Oyster Moon - News from Oyster Moon: Day 1 - Cape Verde to St Lucia

Day 1: Last minute repairs!

We have learnt over the past few months that even though we make our best efforts to be prepared on departure days, there is usually something that doesn’t go to plan. Cape Verde was no exception to this. High winds and a full capacity marina placed a great deal of pressure on the pontoons, which were only chained to the seabed in several places. Unfortunately, we had been pinned between two larger boats at the far end of the pontoon. The immense amount of pressure placed on our ropes resulted in one of our fairleads being ripped off!

As the rest of the ARC+ Rally fleet set out, our repairs were still underway. Starting behind the fleet we rushed out the marina trying to keep up. We then had bide our time until we’d passed the acceleration zone before setting up our sails with the right configuration for down wind sailing.

Whist the first day and night proved a little lumpy, the conditions were much improved from the previous leg from Gran Canaria to Cape Verde. I’m pleased to report this time that nobody has been sick. Hurrah!