Morning showers bring rainbows over the marina--they seem to be following us.
Just 50 miles east of here on Gran Canaria, 230 boats signed up with the annual ARC (Atlantic Rally Crossing) were poised to cross the Atlantic to St. Lucia this past Sunday. The date for this event is set more than a year in advance and in its 17 year history it has always started on time, until this year. The rally has been delayed until today or perhaps tomorrow and as it turns out, that was a good thing as they've had wind coming from the southwest, the exact direction they want to go (one of the fundamentals of sailing is that you cannot sail into the wind) and a speed of over 35 knots, in the marina that is and only God knows what it was doing out at sea.
Since La Rochelle we have been meeting these ARC boats, distinguishable by the large signature flag they fly on their mast, as well as many other sailboats also on their way to the Caribbean. Here in the marina of Santa Cruz in Tenerife at least one boat leaves just about every day and more or less everyone who is here, aside from the locals, is planning to cross at some point within the next two months. An estimated 1000 sailboats do the trip every year and with Phase II of our journey more or less complete, it’s time for us to make up our mind if we will be joining their ranks.
Since La Rochelle we have been meeting these ARC boats, distinguishable by the large signature flag they fly on their mast, as well as many other sailboats also on their way to the Caribbean. Here in the marina of Santa Cruz in Tenerife at least one boat leaves just about every day and more or less everyone who is here, aside from the locals, is planning to cross at some point within the next two months. An estimated 1000 sailboats do the trip every year and with Phase II of our journey more or less complete, it’s time for us to make up our mind if we will be joining their ranks.
Our marina in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The boat at the far end is one of the six boats that have already dropped out of the Vendee Globe-around the world race.
Patrice has been game since the beginning and I admit that I am the one who has been biding my time, trying to assess if this is what I want to do and more importantly if I am able to do it. He has been very respectful and has not pressured me in any way. My main issue is seasickness and I think if it wasn’t for that I would’ve agreed a long time ago. During our last passage from Madeira, I was so ill that I when I arrived in Tenerife I had made up my mind that I wasn’t cut out for this kind of sailing and certainly not a lengthy Atlantic crossing. “Nope! Not me! Never!”
Once things had calmed down though and after giving it some serious thought, I realized several things. 1) Patrice really wants to do this, 2) I really don’t want him to go without me and 3) I really really want to be in the Caribbean this winter. Yes, the seasickness is an issue, but talking to other sailors, it is generally agreed that we have been very unlucky with the weather and the resulting seas that we have had for many of our passages. I have also been reassured that after 3 days at sea the queasiness generally goes away and although I have never been able to test that, I know that I am usually not this ill and have sailed many times in the past with no problems.
Finally, it helps to know that we would have a third crew member on board for the journey. Our dear friend Shelagh has kindly agreed to lend us her husband Alan, who is a highly experienced sailor, excellent handyman and inventive cook. We sincerely hope that we would not need his veterinarian skills on our ‘human’ bodies during the trip, but it is comforting to know that there would be a someone from the medical profession onboard. Soooooooo, I’m taking a real step of faith here, praying up a storm that all will be well and saying YES! I’m in! “Holy decision-making Batman, did I really just say that?”
Once things had calmed down though and after giving it some serious thought, I realized several things. 1) Patrice really wants to do this, 2) I really don’t want him to go without me and 3) I really really want to be in the Caribbean this winter. Yes, the seasickness is an issue, but talking to other sailors, it is generally agreed that we have been very unlucky with the weather and the resulting seas that we have had for many of our passages. I have also been reassured that after 3 days at sea the queasiness generally goes away and although I have never been able to test that, I know that I am usually not this ill and have sailed many times in the past with no problems.
Finally, it helps to know that we would have a third crew member on board for the journey. Our dear friend Shelagh has kindly agreed to lend us her husband Alan, who is a highly experienced sailor, excellent handyman and inventive cook. We sincerely hope that we would not need his veterinarian skills on our ‘human’ bodies during the trip, but it is comforting to know that there would be a someone from the medical profession onboard. Soooooooo, I’m taking a real step of faith here, praying up a storm that all will be well and saying YES! I’m in! “Holy decision-making Batman, did I really just say that?”
You may be wondering why we don’t cross with the ARC or any other of the other groups that are going together. The social aspect of the ARC with parties organized before the start and at the finish, would certainly be fun. The flag is very cool and there is comfort in numbers when thinking about crossing, even though very shortly after the start you rarely see anyone again until the finish. However, the cost of these privileges is £1000+ depending on the size of the boat and the number of crew onboard, but what bothers us more that the cost is the fact that participants should adhere to a specific date and for us, the ARC leaves much too early. The ARC date is set because most boats want to get to the Caribbean before Christmas which is understandable, but traditionally the trade winds only establish themselves for a favorable Atlantic crossing at the very end of the year and January is usually the best month for the passage. So it’s not for us, but nevertheless we would willingly ‘buddy boat’ with any other sailboats crossing at the same time as us.
Decision made, we are now in full-throttle getting ready to go. Due to the weather, we have delayed our planned crossing over to Gran Canaria until tomorrow, but the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has been an excellent place to shop and stock up on provisions. The difficulty is trying to imagine what I might want to eat in the middle of the Atlantic and can’t run out to the supermarket or call for take-out.
Truth be told, we’ve been preparing for this all along, since before we left La Rochelle actually, as we’ve always known there was a strong possibility we would go for it. We plan to leave the boat in Gran Canaria next week, fly home for most of December and we’ll aim to cross the first week in January. More details to come, but first we have this one last passage to do to officially complete phase II. I’ll be in touch again from Puerto Mogan, Gran Canaria--I hope all the Brits that just left there to cross on the ARC have not run that island totally dry, because we’re going to celebrate. Thankfully the Frenchman onboard has made sure we’re self-sufficient in any case.
Truth be told, we’ve been preparing for this all along, since before we left La Rochelle actually, as we’ve always known there was a strong possibility we would go for it. We plan to leave the boat in Gran Canaria next week, fly home for most of December and we’ll aim to cross the first week in January. More details to come, but first we have this one last passage to do to officially complete phase II. I’ll be in touch again from Puerto Mogan, Gran Canaria--I hope all the Brits that just left there to cross on the ARC have not run that island totally dry, because we’re going to celebrate. Thankfully the Frenchman onboard has made sure we’re self-sufficient in any case.
The city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife--our home for the past 10 days.
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