16:50N 25:15W

 

Well this is it...our very own Oceans 11.  We upped anchor just after 2pm and pulled out of the harbour in Mindelo, Cape Verdes and set sail for the 2015nm passage to Barbados in the Caribbean.  All going well it should take us around 15 days. 

 

It was a frantic morning with official clearing out procedures to fulfil and then final provisioning.  Already high stress levels (we’re always a bit tense before setting out on a crossing) were sent off the radar when Brenda pulled 20,000 escudos (200 euros) out of the money machine instead of 2000 (20 euros).  Escudos aren’t valid anywhere else and can’t be changed in any other country!  Yesterday in Mindelo was a public day of mourning for a famous singer.....and for some unfathomable reason all the ATM machines (of which there are only a handful) were out of action.  This morning only one was working and the queue of people waiting to use it was down the road.  By the time we got to it, tension was palpable – that’s the excuse for pressing an extra nought anyway.  Stress levels continued to rise at the bank, where we had to again queue forever, produce passports and documentation out of the island to change it to US dollars!  A very strong coffee was in order.

 

While we weren’t sad to leave (we just want to get this next part of the crossing underway) we were disappointed that the rest of the Kiwi and Australian contingent were just arriving!  Balvenie came in about 5am so we did manage a quick coffee with Mark and Amanda before we left.  Eye Candy and Tactical Directions arrived also – all having had a pretty rugged trip down from the Canaries.  As usual there were plenty of boats leaving as well and we are underway with Innamorata about five miles ahead, Moonshadow about a mile abeam and three French boats a couple of miles behind.

 

We are now sailing with the genoa to leeward and the staysail poled out to windward with the wind right on the starboard quarter. The sea is pretty flat as we have the shelter of an island to windward , there will no doubt be a bigger swell to adjust to in a few hours. But right now we can feel the stress created by the preparation and the departure for our “little Everest” starting to flow out of us like a river. It is warm and sunny and the motion is gentle -  fantastic to be on our way. Long may it last!