Risque Business - ARC+ 2023 Wrap Up.

Well we’ve been in Grenada for 4 days now and what a welcome all the yachts have had. The ARC Yellow Shirts have been great and so helpful along with the team from Port Louis Marina. As the RB WAGs have been here too, we’ve been lucky to have a lovely villa to stay in, however Mark and DB have stayed on board. The crew have spent several days getting RB cleaned up and returned to a cruising yacht after her months of being an ocean passage-maker. Of course copious Rum Punches and Carib beers have been consumed to keep the crew well oiled. I however, have taken my PADI Open Water practical exams with a fab dive school called ScubaTech and spent 3 of these last days underwater exploring a completely new and amazing world of reefs, corals and some incredible sea life. It included the largest. read more...

Risque Business - A Truly Grenadan Welcome

11:59.20N 61:45.39W1146 GMT Monday 4th December 2023WE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE!We’ve made it to Grenada 🇬🇩. Risque Business has sailed from Portsmouth, then to Spain and Portugal, out to Madeira and then to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. That’s where the ARC+ started, with Leg 1 down to Mindelo in Cape Verde and then Leg 2 the 2,200NM across the Atlantic Ocean to Port Louis in Grenada.We’ve had an amazing welcome from the WAGs and the ARC team when we arrived and many whoops and cheers as we manoeuvred Risque Business into her designated berth. Big hugs and kisses all round when they swarmed on board when we were secured. Such a lovely welcome and one I’m sure we’ll all remember for a very long time. The final night went well, although Mark did get a drenching from a passing squall. As we. read more...

Risque Business - The Final Night

12:1.36N 60:35.47W2230 GMT Sunday 3rd Dec 23Dusk has just fallen on out last night of the ARC+ Atlantic crossing. We’ve got 75NM to go to the finish line off St George’s, the capital of Grenada. We’ve just furled our large Gennaker, as there seems to be a fair amount of squall activity around us, so to prevent damage by sudden wind strength and direction changes, so we’re doing 6 to 7 kts SOG, so about 10 to 12 hours depending on the wind tonight.The WAGs and shore crew, patiently waiting for us on Grenada are getting excited now, as are the crew whose partners are there are. Poor DB and Mark’s wives had other commitments that prevented them from meeting them, so they are planning to check out the Grenada Yacht Club, then several rum shacks no doubt.The fishing department had a good 24. read more...

Risque Business - Where Are All The Marine Animals

11:47.39N 56:7.30W0715GMT, Saturday 2nd Dec 2023. One thing has struck me on this voyage is the scarcity of all marine animals that we’ve seen when compared to my previous ARC crossing in 2019. On that voyage, we had dolphins nearly every day, either popping by for a quick “Hello”, or more usually a bit of playtime on the bow wave. On one occasion, a large pod stayed for well over an hour, taking turns to surf or simply undertake high-speed manoeuvres from all angles under the yacht. Sadly on this trip, we’ve only seen these joyous creatures a couple of times. We’ve also not seen any whales on this trip, with two sighted on the last. In addition, sea birds have been sighted in a different manner. We’ve had the odd bird pass by every day, including the egret that perched on our solar. read more...

Risque Business - The Dark Watch

12:37.28N 53:3.51W0015 GMT, Friday 1st Dec 2023Well I got that well and truly wrong! Sat in a bar in Mindelo a couple of weeks ago, the crew all gave our best estimates on our arrival date and time in Port Louis, Grenada. OK, we did have to turn back to repair our mainsail and in effect took a 32 hour hit, but even so, my very bullish estimate was to arrive by 1500 local time on 30th Nov. The rest of the crew went for various times on the 1st Dec, apart from Ed, who decided that the wine, beer and cider cellars we were carrying would add a further 2 days to our Atlantic crossing time and he went for 3rd Dec! He’s going to be the closest, but I think the light winds will probably have something to do with it, rather than the alcohol on board! Current thinking is arrival sometime Monday. read more...