Hey all,
Doug here. Wow. What an amazing trip. Although I’ll hold back my sentimental rant, it is tough to not feel nostalgic as I think back on the times we’ve had over the past month. We met as strangers in Cork, Ireland (many of us never having set foot on a tall ship or any kind of sailing vessel before), and ended up 2,000 miles away in Cadiz, Spain as a cohesive sailing family.

Hello and Welcome back!
You happen to be joining us here on our last night out at sea. And what a night it has shaped up to be! There is a clear horizon unlike any we’’ve seen thus far, which means that a “green flash” at sunset is highly likely. This is one of nature’s most mysterious and awe-inspiring moments and we have all been counting down the seconds until the wondrous emerald green explosion shoots across the sky like the spidery fingers of a roman candle.

Ahoy! This is Laura and Evan from C watch, checking in:
(Laura) After only three days in Lisbon (or Lisboa, in Portuguese), we are underway and sailing the blue waters off the Spanish coast again. As we begin the last leg of C-254 towards Cadiz, Neptune seems rather moody. We are currently experiencing 6-7 ft seas that are occasionally spraying any unsuspecting shipmate who happens to pass by. No worries, though, mom; we have the doglines rigged, we only walk clipped in with our harnesses on the high side, and we are keeping the night lookout posted aft on the quarter deck.

After a night of sailing across the shipping lanes along the Portuguese coast, morning fog at the mouth of the Tagus River kept Lisbon hidden for a few hours. We picked up a friendly pilot who, like nearly everyone else in Lisbon, spoke excellent English. The fog lifted as we made our way upriver, revealing one majestic structure after another. First there were lighthouses marking the approach, then a medieval fortress, the Tower of Belem, the Monastery of the monks of St. Jerome (both UNESCO World Heritage sites), the navigators’ monument, the 25th of April Bridge, and, on the south bank, the towering monument to Christ the King.

Well here it is, our last day at sea before reaching the bustling port of Lisbon, Portugal.  The prevailing Northerlies have really come through for us in the past 36 hours, and we’ve had the distinct pleasure of sailing downwind before a following sea and beneath some lovely altocumulus artwork. As Ryan, Steve, and Elliot taught us yesterday, these winds are a result of the Azores high, also known as the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre.  As warm tropical air moves North in the atmosphere to these temperate latitudes, it cools down and sinks, creating a region of relatively high pressure at the surface.

Hey everyone,
Doug here reporting in from the seas off the coast of Portugal. Since we had very favorable winds so far on this leg of the voyage, we are a bit ahead of schedule. So instead of arriving in Lisbon early and freaking out our Portuguese friends, we are simply sailing to sail. Currently, we are sailing under the main, the mainsail, the foresail, and the jib. The extra time gives us the opportunity to work on our second papers (which are due upon arrival in Lisbon) and improve our sailing practices.

Annie and Codie here, reporting from the Science Lab with Juliana, our personal scientist, while reminiscing about our adventures jumping off the bowsprit during our first swim call on our voyage. The water was very refreshing and a special treat! To top off another perfect day at sea we got to see the “Green Flash” which we had just learned about the other day from Codie!

Oh glorious day of days! When the staff takes over the galley and brings their culinary fantasies to life and the crew reaps the benefits! 

Captain Elliot delighted us all with his heritage apple pie, steeped in tradition and fresh churned Irish butter.  While it’‘s not a requirement for a sea captain to have perfected the art of pastry dough, we believe it is the ultimate bonus.  It harkened to the fall days in the Adirondacks, as we followed an afternoon swim call in the refreshing Spanish waters with warm Gramma Rappaport’‘s famous deep dish apple pie. Yum!

We are enjoying a calm and productive Dawn Watch here on the SSV Corwith Cramer, making quite a bit of headway towards Lisbon, Portugal. Favorable winds are allowing us to sail dead South on a run towards our destination. The ship feels squeaky clean after Field Day yesterday, during which we scrubbed every inch of the interior (or at least it felt that way).

Finisterre, or “Land’s End” is a place name that repeats itself frequently on the European coast, its individual versions each marking the spot where land runs out and ocean begins. This final corner of Spain marks the southern limit of the Bay of Biscay, and the eastern edge of the Azores High, which here in mid-summer is giving us a beautiful morning. It’s a boundary area for several current and weather systems, and has been a busy place for marine life. In recent days we’ve had productive plankton tows, bird sightings.. even a fish, hooked briefly on our trolling line before making its escape.