Bluewater Dreaming: Sailing Offshore With an All-Women Crew
We were all smiles as we helped to rescue Bob from the North Sea and bring him back aboard Falken. Bob was the only “male” aboard the 65-foot sloop and would spend the rest of the 660-mile offshore sailing passage stored in the sail locker away from the 10 women aboard. Bob is actually a life-size dummy and only comes out of the sail locker for training sessions. Taking Bob out and tossing him overboard was just one part of the safety orientation on an eight-day passage.
The first two days of the trip with 59 North Sailing were devoted to learning safety procedures as we motored our way out of the fjords around Bergen, Norway, heading to the North Sea with our final destination of Amsterdam, Netherlands. We all laughed as we tried to maneuver our way around the decks of the sloop while clipped in on the jacklines, with four of us starting on the port side and four on the starboard side. There was a lot of lovely chatter as we climbed over each other’s tethers. Earlier that day our skipper for the trip, Nikki Henderson, had us find all the fire extinguishers below deck and resources for pumping out water. We discussed the steps for a crew overboard and reviewed them later. There was no question that safety aboard was paramount as we quickly became a team.
Skipper Nikki, from the United Kingdom, and Mia Karlsson, from Sweden, first mate and co-founder of 59 North Sailing with her husband, Andy Schell, had a crew of all Americans ranging in age from 30 to 70. Four were currently living around the Chesapeake Bay, two were from the Pacific Northwest, and two were from the Midwest. Among us were current, former, and future boat owners and several with plans to take on cruising full time. Reasons for joining the passage varied from hoping to learn how to be a more confident sailor in preparation for cruising with a family to taking on an offshore sailing challenge. The senior member of the crew introduced herself with the slogan, “Adventure before dementia.”
Buckets “just in case”
Life onboard changed for most of us on day three as we left the rocky tree lined cliffs of Norway and entered the North Sea. Before long Falken was beating into a south wind with gusts up to 30 knots. The waves didn’t seem that big, but the bow of Falken has a tendency to slap down after coming off a wave which made for a very bouncy, rough ride. By evening, seven of the eight crew experienced seasickness. All who suffered were wearing motion sickness relief patches, so not a great endorsement for that remedy. For those who needed to be close to the leeward side, “just in case,” the area behind the leeward helm was named the meditation room. It was a perfect spot to sit low and contemplate life while looking out as the waves washed away from the boat and hopefully washing away the feelings of uneasiness caused by the dark menacing sea. At times, there were two crew seated there but always still with a smile.
At one point, Nikki bounced around the cockpit with a roll of paper towels while passing around a rubber bucket. By the second morning at sea, each set of berths had a “just in case” bucket hanging from the top berth. A couple of the crew weren’t able to come up for watch, so they were served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in their berths. Not even passengers on luxury cruises get served meals in their berths by the captain. We all got a good laugh when one of the more severely ill announced, “I am on vacation. But I need the bucket near me.” She also told us, “I told my boss I was going on a cruise. He thinks I am sipping champagne every day.”
By the end of the second day at sea, most of the crew had stomachs that had settled down and were able to come up for watch and take a shift at the helm. Conversation and laughs in the large cockpit were a part of every watch even at 2 a.m.
Becoming a team
One of the nicer points of a women-only crew is that there is no fear of discussing personal issues. We shared trip-related accomplishments those first few days. Not only did we share how many times we had vomited but also the resolution of constipation issues. Upon success, a cheer of congratulations rang out across the North Sea.
Food, husbands or boyfriends, children, past and future travels, and even tattoos were all topics of conversation in between reefing or shaking out reefs in the main or tacking or gybing. We had four-hour watches with four crew on at a time, but often those going off watch would stick around in the cockpit for some more conversation. At times, it felt a bit eerie being so alone with just the 10 of us in the middle of the North Sea and not seeing any other boats for the first three days. We heaved-to on a mild evening so that all 10 of us could have dinner together in the comfy cockpit while sharing more laughs.
Watch rotations often included an exchange of highlights from the previous watch such as a glorious sunset or sunrise, and one watch reported seeing the bioluminscent water bounce off Falken’s hull. One watch that came up at 10 p.m. got to see a luminous full moon rise just on the windward side of the mast. For the helmswoman, keeping the moon on the side of the mast was a pleasant switch from trying to keep an eye on a compass bearing.
Captain Nikki would give an assignment without much explanation and let those on watch attempt to accomplish it. One assignment was to rig up the staysail. The four crew members worked together to locate it in the sail locker and hoist the heavy bag up on deck. It was truly cooperative work with all suggestions considered and no one dominating.
It was amazing to see how we worked as a team when needed despite our age differences and varied sailing experience and backgrounds. No question or request for clarification of a task was ever ridiculed. We offered each other lots of encouragement. Everyone took a turn whether it was on the big coffee grinder in the center of the cockpit or hoisting the main. This boat had no electric winches, so some duties required two gals on the winch handle.
Surfing to Amsterdam
Our last full day at sea had us skirting oil rigs, wind farms, and large tankers. The wind was at our back, which was almost perfect for allowing Falken to surf on the waves. To really surf would have put Falken a bit off course, heading too close to another oil rig. That was a real disappointment to the crew at the helm who enjoyed the challenge of keeping Falken on a wave. When Nikki noticed we were a bit off course, she popped up in the companionway, jokingly offering to get that crew member a surfboard for future adventures and to get back on course.
Our final challenge was our last morning in the North Sea. There was a true sense of accomplishment once the mainsail was down, flaked, and secured with sail ties. Bouncing around out at sea just before entering the channel to Amsterdam, we recognized we had become a great team.
Falken had to pass through a lock in order to enter the Noordzeekanaal en route to Amsterdam, our final destination. Standing on the wall just past the lock were two Dutch customs officers. They called to us to approach them. Everyone was on deck as the officers asked about where we were coming from and where we were headed. One of the men, asked, “Are there only women aboard?” Nikki responded, “Yes,” and with that the officer said we could proceed. Had they never seen a large cruising vessel with an all women crew? They had that morning.
Lacking any cell or internet service allowed us all to enjoy a news-free seven days. Phones were only used as cameras, and our lives were free of those instant notifications. Not learning about Biden stepping down until after our arrival in Amsterdam, five days after the announcement, kept the topic of politics out of the cockpit. That seemed to be the one topic of conversation that was rarely touched upon while at sea. We got to discuss the situation while sipping drinks in a restaurant overlooking the marina where Falken was docked.
The final destination was a modern marina equipped with 10 shower stalls. Once the boat was cleaned up and washed down, the crew headed to the marina for well-deserved showers after a week of living in foulies. When everyone was cleaned up, we sat around the cockpit for a final briefing and happy hour. The popular black buckets from our third day were out but were turned over to serve as hors d’oeuvre tables. Each member told of her high and low points and what she felt she had gained from the week at sea. There was some seriousness but also more laughs about some of the events we had experienced together. Compliments were shared and encouragements were given to those planning to do some cruising in the near future. We had conquered the North Sea together. ~by Anne Kaiser
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