General Info: I'm in the ARC+ for November!

[barnakiel]

Ahoy,

How far are you with the boat?

b.

[DtM]

Not long to go now Wendi.

Good luck. I am so jealous.

[bbowers2004]

Sounds like a roller coaster ride of good times! I hope you get to see it through. GL

[Navegante1105]

Hi,Wendi : Your dream have come through... "As You Wish" Lagoon 380 has departured from Gran Canaria in the ARC. All the best luck for You and your crew.
Regards, Agustin, Gran Canaria.

[Vasco]

Fair winds, Wendi.

[Wendi]

I made it!
22 days, wild weather, epic swells and squalls for all! As you may know, this is said to be the roughest ARC Atlantic crossing from those who have done it in previous years. This being my first, it cannot be compared to anything. As You Wish finished in the middle of the Multi hull pack, with very little damage. With so many seriously damaged boats, I feel fortunate!
The last 6 days were crazy. Winds rarely below 20 knots, squalls to 40-45 knots, consistently it was 25-30 and the swells, let me tell you about the swells! God spoke, and said "Let there be swells that will shake them to their knees" and so it was. Nonstop for the last 6 days was insane flying, surfing, speeding beyond safety, watching squalls behind, left and right... it had it's moments.

Arriving in St Lucia was a great moment. So much good was shared with the other crews and being so bonded in our experiences. The parties, the celebrations the new friends... all worth it.

Near Mutiny... but that is the story you can read here.
Sail away with me Start with Day 1 if you are brave.

[Navegante1105]

Well done, Wendy. Regards from Gran Canaria.

[nigel1]

Congratulations, and in time for Christmas. Just had a quick look at your blog, "interesting" trip, or a least some "interesting" companions.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Wendi

Near Mutiny... but that is the story you can read here.
Sail away with me Start with Day 1 if you are brave.

Wendi, congratulations on a safe crossing.
What a tale though! It is nearly 2am here on Christmas day (I stayed up to greet Santa and of course open presents) so I have done no more than skim through your blog for now, but it makes fascinating reading.

Sending a few hugs to make up for some you missed out on for 3 weeks.
SWL

[HappyMdRSailor]

Congrats are in order!

Most would have backed down with all of the opinions, obstacles, and setbacks... Not you.... That is admirable....

Will read your blog....

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Wendi, congratulations on a safe crossing.
What a tale though! It is nearly 2am here on Christmas day (I stayed up to greet Santa and of course open presents) so I have done no more than skim through your blog for now, but it makes fascinating reading.

Sending a few hugs to make up for some you missed out on for 3 weeks.
SWL

???? Wha... ???

*rubs eyes*

Christmas day???? Did I oversleep???

[boatman61]

Well done Wendi...

Can't comment on your skipper as I never met him but he sounds a real bullying *******..
The other two I met and would not have chosen to sail with.. even if they paid me... the first half hour after meeting them was enough for me to know that.. actually I went off him on Skype when he started on me in Mallorca and demanding to know why I'd stopped etc..
Have fun in the Sun when you get back to the boat from your Hol's back home

Crew Seekers Beware,,,

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Crew Seekers Beware,,,

Internet crew can be a real challenge. You don't know their real personality until they are short on sleep and half seasick. I find that a face-to-face meeting is essential before I take someone on, but sometimes I have to make do with a couple of long phone calls. I've been using SailOPO, because I can talk to people who have made passages with potential crew.

Its not because they are horrible people, its just because their personalities clash and there is no way to avoid them on a small boat.

It also sounds like the boat suffered from rallyitis--it was being pushed to hard to keep up with the other boats. When you are cruising, you reef the boat down before sunset so that you can deal with the strongest winds you expect during the night, and you don't worry about your position in the fleet.

[sailpower]

Congratulations! You did it and once again the armchair sailors didn't.

And you are still getting free advice about what you should have done!

Well done.

[sailpower]

Wow, just read your blog. What are the odds that all three would be so defective? Did they know each other before their sail with you?

It all reminded me a bit about my submarine days. A crew of 145 would submerge and remain under water for a 60-75 day patrol. Polaris submarines were pretty large by the standards of the times but after ten days or so into the run they really started to shrink.

Did I mention no booze of any kind? Also, back then most of the crew smoked and not just cigarettes. There were cigars and pipes for those just looking to pass the time.

By the half way point tensions could get pretty high but we mostly learned to ignore whomever we didn’t like that particular day. These were all male crews. Now someone has decided that it would be the most awesomeness idea ever to introduce females to the mix! I wonder if Nellie knows about that opportunity.

Anyway, after surfacing at the end of patrol, with hatches open flooding the boat with the foul smell of salty fresh air on the surface transit back to the tender and then the long flight home, everything was back to normal and forgotten. Three months later it would all start again. I made six of those patrols. Some guys who stayed in made twenty or more.

Great adventure for you. Looking forward to the fun stories and the continuation of your trip.