We arrived in Gran Canaria early on the 7th of November with only a day to spare before the deadline for participation in the Atlantic crossing regatta that would cement Rose-Marie’s name and that of her crew in the annals of regatta history forever… Or at least that would be our hope. On time and on budget as usual, we spent the next week preparing for the crossing and socializing with our competitors. We met some great people and received welcome visitors from Norway including a new crew member who would join us for the first leg of the crossing to Cape Verde. After a welcome break and a few nights in a lovely hotel I rejoined the crew and shared in ritual morning swims in the sea and took part in ARC lectures on weather, first aid and even the use of sextants (nothing to do with camping, as it happens). Amongst the highlights were sun-downer drinks and socializing with our fellow sailors and ARC ‘yellow shirts’, amongst whom we were happy to find a local Randabergian from my home town in Norway and got to know the a Blue Infinity ‘gang’ amongst others. Some truly fab people who we would spend some great nights out with and duel across the seas of the mighty Atlantic against!

We motor-sailed most of the way to Lisbon due to a lack of wind, anxious to avoid the high winds which had followed us south. We saw loads of Dolphins during the passage and the journey was blissfully uneventful…at least until a few hours outside of Lisbon when the nav gear on the helm failed catastrophically leaving us with only our trusty iPad for navigation. Having been told that marinas closed during big storms we were anxious to secure safe harbor, after some deft negotiations by yours truly we secured the last remaining berth at Cascais marina, close to Lisbon. We moored safely on the 26th of November and were soon joined by new crew, Sverre and Lea who would join us for the passage to Gran Canaria. We spent a full week in Port, waiting for a break in weather and a replacement helm unit. Provisioning Sverre style and some sight-seeing in Lisbon were undertaken and Barry received a surprise visit from his daughter and partner. They came bearing the gift of a guitar and some delicious jam. Yum. We also visited a few of the local bars, just to be sociable. Our new auto-helm arrived just as there was a break in the weather and as time was short we decided to sail straight from Portugal to Gran Canaria and the start of the ARC Atlantic Rally!

We left la Coruna with some sense of urgency as we had overstayed our welcome and had a very narrow window of opportunity, due to (yet another) impending storm and raced along the coast of Spain, hoping to outrun the wrath of Poseidon. All seemed well as we rounded the headland of northern Spain but our self congratulations were shattered as we were caught in jaws of the beast once more and got our arses kicked in 35knt winds and seas of thunder. We soldiered bravely on until, finally we moored in Vigo and in the the company of some rather impressive yachts including a couple of famous ‘rubicon 3’ adventure boats. We explored and resupplied by bicycle and enjoyed some delicious paella and cold beer intending to move on the next day. However, after an impromptu meeting with a super yacht captain with a penchant for our rum we delayed 24 hours to do some socializing. We soon found ourselves aboard a rib with our new friends and stormed into the center of Vigo, James Bond style, holding on for dear life. Upon our arrival I decided to test the harbor water temperature by stepping off clumsily and ending up waist deep in water. However, after the correct amount of sympathy from my so called ‘friends’ we went on to enjoy a delicious meal baby squid in a local tavern, which was absolutely delicious. After hanging out in some cool pubs and swapping war stories with our new buddies, Matt and Lucas we took the rib back home to the waiting, ever faithful Rose-Marie. The next day, after nursing some serious hang overs we left Vigo behind and set sail for Lisbon. With the wind at our backs and our hearts full of hope and wonder for what new adventures lay in wait.