In late November, crew members on s/v One Ocean announced their change of route planning for circling the Americas.
As the crew departed Isla de Culebra near Puerto Rico for the long run south to Uruguay, the Trade Winds put up a front of resistance – the winds were relentless, the seas steep, and the motion violent, reported Jenn Dalton. One Ocean was taking a pounding into the wind, and the extended forecast indicated these conditions would stay for weeks. The gale stayed with the crew as they slipped down the west side of St. Croix in the late evening and dropped anchor on the west side of Virgin Island in Frederiksted.
“The next morning over coffee in the scorching morning heat, the four of us (Mark, Tess, Jenn, and new crew member Jon) laid out the truth.” Perhaps it is time to turn and use the trade winds to make Panama. Jennifer recounted an earlier lesson Mark Schrader had shared with her – “never forget that you can always turn downwind, work with the conditions, even if it costs you distance.” Jenn continued her blog report recounting the crew’s discussion regarding their options – “Riding the Trades instead of punching into them seemed to be the logical choice, but I could see Mark wearing the disappointment like a heavy cloak. Then Jon quietly asked, have you ever considered doing a Figure-Eight Around the Americas?” The canal meant options, including turning south along the Pacific Coast for Cape Horn then continue up the East Coast along South America. As Jennifer put it, “Cape Horn was still an option and so was the science, the education, and the purpose. The decision felt right. We’re a 48-foot ketch, and sailing is about working with the conditions as they are, not about forcing it to be what you want.”
That day in Frederiksted, the crew of One Ocean made a presentation at the Claude O. Markoe Elementary School. “The questions and energy from those students filled our sails again; inspiration given, inspiration received – One Ocean’s course changed, the Mission did not.”
Quotes: from Jennifer Dalton’s Report
Photos: One Ocean Crew Members
