Land i sikte! Land o'hoy!
The ODA diary
Erik L. Roede
Tue 3 Dec 2013 15:04
We have been 13 days at sea, and today we woke up to seeing a sliver of land on the horizon to the West! We are 34 miles away from St. Lucia after having crossed 2100 miles of the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Verde. What a great feeling!
Seeing land is a thrill and everyone on board is excited. Yet, seeing land also brings a little sadness, as it means that this crossing is coming to a close. We have had an easy crossing: Mild winds, good weather, no squalls, no major equipment damage and no injuries. I am sure we have eaten better meals than most, thanks to Kathrine and Tobias' impressive abilities in the galley. Being six on board, we have had long off-watches so that everyone has gotten enough rest. Yet, the days have also been busy with all the practical chores that need to be done throughout the day and night.
I have been challenged by my friend, Bjørn, to repeat his performance from 10 years ago, when he, on this same sailing rally, jumped over board at the finish line in St. Lucia and swam across, leaving the crew to cross the line, take in the sails, and pick him up. So, in a few hours I will be jumping over board as ODA crosses the finish line. We are not sure how we have placed in the competition, but we are hoping for a fifth place.
The second leg of our journey is coming to a close after first sailing from Norway to the Canary Islands, and now across the Atlantic Ocean. We will spend a couple months here in the West Indies before heading further West, across the Caribbean Sea to Belize. But first, a much longed-for ice cold beer ashore this afternoon, a week of relaxing, boat cleaning and repairs, and some fun socializing with the other boats.