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White Satin - The marina seems quiet without ARC+ boats




Monday 7th November

We had an 09:00 appointment this morning with the ‘yellow t-shirted’ ARC officials for a check of all our equipment; this is why we prefer to do this crossing under the ARC umbrella - it is just fresh pairs of eyes (Anna and Mark) looking over anything and of course they have years of experience (31 to be precise) helping people to prepare their boats properly. The whole exercise was very useful, as instructed everything was laid out on the table in the saloon ready for their arrival and it has ensured that we have thought everything through; in addition they gave us some very useful snippets of advice. Today’s photo is of David going through the flares with them. We were delighted to learn that we passed the inspection with flying colours – there are no issues outstanding.

There is a different atmosphere on the pontoon today. After the flurry of the final preparations for the ARC+, all of those berths have now been filled with ARC boats, but many of them, like us, are still waiting for crew to arrive and of course with almost two weeks to go, there is no sense of urgency just yet.
Our pontoon really does seem to be going for the United Nations award; we are surrounded by boats flying the flags of Norway, Sweden, France, USA, Switzerland, Australia and Finland. Our French neighbours have disappeared to La Gomera for a 3 day ‘holiday’ (leaving their boat here). Some of the boats are like ours, but others have owners who have done the crossing many times with charter crew every year – sometimes these crew are ‘randoms’ (as when David did it on Northern Child in 2006), other crews are self-contained groups. Other boat owners are doing it with a professional skipper on board. Some skippers are competitive and are going for a fast and furious crossing; if there is a choice to be made, others will opt for a more comfortable route (we of course, come in the latter category, but this doesn’t mean that we won’t be pushing for our optimum speed on this route).

We have had a debate as to whether or not we should write this log from some ‘absent 3rd person’; we know some people find this style annoying.
When the rest of the crew join us, we will be rotating authorship of the log, so we think this way is less confusing.

However, as this coming paragraph is personal, I am going to make the exception and write in the first person. In the last 24 hours I have been a bit more reflective, thinking of the ARC+ fleet on their first night at sea as they pull away from land. This last week has passed incredibly quickly and it no time at all it will be our turn to go! The ARC is a challenge to all but the most seasoned sailors (this is why we are doing it). It is different for everyone; although it is David’s third crossing it is his first time as Skipper, so his role this time brings new responsibilities and concerns. In the last church service I went to before leaving home ‘Eric the Cleric’ said the following prayer which I am finding very comforting in my moments (although moments is all they are) of panic and doubt:

“May God be behind you to support you, in front of you to lead you, around you to protect you and above you to bless you.”

Thoughtful times.

Vicki

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