. 187 NM of pretty brutal conditions. But oh, what fun it is!

Its just to hang on!

[hobiel]

Erik, I'm glad you addressed not wearing a harness. I know it's a personal choice, but you currently are dealing with both of your ankles sprained and don't have the stability you'd normally have. It takes one good wave surprising you and you'd be flung off your boat. It's clear you love the adventure and challenge of sailing in rough conditions, but you probably won't love it if you're in the ocean watching your boat rapidly sail away without you. I love your videos though! Thank you for sharing your adventures.

[jeffreyhutchinsdo]

You’re one hell of a sailor Erik! I could watch one of these videos every day and not get tired of it.

[davidnichols]

Erick, I delivered a Hinkley Competition 41 from Southwest Harbor, Maine to Bermuda in October 1974. The owner had 3 friends aboard, beautiful conditions from Maine thru the Cape Cod Canal, Long Island Sound thru Hells Gate and departed offshore from Ambrose Lt Ship for Hamilton, Bermuda. 18 hrs from New Jersey the wind came up, I reefed to the numbers on the main alone. The dodger blew off and one crew member cut his jugular on the aluminum frame. 24hrs into passage from New Jersey I was alone on deck, rigged a sea drone from the starboard quarter, nailed the hatch as the companionway hatch blew off its bronze slider. I sounded May Day on the VHF and tethered myself to the wheel as the autopilot had not responded. Around 3 A.M in the morning, with seas approximately 4-5 meters and a 10 meter swell from the Gulf Stream, running off the swell a monster broached Suedeed and threw me off the wheel ending up overboard but tethered. The next swell threw me back aboard at the helm station. I was glad I was tethered and from that point on always took precautions.

[kurtism]

Erik; I've been sailing since I was 9, and I'm now 66. I never had nor thought to want a harness and tether. But these last two years, I now wear my PFD, and it has a built-in harness. I tether when in conditions like you just had. I feel it's a function of age. You'll know what's right for you, but safer is better, and the tangling is manageable. You have sold me on getting roller slides for the main and a stack-pack, too. I think I'm ready for the easy life. Ha, ha! For some reason, in this video, if it was lighting or angles... you captured the sea state very well. That's hard to capture in pictures, eh? But you and Tess weathered it well. Thank you again for taking us along. Be well! -Mark

[sanchezzmuchacho]

Best answer why you love your Tessie. "Because you must fight every mile with a little boat."
Thank you for your Inspiration Erik

[sergiomanzetti]

The great thing about your videos is that you dont have youtube commercials. Thanks!

[imcez]

I grew up sailing catamarans in summer in France at age 5 until I was 21.
Sailing is one of the best things in life!
I've been watching your videos for quite a while now, I moved to the US at 24 and sailing has been a big missing part of my new life, so I just started taking sailing classes after about 14 years without sailing, just to get me back on tracks and before getting back on the water on my own, I truly love your videos, I can't wait to be back at it, thank you for sharing them Erik !

[PaulRachey]

Ex Bering Sea crabber. Now 72 years old. Haven't crabbed up there commercially for many years now. I still get a yearning for some of the tough weather and challenges that go with in when I watch your videos. Keep up the good work and stay safe.

[jimpitts]

It's just your way of doing it Erik, with no safety, no excuse, BUT we all need to recognize that Erik is literally in a league above most of us. I don't agree with it, I wouldn't do it, but no shade, Erik IS operating on a very different level than most. Best to recognize that. Erik is humble about it, but I'll say it as it is.

We may be athletes, but we are watching an Olympian here. A Sunday jogger VS a marathon runner. There's a massive difference in capabilities.

[alistairmccausland]

Just brilliant to watch you handle everything aboard Erik. You must be so attached in some way to your boat; she is a real beauty. I used to fish with the Hull fish trawlers off South East Iceland, so I know how cruel the seas up there can be. In the winter of 1968, three Hull trawlers, the St. Romanus, Kingston Peridot, and Ross Cleveland, sank off Iceland, resulting in the loss of 58 lives, a tragedy that became known as the "Triple Trawler Disaster." One problem was due to instability in the extreme weather conditions and that Ross Cleveland had been insufficiently stable to cope with the weather and the buildup of ice at the time. I always respect the sea because conditions can change so suddenly.

[wvdBoor]

Erik, Consider to change that reef winch for a self-tailing one, it will make life so much easier. Oh in English it stretches the "foot" (bottom) of the sail out and tensions the "leech". (wind leaves there) the part on the mast is "luff". Stay safe sailor.

[ibana]

In 1928 my Grandad was an 18 year old deckhand on the North Shields Trawler "Onyx 2". He was part of the crew, the first North Shields boat to make it to the Faroes rich fishing grounds. Always enjoyr your videeos, Stay safe ! Ivan

[Whiteshark]

Brother, please wear that line we don't want to lose you I love your channel

[delzworld]

A wild crossing. Your ankles were giving you a lot of grief, I think, while you dealt with the sails, but what else could you do being the only person on board. Well done Erik.

[robertoboldini]

Thank you, Erik! Great passage and video, I loved it. You make all of us dream of such adventures!! I’m about to obtain my Schweizerischen Hochseeausweis (Swiss Certificate for Maritime Navigation) and hope that one day I’ll be able to sail as you do… Greetings from Switzerland. Roby

[tonyhalsall]

Very good Eric, but in the conditions that you sail in, you really need to get some kind of safer reefing system installed. Going forward solo is inherently dangerous and it isn’t a matter of if something might go wrong… but when. Stay safe - you are by far the most genuine sailing channel on YT.

[wills]

15:50 Nice one Erik. The risks associated with sailing solo offshore are diverse. I guess that wearing a tether on deck (in those specific solo circumstances) increases the opportunity for rescue services to eventually recover overboard human remains which have been towed for many, many nautical miles.

[Jim-rosl]

I'm currently on the oregon coast in my sailboat. Blowing about fifty knots right now. Glad to be tied to the dock watching your videos. 😊

[migueldoliveiracomposer]

Your videos are an inspiration, skipper.

[rudo]

Ahh thanks for showing the reefing Eric!