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We are here!!
We crossed the finish line at 1630 (Walkabout/Grenada Time, UST-4) on Saturday 4 December 2021.
Apologies for the lack of update since then - we have been too busy celebrating, meeting up with friends from the ARC community and enjoying the Caribbean sun and vibe.
I find it hard to put into words how we feel…. We are overjoyed at what we have achieved. 5 years in the planning, and Traci and I have pulled this off - by ourselves. 15 days at sea, through all sorts of weather, we have done each other proud, and Walkabout has done us proud.
We arrived too late to get through Health and Customs control on Saturday, so we were resigned to having to stay quarantined on the boat overnight - a slightly disappointing way to celebrate the moment. But we should not have worried!! There were several boats on the Q pontoon - Morgane of Sark, Going Deep, Sandy Cay, Nova, Sundance ii and ourselves. The guys from Arabella thrust Tequila shots in our hands within minutes of arriving, and the tone was set for the rest of the night - what a way to celebrate our arrival.
The guys from Going Deep sliced our champagne bottle open with a knife; Sandy Cay supplied the pizza: and we revelled in the moment until we all started to seriously flag at about 2130. The best pontoon party ever!
When we arrived there was a very special moment. Tara the Marina Manager arrived with a ‘message in a bottle’ - a long Galliano bottle, carefully tied with ribbon, and a rolled up message inside. We opened it, and it was a beautiful, heartfelt, handwritten message from Traci’s Mum. There was not a dry eye in the house.
On Sunday we had to do the Health and Customs clearance, and check in to the marina. We moved to our berth and could start to relax properly. So good to catch up with even more people and swap tales of the high seas.
Then ‘Welcome Drinks’ in a restaurant across the harbour, with dinner and dancing into the night. Morgane of Sark - leaders of the Entertainment Society - sure know how to party.
A few pics to capture the moment….!
Thanks to everyone who has sent messages over our trip.
Special thanks to Ade and Bev - we were never alone…
We have sailed 2356 NM from Mindelo to Grenada, at an average speed of 6.4knots, over 15 days. Since left Plymouth on 15 August 2021 we have sailed 5129 NM at an average speed of 6.3knots. Every mile of it double handed
This is Walkabout, signing off from our Atlantic Adventure.
Stay tuned for tales from the Caribbean.