We have just passed the 50 miles to go marker; the boat is quiet; ice-man
Nick is hand steering to extract every ounce of speed from the boat;
everyone is willing the wind to hold and stay in the right direction. It
seems scarcely credible that two weeks ago we were leaving Las Palmas; by
the time we finish we shall have sailed approximately 2,760 miles in a
little over 14 days. My original projection was 16-18 days so I am well
pleased with our performance.
Now the voyage is drawing to a close it seems appropriate to give thanks to
all those who made this possible. It is not my first ARC, and nothing can
be as special as that first time. But it is still an achievement. So first
my thanks go to Dr Hugh Kindness whose vigilence first discovered the evil
15 years ago and to Roger, Katherine and Uday at the Prostate Centre who
have kept me going all this time - perhaps with a little bit of
determination also on my side. It is testament to their skill and
dedication that I am still here enjoying myself bobbing around on the ocean.
My second thanks go to Oyster Marine who have built a yacht that has brought
us safely and quickly with minimum drama across the ocean. Beauty is in the
eye of the beholder but to my eye Oysters are the absolute business - fast,
comfortable, well equipped, aesthetically pleasing - they do everything they
say they will on the tin. And the support from the Oyster After-sales team
is superb. They really are fabulous boats - but then everyone thinks their
boat is a fabulous boat. I am no exception. This boat is an Oyster 56.
Oyster have built 75 56's and I am not surprised by their success. It
really is a superb ocean-going yacht.
My third thanks go to my crew: Nick, Dee and Robert. Two weeks ago Dee and
Robert had never undertaken an ocean passage; had never stood night watch on
their own on an ocean-going yacht - two weeks ago they had never even been
on this boat. They have done so well - especially as the weather has not
been perhaps quite what we all expected. Its been a tough passage and they
have done fantastically well. Dee retains the record for amximum speed on
her watch: 13.7 knots. And then there is Nick - what one can say about
Nick? For seven years now he has enabled me to fulfill my sailing dreams.
Nick fascinates me because he seems to be able to retain his balance no
matter what the angle of the deck or how fast it is going up or down. And
his sailing knowledge is extensive - I am still trying to find a question to
which he responds 'Jonathan - I don't know' although just occassionally I
feel he might be blagging it. I shall keep searching. Nick is the true
sailing professional who, no matter how tired he is, retains his good
humour. He has had to work very hard this passage - I applaud him.
And then there is the other crew - those ashore: Sarah, Linda, David and
Philippa. Especially me dear Philippa, my wife and best friend who for the
most part with tolerance and good humour allows me to go off on my sailing
adventures. I am indeed fortunate.
So that's about it. There will ne no more blogs from El Mundo although I
shall publish the answers to the brain-teasers on Thursday. The final El
Mundo brain-teaser follows.
Question Number 12.
A man who likes his drink walks into a bar and immediately falls
unconscious. Why?
If you want to stand a chance of winning that very good bottle of champagne
you need to e-mail me your answers marked for Jonathan's attention to
[email protected] before noon British time Thursday 13th December.
That's it. Nearly done. Along the way we have consumed several crates of
tomatoes, a crate of oranges, a crate of apples, pizzas, mounds of cheese
and cold meats, ice cream, caught no fish, two large packs of porridge oats
(my flapjacks were not a success), two bags of onions, cabbage, three bags
of coffee, numerous sioft drinks, numerous Mars Bars and Snickers, and fresh
meats. Pretty much what one eats at home really.
I believe in my first or second blog I referred to Julian. Julian, if you
are still reading these blogs, thanks for your company during those long
night watches. The first beer in Rodney Bay is for you my friend. In fact
as the first beer will probably not touch the sides, the second, third and
fourth beers are for you as well. Take care.
This is yacht El Mundo for the final time. Ooovvvveeeeeerrrrr aaannnndddd
out!