Since Helgoland to Borkum was the longest non-stop we had planned so far, we looked into the weather well. To get south from Helgoland we had northerly that would die during the night setting us off for some motoring until some pretty hefty south easterly would push us towards Borkum. The plan worked but it was a rough sail – since we neither have a wind vane nor an auto-pilot we had to hand steer for the entire trip. Additionally, the sea was pretty confused and high after the storm from the last days. Kristina was very sea sick – almost in a state of apathy and we could not do much about it. Sophie on the other hand – although born Tyrolean – seemed to be just fine with the roller coaster.
We did not get much sleep but quite some water. And when we thought that we finally made it, we were facing tidal current against us plus wind. No chance of making it into Borkum. So we tacked for 4 hours in the early morning until the wind shifted and then finally made it – with a little help from the engine until – after 24 hours – we were there. Fucking exhausted. How do people sail the world nonstop solo? I don’t get it.
No pictures because pitch black night and intense sailing. You would not want to use a cell phone outside the boat. Sorry folks.