14:18.86N 59:34.14W Rodney Bay
Marestail
Fri 4 Jan 2019 20:23
Week 2
Sunday 9th December
Cooked breakfast, a Full Atlantic!, then we opened our Week 2 bag of surprizes. A relaxing day, playing games and using Jenny's conversation cards. The third flying fish landed on deck today.
Sundowners with a G & T.
Monday 10th December
Woke to gale force winds again. Baked a loaf of bread and tried to photograph the Sargasso weed, which is becoming a problem out here, so is being monitored. Sketched the weed too.
Wednesday 12th December
Just survived our worst night so far. After a pleasant evening watch with the twin headsails up, was woken at 01.30 by JGerry blowing the emergency whistle. Everyone up trying to reef the sails, but the pole up-haul snapped off and whipped into a tangle with the sheets. This prevented the sail being furled properly. In the end, Jonno and I had to clip on and slide about on the fore-deck, wrestling the sail down, and dragging in back into the cockpit. Difficult in a gale, at night.
Eventually dumped the sail, and got to bed. Woken at 03.00 by Jonno blowing the emergency whistle! The storm was back, with the wind veering to cause a gybe and pull out the reefed main.
04.00 my turn to be on watch. The wind has dropped a bit, but just as I was starting to relax I was slapped on the ear by a flying fish. We later found it dead under the table, at breakfast.
Saturday 15th December
Mileage down to 99.9! So much weed now that Gerry keeps catching it instead of fish! Another heavy squall and the Muggi went overboard! after all these years on two boats!
17.27 we saw the lights of St Lucia. The yacht Sunrise is just ahead of us. After three weeks at sea with hardly a boat in sight, suddenly a cruise liner is leaving and there are several boats around.
We rounded Pidgeon Island about midnight, then with Race Control talking to us, turned on to a beat, with a photographer's boat chasing in and out of our bow wave. What a change to be tacking to the finish line after weeks of running . Finished between a yacht with a flashing orange light and a buoy flashing white in Rodney Bay at 02.58UTC after 2,927 miles.
What a reception from the Arc organisers and the Marina staff, who met us with Rum punch and a huge fruit basket, not to mention Mark and Gina from Rum Truffle who also turned out to greet us.
