Breakfast of Champions
The penultimate day of the ARC 09 arrived with Bagheera slipping ever northward, our tack once again forcing us higher than we would of wished. More miles keep clocking up but alas in the wrong direction. We have really put some daylight between us and the good ship Stay Calm however, who seem to have lost the breeze as they are even further north than us.
Our new number one enemy is the angry yellow V60, Big One, who are steadily reeling us in from the south. We keep pushing hard hoping for a breeze out of the North so we can get the push down straight into St Lucia. It never quite arrives but eventually we make the decision that we will have to head south or we will end up in Antigua. It is on this tack at about 1530 that the Big One pops up on the horizon off our Port Side. They are clearly soaking much more than us so it is really going to be tight into the finish.
We try our best to hold our nerve but as the crepuscular light of dusk settles in it feels as though we are being stalked by a menacing shark, their Main casting a shadowy fin on our quarter. We have just less than 4 miles on the fast sailing Big One but this seems to melt from the light of the big full moon over the next few hours. We decide that we can’t beat them on a straight drag race so we point up and let Bagheera’s big kite really get stuck into its work. The subsequent four hours are spent on tender hooks with their port light growing steadily bigger and brighter as Big One moves in.
Amazing that after 3000 odd miles and 12 days of blue water sailing we are now match racing into the finish. We Gibe at the witching hour and we are within spitting distance, I swear you can hear the rig creaking and smell the sweat on their crew as they work their grinders. We head south once again while Big One heads on the opposite tack for the lay-line. We pick up a very good squall that kicks up 30 odd knots of breeze and we have the Wally humming as we punch on at a consistent 15-18 knots. Surely we have them now we think. We gibe again for St Lucia and scan the horizon with eager eyes for any sign of Big One.
No red light is seen, but then suddenly Bec spots a lone white light ahead of us. Surely not! How could they have got ahead of us? We keep pushing and it slowly sinks in that the V60 has been just a tad too fast for us and has nicked in front at the final hurdle. We push hard all the way to the finish a little gutted to have not crossed 1st but hugely happy and immensely proud that we have just raced the Atlantic in under 12 days and really given it everything the whole way. We eventually cross the finish line at 0340, not bad going for a bunch of sailors who only 10 days ago were struggling to helm with the kite up. On that note a massive thank you to both Simon our Captain and Peter our other guardian angel for whipping us into shape and imparting a vast amount of knowledge and skill. We certainly owe you two a few Rum Punches back on land.
Once across the finish we get ourselves squared away and then dropped the pick – our big draft preventing us from heading into the marina until we can get the high water. The ARC team arrive with our breakfast… Rum Punch all round and a big bottle of Heineken. This sparks off a wee bit of festivities on board with everyone enjoying the local tipple and certainly revelling in the euphoria of having finished with no real problems for either the yacht or the crew on board.
We finally drag ourselves into bed late in the morning. At high water we make our way into the marina. It nearly takes us the same amount of time to get in as it did to cross the pond, with Bagheera’s bulb dredging the entrance on the way in. Once tied up it’s back on the dry, with everyone eager to experience the Islands hospitality. It doesn’t take long for the ARC team to start plying us with more Rum punch which is richly received. The last couple of days the team have spent sampling a little of the islands plethora of activities and bars and restaurants and we are all looking forward to more of the same.
Bagheera and her crew would like to make a special mention for the ARC organising committee and all the shore based people at both Las Palmas, and here in St Lucia. Your efforts in setting up the event are fantastic and we have thoroughly appreciated all your help before and during the event. We feel that this is a fantastic rallay and one we would be proud to compete in again.
Thanks also to all our competitors, especially Stay Calm as you kept us pushing on the whole way and congratulations to Big One for a good victory. Good luck to those of you still on the water, we hope you continue to have fair winds and feel safe in the knowledge that there appears to be an unlimited supply of Rum punch awaiting your arrival on the island, even with our fastidious consumption over the last few days.
Well that’s all she wrote I’m afraid but we certainly look forward to the next adventure and hope you have all enjoyed following our exploits on the high seas.
SY Bagheera.
Kamal, Simon, Tom, Peter, Rebecca, Rob, Pete, and Nic