Finally we are off.... Las Palmas to Mindelo

Sunday 7^th November 2021 saw the start of Leg 1 of the World Cruising Club’s ARC+ Rally 2021. 75 boats of all shapes and sizes from all over the world, were ready to leave Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) and make the 850nm journey south to Mindelo in Cape Verde. Escapade of London was one of them.

There was a buzz in the air as the boats prepared to leave the marina and waited in the outer harbour area for the official start. The Rally control boat counted us down and, at 1:30pm, we were off. Next stop… Mindelo.

It was a windy day with winds of Force 5 (17 – 21 knots), gusting Force 6 (22-27 knots) and a swell of 3m. This made for an exciting, if somewhat uncomfortable, start. Especially for me, who spent twenty minutes sitting at the front of the boat trying to remove the three large fenders from around the anchor. It was very bouncy and extremely wet and, even with full wet weather gear on, I still got a good soaking!

We set our course straight for Mindelo and the journey was on. For the first 36 hours, the 3m swells continued, making boat life quite difficult and sleep almost impossible. The boat bounced and rolled – both of us were pleased that we had taken our seasick tablets and prepared food for the first day.

Day 3 saw lower winds (Force 4: 11 – 16 knots), and much more comfortable sailing. Setting up the sails ‘goosewing’ with a prevented main and poled out genoa, we made steady speeds of 6 to 7 knots.

Over the next two days, the seas calmed further, but so did the winds (down to Force 2: 4 – 6 knots), making it necessary to motor for almost two days. We could have sailed very, very slowly, but, if we wanted to get to Cape Verde in time to see some sights before leaving again, we needed to keep the speed up.

As the trip progressed, we were increasingly comfortable on board. We found our sea legs and settled into the daily boat routine. There was no more queasiness and we were both sleeping well.  We even managed a few boat jobs – including dismantling the bed to replace the grinding linear drive unit.

Martin also got the chance to put out the fishing line, meeting with mixed results.

After eating breakfast on day 5, Martin set up his line to trail behind the boat. I was sceptical, as I thought it was a little late in the day for fishing.  I was soon eating my words, as the line sprung into action. He had caught a reasonable sized mahi mahi (dorado). Unfortunately, our lack of readiness caught us out and, while trying to land it, it wriggled lots, released itself from the hook and slithered back over the side and into the water. His lucky day!

Not daunted by this, Martin reset his line and we settled into the day. By 5pm, there was no sign of anything. I was having a late afternoon sleep in preparation for my nightwatch, when I was rudely awoken by a shout and loud banging on the cabin hatch. Another fish was on the line! This time, with a plan prepared, we managed to land and kill it (a large shot of cheap vodka in the gills – safer, and less messy, than trying to stab/club it). Again, Martin had caught a beautiful golden mahi mahi. Bigger than the first at 63cm from tail tip to mouth and a respectable 1.3kg. Just enough for tea for two for two days! Yummy.

The passage continued with a steady wind of Force 3 (7 – 10 knots), and we chilled out more, relaxing into the rhythm of life at sea. I became accustomed to the night watches and began enjoyed star spotting and anticipating the sunrise.

At 7:30am on our last full last day, it was that time when the sky had begun to lighten, but before the sun had risen. There was a slight pinkish tinge to the sky and the sea was calm; not completely flat, but only a slight swell. I was just finishing my second night watch and was overcome by a feeling of peace and serenity.

Then, a solitary black dorsal fin appeared alongside the boat. It was a dolphin silently swimming towards the bow. Moments later, it was joined by another 5 or 6, taking it in turns to break the surface to reassure me that they were still there. There was no noise, no splashing, just silent and graceful swimming. All too soon and they were gone, but it was a beautiful way to start the day.