We arrived in Martinique just behind Nyctea who we had crossed the start line right next to and been close to for most of the passage. We dropped anchor next to freedom 11 who had also arrived just before us and decided to anchor out before heading into the marina. After a great sleep at anchor with calm water and no watches to worry about, Jen was first up at 0700 for a swim with Balrog. I joined her and we swam in the warm 29 degree water before weighing anchor to take the short trip up the passage to the marina. We were welcomed by our friends that had arrived in the days before us with lots of hugs and kisses and congratulations. Pascal from the Atlantic odyssey came on board and we had a coffee and caught up on some of the happenings with the rest of the fleet. It turned out the skipper of one of the cats had to be evacuated to a passing ship between the canaries and Cape Verde when he cut his leg down to the bone as a cable wrapped around it in the engine compartment. The boat diverted to Cape Verde and the skipper is recovering. Also Gordon and Sherri on board serenity had torn their headsail in the blow off the canaries and their autopilot wasn't functioning so they had a long haul ahead with just the two of them on board having to take turns hand steering the whole way. They took one hour shifts at the wheel, then hove to for 6 hrs sleep each night to eventually arrive in Martinique after almost 1 month at sea. A couple of other boats also diverted to Cape Verde for repairs but were underway after a few days there.
For us it was a successful crossing, our first big one. We learnt a lot and enjoyed it all. Being a part of the Atlantic odyssey made it even better as we shared the experience with a lot of new friends, as well as the Cornell sailing team. The program of events before and after arrival was amazing with welcoming parties, cocktail parties and live bands for the full week after we arrived.
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