The Day BEFORE departure, June 18, 2010 by Christine
It's time...The crew was really ready to go! This was supposed to be the day of departure from the North American continent to North Africa and finally Europe....but...when Eddie tested the engineering systems, he discovered that our trusted winch had sprung a major hydraulic oil leak at one of the fittings. We could not depart without replacing it.
Across the majestic North Atlantic Ocean, which is where the great history of the expansion of Western Sea People began, with the Vikings and maybe others before.
Claus put all vectors in motion to resolve the problem and was hoping to either find or fix the part the next morning. Greg Howe helped with precious advice. He was running the dockyard in Bradford Marine and had met the Heraclitus when she was built in San Francisco in 1974. And then again in 1989, he helped pull the Heraclitus off a sandbank, when she got swept onshore during a gale in Florida. He is an accomplished free diver and continues to be a great fan of the Heraclitus.
In the evening, Claus and I went with a couple of, hopefully, last Bahamian "Sands" beers to a bottle strewn but nice beach. Overlooking the dark open sea and starry sky and the oil terminals, we shared contemplations about departures, voyages, love, life this that and the other.
A voyage at sea is always a new beginning or an end to something. Only the truly significant remains. The echo of the past grows faint and the future becomes a place to go...the next port, and we become the ship in between, leaving only a quickly disappearing trail.
Day 1, June 19, 2010 by Christine
All night each deck check sprayed WD40 on the fitting that was seized. Before the general wake up call, Claus and Gilson managed to extract the fitting and went off to the shipyard in search of parts. Miraculously, they got an appropriate piece of hose from a neighboring barge and on a back shelf in the depths of the engine room, found a fitting that worked.
Then off we go...
Heraclitus left Freeport at 16:00 hours on June 19th, a quiet Saturday afternoon. Captain Claus skillfully turned the ship
around in the narrow creek, a delicate maneuver because the super yacht Helios had docked very close behind us.
And then.... off to Tangiers/Spain via the Azores, 3,150nm.
Once we passed the fare way buoy, we raised the sails. Once it got dark, we could see the glow of Florida on port - orange
and very bright - a phenomena which will probably accompany us for a while or at least as long as we are so close
to the US East coast. The water is clear and clean, no rubbish in hours, except a large white piece of plastic, and
there are streaks of pine needles from the pine tree plantations of Grand Bahamas floating in patches.
Day 1, June 19, 2010 by Rio
REFLECTIONS ON THE FIRST DAY
Today we commenced the Atlantic Crossing Voyage, the next major leg of the Coral Sea to Mediterranean Sea Expedition. Our trajectory will take us from Freeport in the Bahamas to the Azores, Tangiers, and then to Spain. The crew enthusiastically cast off from our dock at Bradford Marine late in the afternoon. With this journey, we have the opportunity to bask in the blessed simplicity of life at sea. Did the sages who encouraged us to simplify our lives receive their teaching from the early Sea People?
We had been preparing the ship for the voyage for the last ten days, ever since we arrived in the Bahamas from Santiago de Cuba. The hydraulic steering pump was repaired, our emergency steering system was overhauled and made operational again, and numerous other repairs had been made. On Thursday, a truckload of food arrived and a stowing party proceeded for several hours. During the long crossing, we will be traveling on our stomachs with no way to replenish food supplies, other than the luck of our anglers, so care and skill is essential in stowing the food for preservation and finding it for use.
Capt. Claus accompanied his departure meeting with an impassioned speech stating his intention to deliver the Heraclitus intact and all of the crew alive to the Mediterranean. He pointed out that while we may not like all of our crew mates, we owed each other respect, since we all share the responsibility for maintaining a safe and ship-shape vessel.
On our first night at sea, we enjoyed a lively "Saturday night out" informal dinner on deck as twilight turned to the star-studded night that brought some respite from the heat and humidity. Being at sea also gave us relief from the annoying bites of the "no see-ums" that had plagued us on shore.
Our discussion at dinner that night ran the gamete from the significance and meaning of enlightenment to a proposal for "table" dances. Then Lyn-Li, in her casual journalistic style, asked Christine, Claus, and I about our previous experiences with long sea passages. Christine, veteran of a 152-day voyage, recalled that a long time at sea stimulates the welling-up of memories from deep within. I recalled the challenges and stresses of the 36-Day Survival Voyage during the Around the Tropic World Expedition. For that expedition, such a long voyage had not been planned. Every day was a fight for survival, so I personally am looking forward to a long intentional voyage. Claus commented that while a long voyage on the Heraclitus is communal by design, the experience is ultimately individual. He commented that after about two weeks at sea, he begins to feel a oneness with the ocean, a new found and rare freedom, and perhaps most importantly, the enjoyment that comes from spare time for reading and reflection. The Captain said that he enjoys the truly rare luxury of leaving behind the concerns of the land and entering the world and life of Sea People.
We often hear of the challenges that long voyages presented to early sailors, and while we know we may have our fair share, rarely do we hear of the pleasures of long passages- the time it affords one for conversation and companionship, for reading and writing, for reflection and for contemplation of the universe and life. These are pleasures that have all but disappeared from our everyday life, crazy with the latest twits and tweets of the moment, the horrors of the current economic situation, and the never-ending battles of politicians who promise us peace but fail to deliver it. This peace is something that several weeks at sea can magically provide.
After months of discussions by Christine and I with numerous individuals who considered making the historic passage, our crew of eleven lucky persons, settled into our new world. They are: Captain Claus Tober, Germany; Expedition Chief Christine Handte, Germany; Voyage Photographer Rio Hahn, USA; First Mate Eddie Zuna, Solomon Islands; Second Mate Gilson Nagel, Brazil; Third Mate Juan Campos, Argentina; Galley Manager Abi Shapiro, USA; Librarian Gabriella Daris, Greece; Assistant Rigger Mo Yip, USA; and Crew Members Lyn-Li Torres Pugh, USA, Carlos Vindel, Honduras and Expedition Chief Christine Handte, Germany.
Robert "Rio" Hahn is an explorer, photographer and organic farmer who hails from many ports, including the RV Heraclitus and Bonsall, California.
Day 2, June 20, 2010 by Lyn-Li
SETTLING IN
"Each moment is a place you've never been." - Mark Strand
The current eleven-member crew of the RV Heraclitus began our journey to cross the Atlantic two days ago as we motored out of Freeport, Bahamas with 3,150 miles to go until the Azores. Now at the end of this day, we are ninety miles closer to the next time we will see dry land. What exactly does this mean? Six weeks with only the hull of a ferro-cement ship between us and the deep sea is a concept that is hard for the majority of us, who have spent our lives with our feet planted firmly on solid ground, to wrap our heads around. It makes sense, then, that today was a quiet day. There was a collective pensiveness that surrounded us on this second day of the voyage. A veteran to many such journeys once told me that it takes a while for the body to adjust to life at sea. I image the same goes for the mind and the spirit as well. There is a freedom, of course, in being surrounded by all this water. Yet at the same time, it reminds one of how limited and how infinitesimally small one truly is. And so perhaps this is the process we go through as we settle in to our daily routines - the team dynamics of our respective Watches, the at-sea routine of meals, both formal and informal, the maintenance of ourselves and the ship, the endless things that must be taught and learned.
Meanwhile, the elements have been kind to us. The sea was calm as glass through late afternoon and then we were treated to some swell action. Captain Claus let Assistant Rigger Mo and I let out the sails a bit and tack the main sail to starboard side. Tiny puffs of wind made the Heraclitus kick up her heels just a bit, a preface of more to come as we journey north. It seems that when the Heraclitus moves through water powered only by the elements and the sails on its deck is when the magic happens. Even though we were only going about three knots (sometimes four) while under sail, it felt good to finally turn the motor off and, with only the sound of the wind through the flaps, let the ship do its thing.
By evening, Captain gave the orders to "heave to" in preparation for our first "formal" Sunday night dinner at sea (a Heraclitus tradition). The pink sky of twilight was beginning to turn dark as we sat around the carpet up on deck holding tin cups of red wine and giving toasts. "A toast!" First Mate Eddie called out, "to making friends at every port!" And then- the clanking of tin against tin as the toast was acknowledged full circle. One by one, the members of this diverse and dedicated group stood and spoke about their fears, hopes and expectations for the weeks ahead.
. On everybody's mind seemed to be the ship itself- that humble and sturdy vessel that has introduced countless individuals around the world over the last thirty years to life at sea.
Notable Quotables:
"Now I can finally say, 'This is it. There is no turning back.' " - Juan
"I get comfort, sometimes, in the not knowing." - Claus
"When I get back on dry land, I will have sex with the earth." - Carlos
"Working the 12-4 shift makes me appreciate the importance of the stars." - Mo
"I use to be so excited about the idea of going on the crossing. But now that we are doing it, it is no big deal." - Gilson
Day 2, June 20, 2010 by Christine
Since this morning we have been doing 7.8 knots, though motoring, because there is not much wind. Freddy is
sending us weather reports and indications of where the centre of the Gulf Stream is located, so we can sit ourselves
fat in the middle. Today he predicted a stream speed of 2 knots North, almost precisely at our current position of
N 27 58, W 29 39. It's very quiet onboard, except the engine roaring, as everyone is sleeping off the heat and the
last few days of mad departure preparations. Late in the day we quieted the main engine and generator, and once again
enjoyed the rhythmic creaking of the rigging, and a late afternoon light breeze.
Day 3, June 21, 2010 by Christine
It is cloudy all around- low nimbus clouds, waiting to unload. Not much wind. No more pine needles, but now Sargasso grass- orange bushels with tiny grapes on them (I wish...). I remember 24 years ago on one of my first voyages, Duarte Camara cooked Sargasso grass for hours - though I don't remember who ate it, not me, but I tried and...it was very tough. There are not so many ships compared to the traffic of many specific passages in Asia in the past. I would have expected more ships here as supposedly we are sitting in the middle of the gulf stream. Floating along nicely with 1.7 knots just now, no wind and no engine. It's Solstice today, the longest day of the Northern year. Dancing on deck with the late setting sun and under the stars. It was a good one...
Day 4, June 22, 2010 by Christine
Gilson and Eddie are untangling a fishing line. There's a school of Mahi Mahi fish following us, but they don't bite, no matter what hook or what type of line Eddie puts out. In the meantime, the 8 -12 watch, Abi and Carlos are busy inspecting the fresh produce for foul items. It's hot- already in the morning it is too hot to walk on deck, we have to run from one shady place to another or get the soles of our feet seared...
Tonight is the traditional salon evening onboard the R/V Heraclitus and the theme is 'The gulfstream', the biggest river in the world. I observed turbulent areas in the sea today, irregular currents or eddies- just like in a real stream, rough water, white caps. Claus is setting our course according to a printed line on a US navy chart from 1966, which supposedly marks the centre axis of the gulf stream. He is of course meticulously integrating Freddy's reports and updates. We are fast- 6.2 knots. Almost every time I scanned the surface of the water today I saw pieces of rubbish. But also- a pod of a dozen of bottle nose dolphins rode the bow for an hour.
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