Dag 15: Land within reach
Ronja
Jan Morten Ruud
Tue 8 Dec 2009 12:48
|
Dear readers,
we can tell that Ronja smells land and has put in a
special gear. Maybe she is just as ready for a fresh water bath and thorough
cleaning as we are. Mother nature is not making the last leg very easy:
It's been a rough night with squalls in every direction. We wonder if someone
has put a special squalls magnet (secret weapon no. 3?) somewhere aboard Ronja.
But in spite of it all WE MAY REACH RODNEY BAY
TOMORROW! Of course, it's still enshallah and knock-on-wood and all that, and it
also assumes that we actually are where we think we are. (With reference to
yesterday's blog: There are still lots of Finish voices on the radio, but when
we ask them they claim that they are also headed for St. Lucia.Chances are that
we are close to the Caribbean after all.)
The captain and the crew have started planning for
onshore activities. Vibeke and Jan Morten are making a plan for the washing and
the cleaning of the boat, and the rest of the crew are thinking hard about how
not being a part of that plan:-)
But before we can start with all that we have to
pass the Martinique St. Lucia channel, run a nice circle around Pigeon Island,
cross the finish line and moor the boat. And that is another ball game. For two
weeks we have had all the space in the world, few other boats around, and no
reefs or navigation buoys to worry about. And that is going to change. We will
now have to prove our coastal navigational skills and seamanship. Uh oh. Vibeke
feels that we should pull down all sails and use the engine, but Jan Morten and
Harald are hell bent on coming in with all sails up.
Joke no. 4
Scene: The central operations room of the German
Coast Guard in Bremerhafen
Voice on radio: Mayday mayday. Help us - we are
sinking. We are 20 miles southeast of Helgoland and we are sinking.
The German guard on duty: eeeh. Hello! Ziis
is ze German Coast Guard. Eeeeh. What are you zinking about?
Tomorrow we will publish the last blog from the
Atlantic crossing, but don't forget that all of us minus Harald have many more
oceans to cross and there will be many more blogs! Once we have firm ground
under our feet we will also write a "reisebrev" where we will include lots of
pictures from the crossing.
Your affectionate crew aboard S/Y Ronja wishes you
all fair winds and smooth sailing! Best regards from Vilde, Vibeke, Stian,
Snorre, Jan Morten & harrall.
Coordinates: N15.05.777.,
W58.03.711 Distance totalt current rute: 2720 Nm Sailed distance last 24 hours: 160Nm Sailed distance since start: 2623Nm Distance left (current route to St. Lucia): 165Nm |