Where The Wind Found Me

In prior excerpts, I watched the wind. I used it for answers and I let it guide me to moments I was both grateful and proud to be a part of. Now that the wind has found me, I sail onwards with it as part of me.

The Alex-2 has been a whirlwind of emotions. We left Kiel, a city described to me as “the largest village you will ever see”, on the sixth of the month. From there we made our way North West, snaking our way through the Deutsch and Danish islands before reaching the northern most point of Denmark: Skagen point. Known to be a sailors milestone of sorts, Skagen is also the divider between the Baltic and North Sea. In a fascinating turn of events, at one point in this leg of the sail, our moving home managed to travel through the national waters of three separate countries in a mere 24 hours: Denmark, followed by Sweden before settling into the waters of Norway. When I had signed up as Stamm Crew for this trip, I had thought we would only be traversing the waters of Germany, Denmark, and Scotland so this was a pleasant surprise to say the least.

The most fascinating thing about this journey to me though has been the sunsets, or rather, the lack thereof (in a technical way). Yes, we do watch the sun fall beneath the horizon but once this normal thing occurs, what supersedes is unlike anything I have witnessed before. The sky never gets dark. It marinades in a series of colours unlike any sunset I’ve laid my eyes on prior. And then just when we’re about to slip into darkness, the horizon behind us begins to light up.

I’ve always had an admiration for sunsets. Not because I wanted to be an astronaut or anything like that but instead, because they seem to remind me of the simple things in life capable of making me feel extraordinary ways. The night before we reached Skagen was the most miraculous sunset I have seen in a very long time. In the hours prior to night, myself and Caro, an enthusiastic new friend from on board, worked long and hard in the rigging; tying down each sail from the highest one of the Royal down to the Großs near the deck. Each sail we finished was a marker, as if telling the sky to light up even more. Just before we set to work on the Großs sail, we stopped on the lower platform and took it in. It seems cliche but I truly believe that I may never forget this sunset.

The aforementioned sunset

So, yes: sunsets. Looking back, I track my days by considering what sunset we had each day. The colourful ones, the prolonged ones, and the ones that seemed to perfectly align themselves with our bow. As we would continue to venture north, I was told that the horizon would just become even more picturesque and with time, I would learn that this would be the truth.

The Fjords were our next stop. Not only was this detour unexpected for our small but mighty crew, but it was also welcomed with open arms. My only experience of fjords up until this trip had been through viking shows in my childhood and perhaps the odd photo appearing in my social media feed. The morning we arrived in the fjords though was unlike any predetermination I might have had. Dotting the sides of the fjords edge were a series of homes. Of a Scandinavian build, these homes made me question why anyone would want to live elsewhere. Massive windows faced out over the water while elegant colours made them pop out in a fascinating way against the trees surrounding them.

The fjords, at least as we saw them, weren’t towering thousands of meters above my head. Instead, they met the water with elevation and while dominating in their presence, were symbiotic with the calm seas beside them. The day we spent in the fjords was a day I spent fighting the urge to sleep so I wouldn’t miss a second of it. From bosun’s work in the rigging to finding any excuse to be on deck I could, each hour would pass by proving the natural beauty of Norway could only increase with time and patience. As the day came to a close, we watched the sky change in colours before being relieved from watch just as we exited the fjords back into open ocean.

A 20:00 hours view from the Fjords of Norway

The next few days would be a combination of sailing and moving forward by engine, a sacrifice we knew would occur when we detoured to the North. We crossed the North Sea towards Aberdeen with a sense of leisureliness noted in our pace. This was the time that we would get closer to one another, make new lifelong bonds, and believe it or not, have midnight waffle parties simply as a reason to spend more time with one another. Even in the slower pace did we find time for magical moments though. An impromptu swim call in the middle of the North Sea certainly was an experience that I feel I speak for everyone when I say has been engraved into our minds in a remarkable fashion. Another moment I feel lucky to have lived to see was when the Atlantica, a Swedish tall ship, sailed by us within a few hundred meters. In the brief interaction, our multitude of cultures found their intersection point and despite our languages not making sense to one another, the dancing, singing, and laughing coming from each deck needed no language to make sense.

The final days at sea were made up of dolphin spotting, some mean dish pit dance parties, laughter, honesty, and seamanship at its finest. Each day inching closer to the final destination of Aberdeen, the starting line for The 2025 Tall Ship Races as well as a festival for sailors from around the globe. This promised to be an ending for this leg of the detour that would be part of our memories for years to come; and boy was it ever.

From the second we arrived in port, the festivities begun. From arguably the best deck party this Alex-2 has ever seen, to crew parades that quite literally took my voice away, this was the finish that while I didn’t expect, really let this chapter close out on the highest of notes.

The Grand Detour has been an adventure of a lifetime thus far. I’ve reunited with old friends, spent time making new ones and have had more laughing fits than I’ve had in a very long time. It’s incredible how such a seemingly simple change in environment can make one so incredibly happy. When you remove the need for technology, when the biggest drama is that the prior watch woke you ten minutes early, when you aren’t planning more than a day or so ahead; positivity thrives.

The wind holds me now. If I’m lucky, and only if, it wont ever let go.