Day 7...Middle of Atlantic

Wallace's Sailing Adventure on "Arbella"
Mike and Vicki Wallace
Tue 4 Dec 2012 16:28

23:03.45N 38:41.4W   Half-way…literally, “the middle of the Atlantic Ocean”… shorter to finish than retreat… 7 days, 1477 nautical miles, average: 211 miles per day for 7 days!  Still have 20-22 knots, port tack, beam reach, 9.2 knots through the water, seas settling at 4-5 feet.  We are celebrating the “Middle of the Atlantic” waypoint with a brunch celebration.  Cap made his famous Maine blueberry French toast, and we broke out a bottle of champagne for mimosas or straight.  The crew was in “Arbella casual” except Erik who went full “informal”  (wearing his dad’s blazer).   It is a very sunny day but we are still, fast, fast, fast…with winds still too strong to fly the spinnaker, but we frequently go to full genoa and main (yet we shorten them at times to sail more efficiently and actually faster).  The picture of the chart below is a bit humbling as it brings home the reality of where we are….most east coast passages we have done are not much longer than this, and yet we have at least 8-9 days to go here….since the winds definitely will be getting lighter and our speed diminish around Thursday.  As we move along, we are contemplating the early voyagers who have crossed this area….and yet it could well be that no other vessel has ever crossed this exact spot, since the Atlantic is so big….it contains 25% of the sea water on earth, with an ocean bottom that has only very barely been explored….high mountains and low valleys from the ocean floor.  The largest exploration of the ocean is still viewed to be that by the Darwin expedition, which lasted 3 ½ years, starting in 1831…the collections of species, ocean bottom, flora, fauna, etc. that he brought back to England took 15 years to catalogue!!  Another of the great explorations of the seas was done by Prince Albert of Monaco in the late 19th and early 20th century….he did much charting with an impressive fleet, all funded by the financial gains from the Grand Casino in Monaco…due to his interests in 1921 the International Hydrographic Office was agreed to be established in Monaco in 1921, where it is today…they are the official body that determines the boundaries of the seas and oceans of the world and recognized by all.  We are approaching the “Mid Atlantic Ridge” underwater mountain range….our depth right now is 5,300 meters or 17,000 feet (3.2 miles) ….yet shortly we will cross the Ridge at 1576 meters or 5,043 feet…so the Ridge is about a 12,000  foot underwater mountain at this point!  Tomorrow, responding to questions about emergencies, etc., I will address navigation, communications, and abandon ship…which plan to only intellectually contemplate!!  Mike

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