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  • 2025 Winter Transatlantic
Full Moon Sailing

Not long after sunrise, we could still see 12,188’ Teide in the distance over 80 nautical miles away. Our first night watches went well. The crew has been getting more accustomed to life on board and the routine of being at sea. The wind shadow in the lee of the Canary Islands extends further than I would expect, but it seems like we are nearly out of it. On my watch this morning, Heuer and I put out some lines with cedar plugs in hopes of landing a fish, while Townsend had the first shift at the helm. The 1000-1300 watch is responsible for lunch, so Piper made her way to the galley to make up some quesadillas, chicken and salad. After lunch, we turned our attention to setting up our downwind rig with our whisker pole. Grant, Daisy and Isabelle were on deck to assist, while Nelleigh did a great job steering a steady course. This setup allows us to sail with the mainsail on one side and the jib on the other – wing-on-wing. With the northeast trade winds, it is likely we will have this up for the duration of our voyage. Our afternoon meeting and class followed, and then the students got to work organizing their schoolwork calendars. Before long, it was time for dinner. Isabelle and Lindsay made some delicious burgers and a garden salad. We all ate on deck in the cockpit, watching the full moon rise over the stern. B watch is presently on deck - Heuer, Piper and Townsend, along with Sean – and they are enjoying a nice sail. We are making 5-6 knots in a light NE’ly breeze that is due to increase a little, I’m hoping it we will be closer to 7 knots by dawn.

  • 2025 Winter Transatlantic
Tenerife Astern

A quick breakfast and the crew turned-to. Stowing for sea, singling up docklines, downrigging the gangway and various other tasks. Townsend was at the helm as we departed the dock, and did a great job steering us out. Before we departed the entrance, we set the mainsail, shut down the engine and were sailing along nicely. Outside the jetty we set the jib and made a course down the south side of Tenerife. The morning was spent on safety drills and line handling, along with some other items on the orientation agenda. We saw a small pod of dolphins, and Grant saw one fully breach. In the late afternoon, with Heuer at the helm, we sailed up to the anchor in the lee of Montana Rojo. Here we went for a swim and took care of a few shipboard details. A few witnessed a subtle green flash at sunset, likely the first of many - and we were underway again, ate dinner and broke into our three watches. A Watch (Isabelle, Lindsay and Stu) had the first watch. They took care of dinner dishes, set the mainsail and gybed over to our rhumb line course. It is quite bright outside with a near full, and we can see Teide - the highest peak in Spain - towering behind us on Tenerife. B Watch has just taken over (Piper, Townie, Heuer and Sean) at 2300, and C Watch (Grant, Nelleigh, Daisy and Taylor) are on at 0300. 

Final Preparations to Get Underway

There are many details to attend to when preparing to sail across an ocean. The professional crew and I have spent time in the last weeks doing safety and rigging checks, routine maintenance on mechanical equipment, checking spares and various tasks to prepare for our voyage. One of the last details was provisioning. While the student crew were adjusting to the time zone and sleeping in, Taylor and I took our rental van to provision. It would have been ideal to have three of us, but Stu left early to Gran Canaria to pick up a spare part and Sean was on board topping off our fuel. Armed with inventories and checklists, we filled up carts full of food and carefully loaded up our Peugeot Expert. Back on board the crew had breakfast and showers, and were prepared to receive provisions when we got back to the boat. The number of times that each piece of food was touched is hard to believe. From the shelf to our cart, to the belt at the checkout, to a bag or box, into the van, out of the van, onto the dock, onto the deck, down below to the table, and then into its destination. And we had about as much food as we could fit in our freezer, refrigerator, food hammocks, settees, cabinets and bilge. Probably more. The crew did an amazing job staying focused with the task at hand, which was daunting. 

By mid-afternoon we had everything stowed. A quick breather and we were off to the immigration office to get our passports stamped out. With the bag of student passports in hand, we started on our way. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to be ready to depart for a long passage, and have one of the professional crew passports go missing for thirty-five minutes, and then feel an immense sense of relief when it was discovered - I may have some insight. With the situation resolved, we were one step closer to departure. We spent some time exploring Santa Cruz and then were back on board for dinner (burritos, courtesy of Taylor and Stu). After dinner we took care of some final details on deck, and then wrapped up part of our on-board orientation. Our plan is to depart toward points south and west tomorrow morning. Everyone is excited to start our adventure. 

Winter Transatlantic Voyage Begins

The Winter Transatlantic crew flew out of Boston yesterday afternoon. Their connection through Madrid was delayed a little, but they arrived in Tenerife in the early afternoon. We drove to our dock in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where the student crew got to step on board Geronimo for the first time and get settled into their bunks. With daylight burning, we drove out to explore the north side of the island and Anaga Rural Park. A winding road brought us to the top of a ridge to a mirador with amazing views in all directions, we could see the lush windward side of the island, the drier leeward side and all the way to Gran Canaria. From here we drove the switchbacks down to black sand Playa de Benijo. Everyone ran into the water and went out to play in the surf. Water temperature was about 70 F and felt great. Our drive back to Santa Cruz, we drove along the spine of the high ridge transecting Anaga through a magical cloud forest, as low light filtered through the trees. I'm not sure everyone was awake, but it was quite nice.  I made sure everyone was up when the snow-capped Tiede was visible. The highest peak in Spain towers over the island, almost a perfect cone. Our next stop was dinner at a small restaurant in Santa Cruz. It was a great way to get a taste of Spain. Spanish tortillas, wrinkly Canary potatoes with mojo sauce, a local salad, croquettes, various pork, beef and squid dishes. With full bellies we ambled back to the boat, walking through a festival with the tail end of Christmas festivities from the Día de Los Reyes Magos. Inside the grounds was a very small roller coaster that most of us went for a spin on. I would say for the size, probably the best one I have experienced. Back on board we continued our orientation, students said goodbye to their phones and we settled in for our first evening on board. 

Our plan is to load provisions and continue orientation tomorrow. Our departure for points west is planned for Sunday morning.