13:05N 59:37W

 

Move over Johnny Depp....Captain Morgan has arrived in town and renamed your movie Bandits of the Caribbean.  Yes we’re here...after 14 days and nights at sea - a pretty quick trip across really.  Friends who crossed last year took 24 days (did you get lost of something Ross?) and we beat the two boats we left with by more than a day.   We did 2110 NM over the ground from the Cape Verdes to Barbados taking 13 days 23 hours and 45 mins giving us an average speed of 6.3 knots.  But we’ve come from rolling at sea to a rolly anchorage!  Nothing we can’t deal with.  We arrived just on dusk last night, dropped the anchor, had the rum we were so looking forward to (and it tasted damn good), the last of our fresh mahimahi and then fellow Kiwis Alan and Jean from Tuatara came over.  We eventually crashed at 8pm and slept for 10 solid hours – bliss!

 

So from Carlise Bay in Barbados (where we plan to stay a few weeks)...here is a summary of the highlights and lowlights of our trip.

 

Highlights;

* we did it – the satisfaction of crossing the Atlantic shorthanded, in often trying conditions, is enormous (for us anyway)

* the skipper getting Zak (autopilot) back into action after he spat the dummy six days out

* night watches – seeing shooting stars, the southern cross, satellites etc

* the SSB net – 8am and 3pm were looked forward to daily rituals...the banter with other cruisers kept us sane

* catching a big mahimahi...fish for dinner for three nights!

* hot showers every day – how on earth do people manage without them on long passages?

* getting loads of emails – thank you, thank you, thank you to our regular correspondents (you know who you are).  You’re welcome on Bandit anytime....come to the sunny Caribbean! (where it’s raining)

* lemoncillo tiramisu on New Year’s Eve

* daily run of 164m – not quite a record for us but still good in often testing conditions

* not running out of anything – fresh tomatoes, oranges, zucchini etc all the way!

* seeing dolphins mid Atlantic

* seeing a ship mid Atlantic (how tragic that it’s a highlight!)

* finally dropping anchor in Carlisle Bay at 1700 local time.

 

Lowlights

* lack of sleep

* Zak (the autopilot) giving up the ghost six days out (see above) and having to hand steer for 12 hours in squally conditions

* night watches – trying desperately to keep eyes open on watch (and sometimes failing)

* the SSB net when we heard our fellow sailors behind us getting a hammering in 30knots of wind and 3-4m seas

* us getting a hammering when hit by 30knot squalls and 3-4m seas!

* getting hit by a flying fish in the cockpit in the dark – still shaking

* constant rolling making it impossible to do anything

* lack of sleep (get the picture)

* not seeing whales – others crossing did

* the wave that sent Christmas Eve supper all over the floor

* daily run of 135m.....Bandit what are you doing???

* finishing the wicked Spanish truffles Balvenie (thanks Mark and Amanda) gave us for Christmas...I’m sure the cook sneaked some on night watch

 

We won’t be updating this blog until we leave Barbados but, once we catch up on sleep, provision, drink some rum , sleep, drink some rum, sleep, swim etc, and find internet....we will post pix on our other blog www.yachtbandit.blogspot.com