November-December - The ARC

We have covered most of the ARC with our daily web log which can be found at http://arc.worldcruising.com/en/. We stayed clear of the crowded end of the start line in Las Palmas and well in shore. As a result we were up near the front of the fleet part way down the island when the wind went round to the SE! Apart from the incidents where we drowned the generator and broke a genoa pole our crossing was uneventful. It was really slow for everyone this year but the presence of a named tropical storm and a hurricane meant everyone went through the Cape Verdes and much further south, adding at least 500 miles to the great circle route. Many boats called in for fuel on route but we managed 3 days motoring and full use of the generator, using only about half our fuel. We did worry about how the generator would work out but it seems to drink with a straw!

The crew ready to go
The start of the ARC

Fishing was both a major pastime and a significant source of food. The equipment was very basic and incredibly effective! No rod needed.

The first fish we caught - delicious!
Many fish were caught at dawn or dusk
Ready to be filleted
Another large fish!
Just big enough to grill as lunch snack
Blue fin tuna caught at dawn - too big for Eleanor to reel in!
Yet another great fish
Yellow fin tuna caught specially to share with friends who had not caught fish

We were luckier than most - or much more skilled! All with simple plastic ‘squid’ lures too!

Dolphin Movie

Dolphins and whales visited us regularly on our voyage. The whales came very close and were a little worrying although they appeared only to be curious. We managed the odd photograph but they were much less predictable than the dolphins and more shy.

Four whales from the large pod who visited for a whole morning

We did manage a short video clip of dolphins but you may need to temporarily allow active content to view it on your computer.

Nibbles and Bubbly to celebrate birth of Aspen!
Toast to Aspen approaching
Aspen, Bridget and Mark were very much in our minds all trip

The standard of catering in our floating restaurant cum fishing platform was outstanding. The fresh fish supply means we have arrived with an almost full freezer. We had three celebration meals.

The first was for the birth of our gorgeous granddaughter Aspen and the two more for 1,000 and 2,000 miles. Sometimes we could lay the cockpit table...

...On others we had to hang on tightly to our plates. Little food was spilled but drinks would often end up in your lap leaving a strategically placed wet patch. With a family that’s OK!

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