Life at sea

As we near the end of our westbound transatlantic crossing, we thought we'd share some reflections.

One thing we love about life on board is the range of nationalities. There are people from every continent (with the possible exception of Australasia) with dozens of different languages being spoken.

The crew work incredibly hard.
Every day they are maintaining and fixing things on board.  In the picture,  one of the engineering team is sewing up a rip in a sail, while being tethered to a spar.

Being in the middle of an ocean is truly awe inspiring,  although Steve should remember to stay safely on the deck!

We feel incredibly lucky to be able to do this trip although the level of service and luxury is something that we find difficult,  especially as we've found out that the crew do not get a full day off during their entire contract (which can be as long as 9 months).

Apologies that you won't have been able to track us as well as we thought because it turns out that the tracking websites only work around one hundred miles from land.  

Hold on tight!

After a very calm start to our journey,  the swell has picked up. Initially we found this a little alarming and unsteadying, but we have quickly got used to the movements of the boat.  Although some of our fellow passengers and crew initially had some sea sickness,  we have been lucky not to suffer. Hurricane Oscar passed well to the North and had no noticeable effect on us.

The fledgling starling in the photo stowed away with us in Morocco and disembarked in Tenerife, also had to hold on tight!

We wanted to post a video of the waves crashing against the port holes but it won't upload so Mel will try to post it on her Facebook page instead.

Landfall in Morocco and Tenerife

Two days ago our boat stopped in Safi where we enjoyed some local dishes in the old town. Today we arrived in Tenerife and spent a lovely afternoon at a reclaimed rubbish dump which is now a beautiful botanical garden.  We are just about to leave Tenerife and start our 12 days non-stop crossing of the sea. 

Under sail!

We had a disappointing start with not enough wind and had to use the engines with only a small amount of assistance from the triangular sails.  But we are very happy to report that we've now been under full sail only for over 24 hours.  We've even had a chance to climb the rigging.  We're now docked in Safi, Morocco for the day. To answer a question that we've been asked,  there is a picture on our last blogpost showing Steve next to the boat, for scale. The top of the masts come to below the bridge of the cruise ship behind.  Finally there is also a picture from our cabin port hole. 

First day on the clipper

Although very fancy inside, the Royal Clipper is a lot smaller than most other cruise ships. We continue to explore the ship and particularly its environmental impact. 

We are currently in Portimao (Southern Portugal). Next stop Morocco,  in two days. 

First sight of the ship!

Our transatlantic transport - The Royal Clipper.  Don't forget you can track our progress on the links above. 

Transport in Lisbon

Lisbon is set over 7 steep hills. Many narrow streets wind their way up them and there are trams and lifts between levels.  On the flat bits, we  used our favourite mode of transport to cycle along the coast.