We leave tomorrow

It’s the day before the start of the ARC. Unbelievably, every item on my list is ticked; a feat that has never before been achieved and this is largely down to our fantastic crew. Mervyn has worked through my list, applying his practical and methodical approach to everything and each day he takes a few more items from my list, allowing  me time to co-ordinate and plan. On this trip we have decided to give ourselves a clear 24 hour rest period prior to the start and by midday today we are largely done.

This week has been full-on. Caroline sadly left for the UK on Tuesday, vacating her side of our double bunk just in time for Oults to take up occupancy behind a large bolster which has been named Bertha and so far we have proved to be very compatible cabin mates. On Wednesday, Andrew and Rosie arrived completing our complement of five crew for the trip.

I climb the mast to secure shackles with cable ties and the views of the marina and of Hera down below are quite spectacular.

We spend most of the day on Thursday carrying out safety briefings and practicing our drills.  As I get older I find myself becoming more focussed on safety and more risk averse. It is a very constructive day and I think we have all learnt a lot about how we will handle emergencies; and more importantly, how we will avoid them.

Friday is always shopping day and Andrew, in charge of provisioning, leads a team to the market, returning with no less than 70 apples and piles of other fruit and vegetables which Nick washes and dries on the foredeck. Everything is now stowed around the boat and Andrew has even found time to audit the freezer and plan the sequence of the meals.

We are out for supper this evening and then an early night. Tomorrow we plan to leave the dock at around 11am in time for a midday start. A large Spanish warship will act as committee boat and with fine weather forecasted I think it will be a splendid sight with 200 boat all crossing the start line.  You can follow us using the fleet viewer here:  https://www.worldcruising.com/arc/eventfleetviewer.aspx

You can also email us at yachthera@mailasail.com but please don't send attachments as the satellite link is slow and expensive.

The next time i write we will be out in the Atlantic, heading south to find the trade winds that will take us across the ocean to St Lucia.