What is it like crossing the Atlantic Ocean?

The Atlantic Ocean is a popular ocean to cross. It can be rough to cross in the British Summer but in Winter it is usually quite calm. One of the reasons it is so popular is because there are trade winds that push across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean. People have been using the trade winds for hundreds of years.

When we sailed the Atlantic Ocean, it took us twenty-eight days! In that time, we sailed three thousand one hundred nautical miles. Most of the time we had good weather (warm and breezy). But there were a few days where we had no wind at all. On those days we could not sail but the ocean was like a mirror which was beautiful. We also saw plenty of wildlife, including, dolphins, many sea birds, marlin, tuna but most of all flying fish and the occasional ship.

The exact time became less important to me because when the sun came up, you wake up, when the sun goes down, you go to bed. At all times, day, and night, someone has to be on watch. My watches were at sunrise and sunset. When on watch you must be alert for danger like passing ships, but I also enjoyed reading on my watch.

When the days became long, meals become especially important. Before dinner we would sometimes have Captain’s hour. At Captains hour everybody gathers to share a drink. Often, we would listen to music, sometimes dance, and even play exercise games.

On most days I also kept up with schoolwork. It is often harder because the boat can move a lot and the temperature was often over 30°C.

It was very exciting to see the lights of land twinkling in the distance when we finally arrived in the Caribbean. I really enjoy the sailing the Atlantic Ocean, but exploring the coast of tropical islands is even more fun.

In fact, we have just seen a nurse shark swim past the boat right now! Time to go snorkelling!