Rupert Bent III, known for his accomplishments as a guitarist and music producer, is adding a new layer to his list of life achievements.

He is currently in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean piloting a 40-foot wooden sail boat from Kingston Harbour to Morocco, Africa.

Bent reached Horta Bay in the Azores, off the Portuguese coast, on Saturday.

Bent is the first Jamaican in history to earn the highest certification from the American Sailing Association — that of Master Sailing Instructor. He may also be the first Jamaican to pilot a sail boat that size across the Atlantic in recent history.

Bent — previous musical director for Sean Paul’s band, and ex-member of top flight reggae band Third World — was hired for the job by Dr Kjetil Karlsen, Norwegian owner of the Havbjorn, and recent graduate of Nauti Sailing Jamaica, Bent’s sailing school and charter service based at the Royal Jamaica Yacht Club.

The sailors began their journey on Friday, May 18. Their first port of call was Providenciales, in the Turks and Caicos Islands, where they arrived one week later. After a six-day stop in Provoto make adjustments to the boat, stock up on food and fuel and collect passenger Marjorie Sadler, the Havbjorn set sail for St George’s, Bermuda, where they docked five days later. That was two days ahead of schedule due to strong favourable winds.

Hundreds of friends and family of the crew have been tracking their progress at sea using the link — share.garmin.com/NautiSailingJamaica — onboard a Garmin GPS tracker which updates their position via satellite every 30 minutes and allows for text messaging. h

A young Nauti Sailing student, Norwegian Fridtjof Medhus, used the journey as an opportunity to earn his NS 101 and 103 sailing certifications, supported by Bent and Karlsen from Jamaica to Bermuda.

Medhus jumped ship in Bermuda and made way for a more experienced sailor, James Wright from Wales, to accompany Bent and Karlsen for the wide open ocean crossing.

Bent’s sister, Jana, interviewed him the evening before he cast off from St George’s.

“On Sunday, June 10 we leave St George’s, Bermuda for our next stop, roughly 1,900 nautical miles just a little bit north of east of Bermuda, in Horta, Azores, which is a few hundred miles off the coast of Portugal, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean,” he said.

When asked about the duration of the journey, Bent detailed the anticipated schedule based on prevailing weather in the region.

“The trip is expected to take about 16 days. We have very light weather forecast for the first part of it and we will go due east, then we should get a little bit more wind, but really not enough to go very, very fast, which is fine. It means less drama, so talk about 16 maybe 18 days unless we really get slowed down, in which case it could be as much as 21 days, so that is when we expect to arrive at the Azores,” he said.

Bent described the major risk in undertaking the Atlantic crossing, which has deterred most sailors from making this trip.

“The biggest challenge on this particular leg of the Atlantic crossing is not getting caught by The Azores High, a high-pressure system which means an area of very light wind, very light to no wind, like the doldrums, which you can’t sail in. Because it is such a long distance, you also can’t carry enough fuel to motor, so you really have to be very careful about how you pick your route, and pick your window and what direction you sail in so that you don’t sail out of wind,” he said.

As for the supplies to last the journey, Bent assured that the crew was well stocked.

“The Havbjorn has way more food and drink than we could possibly need. We do not drink alcohol on passage and we make sure to get a lot of rest. There is a mental preparation and getting yourself into a sleep cycle, because the boat never stops moving. That means the three of us are actually on a 12-hour sleep cycle. We are each on watch; in charge of the boat for four hours and then have eight hours to rest,” he related.

Bent explained the physical preparation for the crossing: “So, the idea is to get your body into the habit of being up for four hours and being more at rest or sleeping for eight hours at a time, so you do that in 12-hour shifts and your day becomes a 12-hour day instead of a 24-hour day, and then there are two days in each calendar day.

“As far as I am aware, I am the only Jamaican sailor to have done an Atlantic crossing in a boat this size. The boat is 40 feet long by 13 feet wide, a 1908 Colin Archer-designed wooden boat. The boat was actually built and launched in 1999 by the owner’s father and finished by the current owner, Dr Kjetil Karlsen from Norway. This design was upgraded to include new knowledge of sail and hull design, and she boasts the latest in electronics including radar, autopilot and safety equipment, as well as many modern comforts such as running hot water and a stove.”

Upon arrival in Morocco, the crew will secure the boat at a marina and fly home — around July 12. Dr Karlsen plans to return to the boat with his family a few weeks later to sail the Mediterranean for the summer.