What a great start! We believe we were one of the first across the starting line on Sunday and even though there’s a very long way to go it still felt good to be at the front of the fleet and to be underway after so much preparation..
Looking back at the main start 20 minutes later was a real spectacle and created such a wonderful feeling to be taking part in this fantastic experience.
We soon settled down with a good breeze and boat speed and thoughts turned to those we’d left at home, again a new experience to be away from our friends and family for at least two weeks but perhaps longer depending on wind conditions. Thanks to those who came to see us off, it was much appreciated.
After the first 24 hours we’d covered 200 miles, if it could be maintained then a two week passage to St Lucia was realistic. Detailed inspection of the weather forecast soon confirmed earlier fears that this ARC was unlikely to see typical trade winds, certainly not for the next week and possibly longer. This information had forced consideration to a westerly course as opposed to the traditional route south but a battering in strong head winds was not what this crew had envisaged so we continued south for Cape Verdes.
During the next three days the route west was considered again as daily weather information confirmed very weak and at some point non existent wind in the south. Once again we ruled this out due to considerable amounts of up wind sailing combined with the hope that the trade winds would kick in during the second week a give us the down wind sailing and speed we’d expected.
As we look back over the first five days of our passage we’ve had many highlights. The sky at night has been spectacular, no light pollution, more stars than you can imagine and a full moon so bright you can read a book on deck. We’ve now seen many dolphin pods. Mostly they play alongside and at the bow of the boat for anything between 5 and 20 minutes but Wednesday was very different. We had very little wind and a smooth sea and consequently were making little more than 3 knots. This pod of 30 or so approached very slowly to check us out and stayed for probably 40 minutes. They seemed to want to be as close as possible and take a good look at us as we peered over the guard wire at them. Some of the group seemed particular show offs, weaving from side to side. This encounter left us with a feeling that they’d been interacting with us and not just the boat this time, a brilliant experience.
The flat sea and slow boat speed also gave us the opportunity to have a swim. After setting up a towed fender about 15m behind the boat we ventured in to the sea. A good job too as 3 knots of boat speed seems quite fast when you’re in the water trying to keep up. The water was surprisingly warm and so beautifully clear yet still deep blue. Another great experience, a chance for a little exercise and while we’d obviously like a good sailing breeze, given the chance we’ll definitely be swimming again.
More wildlife highlights include a whale that within about 50m of us, several turtles and plenty of flying fish. We also managed to catch and eat two fish. A Dorado of about 10kgs and a Tuna weighing around 6kgs. Both were consumed and enjoyed promptly after being caught. The Dorado was served with a delicious sauce of tomato, onion, garlic and spices on a bed of rice. The was tuna served as seared steaks with a simple salad and was equally as delicious. We also enjoyed some raw tuna straight from the ocean, delicate, tender and only available on a trip like this.
Listening to and reading information about a trip like this included many points and as a result we feel well set up and prepared so far. Chafe and the resulting wear to halyards and sheets was mentioned many times yet the amount of wear to ropes that normally last a period of years in more routine home water sailing is still incredible. Perhaps this is one area we could have tried to safeguard against with purpose made sleeves. In any event we have spares and repair solutions so it’s not a real problem. Other than that there’s no breakages so far except for a block that exploded with a very loud bang and caused some confusion in the darkness before the spinnaker was recovered and set again.
So far there haven’t been any low points other than the obvious of being away from home and family and friends but we’re all thinking about you and look forward to seeing you and telling you more soon.
From the Chart Table of Hydrocarbon