We saw land at 4 oclock on Friday December when St Lucia was still 32 miles ahead.What excitement! Enough justification to break out the remaining fruit cake, although the word "cake" is a bit of a misnomer. Yes, it has fruit and flour but more to the point, it contains enough alcohol to subvert an entire convention of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The previous few days had seen classic weather, steady wind of around 16 knots apparent and then sharp wind gradients at night which sometimes reached into the mid 30knots of real speed. Lots of sun during the day and big swells of around 4 metres that pass harmlessly under the boat and occasionally thrust it forward at high speed, touching occasionally 10 knots. We seemed bound up in a time warp in which the constants were the sea, the boat and ourselves, as each personal biography and fund of stories unwound. Will we ever find anyone so long suffering to listen to us again?
We had not seen the end of our technical problems. Shortly after we had to exchange starter batteries, the generator, which had performed flawlessly up to this point, refused to fire. So we had to use the main engine to keep batteries charged. As the water maker performs best with the generator, we decided to make water sparingly so washing became even more symbolic. This inevitably means that the interior of the boat smells like a yard of rutting camels.
Perhaps the most ecstatic moment of the entire voyage arose when the Bard's makeshift fishing line jumped up in the air announcing the hooking of a a whopper! We all rushed to the stern leaving the boat to look after itself, gaff at the ready. As we pulled the line in with mounting excitement, we could see a fin arcing to the surface and a flash of blue which as the fish came nearer turned out to be a magnificent white marlin; none of us had seen anything in the wild quite so beautiful before. We gaffed the marlin and brought it thrashing onto the stern where its long beak threatened to impale anyone getting close. Then with a heave, it jerked itself off the gaff and plunged back into the sea. Far from being dismayed, we were absolutely delighted that it had regained its freedom. There was already agreement that if we caught anything big, we would not bash it over the head but pour gin over its gills which we believe leads to a death of happy intoxication. We had of course trialled this on the boat ourselves.....pulling up short of oblivion.
Our most regular visitors were a kind of Fulmar which put on an aeriel display around the boat and dived for catch beneath the waves. These were overshadowed three days from journey's end however by the visit of an ibis which in its elegant beauty seemed out of place in our world.
We expected to see other ships as we closed on St Lucia but there have been few. One, evidently not an ARC participant and probably headed for Martinique came within a mile but did not acknowledge VHF calls in English or French. By this time were in a communications blackout because we had run out of time on our satphone which is our principal email channel but also vital in the event of an emergency. It was stupid to let this happen but nothing is more irritating than a mechanical voice that tells you that you are out of time and therefore, please call your service provider to ask for more. Hmmmh,...but how?
The final approach to St Lucia was at dusk under a reddening sky but full darkness fell as we rounded Pigeon Island for the finish, marked out by a stationary yacht and an illuminated buoy. The photographer was terrific, ducking and dipping around the boat whilst taking pictures and managing his Rib one handed. It will be great to see the results. We could scarcely see the entrance to the marina so followed a " pirate boat" full of trippers, enjoying themselves with rum, no doubt and Caribbean music. It was a bizarre end to a wonderful journey of over 2,850 miles.
Once alongside, St Lucia greeted us warmly with rum punches and baskets of fruit. Other ARC crews passed by to offer congratulations - no one really cares what position you took, only that you had a good time and arrived safely. Some people are still battling away out there with broken rudders and other challenges so we must hope that they arrive safely too.
We had several cold beers after calling our families to report in. Then to bed - the first immobile one for almost three weeks. All the crew will be reflecting over the coming days on our experience which at least one of us regards as transformational even if others are more reticent. It is impossible to spend three weeks gazing at the immensity of the sea during the day and the sky at night without gaining a new perspective on life. We are going to celebrate life by going to mass on Sunday, including the agnostics.
Finally, the Skipper's personal welcome to St Lucia occurred this morning when he was enjoying the stability of a shore based lavatory. A young St Lucian lady , evidently standing on her toes, poked her head over the door to ask for, no demand, loo paper( this being a unisex facility). He handed over several pieces and was told abruptly that more was required, otherwise she would complain to the management!
We hope that you have all enjoyed this blog, our first and last. It is a bad habit to get into. Have a great christmas,
The Crew of Alchemy - 278
Bernard, Cyril, Ralph and Stuart.