Herb Mathisen
Special to Northern News Services
Published Friday, January 18, 2008
YELLOWKNIFE - As late November snow squalls and lung-stabbing cold stung the sun deprived city of Yellowknife, two of its intrepid residents got set to kick off a year and a half long adventure around the world.
They too were preparing for squalls and extremes in temperature, however, the hazards they were about to encounter would bear no resemblance to the ones harassing us North of 60. Indeed, things would be much different in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Kelly Bourassa with a dorado he pulled in on Day 7 of his 2,700 nautical mile sailing trip. - photo courtesy of Herb Mathisen |
Kelly Bourassa and Caroline Morrisette, after a brief stop in Caroline's home in Quebec, hopped on a jet and flew eight hours to Spain over a body of water they would later take 16 days to recross.
Once there, the couple underwent two weeks of training: learning how to navigate on the sea, familiarizing themselves with emergency procedures and with their new home - the 14-metre long Nimrod (the moniker thankfully no reflection of its captain's ability).
The couple joined a crew consisting of Captain Paul, first mate Alistair and three retirees who, the first mate joked, were on the SKI (Spend the Kids Inheritance) mission. All were British and old enough to be Kelly and Caroline's parents or grandparents.
The Nimrod was part of a fleet of nearly 240 yachts making the trip. The race - the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers - began off the Spanish town of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (in the Canary Islands) and would end 2,700 nautical miles away in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia in the Caribbean. The ARC celebrated its 22nd year with its largest contingent to date.
The journey began on Nov. 25, with nearly all the boats setting out in a cluster. A purely pleasure cruise, this would not be. The crew was split into three groups for watches, with shifts being three hours long with a six-hour break in between - meaning no one would get more than six hours continuous sleep.
The first days aboard the Nimrod were trying as everyone adjusted to routine and tried to get their sea legs. Seasickness was the norm. And the couple wondered what they had got themselves into.
Dish washing and general maintenance took up much of the day not already occupied by watch. However, in their leisure time, they marvelled at shooting stars in the pristine night sky, charted theirs and others boats' positions - by picking up their chatter on the radio with their GPS, watched lightning shows off in the horizon and hollering their appreciation at the dolphins that kept them company.
Cooking played a large part in their day. Kelly and Caroline did their best to assimilate the rest of the crew, by sharing with them Canada's greatest natural resource: maple syrup. And alone, surrounded by nothing but water, they were awed by how, in our times, they were only an email away from loved ones.
As the boat blew along the trade winds and closer to the Americas, the days grew hotter. Predictably, the Northerners had difficulty coping with the heat, which reached upwards to 32 C at midday. They preferred the cooler nights to the sweltering days.
Throughout the trip, the Nimrod trailed a lure behind them in their phosphorescent wake and despite Kelly's mangling the first few attempts, they managed to pull in a large dorado on Day 7, which picked up crew's morale.
The Nimrod occasionally encountered bad weather. On Day 14, it ran into a violent storm carrying 40 knot winds, which sent the boat heeling - or leaning - precariously over. "All hands on deck," was called, sending those sleeping below up on deck, where they worked to quickly reef (diminish the surface area) of their sail. With the rain coming down nearly horizontal, the crew compared the scene to the TV show "The World's Deadliest Catch." Caroline marvelled at how quickly the weather could change, because hours later, they were sitting on a wave-less carpet of blue.
In the middle of the ocean, it was odd to see more than one or two boats, but gradually they saw more as everyone converged upon St. Lucia, which they finally hit 16 days from Spain, and without once having to use their motor.
The crew eagerly hopped onto land, bee-lined to the pub and swapped stories with fellow seafarers. After performing some minor maintenance on the boat, they set sail again to leisurely explore the island. Though it was an amazing adventure and the two became closer by getting through it together, Caroline writes that when it's time to cross the Pacific and take the Orient Express across Asia, they won't be too disappointed to be doing it by plane.
To follow Kelly and Caroline on their adventure, or to wish them well, visit their travel blog at mori-bou-voyage.blog4ever.com
