November 10th….The Start Date of ARC+2024……..I think that date is tattooed on our foreheads as the deadline for the intensive, extensive, expensive, and seemingly never ending, preparations to get Frances Louise and ourselves ready to sail getting on for 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, and to then cruise in tropical climes.
It did not start well. David, being 50% of the crew, woke at 0200 with sickness and diarrhoea. Then, whilst taking medical advice from his retired GP Father in Law, he inadvertently filled the bilges whilst topping up the water tanks. However, at 1230, we were the last ARC+ boat to cast off from K pontoon. Handy all had gone as we are double handed. David had not been sick for three hours and the bilges had been dried out. We were off.
The atmosphere was electric passing through the Marina entrance to cheers, shouting, banging, horns and whistles. We were on our way to Mindelo, Sao Vincente, Cape Verde’s, some 870 nautical miles away according to my route. Hurrah.
It was very bumpy outside, and the wind was “light and shite”. We hung back away from the start. This was the bit that had been worrying me most about the whole thing. But in fact, like everything World Cruising Club has laid on for the Rally, it was superbly organised and went off impeccably. On the ten minute gun we unfurled most of the main, and on the five minute gun we unfurled most of the genoa and switched off the engine. Our start gun went off at 1300, but it was a little while later that we, and a handful of others, crossed the line. We unfurled the remainder of the sails and put out the mizen.
We only had about 8 knots of breeze, and getting anywhere near another boat, either above or below, was a bit of a nightmare. I managed to get us into a lane of our own and the wind lifted as we set off, close hauled, away from Las Palmas. David went to lie down. He didn’t feel sick anymore, just very tired. I hand steered trying to seek out the wind and shifts, but at 1445 it was down to five knots and Frances Louise is a heavy boat and does not sail upwind in that. So on went the engine. I furled all of the sails to make it clear, but in fact most people started motoring too. The wind continued to drop and was down to 1.5 knots at one point.
We had been warned about the wind acceleration zone off the south east corner of Gran Canaria, past the airport. So I had a waypoint five miles due east of the headland north of the airport and another due south of that, in line with the southern tip of the island, which curves away to the west. However, I was able to keep inshore of my course - no big winds or seas to worry about today. David appeared around 1700 which enabled me to get something to eat.
The wind had been slowly moving into the north, and filling. As six o’clock approached the sun was setting, and the sky was turning orange, and we had ten knots of northerly breeze. So we put out both of our poles, knowing a gybe was going to be on the cards as the wind swung into the north east during darkness. We unfurled the genoa, turned off the engine, and set off downwind on starboard tack, heading for Mindelo direct on 222 degrees.
We moved into our normal three hour watch pattern and David went to bed (again). Due to him not being 100% we decided to keep the sail plan conservative and not put up the big ballooner. That made us slower, but we were still within the fleet so lots of boats to watch out for and several course adjustments required. So, the right decision we think. At change of watch at 2100 we gybed onto port as the wind was now firmly the proper north east trade wind.
The night was great. David managed his watches okay and we trundled along in a F4/5 under a bright moon initially, and then lots of twinkling stars after it had set. The only thing that could remotely be described as a drama was very regular pan pan calls about African migrant boats off Fuerteventura/ Lanzarote, but we are sailing away from there. It was so so lovely to be back out at sea after so many days in Las Palmas Marina, and after the full on boat preps and rally activities. It’s just us three back together again. Frances Louise loves it as much as we do, and we feel back at home. It’s just a shame about David’s stomach.