Skyelark arrived in St Lucia, overnight on the
7th
after 16 and a half days at sea. At the start of the crossing we
were hunting
for the trades, making slow progress and burning some diesel.
Within a couple
of days we found them, whispers at first and then good solid
breeze - perfect
conditions for us and we made
excellent progress bagging several days over 200nm, trail blazing
and keeping
ahead of many in our class (not that it’s a race of course).
We enjoyed fast and lively conditions, not too
many squalls.
The crew were great and the boat was sailed well. The chefs of the
day kept us
well fed with competition fierce to impress, no quarter was given
to the often challenging
conditions. Towards the end of the day, a deck shower and happy
hours on deck
were eagerly anticipated - the music going, snacks and our daily
ration of beer
(just 1), a time for general catch up and briefings before the
night shifts. Surfing
through the night on a magic carpet, a sled ride through the
bioluminescence,
and under the undiluted starry skies above will surely rank as the
best
memories and takeaways from this Atlantic crossing.
More importantly we had a cohesive, supportive
and happy
crew, the sense of camaraderie continued into the life on land,
with daily meet
ups at happy hours (thank you Spinnakers Beach Bar), crew meals
and hotel
parties. As people start
to make their
way home to families and Christmas, they have made lifelong
friends, meet ups
are already planned and we are sure to see many of them back on
Skyelark again.