Crossing the Atlantic: A white knuckle roller coaster ride... | Ep109

[@gnicholson4231]

I have only just come across your videos. As a sailor with 30 years experience, admire both the professionalism of your boat handling and of the videos. Also a well chosen vessel to do oceans.

[@Outrageousconduct]

This is one of the best actual sailing videos ive seen in years ,outstanding!!!!

[@Karma-fp7ho]

They really are very nice and also kind to each other.

[@gpk7683]

This video was one of your best. You two are absolutely pros! More please.

[@davescott1491]

You are both are professional, calm and committed sailors. Very enjoyable episode….and what a beautifully designed boat for crossing oceans! Thank you, be safe.

[@goofy4birds]

I find I'm staring past you both and just gazing at that gorgeous Hans Christian of yours. My dream Hans it the 38T. Love the pullman front birth with the head in the bow. Watching your videos over the years provides an opportunity to get a glimpse of her personality. So graceful and comfortable she is. Just love her. Love how you care for her. You are both so blessed living on her. Just want to say thank you so much for sharing your beautiful girl with us and look forward to the Caribbean's on Fair Isle. I will be in the VI sailing between St Thomas and St Criox late March. How incredible it would be to see her at the same anchorage. I am her biggest fan.

[@flyinggybe2113]

Great to see you out making tracks! But, as you noticed, double ended hull forms are notoriously rolly sailing deep downwind angles. Sailing under only headsail, while easy to manage, usually is the most rolly setup. You might try sailing with 1/3 of your sail area as headsail poled out to weather, and 2/3 as mainsail to leeward. This is more comfortable for many boats. Also make sure to use lots of vang and a low enough pole to minimize leach twist, since leach twist contributes to rolling when sailing deep downwind angles. Hope this helps!

[@svfairisle]

Thanks, we are trying different things.

[@BillGornicki-qj9mk]

I'm so jealous. You both do a wonderful job with your videos. Many thanks.

[@mnbsay9548]

Really good show this morning, thank you. I’ll confess the realism of life on a rolling sailboat won’t help change my wife’s mind about not getting a boat. 😢 Well like always, I’ll just have to settle for living out my dreams of sailing through your videos. If you guys ever venture to the west coast would love to meet you. Someday maybe.

[@Outrageousconduct]

Cats are more stable !! Had the same problem with my girlfriend, then I showed her a few videos ,she's been showing me boats now 😅

[@mnbsay9548]

@@Outrageousconduct Ha! You’re lucky she changed her mind. Good luck with your search 😊

[@michaelhamilton1290]

I really enjoyed the video. You guys really capture the sailing experience for the viewer and the power of the ocean. Thanks for all the effort you put into your channel.

[@PaulGriffith]

Watching you cook in a rolling boat reminded of stories from family about my dad. When he finished his hitch in the US Navy and married my mother, he would hold plate when he ate. This was in the 1950's

[@lazzj4995]

Not sure what i was more excited about - your stunning boat or the fact the crumpet recipe is forthcoming

[@svfairisle]

Aiming to get the crumpet recipe out next week, along with my tips for the best curry and spag bol... not to be missed !

[@anttilehtinen9460]

I would say, that you have spotted three ships. The same number that I spotted on my crossing in 1989. Nice video, thnak you.

[@baldwinleatherworks]

I never knew of anyone else making banana bread with currents. I always make it that way too and with tons of walnuts. My family and I just love it.

[@dennisfromoz6436]

Am sure you have an extra cabin on board just for me ! Wow, this latest voyage being supervised by 2 very capable tutors would have been a super learning experience for this old armchair wanna-be sailor. Top coverage guys...really appreciate being visually onboard....Cheers.👍

[@Johnnybridgo]

Brilliant update, thank you. The highlight for me was to find out that I’m not the only one who eats cold cheddar on crumpets!!! Go Steve 👍

[@davidnichols147]

Crumpets? My God man, you make crossing the Atlantic fun. Fantastic episode, you both are the best with everything you do. Thanks for teaching us HOW TO SAIL!

[@erents1]

You got my attention, just saying the words sailing from Africa to Mondello, angry seas, what an adventure!

[@kg8549]

Wow fantastic! Looking forward to the Caribbean stuff. That meal you cooked was mouth watering😊.

[@JoshPostVlogs]

Outstanding episode mates! You guys keep going and going and it’s so much fun to watch. 🙌

[@svfairisle]

Thanks Josh, hope you’re well

[@kurtism9040]

You are throwing away a good treat. Flying fish on a trisket! Maybe with a touch of mustard.

[@rickylefleur2158]

the cooking struggles when it's rolling.... Love it.

[@darrylmcleman6456]

Warm Crumpets with melted butter and honey and a slice of cheese! GOOD

[@Islandteacherwkbx]

Your presentation skills are excellent! I’ve only just discovered your channel so I shall enjoy watching your videos.

[@thecaptaincrayfish3873]

Brilliant, thank you. Very candid commentary, straight up and informative. By the way, a slight smear of sweet chilli on the almost cooked first side, back 30seconds to caramelise, then flip to cook side two - it will pick up a little of the caramelised base. Remove, butter then lemon juice to de-glaze then over the fish

[@CarlJones-y9k]

Awesome much appreciated from new Zealand

[@Oyster485SYJubilation]

Well done guys!! That’s the Atlantic crossing for you. A rocky rolly downwind ride. It’s a big ocen and theres nothing else to be seen on AIS. Welcome to the Caribbean!!

[@ooweesaler]

Plates 🤣 Save them for port. Bowls are in order. What cracking progress you are making.

[@svfairisle]

You’ll be saying we shouldn’t use our best crystal for the wine soon! Us Brits have standards you know!

[@1962gms]

Thanks for the latest update & sorry you didn't find your whale! Watching the rolly nature of the crossing, I felt for you - as others have said, almost got seasick at home. But at least you are going to do the crossing in a super fast time and then get the Caribbean to enjoy earlier ⛵

[@hughburgess4168]

Wow! I didn’t think Fair Isle could go that fast! Isn’t she a motor sailer? Very impressed. Great coverage. Also, didn’t expect you to be rolling like that. Surprised that you aren’t sea sick. But great that you aren’t! Really enjoyed this. Thank you. ⛵️

[@svfairisle]

Oh dear Hugh you could get struck of for calling a Han Christian a motor sailor! They are pretty much to opposite of that. They are not built for speed but then no true blue water boat is. Blue water boats are usually heavy but the best ones, like HC’s, have the sail area to cope with that. Fair Isle is basically a 48 foot boat with a 57 foot sail plan, because of the bow sprit.

[@hughburgess4168]

@@svfairisle Oops!

[@andreassmetana7782]

Bravo. Great speed!

[@jamesstrom6991]

another excellent production. choice work

[@avidviewer1]

I've been very excited about seeing this video. It was fascinating, exciting and at times beyond scary. Congratulations on catching that fish and thanks so much for such a lovely treat! 🤗

[@notwhatiwasraised2b]

Your boat feels so safe from this perspective

[@josevasquez8929]

I am from Chile and enjoy watching your sailing videos very much. it's great what you do and I think you love the sea so much.

[@davidsimpson130]

Very entertaining video, thank you. A brilliant boat and it looks so easy to sail....that is the way you make it look am sure. CAnnot wait for the next one.

[@svfairisle]

Sailing isn't that hard if your mindset is right

[@Willy007Duke]

Yes, well done video as usual. You both captured the true feeling of sailing for us viewers. ❤

[@nanceebirdlover5222]

I have just found your channel! You are so easy to listen to. Thanks for posting!

[@SailingTaranto]

So happy for you two! Well done and this video was next level. Thank you :-) cooking my own crumpets is going to change my life.

[@Calscot1]

I am jealous of your wife LOL! My wife gets seasick watching a fishing show on TV. My wife is a trooper and she'd be perfect for long range trips and I'd be in the middle of a several year tour of our planet on a similar boat to yours if she could hack it. After many times trying, it's not going to happen. My current boat is a 75' long range sport fisher/cruiser with full stabilization. She still cant handle it. I'm "stuck" doing local US west coast trips with my crusty old fishing pals with a couple of trips to the sea of cortez each year. Otherwise I'd be off doing what you are. I guess I'll have to live my ocean wandering dreams vicariously through your excellent videos :)

[@svfairisle]

That’s really tough for you both, I feel for you.

[@GenevieveWaller-pk3xg]

She is not alone...I get seasick watching too. I always had motion sickness from a child, I think my parents despised me for it because if they wanted to travel they had to think of what to do with me. Well, Karma is a bitch because my daughter had the same!

[@georgesalibi1121]

Nice update , you really make it easy to cross the Atlantic , even with a small crew of 2

[@svfairisle]

It honestly wasn’t that hard!

[@FXPL9277]

Thank you so much for the free sailing lessons!

[@michaelwake5600]

Fantastic Video, well done, I will be doing crumpets soon 😊

[@thebirdlady4304]

paused to say i grew up with the hot air balloon cushion covers :) i only have 1 left so its lovely to see a set still in use. they are great quality and a beautiful design

[@juan6168]

Congratulation for yours REAL navigation chanel. Greeting from Spain.

[@dennisgrones4745]

I bet you saw one ship. Just because you put the question to us. Great show I would have thought putting the main up would have stoped a lot of the rolling.

[@svfairisle]

It usually helps a bit and that was the way we started, but it really wasn’t doing much and the slating around was annoying so on the whole we were better off without with the wind dead astern

[@mikenelson1387]

Zero ships, nice fish dinner, I am not sure I could the extensive rolling. Wonder video.

[@svfairisle]

We actually saw 2 ships, but more than 3 miles off. My AIS alarm never went off the whole trip

[@Karma-fp7ho]

Crumpets!! Lovely

[@aytacercen944]

I was very impressed with the heroics displayed to keep the fried fish from leaving the plates. If it meant keeping them where they belong , right next to the salsa using your hands, you would do it. When you finally placed them on the gimballed stove top even if it meant putting the hot skillet on a non-gimballed counter top and take a chance with hot grease you would do it. BRAVO.😁

[@svfairisle]

My thoughts exactly

[@svfairisle]

They were the roast potatoes, the fish was better at staying put!

[@AlexGoesSailing]

Amazing sailing! Well done 👏

[@BullyHayes1977]

Crumpets look fantastic!

[@johnhastie2259]

Fantastic entertaining informative wonderful. Thank you for sharing 😍keep safe 🙏

[@gmssails]

I liked everything about this episode, including the Geeky bit, as you called it. In fact, I learned a thing or two, which I like. I now see why you didn't swim out there. The conditions were less than ideal, but you guys made the best of them, didn't get seasick and continued to cook and eat well (as opposed to eating crumpets for every meal). Admirable! The wind made the audio a challenge at times--or as it your accents? I'm not sure. :) I'm impressed that, while filming, you were able to keep the horizon level while the boat rolled. I suppose you have a gyroscopically controlled camera for that. It worked well. The music was fun and suspenseful. At one point I expected a giant great white shark to appear. Each segment/day was succinct and gave a nice glimpse into the cruising life! Thank You!

[@judyaslett6209]

Thank you!

[@maritimetees2315]

Loved the video. Greatest sailing channel. ⛵️ ❤

[@svfairisle]

"AtlanticCrossing" on the next T-Shirt?

[@BarrierSecurity]

Beautiful video!

[@notwhatiwasraised2b]

endearing boat and crew.

[@james_Tributize]

You are a wonderful couple. Many thanks for this great video!

[@grahamambridge2856]

Spring onion tip.... Leave about 3 inches and the root, put it in water and it sprouts again. I had some for about a month doing that and then re-harvesting.

[@buck_bacon]

Flying fish fries on a Friday night in Barbados is something I'll never forget, Tasty, and much larger than your ill-fated passengers.Nice video, and good luck the rest of the way!

[@talesofcanterbury42]

This is the most British sailing channel ever, and I love it! “Darling the waves are bit aggressive. Is one of those Tsunami things?”

[@svfairisle]

Ha! bizarrely we did have a long conversation about Tsunami's one day, I red somewhere that a Tsunami waves travel at the same speed as a jet liner i.e. about 800mph, I'm sure I did some work on wave propagation formulas in my days of studying Physics and Applied Maths but I can't remember anything that would allow a wave to have that sort of velocity

[@talesofcanterbury42]

@@svfairisle Love what you guys do. Thank you and safe travels. Hopefully see you out there when I set sail from Oban in May.

[@talesofcanterbury42]

@@svfairisle I hope your travesl are safe. To my understanding as long as you are out at sea, you will barely notice a Tsunami, so you are in a good place. . Love the channel, love the content and think you are both great.

[@solosailing-adventure]

Interesting to see that your starlink worked under this conditions. Seems that i have a lemon 🙈

[@billhanna8838]

Fresh fish , Wind arft , Crumpets , That beats boring pancakes .... Im jealous .

[@stevehoefel47]

Great episode. Thought I would do and touch and go, but the sailing caught me as well as making crumpets. Have to try that this summer in the Med. Enjoy the Carib... S/V Trident Star, '78 Amel Maramu #25

[@notwhatiwasraised2b]

I'm new here....wow....artistry

[@mememe5231]

Three ships. Great video

[@rmd1629]

The map explanation was very interesting.

[@johnwalker6711]

Great episode, she is a beautiful boat i would definately do some experimenting with your staysail and a reefed main

[@ViajerosPorMaryTierra]

I Love your videos. Just seen your one in Cartagena de Indias 🇨🇴 my wife is native from that beautiful city. We are crossing towards Barbados this January. Would love to meet you at some point ⛵❤️ all the best ⚓🦜🏴‍☠️⛵🌎

[@bertmacdonald337]

As Nelson said, "I see no ships!" BZ guys, you`re smashing it!

[@mikeherbert7664]

Best sailing channel on you tube . Video very much enjoyed

[@SailingSquib]

Sailing Yacht Florence!

[@robertgough5804]

Great vid and it shows how sorted both u and the boat are. Well done and thanks

[@thomasthornton5737]

😀👍👍👍❤ Hello to you both from Seattle, WA. (Northwest USA) Another very well-done video. Good "team work" on catching that beautiful fish. I bet it was excellent eating.

[@svfairisle]

It did three really nice meals

[@billygrahamyachtsinc753]

S&J, regardless of your targeted destination, have you ever tried comfort cruising? Which means Incase you don't know, heading in the direction of comfort. I have tried it on coastal Vancouver Canada, but the sea space is tight. Try it for a couple of days. What have you got to lose? You are not in a hurry. Then fun to see what your plotter shows. In some cases you may not lose much distance. In others you may be back in the UK. Lol

[@svfairisle]

Yes we do that a lot. On a trip like this though where it's already a long time at sea extending it for long periods isn't that appealing

[@MG1949]

Great passage making. In the past used to put up a bit of mainsail (sheeted tight a midship) it reduces roll when sailing downwind,maybe worth a try. I love your videos they are so professional well done.

[@Jcozz]

Does anyone ever rig flopper stoppers on sailboats for down wind ? Could just have some little outriggers set up. Sure does work a dream on some fishing boats I have worked on. Love your channel, your boat, and the way you two do things.

[@rolanddunk5054]

Hi, a great video totally interesting sailing and cooking sections.When I was at sea in trawlers and tugs the answer to being bounced around was fiddles and wet table cloths to stop things from sliding. Looking forward to seeing the next one,cheers Roly🇬🇧.

[@svfairisle]

Yes Fair Isle is pretty good for fiddles & I used to do the wet tee-towel trick, but now you get those grippy pads that you just cut to size, they’re excellent nothing slips off them

[@rolanddunk5054]

Being retired it was a make do and mend system in my day,even small yachts these days seem to have so many electrical devices and computers I am amazed at it all.😀Roly🇬🇧.

[@Alex000113]

Glad its going so well, being rolly a pain. I'll guess 5 ships. Must be comforting to have internet communications. Interesting to see your track on noforeignland. Congrats on landing the fish !

[@svfairisle]

Actually only 2 ships & we just met a couple at the cafe here who did exactly the same trip as us at the same time, they pulled into the anchorage just after us, but we didn't see them at all even on AIS

[@Alex000113]

@@svfairisle I guess it is a big ocean. Looking on noforeignland there seemed to be a convoy of boats making the crossing. I have no idea of AIS range settings. Maybe your route was off the large ship routes (no slavers today 🙂).

[@svfairisle]

Yes its always deceiving looking at NFL when it seems like the place is full! If you think about it even if theres 50 boats shown mid ocean theyre spread across 2000 miles of ocean! Even when you do a rally like the ARC and have 50 boats leave at the same time within a day you're very unlikely to see anyone else even though the tracker show a whole bunch of boats

[@marinesurveygroupltd7322]

Have you tried poled-out Genoa. Main on preventer out the other side. Staysail deployed and sheeted on hard to act as a steadying sail. Works a treat. Fast and much less rolly than just the Genoa.

[@svfairisle]

I didnt try the staysail as a damper no, I have in the past on other boats and it's ended up blanketing the wind for the fore sail but definitely worth a try on Fair Isle, if the winds far enough aft it might work

[@marinesurveygroupltd7322]

@@svfairisle Hopefully your bow spirit will be long enough to allow this set up to work, with the main right out. Safe sailing 🙂

[@simonmarden8013]

GOOD JOB

[@blackwell68]

For eating while at sea, we use stainless steel dog bowls. Flat bottom and high sides perfect for fine dining on the high seas. 22:02

[@calypso22]

Probably one of you best videos. Great stuff. I guess 3 ships. 🤐

[@jasonmcintosh2632]

Just saw the opening scene. Sailing, fishing, coordinating with wife, and filming all at the same time. Woah. That's a lot of juggling.

[@svfairisle]

Ha! yes it's true we were doing 8 knots at the time dead down wind with 30 knot gusts coming in slightly more on the starboard beam if I were hand steering it would take all my attention, just shows what a good job our auto pilot does.

[@Karma-fp7ho]

And staying calm!

[@malcolmholloway2358]

Love your videos.

[@jcfgh]

Brilliant. Thank you!

[@sdcofer52]

Steve, the angle on the preventer line looks so acute that it's hard to see how it can hold the boom to starboard. I always have an issue on other boats, getting the preventer in a good position.

[@yvonnekneeshaw2784]

Crazy to watch your cooking…always wondered about the difference between scones & crumpets. 3 ships is my guess. Watching the waves rise up and down behind you 😳 🇨🇦 ❤

[@tanyasoroka3314]

Excellent video. I've been following you since you started and are hoping to do that trip in a couple of years. We live on our 41 ft fraser sailboat and are taking early retirement in June (55 yrs) and heading from Vancouver Island in canada to Mexico then eventually to Panama. Maybe one day we will be in the same area to say hi!

[@svfairisle]

Sounds great, we would love to get up to the Pacific NW at some time, just a way off the beaten track, but may see you in Panama

[@Mike9001000]

Nice video - Once offshore, my guess is you saw no ships. Those crumpets really looked the business. That incessant rolling can’t have been a lot of fun, getting stuff done and sleeping

[@svfairisle]

There were only 2 ships that came into view in the far distance and we probably wouldn’t have even noticed them if it wasn’t for AIS.

[@2117joel]

Super and inspiring! BTW, I have installed starlink as well. In my research read that if you sell it to yourself with a new address it should allow you to get the cheaper rate.

[@svfairisle]

We are in the process of doing that now, spent most of yesterday trying to do it, but think we've just cracked it... fingers crossed. Will go through the process in the next episode

[@jamesmccourt1419]

Did anyone else see the beam of sunlight shining down on Steve as he reeled in his catch?

[@OnnoKok]

Beautiful passage so far, thank you for sharing. I'm ho;ping to cross the Atlantic in the other direction next year. I'm still in the Pacific, though, so I have a ways to go. As for Starlink, I believe you need to sell it to yourself and then register it again with a service address in the new continent. I know there has been several discussions on this topic online as cruisers from North America goin to Columbia exit their home continent as well. Cheers from the Lost Pearl, may we cross wakes some day.

[@svfairisle]

Thanks, I think you're right, I contacted Starlink support to ask if I can register it in a new continent and they say no, so looks like selling it to myself is the workaround!

[@sdcofer52]

Before I looked, if you've posted it, I would guess 3 ships sighted. I made a passage from Hawaii to San Francisco in the 70's with one large ship and one sailboat over 3,000 nautical miles.

[@teddyboysdontknit810]

You guys certainly put on a brave face, but that rolling! No wonder, for down wind sailing, most go with a cat or a modern cruiser with a flat bottom section, taken right back to the stern.

[@svfairisle]

Yes there might be a happy medium with flatter bottom sections but almost all moderne monohulls have gone way to far down that road and caused all sorts of problems. I’d also like to see what a cat would have been like in those conditions, obviously wouldn’t roll in that way but my experience of cats in rough conditions is they give a jerky ride that I personally don’t like, would have been very interesting to compare these confused rolly seas though

[@teddyboysdontknit810]

@isle I agree with your comment on the motion of the cat, That is why I have stayed with a monohull. I believe my 5 year old Jeanneau yachts 51 has a good compromise in hull shape and copes with a single rudder unlike all the newer shapes that require two. I have never experienced the Atlantic swell with this boat but she copes admirably in confused Med seas.

[@marikefinlay8485]

I keep the roll down by using a triple reefed main centred with the genoa out or both genoa and main out and use the centred staysail.

[@SailingSunday]

Looks like you had a great crossing, I remember the feeling of constant tumble dryer and ours was calmer lol, but we did hit a massive storm right in the middle on day 6 which is something I never want to live through again lol

[@svfairisle]

How long did yours take?

[@SailingSunday]

It took us just under 16 days from Mindelo - Martinique @@svfairisle

[@davidward113]

In 2007 I crewed for my son on his Westwind 43, Ty Dewi, a similar, though less modern yacht to Fair Isle. Less in the way of a keel, so more prone to rolling. Nick had fitted her with twin poles, and we sailed the whole way with poled out headsails and no main. To shorten sail we just rolled the headsails in , and let em out again as necessary. This gives a well balanced boat downwind, and minumum crew exposure, and very little rolling. We saw only 2 ships. Great conversation - us: We are a sailing vessel on collision course, please alter course. Them: we are a very big tanker on course Philadelphia to Nigeria. you alter course. Us: that puts our crew at risk. read your rules. They altered course.

[@peterhaymaker7562]

Absolutely loved the video, certainly worth the wait. Love the way you talk us through the journey; seems like we're one to one. How many ships? Maybe X18? With you both all the way. In my years gone by it was charts and only just on to chart plotters etc. Best wishes from a wet Kent. P.

[@paulkent5755]

hi Steve, in my experience a reefed main vanged down hard dramatically reduces the rolling Also by heading up 10 or more degrees ,likewise, forget the course , gybe in a day or so ,but have a far more comfortable ride, probably quicker too.

[@svfairisle]

Thats exactly what i tried first and yes it usually works to some degree with Fair Isle, but really wasnt doing much in that sea and with the wind dead aft was slating around. Maybe if we had really come off the wind and headed way South it would have been more comfortable, the weather routing certainly favoured that way. I think it would have been a lot slower though, 15 days is good going for a boat like ours

[@MrJudgementday99]

So for us with a folly sea we get the stay sail out and bring her in as tight as she can to midship, we find that it dampens the roll and acts as a shock absorber. We do have a plastic fantastic boat so it may be different for yours

[@svfairisle]

Didn't try the staysail, might be worth a go in future

[@lowellmccormick6991]

I wonder if a fresh deck fish could be battered and deep fried as is, no cleaning. It seems like it should be like a chip or crisp.

[@DavidM2002]

I sold my boat 30 years ago and I know things have changed regarding navigation but I can only imagine how much. Back then, I had a sextant and charts plus, when you are offshore, you make your own plotting sheet for daily fixes. I did have a Magellan ( I think ) GPS that was the size of a brick and it only gave Lat & Lon and consumed those big flashlight sized batteries at an amazing rate. So, regarding your comments about people not using charts much... how many offshore sailors carry a sextant these days ?

[@svfairisle]

You won’t find many people carrying a sextant these days! I sold mine years ago, in a way I wish I’d kept it if for no other reason than filming a little sequence on celestial navigation. It’s just not something you need to have these days as there are so many ways of getting redundancy in you electronic plotters.