Start of our Atlantic crossing

written by Saltair 10 comments

The last week has been really busy getting ready for the start of our Atlantic crossing with the ARC. Our scheduled departure was November 19 and as the date approached all of us were busy. Adam was managing the last few boat projects we wanted done, like getting our sails repaired, back on the boat and tested. Once all the sails were onboard we went out sailing to make sure everything was as expected. We also performed maintenance tasks to make sure everything was in working order before setting out for the 2700 nautical miles sail from Las Palmas to Rodney Bay, St Lucia.

On my end I finalized my meal planning and did a lot of provisioning (food shopping) and storing of food. This is a new boat for us and I am still figuring out where to best store our provisions. As part of the ARC there are a lot of pre departure seminars that are very helpful! There are also lots of social events where we can meet other sailors. It was great sharing tips with some of the other boat and getting ideas!
Not sure yet how my planning will pan out but I ended up with a freezer completely full of both prepared meals (pulled beef for burritos, meat sauce for pasta, tagine) and pre cut meat and ingredients. I have 2 other fridges , one is for meat and dairy and the other kept warmer has all the veggies in bins. I put paper towels in each bin to absorb moisture and change them as needed. 
We also have some fruit nets outside with a lot of fruit that I bought as green as I could. Hopefully it will last long enough and not all ripen at once. (Tough we are eating lots of bananas right now).
While all the preparations were happening Seth was at the ARC kid's club where he had a great time hanging out with the other boat kids. 
Our friends Matt and Henning who are coming along arrived respectively Wednesday and Friday and we spent a lot of time going over operating and emergency procedures ahead of departure. We  unfortunately ran out of time for a group shopping trip to pick out some of the provisions they might have chosen themselves. 


The awaited day finally arrived and felt very emotional as everyone on the Family dock was finalizing their boats and saying their good byes. We will all gather again in St Lucia but it felt strange being on our own again after a couple weeks of community time. 

seth and his friend Jacques


tree planting with Foresta - Seh and Bentley partnered and planted 4 of the 150 trees the group planted that day! Love giving back.

costume party! Matt, Adam and Seth as superhers



First few days at sea are tiring, adjusting to the watch schedule and the motion of the boat. With four adults we are doing 3 hr watches and rotating times so that we are not always at the same time. We are on day 3 and I am still a bit sleep deprived!
Tomorrow is thanksgiving and I will post again with some pictures of our celebration! 

Daily SSB net... when we get to check in with the other boats in the rally

Seth happily listening to stories from Uncle Matt

Seth is taking photos for the photo contest.... category 'boat life' sharing a couple of my favorites so far... his feet and me prepping dinner below...

departure day! Matt, Seth and Parrot Cinnamon 

pre departure- Seth and Adam are servicing the winches