The Boat: "SOMA" 38 foot Nautor Swan. Launched April 1974. A classic yacht with pedigree. The name derives from a herb that is associated with relaxation and means drug of life (so we believe!) and is therefore entirely appropriate for this type of event.
The Crew: Nick. Skipper. Solicitor by day and keen yachtsman / owner of SOMA. Has always wanted to participate in the ARC.
Clarke. Navigator. Naval Officer in between appointments and therefore able to spend yet more time on the water. He has a very understanding and patient wife who is now waiting yet another month for her house to be decorated.
Tim. Sailing Master. An accomplished yachtsman and capable craftsman who brings the combined experience of sea kayaking and mountain climbing to this adventure.
The Adventure. The crew formed in Lanzarote and immediately set to work provisioning and preparing SOMA for sea. However, Lanzarote (Marina Rubicon) is host to an excellent sailors bar (The One Bar) which rapidly began to impact on our daily routine. Reminiscent of Father Ted and his cronies on Craggy Island, we wondered if we would ever escape the island after the third (or was it fifth?) eleven hour marathon in the One Bar.
SOMA finally departed for an overnight trip / crew shakedown to Las Palmas on 21 November and made an early morning ETA in time for final ARC briefings and yacht inspection prior to the start on Sunday 23 November. Notwithstanding our somewhat tardy arrival in Las Palmas, the ARC Staff from World Cruising immediately engaged with us to ensure our readiness and safety for the event. Their efficiency and organisation are to be commended and we felt completely integrated after only 24 hours in port prior to the start of ARC 08. Fine weather conditions, if a little light at first, were enjoyed as we made passage on the traditional sailing route towards the Cape Verde islands. Today,
Saturday 29th, the butter started to melt, so in deference to the finest sailing traditions we turned our head toward the West and have a little over 2,000 miles to run to the finish line at Rodney Bay in St Lucia. At time of writing, we are settled under a poled out genoa and main in established trade winds with blue skies, fair winds and following seas.
Our daily routine is well established and is based on a 3 hour watch system by night supplemented by a 4 hour rhythm by day. Whoever said that you cannot eat well in a yacht has never sailed in SOMA - we have experienced continental and asian cuisine so far, however we are to date lacking in fresh fish - our efforts have been pitiful and we lost a lure / wire trace to something that may well have been a cross between Moby Dick and Arnold Schwarzenegger, so perhaps a blessing that we did not try to get it into the frying pan.
Our liver counts are returning to normal following the excesses of a week alongside next to the One Bar (with grateful thanks to Hose and Claudia), but we are managing to retain the daily intake with a glass at sundown, in the finest of maritime tradition.
Wishing all who read this the very best, and we hope you will follow our continuing adventures.
Todays toast - To wives and sweethearts. (may they never meet :))
Nick Clarke and Tim
ps. Gps may be on the blink - was that an iceberg on the port
bow.............!