Greta Thunberg, Nikki Henderson and La Vagabonde’s Atlantic progress

On November 13, La Vagabonde set sail from Hampton, Virginia with not only the possibly the world’s most high-profile climate activist on board – Greta Thunberg – but also sailing favourite Nikki Henderson.

“So excited to have the chance to help Greta Thunberg spread her message,” says Nikki on her facebook page. “We only have one planet, and we need to come together and start acting like it.”

Although Nikki feels like she’s on a health food show with “porridge, cashew yogurt fresh berries and peanut butter” for breakfast, she’s evidently enjoying sharing her passion for sailing with the novice members of the crew while being taught how to play Yatzy by Greta.

“I have given Greta and her father an old North Atlantic Passage Chart of mine and taught them how to plot their position. They are tracking our route. This is the chart I used on my first skippered Atlantic race – and also the one I learned how to navigate with a sextant. On that trip we made it to Lanzarote by the sun and the moon. I remember feeling pleased by it anyway. It’s so special to be able to teach someone something who is so wise in so many other areas.”

On day four, the heavens opened and it poured.

“We collected the rainwater and topped up our water tanks, as well as grabbing a quick shower on deck. It was a stark reminder of how our precious resources like fresh, clean water are not in endless supply. Out here, there is no grocery store, no main water supply, no petrol station. It really hits home how lucky we are to have these things on our doorstep. How important it is for us not to waste them. And how deeply we should value them.”

On day five “the conditions were pretty rough,” Nikki says. “It was another 24 hours of sailing into the wind which – any sailor will agree – is wet and slow. The wind spent the day being flukey – dying in the terrestrial rain that came with each cloud – changing direction and then filling again. Each cloud had a different pattern. So there was a lot of work changing the sail plans back and forth.

“Last night we had all been looking forward to a bit of relief – we were expecting fast reaching conditions (with the wind on our side or behind us). But the upwind sailing prevailed. It was like that moment you think you have gotten to the top of a hill, to find it was a false summit and there is still another ahead.

“We all know there is nothing to do in these conditions than to pull together, be safe and just get on with it – but it still tests on emotions. We have been here five days now, but it feels like we haven’t actually made much progress towards Europe so the journey still seems long ahead. It was just one of those days.

“I’d call today a ‘hump day’ for our team. Thankfully the wind is still strong. We are heavily reefed with the smallest mainsail we can get away with and barely any headsail. But the wind has tracked behind us and now La Vagabonde is rocketing along in the direction we would like. There is nothing like progress to put a smile on peoples faces – oh and a flat boat.”

“Last night we had a huge lightning storm and we turned off all electrics and put our sat phones in the oven,” says La Vagabonde’s facebook page. “We had a gust to 40 – 50 knots (but the crew couldn’t tell exactly… because we turned all electrics off and were hand steering). It got seriously windy though. It’s a bit like a washing machine out here to tell you the truth but we’re hooning and La Vagabonde is loving it. We’re all really comfortable and feeling great. Everything’s salty and wet and we can’t get our clothes dry. The bananas have ripened so we are going bananas on the bananas and also the bread. It’s banana, peanut butter and cinnamon sandwiches for breakfast today.”