Oceano - Log Day 12 - Elevator breakdown

It is only one thing way worse than a really strong wind. No wind at all. Or this strange, spooky kind of breeze that seems to come from all over the place playing with the boat like a cat with its toy. When we examined the path we’ve made today, the line looked like it was an algorithm of some drunken sailor’s route from the bar. Zig zag, zig zag. It was tiring, irritating and discouraging. When we finally met some wind in the afternoon, we were happy even for the squalls that brought gusts to 30 knots. At least we were moving. Still - some of the clouds had this unnerving quality of sucking all the air out first and changing the course of wind in their wake. Cheeky bastards.

Clouds that carry rain and stronger winds are my favorite pastime during a boring watch. I stare at the radar and see them, slouching towards me like caterpillars or amebas, one after the other. I remember I used to fear them when I was crossing the Atlantic years ago. Especially during the night they seem like dark apparitions, looming over the horizon and promising to give you hell on wheels. Well, if facing the flat, silent water is another option, I welcome them dearly and offer them tea.

This kind of dilemma is not something that you for-see sailing through the trade wind zone. Trade winds are meant to be trade winds - reliable, steady, predictable and comfortable elevator from Canaries to Caribbean. But this year this elevator seems to be shaky, to get stuck in between floors, to start and stop dramatically. Which makes you wonder if you’re going to make it to your destination or will you be using the emergency stairs ( „stairs” being the engine in this metaphor ).

The worst thing, the most depressing thing I’ve been processing throughout this demotivating day its that I can’t say - oh it is just the weather, what can one do. No - weather changing like this, trade winds losing their velocity and sense it is a serious disturbance in global weather systems and a clear sign man-induced climate change has arrived for good. We did a lot to bring it about. And we must to something to stop it. We must repair the elevator.

We’ve deregulated motions that we could count on since ages. We can’t rely on paradigms anymore. We’ve created chaos that will translate to every area of our lives and the one that contains a passion for sailing is visibly affected already. Sailors have been especially conscious of climate change for years now and great names like Ellen McArthur, Samantha Davis and other famous star sailors are known for campaigning for more sustainable world - the sailing one and the one we all live in. In every kind of regatta possible there is always a vessel that carries an ecological message - to recycle and reuse, to consume less, to protect the oceans, to protect marine life. Sailors often underline that being on board is the best lesson in practical, daily sustainability and I couldn’t agree more. You find out that with wise planning and provisioning you don’t really need to go shopping that often, you see the amount of trash you produce, you can’t allow yourself to through food away, you get creative with the ingredients instead of buying more, you realize you don’t need that much clothes etc. Not to mention that sailing is much, much less carbon trace heavy than traveling on a place, by car or even train. If you can rely on the wind - it’s pure, natural power. And there are so many ecological solutions right now that you can apply to your boat too! Solar panels, just for starters, electric engine, recyclable cutlery and crockery.

Taking all this into account, dear reader, sailing is a pleasure and your civic duty to the planet. It makes you love her more, teach you how to care for her, how to change your lifestyle, be truly conscious of your actions, be responsible. I would love to see sailing as a preferred way of commuting in our more sustainable future. It is slow, but so what? Do we want our future to be this horrendous rat race we are already in?

So if you don’t sail yet - what are you waiting for? if you have a friend that doesn’t sail but gets curious - take them! If you have the climate change denier as a friend - take them too! Sailing is educating nowadays.

When you’re on land it is so easy to forget we are all earthlings - we have houses and on the streets, in cities or towns, in countries etc. Ocean has no borders, it is everywhere, for everyone. And it will bring us together as it always if we’d only let it be. Trade winds, don’t give up on us yet.

Karolina