Home sweet home?
All through the night and the following day the wind bellowed and howled, sending sun loungers across the patio and into the pool. Taking a cliff top walk from Puerto del Carmen to Puerto Calero, we stumbled across some steps leading down to glistening rocks and the powerful sea. Resting here, I spotted team SCA, the Volvo Ocean race boat, with a full female crew and reefed main. They dropped sail and motored into the port, parking at the end of the marina. In fact the team have two boats here in Lanzarote; with one on the hard, I could admire the decorations on the bow which continued to the underside of the boat.
The fleet of Minis are in for a treat when they arrive at Puerto Calero; decent showers, posh restaurants and a choice of at least 17 different ice cream combinations may leave some feeling like they don't quite want to leave!
Final preparations
It has been 17 days since the original start date, with the fleet setting off for the 1,257 mile leg at 0900 this morning (Tuesday 29th Oct). This was due to a succession of lows in the Atlantic Ocean, which had caused 5ft swell in the Bay of Biscay and made the passing of the cape of Finisterre to dangerous to contemplate. Unfortunately, conditions have not improved much but the weather window remains open long enough for all but the slowest of the fleet to pass the cape by Friday evening to saturday, when winds in excess of 30 knots are expected.
With a maximum of 48 hours, skippers can stop over in a safe haven to sit out the worst of the weather before pushing on to pass the cape, and some are considering this option. Another hazard for the fleet to contemplate comes in the form of 15 boxes which have fallen from a container ship between Cape Finisterre and Ushant; the fleet will be updated on the estimated position of this dangerous, floating cargo.
Sitting here in Lanzarote, with the sun setting early leaving the velvety sky to enclose the Island, I wonder what each of the skippers is feeling right now out there in the dark. Are they excited, anxious, scared? Or perhaps totally at ease? For many of the fleet this will be there first ever Transat, and for some the furthest they have ever sailed solo.
With my boyfriend out there competing, I am anxious, obsessed with the tracker, and wondering if the rather morose Damien Rice and 30 Seconds to Mars albums I sent him off with were quite upbeat enough.
There are a good number of support boats following the fleet, with stringent safety and security checks before the start. However, tonight a north westerly 15-20 knots with 4.0m of swell and showers is causing a rough sea state, and within just 13 hours of racing there have been problems abound.
Craig has retired due to a collision, Arnaud due to technical problems, Bruno for medical reasons and sadly my friend Bert, whose Solent was pierced by a tree branch that appeared between two waves, has also had to give in. Two other sailors have also been heading back tonight, reporting rigging and autopilot problems.
Most unfortunate of all is the story of Arthur Leopold Leger, who dismasted around 1800, quickly recovered by PSP Cormorant after setting off his distress beacon. The Mini Transat is proving to be one of the toughest challenges out there, with only the most dedicated daring to take it on in the first place.
Stay strong out there...
The skippers