From Fort Lauderdale to Bermuda...rough bro!

8 days, that’s what it took us to sail from Fort Lauderdale to Bermuda… You might be tempted to think this is not a long time, but I promise you it was long enough for the three of us to be really happy to get there safe and sound… The triangle of Bermuda did not get us… but it was pretty close…

Now, let’s begin with the beginning and a slight change on the boat at the very last moment. Before being sold to an Irish guy, hence the delivery to Ireland, Hauraki first belonged to a kiwi, skipper of the America’s cup. The new owner decided to name the boat after Macavity… for a famous Irish cat he says…

The change of name on the hull has then to be made for insurance purposes in case anything happened… However, as the boat papers only mentioned Hauraki, and it was weird to have Macavity, Cork on one side and Auckland, New Zealand on the other side, we decided to hide the new name under this beautiful sheep, a piece of art signed Rachel…
Isn’t it lovely this kiwi sheep? To tell the truth, we all preferred Hauraki as a name and you can imagine how happy and proud I was anyway to fly the kiwi flag, awesome hey!

The start of our trip was pretty original, motoring on the inland channels of Fort Lauderdale, from the marina to the open ocean, crossing 6 different bridges. Cool stuff to pass these bridges: we just gave them a call when having them in sight, and they would open the bridge for us.
We’ve seen amazing houses all along… you would not believe it, how rich some people are over there… what ridiculous amount of money they waste in building such big houses I bet they hardly use… I felt so sorry for all those who need a home and are starving while others have so much… anyway, I’m not gonna change the world…
What struck me also is how many American flags I’ve seen. Most of the houses have a pall in their garden, and proudly display the national colors…as if to remind them in which country they are living, … I’m a little cheeky but truth is I did not get it: is it they feel so proud of being American, are they so patriot…??? I mean, I love my country too but can you imagine having a French flag in your garden???

Now, let’s go back to sailing.

I have to say that the first night, I’ve been a bit of a pussy really… Even if the conditions were pretty smooth, I could not sleep well, thinking that the cat could flip over, which cannot happen with a mono hull… I was so tired and pissed off trying to sleep that I told myself in bed that this would be my last Atlantic crossing… which is exactly what I said last time on Lola after a few white nights!!! Funny hey how the fact to be tired changes everything… the following day, I was back to normal, enjoying it and happy to be there, to be on the water again, with a 360 degrees view over the ocean. Happy to feel peaceful, full of life and energy, in harmony with the world around us, to look at the stars, watch the sunsets, the moon rising, starting from red, then orange, yellow and turning into white.

A cat is definitely another adventure compared to a mono hull, so much more comfortable, with more space on board, and more stable, no need to hold your plate all the time! I mostly had a really good sleep and felt more rested than on Mistral or Lola. However, even if I may sound fussy, there’s nothing better for me than sailing on a mono hull. Sensations are more intense, I love when the boat heals on its side, I love to steer it and feel the wind in the sails… and it’s even better when it is smaller. 46ft is not that a bigger boat but we are talking here of a catamaran, so much wider than a mono hull. This one is more than 7m wide, so kind of the double of Lola or Mistral’s width. And the good thing about a mono hull, is that you know you can’t capsize!!!

After 3 really calm and nice days, the wind finally increased to 20 knts: cool bro, let’s get rid of the engine, take a reef in the main sail (reducing the main sail) and sail! So good…

The following day, the wind picked up to 25 knts: no worries bro, I took 3 rolls in the genoa during my night watch… with a little bit of damage though, the plastic protection too close to the winch burnt my hand when rolling the gen… nice tattoo though!

The same day later on, a big wave crashed in the bow and ripped through the two supports riveted to the front aluminum bar, causing a risk for the mast to go forward…


Scary bro… Jordi and Rachel got it all sorted; they lifted up this damned triangle which should have never been there in the first place, especially on a cat (see picture) and tied it to the mast with two ropes, hoping this would be solid enough. Woo, it was getting really rolling now, really cold outside and hard to sleep because of the heavy banging of both hulls on the water… and then you begin to think: what the hell am I doing here? Why do I need to get myself into such a situation??? Did I really say I loved sailing??!
Then, whereas the weather forecast kept on announcing 20 knts maxi, the day after, the wind picked up again to 33 knts, gusting up to 38!!! Jordi and I took a third reef… and went through the biggest showers ever seen. The whole radar was yellow on 5 miles around… really impressive bro… Hauraki held well, thanks God!
The morning after, when it was my turn to be on watch, I did not need to talk to Rachel, we looked at each other and cracked up! Welcome to the good old times! The good thing about going through such a shitty weather is that we really appreciate when it calms down, and it brings us together… what a good team, I never panicked as I knew I could trust both captains… we shared some intense moments and the three of us ended up with the same feelings about the whole thing… never again! We promised ourselves it would be our last Atlantic crossing!!!



Finally, the 2 last days, the wind began to decrease to 30, then 25 knots, finishing with a good 20… at last the one announced by the weather forecast… So cool to see the sun rising again, to be warm, be able to see the sun rising, and at last, see land… Eureka, we made it bro, Bermuda at last, and an amazing turquoise water!

Well, here we are now in Bermuda, waiting to receive the parts to be changed before sailing to the Acores. No doubt we will take advantage of the time we have to stay here to discover the island and have some rest while we can! And let’s hope we’ve been through the hardest part of this sailing trip… but who knows??!!!