The Start - ARC+ 2021 (7&8 Nov)
Walkabout has gone Sailing
Andrew and Traci Roantree
Sun 7 Nov 2021 13:00
What an incredible and emotional morning!
The start of the ARC+ 2021 is finally here!
What we have been building up to for so many years and eagerly preparing for over the last weeks and months.
The vibe and atmosphere around the marina was a mixture between calm anticipation and last minute jitters! Everyone was eager for the off, saying goodbye to loved ones and preparing themselves and crew for the passage ahead.
The weather was windy, sea state rough with 2-3m waves and an expectation that we were all in for a challenging few days! But, the weather was easing after that with sunshine and calmer seas to look forward to.
Grenada and the Caribbean is our destination but first a short hop to Cape Verde, that is the ARC+. 72 boats this year, a few less than usual due to Covid.
The ARC departs Las Palmas on 21st November with 180 boats (?) and sails directly to St Lucia in the Caribbean.
So many excited people hugging and wishing each other a safe and swift passage.
I’m writing this blog while underway and will post on the blog on our arrival in CV.
We are a full 24 hrs into our 6 day passage to Cape Verde and have covered 177 nautical miles. The most we have sailed in 24hrs!
The very lovely John and Susie from Casamara were on the water in their dinghy with Julia, Ronja, Lotta and Marla from ‘Lady Blue’ to see Christian (Julia’s husband and the girl’s father) and the crew from ‘Lady Blue’ off.
The photos below were taken by Susie, thank you xx
Our first day and night were pretty good and better than expecting to be honest. You soon get used to the big sea and being out of sight of land has now become a norm!
We were both rugged up for our night shifts which we started at 2000. First we enjoyed a hot chicken casserole dinner with potatoes followed by fruit. We have a lot of fruit on board (!) as I may have slightly over catered and panic-purchased! How do you shop for 6 weeks?
Our night shifts are usually 4 hours each with one of us going downstairs after dinner. Noise, bouncing around and excitement kept us both from sleep but we felt rested enough.
Andrew usually does the first and last enjoying the sunset and sunrise and I do the middle dark hours. We may need to alternate that!! Andrew is currently downstairs now catching up on sleep. He’ll then come up and we will have some lunch and talk over the next evenings sail plan.
Day 1 DONE!
Day 2 looking forward to getting you under my belt!
The sun is out, we are cruising at between 6-7.5 knots. 3 reefs in the main and full Genoa. An enjoyable set up for sleeping and comfort.