Transatlantic Crossing Spring 2013 is now over. So, how was your trip?

[Mindfultraveler]

I just finished a wonderful ride on the Royal Clipper from Barbados to Lisbon and on to Barcelona. The weather across the Atlantic was varied from mild winds to some powerful sea storms. I have heard rumors that one of the other clipper ships had an interesting crossing and I hope somebody on that ship will entertain us here soon with observations of that cruise.

Later I intend to do a write up of my experiences of the crossing on the Royal Clipper. I will say right now that this spring time crossing is not for everybody. If you want to avoid winds and high seas this annual crossing on a sailing ship is definitely not for you. On the other hand if you like interesting and varied sea weather this annual spring crossing is a great cruise experience not to be missed.

 

I will do a story on my trip later when I get all my home chores finished.

[jcl410]

How often was the wind from the "right" direction to allow use of the square sails?

 

How many passengers were on board?

 

Aloha,

 

John

[Mindfultraveler]

There were some 90 passengers on board from Barbados to Lisbon and in Lisbon to Barcelona 186 passengers.

 

Winds. The square sails were unfurled only a few times in all. Out of Barbados the square sails were seen, but only for a few hours when the winds became too strong. Sad to say the winds generally came out of the direction of travel and only the stay sails were used to keep the sail from rolling. Later on even the stay sails were put away. In general the winds would become intense and later moderate somewhat, but over all the ship would roll quite a bit making sea legs mandatory. The winds became more intense as the ship neared Lisbon where some sea storms appeared giving the ship's passengers a real challenge getting around. If you love sea storms this was the cruise to be on.

[jcl410]

Thanks for the answer... It's about what I expected. I'm hoping to go on the trip next year!

 

Aloha,

 

John

[Sydney1969]

Wondering if the crossing in November is the same with winds etc or is that one usually better?

[pralientje]

Sydney,

usually there are a lot more passengers on the November crossing. This is due to the fact the weather is much nicer (most of the time :) ), and people want to escape the cold weather in Europe. Take some sweaters because it can be quite cold in the Med. Up to the Canary Islands it can be chilly. Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[Sydney1969]

@pralientje thanks for your reply. Helpful and makes me feel a bit more comfortable. I'm not that much of a hero but love to do the ta to st maarten. My biggest fear is being seasick the whole trip and onlynrainy days the whole trip.... :-( we only have 2 weeks per year for a holiday and my husband really loves sailing and i want to be away from the crowd and no phones but also some sun. Do you thonk this is the right one?

[pralientje]

Sdney,

the weather is a power on its own, but most of the time, leaving the Canary Islands, the swim suits can be worn and the evenings are nice. It always takes me a couple of days to get adjusted and I always take ginger capsules with me. I have given them to other passengers and they all thought they helped really well. You might even consider taking some fresh ginger with you, slice it and make tea with it. The crew have seasickness tablets as well and on the crossing there will be a doctor.

The best advice I can give you is to stay outdoors. I still cannot understand there are (repeat) passengers, who stay indoors all day long! Just sitting on the bench just behind the bridge (Flyer/Clipper) is wonderful. To feel the wind, have the sun in your face, being in the middle of nowhere, just amazing. When you get up early in the morning, just sitting there, gives you the feeling that you are on your own private yacht :). During daytime there will be plenty of activities, mastclimbing (weather permitting), tying knots, just talking to the crew, visit the bridge, the King Neptune ceremony, the Olympics, too many things going on.

You will see a lot of people with e-readers, the downside is that there are not so many books anymore in the library.

For me it is the thing to do. Even on my longest trip (76 days from Papeete to Monaco on the Flyer), there was not one day I felt bored. But that is perhaps me :). You will meet a lot of repeat passengers, who are well travelled, a good mix of nationalities and all in all most passengers are a lot of fun to be with. There still is plenty of room on the ship if you want to be on your own. Don't forget to get into the net. All in all, I might not be the right person to tell you what to do, since I love the experience, but if you decide to go on the TA, I wish you a wonderful holiday with lots of sunshine and an experience you will never forget. Please let us know if you are going and tell us about your experience afterwards. Enjoy!

[jcl410]

Another factor (for the Royal Clipper at least) is the normal wind patterns. Typically, the winds will be such that the square sails can be used more often. Last year we went several days under sail alone, and still maintained the required average speed.

 

Aloha,

 

John

[Mindfultraveler]

Talking to other passengers who had experienced the west bound TAs they said it was more popular with Europeans generally as the weather and wind direction was favorable.

However I think the new perception of Atlantic sea weather by weather experts should now be uppermost in mind. The experts says there is no longer such a thing as normal seasonal weather in the Atlantic. Global heating has made the Atlantic sea weather unpredictable.

 

The question I have should be addressed to the passengers of the 2013 spring EAST BOUND TA on the Star Flyer and the Star Clipper. I would like to know what happened on one of those two voyages as I heard some crew members of the Royal Clipper discussing a situation in which one of the other clipper ships had to seek port to refuel. That would seem to indicate some interesting weather was experienced en-route. Would someone on one of those voyages please speak up. I hope to do a spring TA on one of the smaller clipper ships and I am one of those passengers who dream of seeing a powerful sea storm up close. Doing a TA in perfectly good sailing weather would be a real bummer for me. So, please if anyone who was on one of those smaller clippers can say what the ships encountered I would be most appreciative.

[pralientje]

Mindfultraveler,

On you tube you can find a video from a passenger. Star Flyer Merit Albers-Carschel Atlantic storm May 2013.

From another friend I received a story about the trip. I do love wind, waves and the movement of the ship a lot, but being stuck inside for so many days. I will look it up and will post some of the experiences here.

Hope this helps :)

[Mindfultraveler]

pralientje

Many thanks for pointing me to the you tube site above. It answered all my questions and then some. Great videos. I am impressed how well the fellow was able to stand up and keep the cam aimed all at the same time. That is the Atlantic Sea I know, and I saw that kind of weather south of Iceland many years ago....several times. The Royal Clipper did see some similar weather mostly east of the Azores this spring. Everything had to be tied down. The dining room had to going into storm mode as well.

Still, it is a great experience to see something like the weather in the videos. My problem this last spring was the lack of good rain gear. You can bet I will have rain gear with me from now on. I got chilled to the bone many times this spring and finally came down with a nasty cold. Still, I would do it all again even if I knew I would expire from the exposure. It is a great great experience!