Disa - Three Days in a Gigantic Washing Machine

What people in their right minds would pay a small fortune to kit out a boat not much bigger than a bathtub and then sail it across a big ocean? We must be totally mad! The first three days’ sailing from Cape Verde towards Grenada have made me realise that sea monsters definitely exist and they are out to get us. Our little, plastic, floating home is keeping us safe and dry, as we navigate mountainous waves, strong winds from behind and swells from the side. If you enjoy roller-coaster rides then you would love the way SV Disa surfs down waves like skyscrapers. You would love the lurches to the side as rogue waves splash into the cockpit, and you would love the feeling of your stomach dropping into your shoes as she rises up the next mountain, perching at the top for a moment before plunging down again. Anything that wan’t tied down (including ourselves) got thrown around the boat mercilessly. One night I found that I was sharing my bed with a bass guitar. Another time I found plums at the bottom of a sinkful of washing-up. Remnants of cups of cocoa and coffee now line the cream-coloured sides of the cockpit, and various sticky messes have landed on the galley floor.

Last night our auto-helm stopped working. Hand-steering was quite a challenge for Andy as he held the boat beautifully on course. Down below, K was holding Darrol on a ladder while he unscrewed the autopilot and brought the whole thing down to the saloon table. Captain Darrol (my hero!) took the auto-helm to bits, found the loose wire and put it all back together again. Without once falling off the ladder, despite the boat being heeled over, he managed to fit it back in its place and have it working like a charm again, much to everyone’s relief.

Today is Day 4 and I am finally able to keep some food down. We have overcome the monsters. The sea mountains have turned into big hills and the wind is gusting a little less. Our progress is quite slow, with sails reefed for much of the time. But the sunshine and blue skies seem to hold a promise of more enjoyable days to come.