Ep42 | Offshore Sailing from Portugal to the Canaries | Part 2 - Seasickness & Special Encounters

January 26-28, 2021 Liv is still having a hard time keeping food down, but is sticking out her night-watches so that Eivind can get some rest, too! The wind-vane was working effortlessly, freeing us from the constant, annoying beeps from the electronic autopilot. Such a relief! The full moon gave us some comfort in the night, making it possible to see a little out on the horizon…but the nights were long, nevertheless. Eivind adjusts the back-stay, which optimizes the sail trim. The wind conditions were stable the second night, at a good 20 knots, propelling our sailboat at a consistent 7 knots throughout the night. Liv was hoping NOT to encounter any whales on this passage. To give you a little background for her fear of a whale-encounter, we explain why. In the summer of 2020, shortly after the first global COVID lockdown, a strange phenomenon began in the water of the Iberian peninsula: Orcas attacked sailboats…especially ranging from 40-50ft in length (ours is 43ft). In 2021, there were 197 recorded interactions between orcas and vessels. This was part of an ongoing trend that continued through 2023, totaling over 500 interactions. Orcas often approached sailing vessels from behind and focused on the rudders. • Reported damage varied from tooth marks to complete rudder loss, with some cases resulting in sunken vessels. • Most affected vessels were monohull sailboats averaging about 12 meters in length and traveling at speeds comparable to those of orcas. You can understand why I was on high-alert for Orcas travelling these waters. Additionally, Sailing along the route from Lagos to La Graciosa coincides with the migratory path of the Iberian orca subpopulation. There have been documented orca interactions in Portuguese waters, particularly involving slow-moving sailboats, indicating this route passes through areas with higher reported activity. Experts have recommended that during an orca encounter, it may be advisable to stop the boat, which includes reducing speed, stopping the engine, lowering sails, turning off autopilot, and allowing the rudder to move freely. This would help reduce the chance of damage or escalate the situation by reducing orca interest. Other suggestions were to minimizing stimuli: turning off electronics and avoiding loud noises or abrupt movements, as these actions might affect orca behavior. We informed the kids about these precautions, so they would be prepared in case we met some on this infamous Orca route. The boys find unique fun things to do, like catapulting bread crumbs in each other's mouths and having an "Impromptu Math Hour": How many times does the sailbaot rock back & forth in 4 full days (using the model of waves at the moment) = 92,160 Espen says that we probably rock even more than that… Aksel figured out that we’d rock almost a half million times sailing over the Atlantic Ocean!! Since this video got so long, we’re going to have to continue our passage in the next episode. Fortunately for our viewers, there will be no more vomiting, but only hopeful expectations and a glimpse of the most northerly Canary Islands! From our family to yours, thank you for joining us on this journey! If you're riding through storms or soaking up sunshine, we pray you feel God's anchoring presence with you. Get in touch with us. We'd love to hear from you! Thanks for watching! Until next time, ELANE ------------------------------------------- CREDITS: Movavi Video Suite 25 Epidemic Sound: - Sunshine – nothanks - Weather Any Storm – Cody Francis - Happy Birthday (Piano Version) – Helmut Schenker - Orcas – Marten Moses - Company with Whales – Jo Wandrini - Blobby – Rocket Jr - Songs of Tomorrow – Volcan Peaks - Weather Any Storm (Instrumental Version) – Cody Francis www.outsideonline.com https://youtu.be/O7qlWuc9vNE?si=I2EFSXeY3jbQh-w9 The New Yorker www.people.com BBC Global News www.sailworldcruising.com