Escapada enroute to St. Lucia!
Escapada
Andreas Haas
Tue 24 Nov 2009 19:09
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25.45.79N 017.31.75W
Everyone is safe, healthy and well.
We slipped our lines at the Las Palmas marina at 1030 on
Sunday and along with 250 other boats headed out to the ARC starting line
in the entry harbor of the port.
It was a fabulous sight!!. As we left a local band played
music, people lined the banks and cheered everyone on. Fog horns were
sounding everywhere, sailors laughing,
taking photos of each other and waving to each other on
various boats. It was truly fun and a celebration of life. As we
positioned ourselves for the start, we adjusted
our
sails to get the maximum of the small wind available.
Nick monitored the radio for important communication with the ARC
controllers as we moved closer to the starting
l
ine. At 1300 UTC the official horn sounded the start of
ARC 2009 and we took off across the Atlantic on our 2850 nautical mile voyage!
   
The Crew of
Escapada Heading
for the
start Water
Canons celebrate the
start
Radio control
The first day at sea was exhilarating! With 250
boats all leaving from the same place on the same heading, it was like a traffic
jam in the city. We needed to be
very diligent and careful to make sure we didn't collide
with anyone. As we got further out to sea, the boats dispersed in a wide area
and it was easier. Once we cleared
Gran Canaria, the wind picked up to 25-30 knots, with 2-3
meter long waves. We started or watch system, which will continue throughout the
passage. The watches are
broken down into 4 hour shifts. Peter from 1800-2200 and
0600-1000, Nick from 2200-0200 and 1000-1400 and Manuel from 0200-0600 and
1400-1800. Andreas as
the Skipper fills in whenever necessary and also takes
care of all of the cooking. In addition to the watches, we all have additional
responsibilities. Nick is responsible for
Radio communication and engine checks, Manuel takes care
of the rig and weather reports and Peter is the ship doctor and writes this
blog. The first full cycle of watches
has completed and everyone is already getting into a nice
routine. We have experienced our first of many sunsets and sunrises. Tonight,
Andreas made a great dinner of
chicken with pineapple, garlic and cayenne sauce and
Basmati rice. A real treat out in the Atlantic. We are preparing for the night
and continuing our passage.
Wishing you all well. We miss you
and love you. More news tomorrow.
Esacapa Crew
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