26:23.9N 16:22.1W
Five, four, three, two, one… GO!! After 30years of dreaming about this and 3 years of planning, the long awaited momenthas arrived. The endless sea is ahead of us (and, of course, many of the 250sailing boats setting off with us, heading for their own transatlanticjourney). This is very much a personal experience.
I (Manuel Sr.) am writing to you today more on apersonal note, as planning this adventure (and making it happen) has meant somuch to me. Savouring the moment, the day of departure, is a unique experienceand I wish I could stop the clock to avoid missing many details. We put a lotof energy into planning, and then the moment passes by too fast. I rememberhaving a similar sensation, on the day of Catarina’s (my daughter)wedding, last June…
But let’s go back and review the day. We allwoke up early and enjoyed our last meal ashore as a brunch at Sailor’sBar. This friendly watering hole, right in front of ARC office in the marina,had good wireless connection and great atmosphere. Last minute photos,cleaning the deck, filling up water tanks and saying goodbye to Julia, who sawour departure from shore and is flying back to Lisbonto meet us in December at St. Lucia. Julia always supported me on makingthis trip a reality and took care of a great deal of logistic details, whichwill make this experience so enjoyable. From the bottom of my heart, I thankher so much for it.
So we left the dock and joined the fleet, alreadyexploring the departure line and testing the best way to be the first to cross,without being too early (or risk shame and a 3 hr penalty for the time). Theview was fantastic, the whole city of Las Palmas was looking at us from the shore and signs ofnervousness were clear in some boats (inevitable shouting was heard, here andthere). So we took some small, calculated risks, the crew rose perfectly tothe moment, hoisted the gennaker (large sail, red and white stripes, easilyidentifiable from shore, as Julia could witness) and we crossed the line some30 seconds after 13:00 hrs. Next stop, island of Saint Lucia,some 20 days from now!
The weather is pleasant, with light winds. Our friendJoao Cabecadas advised us on the weather and suggested we take the route south,not too far from the coast of Africa, as weshould get better winds there. We had a delicious roast pork loin for dinner(thanks, Julia!) and settled down for a quiet evening. Seven boats on thehorizon and some chatter on the VHF radio are all reminders that we are not,after all, alone on the planet.
The dream is becoming a reality, come along and savourthe moment with us.
Manuel
PS: For the following blog entries, I will hand overback to the Enigma Crew, with Boyan as the main writer, as we have had greatfeedback from many of you.