Our time in the Caribbean is over now that we’ve pointed the bow to the northeast (as far as the weathergods allow) and our spirits are soaring high! Everyone is excited to be crossing the big pond again, some for the first time, while some of us have been here before.

During our time in the West Indies, which started in Guadeloupe on the 29th of January, we loaded all the cargo: rum from Guadeloupe, Barbados and the Dominican Republic, plenty of hot sauces and local products, as well as cocoa and coffee beans. 

Besides cargo loading, we enjoyed our time in the sun, anchored in Marie Galante for maintenance and swimming, explored the various harbour towns, ate local street food and went for cocktails on the beach.

In Boca Chica we sadly had to say goodbye to some loyal crew, including our Captain Quinten who was with us as Captain for the first time on Tres Hombres. Now Anne-Flore has taken over and she will bring us safely and swiftly home. And earlier in Guadeloupe, the new second mate Jeremy took over from Renée.

We also welcomed five new trainees on board for this last leg of the trip, who were very eager to join the ship, cross the ocean with us and learn about sailing.

On Saturday the 7th of March our departure day arrived. We planned to leave early in the morning, but the paperwork and the armada delayed our departing time to around 9 in the morning, just in time before the wind turned against us. After manoeuvring out and away from land, we split into watches, with a light swell pitching the ship up and down.

That afternoon, the Caribbean Sea presented us with a nice head-on swell and strong easterlies, almost making it feel like a strong storm. The night and next day were equally rough as we tacked upwind, testing our raingear in the meantime. By Monday afternoon, we finally made it to the southside of the Mona Passage, and staying on a constant SB tack, we made it to the open Atlantic Ocean by late evening. She welcomed us with open arms and calmed down a little bit, so we could regain our wits after the rough start. Over the next few days, we got the opportunity to do various maintenance jobs on board, like sanding and oiling the mooring cleats and blocks, patch sails, fix broken lines and scraping the galley walls for a fresh layer of paint.

In the nights, we got the occasional squall, but mostly we had starry nights where I tried learning new constellations and watching the moonrise later and later in the night. And our afternoon watches have been rewarded with magnificent sunsets, followed by a bright appearance of Venus. Swift moving lights have been confirmed by us as being aliens, as they move back and forth in the western sky.

Then, from Thursday to Friday night, the wind died down entirely so by lunchtime we were just bobbing around on the nearly flat ocean. This was probably one of the best days of the trip, as everything went silent, save for the occasional flapping sails… and a single shout: Man overboard! The perfect chance to practice a drill, launching the dinghy, dousing the sails and bringing the person (the lifering) back on board. Afterwards we got to go overboard also, swimming in the magnificent blue waters of the ocean, with 5 kilometres of water beneath our feet. Diving from deck, jumping from the rail or even dangling from the bowsprit, we took our chance in this rare moment of calm to enjoy it to the fullest! I would not have expected this when we were battling our way out of the Caribbean Sea, but it still happened!

In the afternoon, we found the easterly wind back, and now, on Sunday afternoon, the forecast tells us the coming week will give us some more southerlies. Perfect to shoot us straight to our next stop: The Azores.

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