Coming up on Lives Less Ordinary, Hold Fast continues.
It was quite clear that it wasn't a joke and we don't have any B plan for this.
Worst case scenario,
we get stuck at sea and we can't land anywhere and we will have to go through some severe rationing.
This is the extraordinary story of sailing cargo ship the Avantour and its crew of 15 on a wind-powered mission to transport olive oil,
cacao, coffee and rum between Europe and Central America.
But before they even make it halfway, everything they're counting on is thrown to the winds.
I'm Siobhan McSweeney and you're listening to Lives Less Ordinary Presents.
Hold fast.
From the BBC World Service.
It's early May 2020.
The Avantour has just left Veracruz, Mexico, the most westerly point on their journey.
It's the furthest they'll be from home before hopefully beginning to return east to Germany.
In front of them is the Gulf of Mexico,
an oceanic basin with one of the most powerful currents in the world known as the Gulf Stream.
Bordered by the United States, Mexico and Cuba,
the Gulf connects to the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits of Florida.
This is where the aventure needs to get to.
It's the gateway to the Atlantic and to their journey home.
But May is one of the worst times of year to sail in this region.