Spirit of Ulysses wraps up successful ocean crossing

Nordhavn 76 Spirit of Ulysses © Nordhavn Yachts

The crew of Spirit of Ulysses crossed the finish line of their Atlantic Crossing on Sunday morning, commencing what was a pretty routine cruise for a Nordhavn, but a memorable and exhilarating first crossing for the owner (on his first boat ever, no less).

The 17-day journey - including a two-day layover in Cape Verde - was filled with confused seas, fierce winds, and some uncomfortable days offshore but crew member James Leishman said as far as ocean crossings go, this was a fun one. Of course, categorizing a passage as positive or not usually is a reflection of the weather but more so, the attitudes of the crew on board. "We had a fantastic group of people on this trip," James said, which was a good thing considering the weather they faced the first half of the journey.

SoU arrived in Bridgetown, Barbados on Sunday and had to await Covid clearance before the crew was allowed to disembark. A doctor had been called to the boat to administer tests but because it was a Sunday, things were operating on island time x 10. About six hours later, the doc arrived. As soon as they received their negative test results they made their way to Port St. Charles where a slip was waiting for them. No sooner had they tied up the boat did they head out for a celebratory dinner at one of the beach side restaurants nearby.

Due to the delays the weather had caused, the crew needed to hasten their exit so James, Doug and Jordi left before dawn the next morning to make their flights home. "It was kind of bittersweet," said James. "Kind of an abrupt ending to it all." Normally the crew would've taken a couple days to decompress and explore the area but with the holidays quickly approaching, there was no time.

The trip was an eye-opener for owner Mike. He was thrilled with the performance of the N76, but as a lot of owners realize, he wants more space! He did reveal in one of his log reports that he is considering moving up to a new 80 or possibly an 86. So tentatively, Spirit of Ulysses will be brought to Fort Lauderdale where it will be listed for sale by James.

By the numbers: SoU arrived at Barbados with 500 gallons of spare fuel, which was according to plan. If they throttled back a bit, they would've had at least two+ days' worth of reserve, but they targeted a speed of 8.5 knots which meant they wound up with a bit skinnier reserve. Average fuel burn was 12 gallons/hour (6 gals. Per engine) at 8.5 knots and 1248 rpm, although results vary depending on wind and sea state.

Thanks to everyone who joined the journey, tracked the boat and submitted questions. See you on the next adventure!