Thursday 26 May - We are off!!

A week and a day late.  Although the replacement shrouds arrived in Bermuda on Sunday night they did not clear customs on Monday and Tuesday is Bermuda Day (formerly Queen Victoria’s Birthday) so nothing happened until Wednesday.

The weather is mostly light winds from the east although there are some reports of something more severe happening somewhere.  We will eavesdrop on Herb (Canadian weather router who has been doing this for nothing) on the SSB radio and will seek advice from Chris Tibbs from the Isle of Wight.

We said goodbye to new made friends Keith and Stella of Ananda and Eastbourne who are heading for Maine. French friends on Gala have set out from Tortolla on their way to Azores so will be trailing behind us.  The ARC tracker shows most of the fleet half way to destination Azores and some with only 400 miles to go.

We had a last supper with Australian owners of Discovery No 1 called Sula.  They are world sailors and have taken their dentistry skills to many islands in the Pacific who have no such facilities.  What excellent work.  Some neighbours from an American boat they are delivering to the Med. joined us and they also had so much experience. 

Shrouds are being tightened as I write.  The starboard one needs more tightening.  When you shake it you feel the transference through the boat and that is what we were experiencing on the crossing from the States.  Discovery has now made both inners and outers the same diameter – 14 mm.  Still, the failure will be investigated more on our return.  Our thanks to Discovery in Southampton and Ocean Sails in St George for their excellent response in getting over and fitting the replacement shrouds.  Also big thanks to Dick who has been a splendid help and his wife and daughter back home who have been very patient.  The one week’s delay was mainly due to a weekend and Bermuda Day holiday which is frustrating but understandable.  It does mean we will hopefully have missed some weird weather.

The weather is settling we think, although wind direction is not helpful – mainly ESE.  There has been an unusual stationary low en route which may or may not fill into something worth avoiding.  The models suggest it should be declining but predictions have not been going according to plan.  Other ARC Europe boats reported in the past days winds of 0 to 25 all of a sudden.

Am worried about my mum who is not well but still of fighting spirit so I think that plus the antibiotics and my lovely daughter’s kind care will mean she will be alright for me to carry on to Azores.  Oh, I certainly hope so – she is 94 after all.  I called Admiral our insurers to check the situation about being two, instead of three crew, in case I had to jump ship, and they seem quite accommodating in not hiking our insurance premium although extending the excess.

So Friday morning at dawn we head off.  Follow our track on World Cruising ARC Europe web site.

Photos of Bill and Steve in intimate embrace repairing rigging whilst the other three helpers are sitting around taking in the scenery (was it Valsheda going out or some fit female crew on another boat?).  Photo which I hope you can read in St Peter's Church commemorating a very convivial chap.