Last night it was expected that we would be staying in Islay for another day at least, as there were gales force winds and rough seas predicted in the North Channel and the Irish Sea for today. However, early this morning Carsten received a weather update from the Danish weather service and it seemed the weather had eased. With the crew anxious to be on the move again, Carsten decided that 'Sea Stallion' would set sail – its destination, the Isle of Man. For the crew this meant being woken up at 7:30 and told to pack the tents as quickly as possible and be ready to sail. Triona says it was a bit of a shock after she expected another day off, but a pleasant one at least as she was looking forward to getting going again.
The crew donned full safety gear
For us it was also a shock, and the message didn’t reach the support vessel until 9. That meant I had just a few minutes to grab my gear and rush over to the ship where I arrived just in time to get aboard. I expected to be on for a few hours to film the departure from Islay and part of the crossing – little did I know I would be on the ship for almost 24 hours of the most dramatic sailing yet.
As we reached the open sea, the weather closed in and the seas began to get rougher and rougher. A short while out of Islay, 'Sea Stallion' dropped her sail. The knotted rope that (along with the leather strap) holds the sail in place had become loose. They were no longer able to steer properly and they were worried this was putting extra stress on the strap. They decided to replace it immediately, since the wind and waves were likely to get larger as we moved further out.
'Sea Stallion' braces itself for the next big wave
Sure enough, once we set off again the wind picked up and the swells started getting larger and larger. Being on 'Sea Stallion' in such conditions is exhilarating, but also fairly unnerving. The hull only rises about a metre above the waterline in calm conditions and, when sailing, that can reduce to a few inches. When you see waves coming towards you that are several metres high it looks as though there’s no chance of avoiding a soaking. The remarkable thing is that the ship is able to ride most of the waves very well and suddenly you find yourself raised up on a hill of water and looking down at the sea. Not always, however, and as the waves got bigger some of them started breaking over the ship. I (and my camera) got several waves right on top of us but fortunately both survived unharmed. The waves also made a transfer back to the support vessel quite impossible – it looked like I was on for the duration.
It started to rain quite heavily and the waves were growing. As the wind picked up, we took more and more reefs (reducing the size of the sail for safety.) Soon we were sailing in stronger winds than 'Sea Stallion' had ever experienced before. At this point the Captain ordered everyone to put on their survival suits. I was already in mine (I was taking no chances) and was glad I had put it on earlier, as the ship suddenly became even more crowded and chaotic than usual. It also raised the level of tension slightly – people knew this was serious now.
Dangerous moments as the sail is reduced in heavy seas
Suddenly more shouts and people started running up and down the ship. The order came to lower the sail immediately. Something was clearly wrong – its never good to lower the sail in these conditions as you lose forward momentum which makes the ship less stable. It turned out the leather strap had broken, as it had done in Norway. But this time the seas and the winds were much rougher. Whilst the rudder was being fixed, the order came in to put in a fourth reef. The sail had never been this reduced before – showing just how extraordinary the sailing conditions were. Meanwhile the crew of 'Island Fox' began to prepare for the possibility that we might have to tow 'Sea Stallion' into a safe harbour – no easy task in such rough conditions. On board we were ordered to zip up our survival suits to the top. When fully zipped these suits are extremely tight around the neck to avoid getting water in. You feel almost strangled and breathing can become difficult – but as that was what Carsten ordered, you knew it was important.
Without control the ship was turning more side on to the waves and so more waves were crashing over the side. After what seemed like an age the rudder was fixed and the now tiny sail was raised. Even with such a heavily reduced sail we were still managing around 9 knots. Moving again the ship became much more stable and although the odd wave still splashed over, the sense of danger passed.
The sense of excitement among the crew was tangible
Now the winds started to reduce a little and the sun even came out. Conditions had improved enough for a hot supper (using the dried camping food) though quite a few people were still suffering sea seasickness. I certainly had felt quite vulnerable at one point and was relieved we had got through it. We were making good progress towards the Isle of Man but wouldn’t get there until the early hours of the morning, so tonight would be another (possibly the last) night sail. After the tiring day, people were exhausted and even the hard cold oars looked appealing. At least everyone could sleep knowing we had made it through 'Sea Stallion’s biggest challenge yet.
Video footage from this section of the journey will be posted tomorrow.
