Mystique - Log 1 - Day 1 to 5

Good afternoon everyone and best wishes to all our fellow ARC+ 2021 participants. We are Mystique a 46’ Oceanis consisting of a crew of five retired British and one serving Canadian firefighters. What possibly could go wrong??

Firstly, apologise to our followers for the delayed blog whilst we determined if anyone on board could actually read or write. So after four days of intense debate, we resorted to lifting heavy weights and sticking pens up our noses to determine who should write the blog. Unfortunately I lost and have become the designated author for the boat.

So as I am sure many of us in the rally have found out, preparations prior to leaving are never straight forward. For Mystique, a last minute reminder of the reason why BOAT means Bring Out Another Thousand,. A blown turbo caused much distress as we attempted to source a new turbo across Europe and the wider world. Eventually sourcing one in Rotterdam, our skipper flew to Rotterdam to make sure we acquired the turbo in sufficient time to have it fitted. Last minute flights are never cheap neither are marine engineers. Still a rapidly devised lottery for the crew provided a financial solution as the losing participant sold one of their kidneys to settle the bill.

As we finally crossed the starting line on the 7th November we thought we were well prepared and sufficiently organised to make the crossing a pleasant one.
However, as we sat down for our first evening meal we clearly hadn’t planed for the fact that we had a crew of six people who’s job meant they never had to grow up…….. Dad, I forgot to tell you I’m glutton intolerant, I don’t eat red meat, I’m allergic to duck eggs, I can only drink decaffeinated tea and I don’t do manual labour it brings me out in a nasty rash. My only hope they're not allergic to caviar, petite foie gras or venison.

The first two days were pretty rough for a couple of the crew with their limited sailing experience whilst the rest of the crew cursed why we thought that a five day drinking binge prior to leaving was a good idea. Since then we have had a mixed bag but have maintained good progress. Today, as I write the blog, we are flying our cruising chute in glorious skies and calm seas.
Although, initially there has been a distinct lack of wildlife on our journey, we have been fortunate to see a couple of turtles, plenty of flying fish, a small pod of pilot whales and two absolutely huge sword fish just off the port side of the boat. At the time we were fishing, and it was quite funny to see everyone dash to the rod - not to try and catch one but bring the lure in so we didn’t!

Happy sailing everyone.

The Ship’s Cat - Carlton Kerr