Day Before Departure
Rich's 2025 World ARC PatBon Blog
Richard Hurd
Fri 10 Jan 2025 03:47
This is Pat Bon calling all land-lubbers! A warm and sweaty hello from St Lucia, where we’re currently berthed in the great Rodney Bay Marina. This was my finish point on my ARC 2019 Atlantic crossing crazy adventure aboard Fireball and is now the start for my new voyage aboard Pat Bon
Pat Bon is owned and skippered by my good friends Peter & Val and I’m joining the first half of the World ARC 2025/26 circumnavigation to Australia. We’ve got some exciting places to visit these next 7 months, including Columbia, the Panama Canal, Galapagos, French Polynesia, Neue, Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu and due to get to Australia by mid July.
Peter, Val and I are joined by Nathan who helped sail Pat Bon on the trans-Atlantic ARC+ last November, the same rally I did aboard Risque Business in 2023. Pat Bon is a 60’ CNB Bordeaux and I’ve sailed her a couple of times previously and did the Voiles de St Tropez regatta in Oct 2023.
These last few days have been spent doing a few last minute repairs and upgrades and getting everything ready for our first passage to Santa Marta in NE Columbia. It’s about 800 nm so will hopefully take 4 to 5 days if the winds are kind to us. I’m very honoured to be appointed 1st mate to the skipper. The forecast is looking pretty reasonable and we expect a good first leg.
Apart from boat jobs, this week has been a time to meet the other crews embarking on the World ARC. I’ve caught up with a couple of boats that did the ARC+ in 2023 (AquaLuna and Pelican) which has been fun and also met several of the other yachts for beers, grub and some fun functions organised by the ARC guys. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together in the coming months, so it’s great to be meeting this initial week.
I’m not sure how often I’ll post a blog, but if I can write something every 2 or 3 days I think that should be enough. With this blog site I can’t get any comments or feedback sadly so when I send it out to the ether I don’t have a clue if anyone is reading it. At least I’ll be able to look back on my adventures in a few years and reminisce over a rum punch or a Jameson’s - so hopefully it won’t be a waste of time.
Love and light to all.
Rich xx
The view of Pat Bon from the mast head - and my foot!
Rodney Bay marina.