The Atlantic Crossing: Day -9.

Current position: Aeroplane somewhere between Stockholm and Las Palmas

I look out through the oval window and see an endless horizon of clouds. Sun-rays reflect on the aeroplane wing onto my cheek and the feeling of being on our way finally sets in. In a couple of hours we will greet Olle on the dock and drop our bags in our new home to be; the sailing vessel Papillon. She is a Sirena 44 and is quite a beauty.

In nine days we will release our dock-lines and set the course to St. Lucia. We will wave good-bye to family on the dock in full colors and head toward the horizon. Our new companion that will accompany us the entire way until we reach our destination. It will takes us somewhere in-between sixteen to twenty-one days to arrive. Hopefully we will mostly sail on a run (wind from behind) with a steady wind. We will sail the boat 24-hours a day on a rolling shift-schedule and try to find a new normal routine on board. The crew will consist of me (Linda), Mikael, Nisse and our skipper Olle. The race we are partaking in is called the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) with some 200 other boats racing. One would think that we would see many boats on our passage, but the case is not so. Sure, they will be around, but the Atlantic is big and our boats are small.

In a couple of hours we will land and the reality of what we are about to do will soon set in. We are a group of friends casually crossing an Ocean. I am not sure what to expect. I may love it, I may not. It might be the best thing I have ever done, it might not. Either way it is an epic adventure that is grand enough to leave a lasting mark. I am excited.

Linda

Picture: Mikael doing a weigh in perfectly calibrating the weight - the bag is filled to the brim with high quality coffee. We take Swedish fika very seriously onboard!