Land ho, land fall, Manali lands after hitting 16.5 knots

First things first – thank you.  Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments and messages. You gave the four of us a huge buzz on top of what was a wonderful finish to an extraordinary adventure.

Crossing the line: Impossible to adequately describe our feelings as we crossed that St Lucia finish line at 12:45pm (and 38 seconds) on Sunday. Exactly 21 days 3 hours 45 minutes and 38 seconds after we left Las Palmas. After travelling 3184 nautical miles. Elation. Amazement. Proud of ourselves. Bit of disbelief. So so exciting. Ian and Jus admitted to a tear in the eye. Pat and Pete admitted to nothing. The 2 hour run towards St Lucia was tough with only the headsail and having to sail an angle that brought us in to the Pigeon Island waypoint and enabled Manali to turn into Rodney Bay without the need to jibe or adjust the rig. Ian did a mighty job in a fair amount of wind and some big swells under Pat’s guidance and passage plan. It will take months for Ian’s grin to dissipate – the one he was wearing as we came around the headland and raced for the finish line. Never ever has a yellow buoy appeared so beautiful.

This is Manali, Manali, Manali: Jus was absolutely thrilled to man the radio as we approached the finish of our journey. M: ARC Finish Line ARC Finish Line ARC Finish Line this is Manali, Manali, Manali. Over. ARC: Manali, this is ARC Finish. Congratulations and welcome to St Lucia. Over. M: ARC Finish this is Manali. Thank you. We are rounding Pigeon Island. Over. ARC:  We see you Manali.  Please keep the sloop to starboard as you cross the finish line. We will provide further instructions after you cross the line and drop your sail. Over.

Looking back: Rewind to 10.30am Sunday. We’re like a family of meerkats, heads on swivels, popping up all over the boat trying to see St Lucia, any land really!  Expecting to see the St Lucian cliffs about 50 miles out, we wondered where we really were when we could not even see the mountains of Martinique with 20 miles to go.  Suddenly out of the haze came St Lucia – looming large right in front of us and quite a sight for four tired sailors.  Land Ho indeed.  Goodness what a feeling after being at sea for so long. Island music carrying over the cliffs down into the bay and people waving from the top of the cliffs made for an exciting finish line crossing. Rum punches and a basket of fruit (and bottle of rum) made for an exciting berthing. Our friends from Far Fetched (Guernsey) appeared to catch the lines and say hello. It was fantastic to have them right there welcoming us. Made it all pretty special. In the same division as Manali, Far Fetched snuck in ahead of us for 6th place. Manali and her crew were thrilled to come in 7th.

Rough ride home: Mother Nature reminded us who was the boss on Saturday and Sunday. She was in charge for a long 36 hours. Rain and winds were simply consistent, 25 to 30 knots gusts in the high 30s, but it was the 5-6 metre swells combined with the rough seas and wind which kept us on our toes. Relentless. Ian and Pat hand steered in an attempt to keep us on track and to improve the ride. Jus and Manali clocked a record-breaking 16.5 knots at 3.55am Sunday surfing down a wave. Not something either of them wish to repeat for a while, at least this year. Manali’s culinary status took a dive when we resorted to eating canned beans and biscuits and cheese. No hope of cooking. The speed record was backed up by the journey’s 24 hour record on Saturday/Sunday- 192 nautical miles in one day. Whoever would have thought!

Injury count: Manali is okay and we are attending to her list of ailments, nothing as serious as those suffered by some other boats. A precautionary x-ray reveals Jus has broken no arm bones (and must now stop whingeing). Doctor Caribbean approved of her Piton self medication, Piton being the excellent local lager. Pat’s hand and Ian’s leg are on the mend. Pete is fit as a fiddle.

Funny joint this Caribbean: Took less than 3 hours from landing for Jus to be offered dope twice.  Must have been the scruffy appearance. Later a bloke announces he is Santa Claus, presses Pete’s palm and leaves a foil packet behind. Perhaps we looked more in need of a pick me up than we realised. Pete soon passed it on to someone more interested in the present. Last night’s offerings on the boardwalk extended to women, cheekily called Rent a Wife by the locals! Two Aussies walked into a Caribbean bar last night. They had not seen or heard television or radio (other than a VHF)for 3 weeks. BBC was playing and interviewing Kevin Rudd. Just about enough to get them back on the boat and sailing away from civilisation for another 3 weeks.

Now what? We talk about the unusual weather pattern which challenged the fleet. About repairs. About the best restaurants to visit in St Lucia, and whether you can reach them by water taxi. We attend ARC parties. Try to sleep for longer than 4-5 hours at a time. You wipe out after 5 beers on the first night. If your name is Ian you have 5 more beers and then lie on your back under the navigation table at 2am staring at the moon. Still not sure what that was about. You reluctantly wear shoes, try to remember not to wear a head lamp when you go to the bathroom at night and make an effort to wean yourself off your life jacket to which you have become quite attached.

Our friends: Aussie boat Pannikin arrived at 12.30am last night and after sleeping on Manali’s deck for a couple of hours, we scrambled ashore and cheered on the guys as they sailed in, and met them at their pontoon. Maurice and Olivier aboard Habanera (France) are due in at 7am Wednesday and we are so looking forward to seeing them again. Paul, Janet and their impressive crew from all corners of the globe including Kiwiland arrived yesterday aboard Essex (UK), limping a little with one ruined sail and a makeshift rudder thanks to a steering failure.

Finally, a message for Manali. You took us safely and swiftly over the Atlantic Ocean. Thank you.

Photos to follow tomorrow (over for now).