Fleet II - Log Monday December 5th - we've arrived!

So - we arrived at just after 5am Monday morning, ready to tie up at just after 6 and be greeted by our welcome party – with hugs and rum punch.  A bottle of champagne and a few beers later, plus brunch on the waterfront, and we began to realise that we’d done it!

Overall we’ve been on the boat for 34 days, 25 of them at sea.  A bit more wind would have been good, but apparently there have been worse years so we shouldn’t complain too much.  We’ve travelled some 3,000 miles (probably a little longer given the route we took!), 45 degrees of longitude (west) and 14 degrees of latitude (south).  We’ve burned around 200 litres of diesel, which is rather more than we wanted to; we ate all our fresh meat and fish, but still have an abundance of apples, oranges and lemons that have travelled all the way from Las Palmas with us.  Our cupboards are still full of ‘just in case’ cans and tins (excluding that beer).  Sails have been changed a thousand times (maybe it just feels like that), we’ve debated starting the engine at least a hundred, and we’ve all been soaked in a squall at least once.  We’ve enjoyed some great fun in Las Palmas and Mindelo, while learning a huge amount about preparing and provisioning a boat for such a voyage.  Now for some fun in St Lucia!

Keith, Kim and I owe a lot to skipper Peter, who has been planning this journey for over three years.  It was then he first introduced and gently persuaded me to consider joining him over a very pleasant bottle of malt, late one evening, and I’d hardly ever been on a yacht.  He similarly cajoled Kim into joining us (“if not now, when?”), and found the perfect fourth hand in Keith just this summer.  Keith helped bring Fleet II across the Bay of Biscay, and more importantly is helping Peter take it back home next Spring.  Peter, Kim and Keith are all hugely experienced sailors – a personal thanks from me to them for looking after me and overlooking all the mistakes my inexperience led to! 

Thanks also to Fleet Cruising Club, the owners of Fleet II, which Peter and I have joined in the last couple of years.  They have been hugely supportive of the venture, and some lucky members will now get some winter sunshine sailing in.  We’d also like to thank the WCC, whose organisation and framework for the event has been excellent – providing confidence and a sense of security while ensuring everyone enjoys themselves too.  Finally, we all want to thank our wives, families and friends, from those who thought we were mad to those who were slightly envious, for your support and interest.  It has been greatly appreciated.