Atlantic, twice, and then again

Atlantic, twice, and then again

I first sailed across the Atlantic 22 years ago. Dawn and I left Lanzarote on December 24th 2004 aboard Erika II, a 42-foot long-keeled, cutter-rigged, heavy displacement monohull in the Colin Archer style, with an 8-foot bowsprit. On January 15th 2005, Antigua finally appeared, with champagne on the bow at 9am and dolphins below.

Almost exactly 10 years later, Escapade set off again from Lanzarote in a newly hatched Outremer 51, taking the southern route via Mindelo in the Cape Verde islands. That crossing covered Mindelo to Antigua in 10 days, arriving in January 2015.

Another decade passed, and Alex and Arabella launched their Outremer 52 'Outlaw' in 2025. Dawn and the author flew to Cape Verde to meet Outlaw. In Mindelo, after taking on final provisions, there was a crew change: Dawn jumped ship and new crew arrived for the crossing to the Caribbean. Escapade remained safely tied up in Lombok while the NW Monsoon blew through.

Gobble's Take: Three Atlantic crossings, roughly a decade apart each time, on three very different boats.

Source: escapade sailing

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