Natasha loved her Atlantic crossing so much she is currently planning more ocean crossings, looking for help and support to make it happen, The Panama, The Pacific and further! So please do get in touch if you’d like to be involved! All our projects are made possible by a team of dedicated people and some wonderful companies.
The Challenge
I have long dreamed of sailing the Atlantic Ocean on my own boat. On 22nd of November 2020 myself, my family, my crew, and my catamaran “Blown Away” commenced our attempt at an Atlantic crossing. As Blown Away crossed the start line off Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the wind died ,and the boat becalmed, a very inauspicious start, hopefully not an omen of what was to follow; the passage is nearly 3000 nautical miles, we needed to get the boat moving.
As the afternoon gave way to evening a breeze set in from the East at first gentle, but slowly it built, before long we had 25 knots from behind; Blown Away and I were flying, 8knots, I sighed a sigh of relief. The first five days remained the same with Blown Away traveling inexorably towards the Caribbean. The days blended and I settled into a watch pattern. I and my family were mesmerized by the vastness of the ocean, and the heavens at night . Despite descriptions nothing can prepare you for the reality of this vast untamed wilderness. Paradoxically whilst in the midst of this vastness your concerns, and world, shrink to the very small boat you’re living, and sailing on. Strangely the boat appears to diminish in size in inverse proportion to the seemingly endless Ocean.
We had seen no other vessels since leaving Gran Canaria, the day was giving way to evening, the light was diminishing, but it was not yet dark . We had just changed watch, and my dad Gary had just taken over, he strolled around the boat ensuring that everything was as it should be and nothing was untoward. He checked the chart plotter, as usual no AIS targets. Just to make sure he turned on the radar, nothing, all was as it should be. He went out to the helm position, suddenly a shout, the boat lurched to port as a small sailing boat with a very dim navigation light passed by on the starboard side! Lesson learnt, there’s no room for complacency out here, that’s what’s going to kill you.
Songs were sung , books were read , watches were carried out, the seemingly endless journey continued. The phosphorescence in the water captivated everyone, but what entertained our silly side was the phosphorescence in the toilet at night, a thousand sparkly stars falling through the toilet, we called it the “princess toilet”.
We were half way across the Atlantic, nothing for 1500Nm in either direction; the second of the daily weather forecasts had just downloaded, a depression was forming to the North, nothing dramatic , but still something to be aware of. By the next morning the depression had deepened, and was tracking south. We had received reports of vessels to the north experiencing 50Kn wind and a significant sea state. This was starting to become serious; if it kept developing and tracking south it would be on us in twelve hours . We couldn’t outrun it, we weren’t fast enough, we had to prepare. We reduced sail and awaited the inevitable. As evening approached there was the usual darkening of the sky, but beneath this there was an ominous black layer . The wind started to increase; we could now clearly see lightening flashes in the sky. It was now dark, the sea state had increased, and Blown Away lurched as waves picked her up from behind. We rolled down the back of the wave into the trough just as the next wave lifted the stern in the never ending unfunny funfair ride!
All through the night the storm tossed us about. As dawn broke we were enveloped in heavy grey clouds, the sea had become confused, and waves were coming at us in many different angles slamming into the side of Blown Away with a crash, but the most disturbing problem was the lightening, by now striking all around us, in front, behind, to the sides; this storm had us well and truly in its grasp. We couldn’t sail the wind and the sea was coming from all directions.
We decided to drop the sail and start the engines. We turned off all the electronics, put iPads and phones in the oven to hopefully act as a Faraday cage. For the next three hours we steered by compass, and even some of the time simply steering for the less dark part of the sky . The lightening continued to strike around us, but slowly the dark grey started to lighten. The sea state, although still large was at least coming from one direction. We had weathered the storm and been firmly put in our place by mother nature.
On the sixteenth day we sighted another sail, a fellow traveller also heading for the Caribbean. We were closing in on our objective, the Caribbean island of St Lucia. By now both myself and the crew were very tired, the lack of sleep was taking it’s toll, but our impending arrival aroused mixed emotions in me. On the one hand we had achieved what we had set out to do, cross an ocean, and it would be wonderful to set foot (or in my case wheel) on land again , but the sailor in me was sad that this extraordinary journey was coming to an end. The night before we arrived I had the strangest experience; I literally smelt land . For the previous two and a half weeks I could smell nothing but the ocean, but there it was, the smell of soil, of land. We sailed into Rodney Bay on St Lucia at 6.30AM on 11th of December 2020; the sun came up, we docked the boat and we went into Quarantine. It was, after all, the height of the Covid pandemic.
Previous update on preparations for the challenge.
YES, the challenge is definitely going ahead and starts on Sunday 22 November 2020!
After the postponement from last year it is so pleasing to be able to announce that we are all in Gran Canaria with Blown Away ready to start the crossing with the rest of the ARC fleet. We have spent the last 2 weeks here doing the final preparations on the boat and fitting extra solar panels, fixing the hydro generator, new radar reflector amongst many other tasks. The excitement around our team is palpable.
Whilst we have been here there has been an interview with The Times that was published on 7 November along with interviews with Yachting World and Sailing today. Yachting World footage was published on-line on Friday 13 November.
We have really enjoyed meeting with the other teams in the ARC and sharing all the interesting stories and tips that we all . What a lovely atmosphere.
You can follow Natasha’s progress on Blown Away by using Yellow Brick or following on the World Cruising club website. There will also be updates on the website Blog.
The challenge to cross the Atlantic for Natasha Lambert was sadly postponed last year as her boat was not quite ready for the trip.
It did look like this was going to be postponed again due to Covid19, however, we got the news from the marinas that we were allowed back to the boats and work commenced in earnest, also we had confirmation from World Cruising Club that the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) would be able to go ahead. Good news for the team.
Work progressed well with sea trials as well and the team were able to plan their delivery trip to Gran Canaria to commence on 1 August this year. Crew assembled on Friday 31 July and final provisioning taken care of, after a briefing and a good night’s sleep, the crew were all up early on 1 August and ready for the off.
The first part of this voyage would be short day sails which allowed the team the opportunity to visit different French Ports on their way whilst watching the weather for the best time to start the longest leg of this trip direct to Gibraltar.
The next few days saw Blown Away leave Cherbourg on 3 August and do day sails stopping overnight at Granville, L`Aber Wrac`h, Saint-Quay, Roscoff, and arriving in Brest on 7 August. This allowed the team the opportunity to visit different ports of France on their way whilst watching the weather for the best time to start the longest leg of the trip direct to Gibraltar. All this went very well, and after looking at the weather, it was decided that they would leave Brest on 9 August and head directly for Gibraltar, heading about 80 miles offshore to avoid the shelf at Biscay. The crew settled well into a watch system for the journey and taking in their stride the night sailing. Storms were noticed around and off Biscay, all of which were sailed around. For a few on board this would be their first time offshore and experiencing the North Atlantic, so a long 4m swell appeared at first to be quite awesome, but Blown Away took this in her stride and was not bothered at all. With the boat taking this well within her capabilities, the novices on the crew grew to accept this as nothing out of the ordinary.
Whilst offshore it was discovered that the satellite comms was not working properly and that the hydro generator did not appear to produce the power expected. These were addressed and resolved.
16 August saw us arrive in Gibraltar after 1008 miles continuous (the longest single leg we have done) where we put in at La Linea marina. The marina was very welcoming and it was a pleasure to see that they were easily ably to accommodate sailors with disabilities. The pontoons and ramps were all wide enough. Just a short walk and the crew were able to enjoy a tour around Gibraltar and meet with the Barberry Apes.
In Gibraltar there was a crew change for the last leg of this journey to Gran Canaria.
We departed Gibraltar on 23 August arriving in Gran Canaria on 29 August. Once there and the boat cleaned down, the crew flew back to UK whilst the family enjoyed a couple of days relaxing before returning.
Having spoken with the family since their return they say that there were no low points throughout the whole journey, in fact, the whole team settled well into a routine. There were a lot of new experiences and a lot of learning, all of which they took in their stride.
Next leg is the Challenge itself. The team will be flying back to Gran Canaria early in November to re-join Blown Away and do the final preparing for the ARC which departs on 22 November.
Natasha, is undertaking this challenge to raise much needed funds for 3 charities; the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, RNLI and the MissIsle School of Sip Puff Sailing. The aim is to raise £30,000 to share equally between the 3 charities.
If there is any further information you would like on plans please do contact us.
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