Crossing the Atlantic
Jim and Rosemary's account
Ed: Jim and Rosemary left Tenerife intending to go directly to St Lucia in the Caribbean without stopping, but a hitch occurred early on in the transatlantic crossing. One day out from Tenerife the wind vane steering fell apart, and Jim and Rosemary had no choice but to steer manually all the way to the Cape Verde Islands, where they put into port to effect repairs. They had a useful but exhausting 36 hour stop there.
"dealt with the bureaucracy, filled up with electricity, diesel and water, bought fresh fish for dinner, stocked up on other supplies, sat and drank beer on the pavement just by the old pink and white colonial buildings of the Portuguese era and watched the world go by for a bit. Then we removed the steering gear from the stern with a block and tackle system, rebuilt it and replaced it."
Ed: The weather was not kind either, as they had quite a mixture, including a "near gale". However, they saw a school of whales, and have requested a small book to help them identify marine life as they encounter it. I have sent one with Barnaby and Cassandra, who will meet them in St Lucia at the beginning of April. They estimated that the crossing from Cape Verde islands to St Lucia would take about three weeks.
They made it
Ed: Jim and Rosemary sighted St. Lucia on the morning of Saturday 7th April. Since they landed, I have received a short account of the Atlantic crossing, which was relatively uneventful, according to Rosemary:-
"the Atlantic is big and empty. The Atlantic swell made life rather uncomfortable at times and some days rough weather made it difficult to cook our meals. The provisions have lasted well, and we have eaten fish regularly. Flying fish seem keen to jump into the pot. On one night-time occasion while we were both fighting with the sails (which had blown into the wrong configuration) a large flying fish landed in the mainsail above our heads, flapped wildly and fell into the cockpit. We also caught Dorade and Dolphinfish."
Ed: They have been sunbathing very carefully for a few minutes each day, and keeping covered when necessary. They have to drink a lot to avoid dehydration, as the weather is warm. With watches of four hours on and four hours off, during which time sleeping and eating have to be done as well, there are long boring stretches of night watches, and Rosemary has written letters and read a lot with the aid of a head torch. Jim has also written to us:-
"had one or two minor technical problems, one with the big slider on the front of the mast which developed a large crack. This is now lashed together, but now cannot be moved up and down. Another problem with the boom which is shedding split pins and washers. This has now been taken down so it is not damaged. Windvane steering working OK. At the moment I am sitting in the saloon at the chart table. It's beautiful on deck, bright moonlight on the water, starry sky with a few small cumulus clouds, big billowing foresails carrying us onwards..... The temperature is nice, just comfortable in cotton shirt and shorts."
Ed: During the four hour watches the sailors have to check for ships every 10 minutes. They did encounter a few - one oil tanker en route from Trinidad to Europe, one container ship and a cruise liner - Rosemary called this one on the radio. It was "Monarch of the Seas" headed for Puerto Rico. The radio officer supplied them with the times of high tides in St Lucia.
St Lucia
"Made it! The trip took 20 days from Sao Vicente, distance of about 2085 nm. We arrived as dawn was breaking on Sat April 7. What a great sight - palm fringed beaches with lush mountains behind. Pretty pastel pink buildings on Reduit Beach. Lots of yachts anchored here - US, Canada, France, Germany and GB are all represented. We anchored in Rodney Bay, and both swam round the boat to check the bottom - now covered in 1 inch long goose barnacles. We are hoping that the info we have seen in one book - that they need moving water to grow and will die in the marina - comes true. Otherwise we will need a lift-out, scrape and anti-fouling treatment. We have moved into the marina for a while. We were very busy on the Saturday with all the official business, getting money etc. Hired a car on Sunday and drove to the airport where we picked up B&C Ok - they were about an hour late. Drove round the other side of the island on the way back. Went to sulphur springs, and bathed in the black hot stream - which felt great at the time, but boy did we smell bad later! Monday was Cass' Birthday so we started off with a swim before breakfast, went shopping, had a siesta, then out for a meal in the evening. Some of us had a hangover this morning due to excesses of the night before. We are due to meet Ted Curley tonight for dinner. Jim sailed with him from UK to Canary Islands 2 years ago and has not seen him since. He has been working in Barbados & visited other islands so hope to get some info from him on how its all done.
