Cassini Blog #64 Catching up on the end of ARC+ 2023
Cassini's blog
Simon and Sally, Nigel and Catherine
Wed 13 Dec 2023 20:17
| Catching up on the end of ARC+ 2023 Some days since now, we completed the Atlantic crossing from Cape Verde to Granada. The first sighting of land, actually usually the clouds high over it, at the end of an Atlantic crossing, stirs the heart of anyone crossing an ocean for the first time on a yacht. Our crossing had been slower than expected in the largely gentle winds that propelled us across, but the feeling of achieving something important wasn’t lessened for me and I’m sure, all the crew. Just a few miles short of Grenada, we hooked our largest fish yet, a sailfish that measured something like six-seven feet from the spike on his nose to his tail. Durks enjoyed a 40 minute battle to bring him to the stern where we took some photos before shaking him loose from the hook. A yacht our size (in fact, any yacht) is no place to land a sailfish of those dimensions, especially with the lethal spike extending from his mouth and whipping muscular tail and fins. Arriving on the dock at about 3pm on a Sunday afternoon, meant we were greeted by the marina staff and WCC yellow shirts with the customary rum punches. I finished the first rather too quickly and was swiftly ‘refilled’. Customs and Immigration were closed by now, but I managed to get the boat checked in with the marina to hook up electricity and water, or at least I should have been able to. The only electricity plug socket available to us on the berth was a US high current type, one of the few adaptors we didn't have. We sorted that out the following morning with (yet another) trip to the chandlers. Once we had the boat mostly tidied up, we joined friends of ours, Jeff and Lou, on their catamaran, Lost Abbey, and over a few beers and several glasses of wine, told and retold the stories of our crossings. I was back onboard and in bed by seven, a little 'tired' and slept a full 12 hours. We spent five more days in Grenada, watching other crews arrive, sharing drinks, meals and stories. On Friday following our arrival, we sailed for Barbados leaving Sarah, Durks and Ronan of our Atlantic crew to fly home and taking Snakehips with us for his flight home from Barbados. The tale of that crossing follows…. Simon  |
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