Chula - Leg 1 finish and Mindelo

The last week has been a total blur, my last post was a day before
reaching Mindelo. We arrived on Sunday 14th November and now, 6 days
later we are already a day into our Atlantic passage. So, what happened?!

Our arrival at Sao Vincente, Cape Verde couldn't have been better, the
wind was light and the acceleration zone between the island gave us a
fast finish alongside around 6 other boats, 5 hours before the finish
line closed. We were met by Rally Control with huge welcoming smiles, it
felt good to have achieved our longest passage yet - and possibly our
most enjoyable passage too! After the formalities we went to the
Floating Bar for a beer with the crew of Big Bubble, a lovely
atmosphere, comparing experiences and to-fix lists. Later that evening
was the Welcome Party with the most incredible performance by local
drummers, the beats went right through you - we were definitely in a
whole other culture now. Despite the high spirits bed couldn't come soon
enough for those of us arriving on the last day (some had been in for
days and a few were still out at sea and would trickle in for a few days
yet).

The next morning we had a tour of Sao Vincente organized by the ARC. The
bus ride took us up the spectacular cobbled road of Monte Verde which
seems to cling to the mountain's near vertical cliff face with stunning
views over Mindelo. From there we stopped at sand dunes which are
naturally formed from wind-blown Saharan sand. The beach looked
incredible but completely empty, it is too dangerous to swim here. On
one part of the beach we found old turtle egg shells, these animals are
now protected and appear to be respected by the locals. Lowie also
spotted an octopus in a rock pool, she has an amazing eye for spotting
octopus and we watched it slither between pools. That night we had the
prize giving for Leg 1, great atmosphere and big smilies from crews
collecting awards! A local drumming and dancing group was the evenings
entertainment, the dancers were fully blacked out and wore tribal
costumes while 4 drummers created a rhythm which reverberated within the
walls of the fish market, incredible! Joe even managed to show off his
drumming expertise with the knowing appreciation of one drummer to
another which supercedes language. The rest of the week was filled with
repairs, provisioning and trying not to stay up too late in this
headying mix of sailors sharing their experiences and letting their hair
down (although actually some were getting their hair braided, local
style!).

One thought which kept coming back to me was the realization that we are
definitely in a completely foreign land, culture and language and that
we have sailed here ourselves, our home, our lifeline, one mile at a
time and we have made it to Cape Verde! It's an achievement but also a
strain, tempers can get fraught, this is serious business, prepping
boats to be self sufficient for weeks at sea, but we'll get there, like
we got here, one mile at a time.

Soon Friday was upon us and we were off for the start of Leg 2, Marks
voice on the VHF declaring the official start line, us just south of the
line watching the many yachts who crossed seconds after the gun. We were
just a couple of minutes after and we had a great line, half judgment
half luck! Joe has written an account of the start, I hope to include
some more thoughts from the rest of the crew soon.

Thats me for now - Jo