25:27.10 N 20:46.23 W

Apologies for the delayed first entry; technological issues combined with general apathy and the chaos of departure all conspired against me. Anyway, we are now well on our way. One ninth of the way across, in fact, according to one of my fellow crewmembers. The first day was pretty chaotic; big swells after the start and breezes of 35 knots meant we were all battling with the boat as we tried to settle in. I was particularly struggling as I was assigned to do the cooking for the whole day. I started this task by tentatively opening the fridge which promptly hurled its contents all over the saloon. The low point came when I fried some peppers and managed to lose pan and contents down the back of the cooker.

Day two was gave me a chance to ponder the enormity of the Atlantic and It finally sank in that I would be trapped on this yacht for the next twenty days. After a brief meltdown, I have become philosophical, though time will tell whether it was worth trying to save on paying for an air fare across to the other side. I’ll keep you posted. Anyway, I feared in Las Palmas that the ARC made the whole thing rather prosaic. The good news is that no one has let the Atlantic in on this fact and it remains steadfastly magnificent.  

//Sam