The first day.
On ARC departure day Las Palmas takes on a carnival atmosphere. On a bright and warm morning, hundreds of locals came down to marina to observe final preparations, and then sit along both sides of the harbour wall to wave the boats goodbye. Inevitably there were still a few minor matters to attend to on Alcedo; some final guests onboard, and a few team photos to take. However, the morning passed by in a flash. Soon the yachts alongside had cast off their mooring lines, and at 11:40am it was our turn to leave the pontoon. Exiting the harbour was a bit of a procession, following other yachts and with goodbyes and good wishes being exchanged between crews. This was followed by a bit of ‘milling around’ outside the harbour waiting for the start gun, enlivened when some idiot (not me, surely?) lost his cap over the side, leading to an impromptu but successful Man Overboard drill. At 12:30 the racing yachts were off, close inshore with spinnakers flying, followed a little more sedately at 12:45 by the catamarans. This still left 200 boats jockeying for position before the start. In truth, we did not make the fastest of starts on Alcedo, as we identified a large yellow buoy as the end of the startline, while the buoy we should have been looking for was orange and several hundred metres further inshore...
Once the starting gun had sounded, Alcedo rounded the (correct) buoy and we were away. The skies were threatening and in no time at all we were sailing in a squall with rain and having to don wet weather gear. Sally spotted our first flying fish shortly after the start. The immediate tactical decision was whether to stay inshore, as most of the cruising fleet seemed to do, or to head offshore seeking stronger winds. Alcedo took the latter course, and to good effect - within a couple of hours we had overtaken many yachts that started ahead of us. The progress of the ARC fleet, and of Alcedo in particular, can be followed online at Yellowbrick.com
Through late afternoon and evening we sailed down the east coast of Gran Canaria, staying far enough offshore to avoid the island’s wind shadow, and making encouraging progress. The wind largely died overnight, and for my first watch (midnight to 2:00am) we were motor-sailing, with speed down to 5/6 knots. The spectacular night sky was an ideal compensation, however. I was lucky enough to come back on watch at 08:00 this morning as the big foresail (known as a genoa) was being unfurled. Soon I was enjoying an excellent couple of hours helming in winds of 13-16 knots, with the boat making 8/9 knots through the water. While the fleet is now well dispersed, we are still in visual contact with four yachts (all slightly to windward) and at one to five miles distance – so we are not entirely alone on the ocean just yet.
This morning’s dramas on Alcedo were a blocked loo (bravely and effectively tackled by Jane) and an autopilot that went AWOL. The latter was resolved by the skipper, so all is now well. The crew has settled into the pattern of watches (I’m writing this at 14:25, and shall be back on watch from 16:00 to 18:00). There is already a distinction between those who prefer to use the autopilot (Venetia especially) and those like Sally and myself who enjoy steering.
I will not be able to write at this length very often, but will try to update the blog at least every other day, with a summary of position and distance run. I was delighted to receive emails in Las Palmas from other kind people who are continuing to donate to ‘Horatio’s Garden’. Do please keep the donations coming – ‘Horatio’s Garden’ is such a worthwhile cause too support.
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