The 5 most intense moments of the Atlantic crossing |Chlorophylle

The departure

On the day of departure, it is a mixture of excitement, febrility, stress and joy that we feel. We are not afraid, but we are not sure of anything. We are anxious to leave for the open sea, but conscious of being so small in front of Mother Nature. We feel fully alive in fact. And getting ready to cross an ocean under sail makes us feel it to the power of a thousand!

From the first night, we feel dizzy. Some people express it with tears, others with words, and still others internalize it. It is quite disturbing to realize that at 360 degrees around us, it is only emptiness! The abyss under our feet. The horizon as far as the eye can see. The infinite above our heads. We must not be far from the sensations that astronauts feel in space. Because we too are floating. Not in space, but on an ocean. And like astronauts, we are left to our own devices and can only rely on the three of us (and on Jackson, our explorer dog, for hugs and to wash our dishes).

Contacts with marine life

However, we soon realize that we are never really alone in the middle of the ocean. The Atlantic reveals itself to us as a real broth of life. From our first miles, a group of dolphins comes to welcome us and play for long minutes around Bleuet. They are so beautiful and graceful, it is with great joy that we will welcome them several times in our wake during our journey.

On three occasions, we also saw a shark. The first time, we were a few minutes away from diving from the boat for a refreshing swim! Somewhat cooled down, Yoyo and Guigui timidly decided to join the Big Blue and dove a few meters deep. The shark will not surface again. To their great relief. And their greatest disappointment. Always this paradox of adrenaline and the search for risk that nags us.

In addition to moon fish, sea turtles, strange floating jellyfish, rorquals and whales, our most faithful companions during the crossing are without a doubt the birds. They accompany us with their song almost tirelessly, a comforting sound that guides us during our moonless nights. Twice a gust of wind even made one of them land inside the boat! Jackson was on the deck and didn't see anything, so the bird stayed warm until the early morning.

Our most intense surprise, without a doubt, was our nose-to-nose encounter with a... sperm whale! On a day with no wind or waves (the famous "pétole") we decided to jump into the water for a swim. The moment is already magical, until we receive the visit of a sperm whale, at only 10 meters! Guigui and Yoyo, still underwater at that moment, are shaken by a mixture of fear, stupor and excitement. The cetacean then quickly disappears in the abysses with a few strokes of its powerful fin. The scene lasted 15 seconds, but we lived the equivalent of 15 days of emotions! The rest is pure delirium, crazy screams, explosions of joy and laughter, again and again.

The fishing

Yoyo, our captain, is above all an expert fisherman. He was very eager to cast his line in the middle of the ocean, and we can say that he was spoiled! On the 5th day, it is a SPADON which bites the hook! A catch a little too enormous for our stomachs and the fragile line (20 pounds) of the fishing rod, that the monster ends up breaking. It escapes us, and it is a little disappointed but relieved all the same that we take back our route.

The next day, we are once again alerted by a noise of brake on the fishing rod. After 15 min of hard fight not to know what we are going to bring up, we see the beast being dragged to 30 m of the boat. Still too far to identify the species. A tuna? A dorado? A kingfish? We see a fin. A... shark ??? The bets are launched. Everybody is overexcited. Even Jackson who, curious of all this hubbub, dangerously joins Yoyo on the back skirt of the boat. No question of losing the catch this time. Yoyo finally brings it back on the boat, and we realize with amazement that it is a real SHARK! A beautiful little baby shark of about 1 m long. Aware of the beauty of this majestic animal, we removed the hook, being careful to avoid its sharp teeth. After a few seconds, the beast goes back to the depths as if nothing had happened. A bad nightmare that he will quickly erase from his memory. For Yoyo, an incredible dream that he will not forget!

It is necessary to wait for the 13th day, at the very end of our crossing, so that it is the turn of our stomachs to rejoice a little. Yoyo brought back a beautiful sea bream, and spoiled us with a delicious quartet of ceviche, maki, sushi and sashimi. We, who have consumed an entirely vegetarian diet during the whole crossing, enjoy this feast offered by the ocean!

Cargo

After several days feeling alone in the world, we have the unexpected pleasure to renew contact with civilization. We cross a big cargo ship which for a long time seems to be heading straight for us. Just as a precaution, Yoyo tries to contact the captain of the ship on channel 16 (security channel). Not too sure how to proceed, and in a slightly shaky English, he starts.

"Sailing boat Bleuet to... big cargo ship. Sailing boat Bleuet to big cargo ship, can you hear me?

Radio rumbling..., then a voice and a few words reach us;

" ... Sailing vessel... cargo ship. "

Excitement on board, we have our first voice contact with the outside world in 12 days!

Captain Yoyo: " Just wondering if you saw us already.

Captain big cargo ship : " Yes, sir, we'll leave you on our starboard side. "

Now reassured and curious, Yoyo takes the opportunity to start a conversation with our new Indian friend and his crew on the way to New York, where we briefly tell him about our trip. Short of eggs, we even jokingly ask him for a box of 12! After 10 very pleasant minutes, we gave up the line and admired his huge silhouette cutting us off, some 300-400 m away. This same situation, at night, would have been a completely different story! In the middle of the ocean, in the dark, a collision with another vessel is one of the biggest risks to watch out for. At this distance, in the dark, with only the lights of the ship to see, any of us 3 would have been very careful!

Thunderstorm

All was well in the best of worlds. Everything was going too well, but the cycle of life being what it is, the calm cannot last forever. On the night of Sunday, August 15, the Atlantic woke up, showing us its dark side. It is 8 pm, in the distance to the west, behind us, the sky darkens drastically. Then, a few flashes of lightning attract our attention and do not announce anything good. As a precaution, we reduce the sail. Little by little, the wind picked up, until it reached 22 knots. The rain started to fall, and the lightning came closer and closer, often followed closely by a thunderous roar. A violent storm is on our doorstep.

All three of us in the cockpit ready for action, Jackson dry inside, we are now in the middle of the storm, the rain and wind are at their maximum. We fear the ultimate risk, that lightning will strike Bleuet's mast! This could be catastrophic for its condition.

The radar confirms our fears, we are surrounded by cloudy areas on all sides. There is no way out, we are evaluating the best option. To continue towards the east, our desired course, but to remain in the race of the storm? Turn back west, face the storm as quickly as possible but turn back and lose miles? Go north and maybe get worse? Or go down south without knowing what to find? We try each option in turn, but soon, a new element invites us each time to change our mind and to try a new direction. We end up heading south, where there seems to be a small clearing.

After 3 hours of fighting the elements, the bad weather finally seems to want to leave us alone. Afterwards, we realize how lucky we were to escape this episode unscathed, both us and Bleuet. Although imperfect, our team spirit, our preparation, our reactivity and our knowledge of the elements were enough to allow us to get out of this nasty mess. And then, it would have been boring to cross the Atlantic without some adventures happening to us!

Of course, we cannot mention the most intense moments of a crossing without mentioning the final approach, rich in emotion. Our arrival in the Azores archipelago will be the subject of a future article. In the meantime, we are too impatient to put our foot down. See you soon! The Bleuet crew.