The Mariner · video

What this video covers

Chris films handheld — GoPro broken, phone held in his mouth — 300 nautical miles west of the Strait of Gibraltar during a solo transatlantic attempt aboard a Volvo 60-class boat.▶ 1:11 The boat hit 20 knots boat speed earlier; the night brought Force 8 gusting Force 9, with wave tops blown off and a whiteout on deck.▶ 1:28 Wind instruments are down, leaving him estimating 5–6 knots of breeze in a lull between squalls.▶ 2:05 The propeller is not feathering — an HS1A gearbox allows it to spin freely without damage, but a replacement propeller is needed and funded at £3,000.▶ 5:59 A yard batten on the mainsail has broken, forcing a workaround with Cunninghams to tension the luff without going to the mast; a boom bag is also needed.▶ 3:33 The routing strategy is deliberate: sail south past the Azores, following the pressure gradient, then turn west — not a straight-line course.▶ 1:46 Chris has been awake 24 hours and discusses the psychological discipline of resisting the urge to head west prematurely.▶ 6:27 He also explains the South Atlantic routing from Europe to Cape Town, which effectively crosses the Atlantic twice via Brazil.▶ 8:15

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