44 Feet of Grace... A Kadey-Krogen Story - Kadey-Krogen Yachts

the people and to continue on theirway. Le rêve’s crew was relieved, butremained in a more subdued frameof mind for the rest of the day.The sailboat incident remindedthem of what they were doing andhow vulnerable they were to thewhims of an unforgiving ocean.Although most crossings are completedin private sailboats, vanLenthe commented, “There areother relatively small trawlers thathave made the crossing; however,this is done in a flotilla of six or eightboats.” Le rêve and its crew had noother boats to rely on if somethingshould happened, there was no oneelse to help. This was no game, andvan Lenthe was glad he had takenextra precautions when preparing forthe trip.Soon, though, the mood lightenedas they again realized the incrediblejourney they were on, enjoyingthe astonishingly blue waters ofthe North Atlantic, the marine lifearound them and also ClydeHoneycutt’s incredible meals.Honeycutt had offered to take on theresponsibility of provisioning andcooking for the trip, and the crewwas delighted with the outcome. “Weate like kings,” van Lenthe said.The crew took turns rotatingthrough the watch and captainingthe vessel. At times the quarters gota little cramped. Van Lenthe decidedthat four other people justweren’t necessary, and if he had todo anything differently, he wouldtake a crew of three instead of four.But card games and cribbage, listeningto music, talking and enjoyingLe rêve’s gentle sway kept thembusy; they were amazed at howThe Dream“Le rêve” means “the dream” inFrench and has historical familyvalue to van Lenthe’s wife, Joanne.When the Huguenot moved northfrom France, in order to escape persecution,one of the families settledon a farm in Holland and calledit Le rêve. Joanne’s family eventuallybought the farm, and thename (although somewhat altered)stuck. They called it “t,reve.” Thevan Lenthes heard the story at afamily reunion in Holland the yearthe Kadey-Krogen was being built,and they decided to call the boat“Le rêve”.Being on the ocean for anextended period of time with noaccess to medical help can be a verydangerous situation. So, van Lentheand the crew consulted with theirphysicians before they made thecrossing to be assured of good healthand have instructions on what todo in case of emergencies. Thankfullythey had to use seasicknessmedication only once during thetrip.There were many systems andequipment additions made to theKadey-Krogen:Storm windows made from halfinchLexan and cut to be 2 incheslarger than the original windowswere installed, as well as a devicecalled a “Find Me Spot.” This isused to communicate via satellitewith up to 10 e-mail or cell phonetext messages. It also is used to letup to ten addresses know of theexact location of the boat. AnEPIRB (Emergency PositionIndicator Radio Beacon) was alsorented. A six-man Winslow life raftand satellite phone that would sendand receive texts was obtained. Andvan Lenthe set up a system withBob Jones, the weather router ofOcean Marine, to receive textmessages on his satellite phonewith weather information on a dailybasis.Before they departed, they metup with friends from Ontario,Le rêve means the dream in French. When theHuguenot moved north from France, in order toescape persecution, one of the families settledon a farm in Holland and called it Le rêve.Joanne van Lenthe’s (Bill’s wife) family eventuallypurchased the farm.Canada, who were in the middle oftheir trip around the AmericanGreat Circle. They came aboardLe rêve with a bottle of champagneto toast the pre-crossing.Le rêve has a full kitchen withan oven, stove and microwave,allowing their volunteer chef, ClydeHoneycutt, to cook daily feasts suchas steak, lobster, lasagna, meat andpotatoes, pork chops and sausages.“We ate better than at any restaurant,”van Lenthe said.66 SEA / APRIL 2009