Sunday December 12 2010Back on dry land having arrived in St Lucia yesterday morning at 9h30, crossing the finish line after 20 days and one hour sailing across the Atlantic!
In a tight finish to the race we just missed out on first place in the overall racing class, finishing second a 47 foot yacht named EH01. “Just missed out” is very much the appropriate phrase to use as the gap between the two yachts was only 40 minutes. 40 minutes after nearly three weeks’ sailing at sea is incredible.
As foreseen on Friday afternoon we fell victim to light and fading winds overnight. Falling back from the 20 knot mark, the wind came right back to the 10 knot range, restricting our speed gradually back from an average of 8 knots right down to 4 knots at time.
By early morning it was crystal clear that we weren’t going to make it, our target arrival being around 6am to take first place and revised expectations suggesting we wouldn’t make the finish line before 9am. A sense of disappointment fell over Lancelot and it was a rather frustrating night’s sail.
However, as I wrote on the boat on Friday the aim of the trip for me was never to win it. It was much more about the experience and the challenge of ocean going sailing. Three weeks’ worth has certainly been that and one I will never forget. It was such a mix of feelings and emotions, ranging from the good to the bad but overall a fantastic experience.
We are now waiting to see if we hang on to first place in our own racing class division. I have just checked the latest position of Happy Morning, our sole outstanding competitor for first place. They are just under 300 nautical miles from the finish and are not due in until early on Wednesday morning. Without knowing how the handicaps play through it’s a bit difficult for me to say what this means but I suspect the weak winds mean it’s advantage Lancelot!
Anyway, in the meantime it’s back to terra firma and experiencing St Lucia. After a nice relaxing day at the beach at Pigeon Island today we have decided to embark on a tour tomorrow to take in the famous pitons, climbing one of them, as well as other sites on the west coast. I’m knackered already so a 2500 ft hill hike can’t do much harm!
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