Another near miss!
The Adventures of Allegria & Crew
Peter Lansdale
Tue 20 Jan 2026 19:51
184 miles in the last 24 hours with just 828 to go!
Well, they're all out to get us! These big shipson the Atlantic are just like busses ..... No sooner than we saw one off, another was one heading straight for us in the early hours of this morning. This is a big ocean and yet they seem drawn to us like a magnet. Before we left Lanzarote, we were warned it was likely that we would be sailing through a cross-Atlantic rowing fleet as we approach Antigua. We need to keep our eyes peeled the closer we get as they will be difficult to spot so low in the water.
Last night felt quite wild. It was regularly gusting 30 plus knots with what felt like huge seas. Its ok when the wave comes up dead-astern, but when it catches us on our quarter, it picks us up and skews us right round. On deck its not too bad. Although the roar of the sea is loud and it feels like we are hurling into the darkness (sometimes our SOG has touched 16 knts when surfing down a wave), it is clear that Allegria is taking it all in her stride, and she is strong and steady (metaphorically, if not literally!). But down below, lying in ones bunk trying vainly to sleep, it can feel like you are in a washing machine that is just about to launch into orbit!
Milla