Day 5-ARC Portugal
To those who wonder why the posts are all arriving at once, the answer is boringly simple. To post an email at sea, we have to use a long range radio connection, which seemed to have been occupied for the last couple of days, so they are all now getting sent via wifi.
Anyway, after a morning of mixed motoring and sailing under a very grey sky, we arrived in Bayona to be met by a smiling Andrew (the rally mastermind) taking our lines. Very shortly after followed by an ice-cold can of Stella. Great to be here!!!!
Aside from the effect of arrival, (ie, a good drink of Rum with Eric and his great crew on Idefix), and then falling asleep before even having supper, there was also a sense of achievement and satisfaction. I guess that for many sailors and non-sailors, the thought of sailing for 5 days non-stop is a bit daunting. Add to that a quiet fear of sea-sickness, (yes, I can get sea sick, but then so did Nelson), and the idea of long-distance sailing is challenging.
For us it was a big test as to whether we could realistically hope to make a passage across the Atlantic. Having managed the passage with just 2 crew, we were surprised how well it worked, and how well we slept during our 3 hour off-watch periods. So, the answer now is that yes, we are definitely up for the bigger challenge! Oh, and did I mention that we are now booked for the ARC Plus rally in November……
Freebooter 