St Lucia – finally
Well here we are in St Lucia – we arrived at 21:04 (GMT-4) on Thursday 13th December – it took us a total of 16 days and 14 hours to cover the approximately 2,700 nautical miles from Las Palmas. Boy are we glad to be here. We're also amazed that we have succeeded in hand-steering Murphy for the last 2,500 miles and 15 days (an average of 3.8 days or 625 miles each). A few drinks were had after we arrived and then we all fell into a deep slumber, rising at around 7am to find a beautiful marina, blue skies, light breeze and, weirdest of all, ground that doesn't move. We are all finding it quite difficult to walk around without appearing drunk.
Now is the time to thank a few people:
My Wife
I could not have done this without Pauline's practical help and moral, financial and emotional support. There were a number of occasions when I contemplated pulling out (before we had even set off) and even though I know she would rather have had me with her at home she was the principal force that got me back on track. For example she knew that the thought of provisioning the boat was becoming a source of serious stress for me in the weeks leading up to our departure, so she came with me to Las Palmas and she and Daisy got it all organised and stopped me going completely mad. I am so looking forward to seeing her arrive here in St Lucia tomorrow.
My children
Everyone of them has contributed to this crossing:
Charles and Justin by helping me get the boat down the Portuguese coast as part of Rally Portugal. How good is it to have one's two sons sailing alongside one for a whole week – just magic – it was such a pleasure to have them with me and I was so pleased for and proud of them when we won one of the legs.
Polly, as part of the family crew that took Murphy along the Spanish coast to Gibraltar (our jumping off point for Las Palmas), using her Spanish language skills to sort out all kinds of issues with the various port authorities on the way.
Sophie, for allowing me to bring her husband Jake on this voyage and then entertaining us with her emails along the way, particularly the bits about what Phoebe and Jemima are up to and what they have to say. Jake himself of course, for being a fabulous sailing companion, bringing his advanced dinghy skills and understanding of the wind to our aid, as well as his considerable strength and humour. Jake was my first and constant choice for this venture and he has totally lived up to my hopes and expectations.
Daisy, for again being part of that Spanish crew and then later in Las Palmas for helping her mother plan the quantities of all the groceries and even the beer and then personally labelling all our stores and making a comprehensive inventory of them all and their individual locations. How incredibly useful has that been.
And finally Lucinda, for surprising and delighting me by asking if she could join me on this cruise, at a time when I was beginning to think that getting a complete crew together was going to be impossible. She has been quite amazing – conquering the first few days of queasiness to become an invaluable member of the crew, not to mention a great cook. She and Jeff between them have taken on the lion's share of the cooking and we have lived like kings. It has been a joy to spend this time with her. Thanks too to John, her husband, without whose support and encouragement (and that of his parents helping to look after Arthur and Hugo) Lucinda couldn't have contemplated coming along.
Jeff Taylor
A more reassuring presence than Jeff on board one couldn’t imagine – he has contributed constantly with his vast experience of every aspect of sailing – boat-handling, weather routing, engineering, repairs, equipment selection, crew training (the list is endless) - and has throughout this cruise been the first into the breech when ever we have had a problem and the first into the galley to rustle up something really special. He has bonded beautifully with this family crew and kept us all safe and in good humour.
Murphy
Our wonderful boat – which has carried me over 6,000 miles over the last seven months, from the Baltic to England, across the Bay of Biscay, to the Mediterranean and now across the Atlantic - amazingly versatile, surprisingly fast and all in all just the right choice for us.
And finally
Happy Birthday to my Mother, who is 85 tomorrow, Saturday 15th December, and without whom none of this would have been possible (for obvious reasons) and love to my sister, Elizabeth, who will be with her on this special day.
Footnote: *How sweet it is – fabulous song by James Taylor.
Andrew, Lucinda, Jake and Jeff
Friday ,14th December 2012 in St Lucia