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Athena of Southampton - log 7 – Sunday December 8th 2013



We sat in the cockpit the other evening as the sun set after dinner and discussed how lucky we are to be here on an evening such as this. The boat stretching out ahead of us, under full sail, rising and falling gently on an easy smooth sea as we silently sailed west.  Save for the rush of water down each side, there was just the conversation. No guitars this evening, we have many more times like this to come before we reached St Lucia. We are indeed privileged; sailing towards the setting sun.


To be able sail like this for distant shores and for as long as this takes, away from our responsibilities and working environments, is wonderful opportunity. To be able take this time for ourselves is also, in many cases, totally down to the support or indulgence of our families back at home. Personally I have been encouraged and supported all the way and am truly appreciative of my wife Aine consistent backing for this adventure. An experienced sailor herself she is fully aware of what’s involved and so understood the desire to add an ARC experience to 40+ years of European sailing, some Ocean, but never so far South and West!  She has the Yellowbrick app so follows our progress every day as we seek the wind. We are all truly grateful for our families support, for their trust in the fact that we’ll be responsible and safe and come back before Christmas full of stories but most of all really glad to see them again. This must be the case for many on this rally. (“...have you been sailing all your life?” “No, not yet”!)

To pick up on a theme from our skipper Taff’s log contribution some days ago, despite many years of the ARC and the growth of ocean sailing, relatively few have had this experience. The ARC has created the opportunity for thousands to participate in Ocean Sailing but it’s a drop in the ocean (sorry but the image works!) of the sailing population of all the countries represented on this rally. We set off amid hundreds of yachts from Las Palmas and yet soon have the ocean to ourselves for almost the whole time. There is the support ARC organisation which has their part down to perfection however we are still required to be prepared, self reliant and prudent in what remains a challenging voyage for most of us. It’s a massive ocean which is best appreciated from right where we are.

As regular readers of this log and friends will know we are an all Irish crew plus one Welshman as skipper (it’s only his 36th crossing). Most of us sail from Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin in sunshine and rain but most often in cold winds.  We are now sailing in T-shirts and shorts on the night watches (with lifejackets and harnesses too) and that’s such a novelty. Each day has blended into the next in the routine of the boat with the rhythm of the sea. Only at night do we get time to watch the stars and be deep in thought for the duration of our watch ‘till sunrise, if the wind allows. Otherwise I’m trimming the sails, watching the small specks of light on the horizon and on the radar that can represent other ships or bigger clusters that warn us of squalls. Sometimes I feel like we are plunging headlong into the inky blackness when the clouds obscure the starts. Later Brian can always tell me which star it is as we wait for first light of the day giving definition to the horizon. This comes later and later each day now as we progress west.

We are having fun and counting off the days as we sail West, thank you Aine and the boys, Martin, Eoin and Michael (Michael has his Tall Ship Adventure next year, but that’s another story) all tuned into Yellowbrick and encouraging us along.

John

PS - Another adventure story worth following on-line is that of Millport II, currently part of this rally. On their beautifully prepared Moody 47 Donal, Sarah and their two sons have embarked on a global rally of their own – what an education for the boys who by now no doubt will be known to many of their contemporaries on the ARC. Put Millport II into Google and you’ll find their web site eloquent on their philosophy behind their voyage and their adventures since they set sail from Dun Laoghaire earlier in the year.


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