ARC + Las Palmas

We docked in at Las Palmas on the 11th Nov, super excited for our next chapter - Getting ready to cross the Atlantic and immersing ourselves in the ARC Community along the way! The ARC has been an invaluable contributor to our experience in the crossing and we couldn't have imagined doing the crossing any other way! We felt we received an incredible amount of on the ground support and advice from the second we checked in as well as important safety checks through to the ongoing support out at sea (virtually and amongst the 150 fleet out at sea!).

The other very helpful and fun part is the strong community that was built through daily social events and activities including daily kids club on the last week, which was incredibly helpful so that we could get through our endless to do list before the crossing!

Las Palmas is a very well equipped city for sailors departing on a transatlantic crossing with a comprehensive array of essential services and supplies, including ship chandlers, boat maintenance, food provisioning, and a wide selection of shopping for any last-minute needs.

From the day we arrived in Gran Canaria, it felt like our second chapter was just beginning! We headed to the ARC office to get ourselves registered and print out our crew badges! The excitement was in the air as the ARC+ group had just left the day before towards Cabo Verde (100 sail boats) and we were next in 2 weeks (~ 150 boats). Both ARC groups head towards the Caribbean but ARC+ has a shorten Atlantic Crossing as they include a stop over in Cabo Verde and then onto Grenada, whereas the ARC is a direct sail from Gran Canaria to St Lucia!

Having said this, we basically sailed South towards Cabo Verde in our first 4-5 days as the trade winds had not kicked in on our departure date!

From when we arrived at Las Palmas to the time we departed, we were filled with boat jobs (and of course social activities)! Over the 2 weeks, the ARC ran social events, seminars and boat checks to ensure we had the adequate safety equipment for our crossing.

The Atlantic Crossing

Just like that, “D” day was here and we were rushing to finish off some last minute boat work and of course once last rinse down before Tranquila would be covered in salt for 3 weeks! The boats started to head off to the start line and we started saying our goodbyes - excitement and relief were wrapped in one as we had finally “made it”.

Yes, it’s only the start line, but everything that needed to go well until this point felt like maybe we weren’t quite going to make it - multiple times! The countdown was on and the horn sounded - we were off! We had a quick crew briefing again to organise the first of many night shifts and extra safety discussions. An hour into the start, a few boats had already run into issues - a snapped spinnaker with lines wrapped in the props, previously damaged rudders due to Orca damage amongst other set backs. This is sailing life and it can and could happen to any of us at any point but for the most part - you are on your own.

The first day we set off in a pack of 150 boats, we maybe saw a handful by sunset and from then on maybe saw a boat every day or two - we quickly realised the ocean really is a big place! Our fellow fleet really made the crossing something special - 24 hours of support, banter and sharing this wild journey together through the WhatsApp group!

As we settled into a routine, the days went by quite quickly and we always managed to have lunch and dinner together - something that kept us busy was coming up with different time consuming recipes! We celebrated Maddie’s 4th Birthday a few days into the crossing and managed to make her a mini rainbow cake - great request when you’re out at sea! The weather then turned on the 1st Dec and the waves got bigger, messier and louder - the crashing sound of the waves on the hull and the wash from sailing started to turn into head aches after a few days of sleep deprivation!

Yet, like everything else, we adjusted and got into the swing of things riding the big swell! We were soon approaching the half way mark where we pictured that we’d have “champagne downwind sailing” up until this point and have the time to stop for an epic swim - this was still not the case as the swell was only getting bigger! The days and ocean temperature were getting hotter and hotter and we really wanted to go for a dive.

On day 16, the ocean had calmed down a bit and we figured it wouldn't get much calmer so we needed to take the opportunity to try to go for a swim. It was also my (Alex) birthday and the only gift I could really ask for. We managed to do so and it felt SO GOOD! The ocean temp was 30 degrees and the outside temp was about the same!

The countdown was now on for when we would make landfall although the last few days had to be a bit dramatic! Storms started to roll in and we could see them north and south of us. The WhatsApp chat was going off with scary videos of the fleets near miss with lightning strikes around the vessels. We joked that we were on a highway having avoided squalls and storms but what we couldn't avoid was the complete wind hole that we would be in on the last couple of days! The sea was glossy and the calmest we’d seen it but this meant we had to motor for the last 100 hours to get to St Lucia.

On the way, fellow sailors asked if boats had spare fuel to cover the last few miles and one of them so happened to be “close” to us! On our last evening, we planned to meet and have them follow us until sunrise where we would attempt to pass over some Jerry Cans. The mission succeeded and we were making landfall the next morning!

On the 13th of December, we awoke to the best site - land ho! It felt like just yesterday we had seen land but also felt like months ago, and here we were again!