Betelgeuse - ARRIVAL!! Friday 09/12/22 Day 19

Well, what a delicious supper last night! The Wahoo (very like tuna but paler) was delicious and expertly cooked by Richard with lots of helpful advice from Jonnie!
We had a fun filled and reflective last evening with many a toast to our skipper, Betelgeuse and each other. We prepared ourselves for our final night-time watches, which I have to say weren’t nearly as exhausting as I thought they would be. A strong wind and a beautiful full moon eased us closer to St. Lucia.

We awoke to a view of the windward side of St. Lucia. Rough and rugged but very lush and beautiful. None of us slept very much last night, partly because of being close hauled for one of the few times on the passage, hoofing along at 7knts, but mostly because we were all so excited about seeing family and friends waiting for us in Rodney Bay.

The committee boat was waiting for us at the entrance to the harbour and we were tooted and cheered over the finish line at approx. 0900.

Having spent the last day debating which song we were going to come in to, none of us actually noticed what spotify was playing in the end. We were all quietly overtaken by emotion and disbelief that our adventure was drawing to a close. 19 days at sea and over 3000nm, we’d made it! We quickly spotted Emma, Clare, Rosie, Hannah and Holly waiting for us on the pontoon. They cheered us in along with lots of the boats that had already finished and the welcoming ARC crew.

We came ashore to hugs and kisses, tears, lots of photos, a few ARC formalities and a very delicious glass of rum punch in the marina. Such a wonderful reception.

It’s really hard to put into words how I feel at the end of this trip; incredibly lucky to have joined a crew of such wonderful people, as Jonnie mentioned above, we laughed and laughed and have shared a truly memorable time. Thank you all for your midnight chats, hilarious jokes (Richard), wonderful cooking and my fabulous birthday party (I definitely won’t have another one like it), but a particular thank you to Jonnie, and Emma, for having faith in me as a rather novice crew member. I have learnt so much and loved every minute.

And I wasn’t sea-sick!!Signing off.

Claire Xx