Sailors happy to be in the Caribbean

It has been a busy 48 hours in Jolly Harbour marina, with the majority of the fleet now arrived. The dockside is a flurry of activity with yachts cleaning, repairing and crew welcoming each yacht as it arrives.

With emotions high having completed the Atlantic crossing, for many arrival in the Caribbean is the start of their big adventure, most keen to start exploring and cruising the Caribbean islands.

Intuition, a Reflex 38 skippered by Brett Aarons, arrived in early light yesterday, the smallest yacht in the fleet and the second time crossing the Atlantic in this boat. Designed as racer cruiser the boat is light, with a low freeboard and enjoys the surfing conditions of Atlantic with strong following winds, just not very dry!

The crew have worked the boat hard throughout the passage, without any luxuries below decks such as fridge or shower, getting to land as quickly as possible is definitely the aim. On arrival hot showers, good food and cold drinks were the order of the day!

With six crew and no autopilot, Intuition was hand steered all the way from Lanzarote, and as a result the crew were busy all the time, if not helming, navigating, cooking or keeping the boat in good shape. The passage was without incident for Intuition, but a few hairy moments were encountered. Brett recalls one night when the spinnaker wrapped around the forestay so tight that the only way to get it down was with a trip up the mast. "I was up there for two and half hours” Brett explains, "in the pitch dark with a big rolling sea. Lisa kept the boat as stable as possible, running downwind, but with seas of 10-12 feet the rolling motion at the top of the rig was enormous, each time either swinging me into the rig, or pulling my harness tighter and tighter into my legs. With the aid of a knife I eventually managed to cut the spinnaker free and after that we sailed with polled out genoa for the remainder of the passage!“

Two handers Piter & Linda Maareveld arrived midday, in their Sundeer 60, Dutch Touch. Experienced long distance sailors, they were keen to reach land, but looking remarkably refreshed considering the hours they had sailed two handed. Peter explained that the best thing about reaching dry land for them was the opportunity to enjoy a cold beer and watch his TV !

Nittan II a beautiful Swan 65, one of the last S&S designs arrived just before nightfall, skippered by Cameron McColl. Having had a complete refit over the past year, the Atlantic was a real test of the hard work put in over the months and Nittan II performed outstandingly.

Cameron points out "the design of the hull is just so perfect for the big Atlantic ocean, displacing 35 tons. The yacht barrels along with its ketch rig, totally in tune with the waves, pushing an awful lot of sea out of the way! Down below with the deep vee of a the hull, the sound was just peaceful, no banging or crashing noise as you find with more modern designs. "

With five Italian yachts in ARC Antigua the arrival of Flying Teapot, a Grand Soleil 46 was a noisy reception, the fast and furious chatter of twenty Italians on the dockside, joyous to be seeing each other again. Pleased with their crossing time, being one of the smaller yachts in the fleet, they were keen to head for food and drink, the refrigerator having broken 4 days ago, leaving the food loving Italians most unhappy. Casandra the only English speaking crew member onboard Flying Teapot has been keeping the fleet entertained on the radio each day for the entire crossing, and many of the crews in the marina were keen to meet her and thank her for her high spirits. In particular was a reunion with Dragonfly of Upnor, who has been neck and neck with Flying Teapot for over ten days, each jockeying to arrive the before the other.

It’s party time here in Jolly Harbour with the crews all out drinking and eating, stories unfolding and getting taller by the beer! We’ll keep you posted on as much as possible.

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