Lots of layers

Hot Soup

The Companionway

So would it surprise you to learn that even when it’s bright and sunny and warm on land, it is a tad chilly out on the open North Atlantic?  We learned right from Day Two that ’tis better to overdress in many layers and start stripping once you got too warm (a rare event) cuz if you got chilled from the start, it was not nice.  Thermal underwear, wool, and a good set of coastal marine sail pants and coat are a must.

Now some would say, why not just go down below to warm up?  Well, with 10 foot waves only 3 seconds apart, even the heartiest of sailors with their lifelong sea legs know being confined below is not wise.  Also, it’s nice for the cap’n to have company…… So an excellent alternative is simply to hang out in the companionway!   The first mate did a lot of sitting in the companionway facing the cap’n and under the protection of the dodger which was lovely.   But even better, to warm up even faster, she found that sitting front on got half her body in the cabin, the other half under the dodger, and some reprieve from the view from behind.

And of course, nothing beats a good old fashioned cup of Lipton chicken noodle soup to warm the innards.   It became a daily ritual, served in a thermal travel mug, an excellent simple and inexpensive addition to our equipment this trip (unlike most of the equipment upgrades).  Whether or not there is any actual science to the hot soup method of warming up, we don’t know, but it sure seems to have a warm and cozy kind of impact.