The morning was beautiful but the forecast said it would be windy and maybe even with some showers. But it was our first day of sailing so everybody was excited to see the crew climbing up the masts. Our expedition leader Tom O’Brien took us step by step through the 45-minute process of setting sails, explaining many details of what the crew was doing. Once under sails we met the expedition staff and enjoyed the beautiful calmness of sailing. But not for too long….during lunch we got hit by a squall with not much rain but much stronger easterly winds. While the sailor’s side of our souls were happy with the fantastic sail, our practical side was concerned with the movement! The crew was alert and ready to adjust the sails as quickly as possible and the captain changed course a bit to fall off from the wind. It was a very exciting five or ten minutes, and later we found out that it was the biggest heel Sea Cloud ever went through with guests: over 20 degrees! It definitely felt like a lot but all sailors know that it is still far from “the angle of vanishing stability” which is 70 degrees for this ship. But one thing we learned: Sea Cloud can sail….and how beautifully she rides through the sea you can only tell when the wind is blowing and the waves are big!
So we continued on this course for the rest of the day. Our historian Tom Heffernan gave a talk about the slavery and sugar trade in the Caribbean. And talking about sugar: the special afternoon tea was ready one deck below. Sailing through the waves, sometimes in the sun and sometimes under the clouds we observed the changing colors in the sky. Finally the crew got the order to take the sails down for the evening. Now knowing a bit more about the square-rig sailing we were watching the same process as in the morning but in reverse. When the sails were down and secured, the Captain Welcome Cocktail Party started, followed by delicious Welcome Dinner. We came in to anchor in the lee of the island of Dominica, and rocking lightly in our beds we fell asleep dreaming.
