Transatlantic Recap

We have now been in Ireland for one week. It is a beautiful country filled with warm and welcoming people, and we have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Since our arrival, we have been moored in Bantry Bay.

The picture above is of St. Brendan the Navigator (c. 484–577), one of Ireland's early monastic saints and the patron saint of mariners, sailors, and travelers. His statue stands with outstretched arms facing the bay, symbolically guiding ships into Bantry Harbour and celebrating the town's maritime heritage. Quite a fitting sight after arriving from our transatlantic passage!

We have spent the last few days recovering from our epic adventure, making some additional boat repairs, and doing a bit of exploring — more on all of that in a future post. In the meantime, here is a quick recap of our Atlantic crossing.

Trip Stats

Beaufort, NC to Bermuda : 6 days, 682 miles

We spent 10 days in Bermuda, exploring and waiting on a weather window.

Bermuda to Azores : 15 days, 2154 miles

We spent 27 days in the Azores, exploring the islands of Faial, São Jorge, and Terceira, making repairs, and awaiting a weather window.

Azores to Ireland — 9 days, 1259 miles

We plan to spend the next 1-2 months exploring coast towns.

Total number of miles traveled: 4,095 miles

Total number of nights spent at sea: 27 nights at sea over 67 days

Highlights: The marine life—dolphins and whales—and seeing land for the first time after long periods at sea.

Overall, the passage went very well. Yes, we encountered some terrible weather during the Azores crossing; however, in the grand scheme of things, it could have been much worse. Ninety percent of the passage was incredible.

We both feel a profound sense of awe and accomplishment at what we just experienced, coupled with deep humility and immense gratitude that God held us fast and brought us safely into harbor. What a wild adventure we shared together.

Now, we get to enjoy some of the fruit of a year's worth of preparation and hard work that brought us to this point. At the same time, life will begin to settle into a new normal—working, handling the rhythms of everyday life, and doing it all while living in a new country.

All is well!

Living untethered, but held fast.