With this post, I’m announcing an extended (although not permanent) leave from The Will of the Ancients. This is because I’m going to going somewhere where it’s more than awkward to obtain a reliable internet connection - the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!
My father and I have secured places on the yacht La Royere II for participation in the ARC - the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers - an annual friendly race between the islands of Gran Canaria off the coast of the Western Sahara to St. Lucia in the West Indes, covering some 2,700 nautical miles of water in the interim. As such, I’m probably going to offline for anything up to a month whilst I put my various Royal Yachting Association qualifications to good use.
It’s going to be a difficult journey, but certainly a unique and fascinating one - I have sailed some ocean passages before, but only milk-runs across the Irish Sea and the Channel, and nothing on this scale - I’m going to have to get used to sleeping in shifts rather quickly!
I’ll be keeping a journal and taking my camera with me, of course, so that when I return I will be able to regale you all about what life on the ocean wave is really like.
Until then, you’ll be able to track the progress of La Royere II at the ARC’s website: http://arc.worldcruising.com/en/default.asp
I’m taking a flight to the Canaries tomorrow, and we’ll be setting sail on Sunday.
So, until I begin pilotage, put out the fenders, raise my “Q” Flag and Red Ensign, make sure that the rode isn’t tangled around the gypsy, cease making way and tie off the fore and aft springs of the warps onto the quayside cleats at Rodney Bay, then…
Bravo Echo Sierra Echo Echo India November Golf Yankee Oscar Uniform! 