Atlantic Crossing 2007

Friends of the Marlow,

We are away, to extremely mild conditions, as evidenced by whales frolicking along side the boat in glassy seas. Crew getting softer by the hour, as evidenced by dried German sausage photo op. A rousing send off from Nina Hunt and Willy doing 3 G's on our first morning out. Just passing through Oceanographer's Canyon now, 160nm from shore, no one is freaking out as of yet but do check in on us from time to time.

Paolucci, Hunts, Middleton and Robson Out

Friends,

We are fully acclimated to life at sea, and as such, our salty alter egos have replaced the dusty old souls of our former selves, for we are now the Trufflesniffers, a merry band of like minded men who find no embarrassment in belonging to a family of swine so long as our sensitive snouts lead us to new and glorious veins of adventure dispersed throughout the earth. Marlow's globe trot, to endure for a score and to be altered on the whim of wine and wind began May 20th in Newport and will continue in the Med for a season or two until the scent of the open ocean calls us forth again. Say only the words "I am a trufflesniffer" and find yourselves transported aboard in body or spirit.

To date, sausages have been eaten, auto-pilots fixed, snarly nights tamed, drunken sailors sobered, phosphorous trails crossed, moons howled, and it is with confidence and humility that we face our greatest challenge yet, the tempest in teapot to begin as the sun sets twice more.

Until then, we remain somewhere in the Atlantic and ever true to you.

—Sniffy Trufflesniffer

Sniffers,

No less than a day after Crankysniffer opined that there was no sense fishing so far out to sea and thusly removed his lines from the water, intrepid Sniffy risked all to put the famed green machine lure to work anyway at the start of his 4am shift in the belief that Cranky had lost hope unnecessarily. And as the seas would have it, 550 nautical miles off shore, just in time for lunch, we welcomed a new 60 pound passenger aboard, a brilliant Yellow Fin Tuna, the largest fish ever caught by any of us, and the first fish ever landed by rookie crew member Tunasniffer. Our Wyoming fish monger gaffed it and butchered it over the next two hours into steaks, filets and strips that are soaking in brine to be hung and dried.

–STS

Sniffers,

Introducing Bilgesniffer, our resident raccoon who lives under the floor boards, close to his plumbing and systems projects. A rare picture of him out of his den was captured here very early this morning, sifting through garbage looking for a tasty snack of tuna bones and coffee grounds. Having a bilgesniffer on board comes in very handy–he fixes everything in any kind of seas—auto-pilots, watermakers, plumbing, etc., and he was yet to waste any water on a shower, though miraculously he maintains a shiny coat. Unfortunately he does leave a bit of a mess on deck if you don't close the garbage lids tight, and he requires to be fed a cigarette every 12 minutes, but otherwise he is by far the most beneficial and lowest impact crew member.

Now I'll answer a few questions:

Cranky's brother-in-law asks: Can I hurl insults at the crew from land? The answer is a resounding yes, in expectation of who you have in mind to target.

Sydney Trevenan asks: When will you see land? Sydney, this is a question that comes up on board more frequently every day. The answer is not soon enough, or at the current rate of 7.5 kts, in 5 days, 13 hrs, and 2 minutes.

–STS

Wishing you were here (?)

–Captain Trufflesniffer

Sniffers ride out near gale force winds, 30-35 knots, 12-15 foot seas, biggest experienced on board the Marlow to date. Too wet and cold and tired to try to make it seem fun tonight, but all is well, conditions have moderated and should be smooth sailing for a few days. The key to survival; double barrel Italian espresso makers, proving once again far superior to the French press mud maker.

–STS