Atlantic Race for Cruisers

The Extraordinary Cruising Log of 'Northern Child' - 
The 2004 Transatlantic ARC daily log

DAILY LOG 1 - PRE DEPARTURE

The crew of Northern Child of St Peter Port arrived in Las Palmas on a beautiful sunny Wednesday or Thursday afternoon. The weather here is unusually good - it has turned calm and sunny with light winds or no winds at all. Temperatures are up around 24 degrees and the sky - blue; only sailors could find this threatening! Whilst tourists are getting burnt on the beaches we are wondering how long it can last - is it the calm before the calm, or the calm before the storm?! Only time will tell!

The boat that was quiet and organised on Wednesday morning has now been filled by a crew of expectant Australians, English, Dutch, Turkish, Swedish, American and not forgetting our two Scots! The provisioning for the voyage has largely been done except for a trip to the fruit and veg market, so people are free to see the sights and socialise. Some of the crew have made whistle-stop tours of the island, whilst some haven't made it past the bar on the quay! Briefings are going on on most aspects of the crossing and the boats themselves.

We are lying alongside our sistership for the ARC, Milanto, Swan 46, so it is a great opportunity for both crews to get to know each other and share their ideas for the crossing. Both boats have been extremely well prepared for the trip and lying ready in the Marina with their noses pointed towards the open sea. There are all sizes and shapes of boats here getting ready to go: fat boats, thin boats, big boats and small. Then there are the Swans; Not built for marinas, their natural habitat is the ocean - they will push us, the crew, as far as we want to go - we will certainly wimp out before they do! The Friday night farewell party in the marina is always fun, and with two crews wearing Northern Child/Milanto shirts there is a definite noticeable corporate presence!

Saturday morning has been filled with briefings, immigration check out and the Rally skippers briefings. The crew are definitely hyped up; no-ones really sure what to expect, but the leap into the unknown is definitely exciting! The weather for Sunday is still looking fair and sunny, with light winds forecast. In fact, the next few days are set light, and the weather forecasts are all saying that we will be out here looking for wind - we'll see!

This is the longest Cruising Log we ever had (25 pages!). Download it to print it. It is really worth it!

Contributed by Northern Child – northernchild.com – E-mail – Tel: +44 (0)7801 549064

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