Final preparations for the impending voyage from Las Palmas Gran Canaria to Rodney Bay Saint Lucia. A total of around 2900 NM, estimated to take around 18 days at an average of around 7 knots. Our vessel is a Swedish Yacht 45 named Calash, owned and skippered by Alan Evett. The crew consists of me, Clive Smith, Alan’s son Callum, his nephew Jamie Jordon and good friend Colin Crosby. Both Colin and Jamie are experienced sailors having made ocean going voyages before. Callum has sailed plenty but mainly in his younger days. I am experienced enough to be dangerous!
Some last minute faffing to complete what has been a slightly more intensive vessel readiness few days than was anticipated, with resetting of the mast, installation of a new autopilot and re-plumbing of the water maker. Mike Morrison was on hand to assist with that and loo rebuilds. He was originally scheduled to sail with us across the Atlantic, but unfortunately work commitments has curtailed his participation. Estimated Time of Departure was 1100 hrs and we were away by 1200 hrs (not bad); in time, anyway, for the start of our division at 1300 hours.
We were away just over the start line in good time with some 230 other sailing vessels of varying size and crew. Wind was light and generally in completely the wrong direction. The normal weather for this time of year gives the trade winds which push you all the way to the Caribbean. However, a low pressure zone to the north was giving southerly winds and meant we would have to tack our way towards the Cape Verde islands, some 800 nm south. The forecast did not look to improve much either over the coming days.
Calash was good though at heading into wind and we gained position over several other yachts of similar standing. We slowly wound our way down the coast of Gran Canaria, all vessels gradually spreading out. Some yachts had already made the decision to motor down south until they encountered the trade winds. We resisted this temptation to ‘cheat’ so early and persevered with tacking our way south. To send us on our way, we were escorted for a period by a couple of small pods of pilot whales – first sea mammals of the voyage.
It was time to establish the routines onboard. Callum and I somehow assumed the responsibility for provisioning, which had been a bit of a disaster. Initially we had woefully underestimated how much fruit and veg we would need and then (probably) overestimated what we would consume during our voyage. Storage space was tight, but we managed to squeeze in all food and drink in various lockers, bunkers and cubbyholes. We then thought it prudent to cook the first meal the day before, primarily because no one else knew where all the food was hidden. Pumpkin risotto was meal one. I was sous-chef to Callum’s culinary skills. Veg chopping was a bit hampered by me watching the England v South Africa rugby, but we got there in the end. The menu was chosen for ease as Jamie is vegetarian and only required a re-heat on the day. I have to say, for a carnivore, it wasn’t half bad! A glass of wine was consumed by some, but I had decided not to drink alcohol on the voyage, as I had consumed my body-weight in the few days before departure!
As darkness approached we formed into our shift teams. Jamie and I did the stint from 2000-2400 hrs. It was reasonably eventful following other vessel traffic to ensure no major incidents. We had been warned about migrant boats and there was some chatter on the radio, but we did not encounter any thankfully. We only had one keen fellow who appeared to want us to change course despite their yacht being behind us and under motor – we ignored him!
Clive the cabin boy standing by...