November 23, 2015 – We have taken off!! On Sunday just before noon we left the harbour of Las Palmas. Many people were waving us out which was great! An exciting feeling to know that you won’t touch shore for the coming 2,5 weeks. Manoeuvring through all the other ARC boats with mainsail (1 reef) and jib up we were heading off to the starting line. At 1PM sharp our group made a clear start. 15 minutes before another group had started with Team Brunel sprinting off and quickly leaving the rest behind them. There was about 22 to 25 knots of wind, with highs of 30 knots. It caused a good wavy sea, in my eyes waves of 4 meters at least, but in reality 3 meters I must say! It is very impressive seeing this blue high wall coming up behind the ship and then feeling the ship surf over this blue mountain. One of our best surfs made us go 14.2 knots in speed!! Of course this was just for a second, but still, a new record for Shiva! The average speed we were making was around 9 knots. Still surrounded by many ARC boats we were taking many pictures and of course competing already a little bit J At some point we lost the safety buoy (reddingsboei) because the force of the water had ripped it off, Gerard immediately jumped into action and performed a kind of solo man overboard rescue action. Great job Gerard!! The sun was showing its face now and then, but mostly it was cloudy.
Between 5 and 6PM we had dinner from a bowl. Mm goulash and rice, thanks Inge for preparing this upfront! After that the first people already went to bed to prepare for the night shift. Inge got seasick, for the first time at Shiva!! And therefore she slept throughout the night, for as much as possible... The boat was a washing machine for real… Rolling, bonking, splashing, tweaking, cupboard contents shifting, not easy to fall asleep this way!
With 2 reefs in the mainsail and jib up we entered the night. Gerard and Daan started. Mariette, Daan and Nicoline turned passes and so did Gerard and Herman. From 12AM onwards the wind was steady and the automatic pilot was taking good care of the ship and its course. The moonlight was so bright that it was like a spotlight on our boat and on the waves around us. It was very beautiful, almost magical! Mariette has seen one falling star and we could see still some lights of other boots further around us. We’re curious to explore how next nights will go, they say it gets easier after 2 or 3 nights, we do hope so but also believe so…!
This morning Inge was doing well again. Thanks Doctor Daan ;) The sun is shining and there is somewhat less wind, very pleasant. We see only 1 more boat and we still see the last island of the Canaries far away. Soon we’ll be on our own! The waves keep rolling of course, they come from the back and from left and from right, sometimes fast and sometimes like slow-motion. It’s a very specific swell! Outside we’re constantly wearing life jackets and inside the boat simple things like brushing your teeth become a huge challenge.
It’s just day 1, but already a very special day! First of all because we have sailed 202 miles in the first 24 hours of our trip, which is much more than we expected and a record for Shiva. Secondly, we’ve already seen the first dolphin swimming next to our boat. And thirdly, Daan just caught his first fish!! We think it’s a Mahi Mahi. It looks beautiful, now let’s see how it will taste!
In short, all is good here & greatings from the Atlantic!