Aruba, Aruba, Aruba. 12:30.3N 070:02.1W
Audaciter
ItchyFingers
Wed 25 Jan 2012 16:56
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Hi,
Factoid:
In the early nineteenth century gold was discovered and
brought Aruba huge wealth and prosperity. When the deposits were exhausted
plantations of aloe vera took over and for a time Aruba was the largest exporter
of this medical plant. Fancy that. The first inhabitants were the Caquetios, an
Arawak tribe that were living on the island when the Spanish first landed in
1499. Many were forced into working in the copper mines of Santo Domingo and
gradually they were replaced by different nationalities. The result is that the
current population claims to be made up of 45 different ethnic strands! The
language is Papiamento and is unique to the ABC islands (the others being
Curacao and Bonaire) and is a mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, English and some
African and Amerindian dialects. They even have a paper printed in it! The
Netherlands established its rule over the island in 1636 and resisted all
challenges from other European powers and their influence is still
very present...... Well, there you go, a little snippet from the
history books of Audaciter high!!!
Anyway, we arrived here on Monday afternoon with mixed
emotions. It had been a weird passage and the first time we have done a longish
stint at sea since crossing the pond. We settled back in but it was draining,
especially when after 2 days the auto pilot failed again, meaning we were, in
theory a man down. Shift patterns changed from 3 on, 6 off to 2 on, 4 off. This
makes sleeping hard, especially when it is so hot on our un air conditioned
yacht. This is when we decided to leave alcohol out of the equation and have a
dry boat. Otherwise you wake up to groggy and it takes a while to get your head
into gear. Not good for morale. I can almost here all the 'yeah
rights' ringing out, but it is the way forward and you should all be proud.
We shall save the drinks for when we hit port and really deserve them. This will
no doubt make most of you very happy.
The auto pilot issue has now been resolved and I cannot
tell you enough how much pressure this has taken off, especially as we are short
handed sailing. All it was was a tiny little wire that had been working itself
loose at the back of the Raymarine unit. The electrician said our system is in
perfect working order and there should be no more problems. Even if there is we
know how to fix it. All good.
The mixed emotions were down to, well for me anyway, the
fact that my Dad is receiving an MBE for services to the arts on the 26th of
January (so, so, so proud) and originally I thought I was going to be
able to attend. The reality with this unpredictable sailing lark is that it was
unfeasible which upset me greatly. The other being that I miss my beautiful
girlfriend so much. Luckily I didn't write this blog halfway through the journey
as it would have been full of 'I can't wait to get off this fucking boat' sort
of stuff, but you know, ups and downs. Still, I am gutted about missing my Dad's
MBE and will be toasting him on the day
The next stage:
'This can be a very rough passage, confirmed by the fact
that many experienced sailors describe their passage across the Caribbean Sea
perhaps as the roughest part of their journey around the world. This is usually
the case at the height of the trade wind season, when the the constant easterly
winds pile up the water in the western part of the Caribbean making sea
conditions hazardous'. A quote from Jimmy Cornells' World Cruising Routes. He is
the cruising route guru and started the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. He
is the man.
Now loved ones, please do not freak out. we have already
done 600 miles from St. Lucia to Aruba and there was fuck all wind for the
first 3 days and then it properly kicked in. The only bugger is is that we have
to leave tomorrow (Wednesday) and there is predicted winds of 30 - 35 knots of
wind and swells of 19 to 23 feet and an incredibly confused sea when we get
close to Panama. The sea basically has nowhere to go and kicks back on itself.
Nice. All this in a 39 foot yacht! But we are not foolhardy and fingers crossed
it will be fine. This is what it is all about. A whiff of danger never hurt
anyone...mmmm.
Anyway, a massive shout out to my Dad, Lynne, my sister
and uncle Phil. Have an amazing day at Buckingham Palace. I will be thinking of
you. Also, Happy Birthday to Dickon for last Sunday.
Love to all. xxx
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