Sailing has long been a shared hobby for me and my husband, Paul. There’s nothing like the experience of leaving dry land and getting away from it all.

Having retired from our jobs and moved from Nottingham to Cowes on the Isle of Wight, we decided we wanted to spend our retirement doing something exciting.

In 2012 we got to accomplish one of our dreams – sailing in the famous ARC the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers.

Embarking on a New Adventure

While the competitive nature of the event always takes a back seat to the collaborative spirit of the contestants, the ARC is technically a race – and as such, it was a new experience for us. We’d also never sailed the Atlantic before, so we weren’t sure what to expect.

Fortunately we’d already gotten into the long-haul sailing spirit before the race began, as our yacht, Phoebe B, had to be delivered from Sardinia all the way to the start line in the Canary Islands. By the time we arrived in Las Palmas, our five-person team was itching to start the three-week voyage across the Atlantic.

The ARC Rally leaves Las Palmas

There was plenty of activity and excitement at the start line – you really felt you were part of a big experience. We spent about a fortnight there before the race began, preparing our boat for the challenge ahead of us alongside hundreds of other boats and crews. Meanwhile there were lots of parties and celebrations on dry land, as well as several fascinating lectures to help us understand what we were up against.

On the day we left, there was even a huge carnival taking place with people lining the quayside. Helicopters were flying overhead, tug boats with water cannons were shooting great jets of water into the air… It was such an incredible moment that I actually cried as we left the port!

Sailing the Atlantic Alone

The race itself was bizarre, especially as within two or three days, every one of the roughly 230 cruisers competing in the race with us had vanished. The race took about 23 days to complete, and we spent about 19 of those days completely isolated on the water.

Things got quiet very quickly, and we all got used to the sounds of the ocean waves and the knocks and bumps of the boat. Since there was no land for miles, there was no light pollution out there and the natural light from the sun, moon and the stars was incredible.

Enjoying the sunsets during the ARC Rally

You become very tuned into sunrises and sunsets when you’re on watch – and when you’re off watch, you feel ready for bed!

I was expecting to feel bored for most of the voyage, but there was actually plenty to do. As well as smaller tasks like cooking food and keeping the boat clean, there was also the important responsibility of keeping watch.

It was quite ironic as there were no boats to see at all, but we had to keep an eye out for any flotsam and jetsam which could damage our boat (such as shipping containers which often fall from cargo ships).

It was also important to check our radar and weather systems while on watch, to make sure we were clued into strong winds or any other meteorological hazards. We all took turns keeping watch, and it was comforting to know there was always someone looking out for us.

Catching a Derado

It wasn’t all work-work-work, though – we also did lots of silly things to pass the time. While we were fishing we caught a huge Derado (or Mahi Mahi), which was a beautiful turquoise colour – we ended up turning it into goujons with mayonnaise and pretending we were in a posh restaurant!

As the voyage continues you keep busy and try to make the most of every day, for example eleven days into the voyage I made cake halfway cake covered it in Jelly Tots. Not quite the same as crossing the Equator but something to raise the spirits and keep a focus on the destination.

A still whole halfway cake

Another time we held a pub quiz (without the pub) with our race competitors, using the ARC’s radio channel to communicate with the other crew members. The questions took all morning to write, and every one had a ridiculously obscure answer.

In our downtime, we read a lot – unfortunately we didn’t take enough books, so we were constantly stealing each other’s!

Seeing the Finish Line in Sight

Approaching the finish line in the Caribbean was an interesting experience. It was clear that we were getting close, not just from our instruments and charts on board telling us we were about 12 hours away, but also from the number of birds flying overhead. The whole crew was excited, and all of us were looking around for the first glimpse of dry land.

Eventually my husband yelled “Look, there’s a thin black line!” As you can imagine, the tiny spec we could see on the horizon grew and grew as we got closer and closer, until we could begin to make out the shape of St Lucia’s mountains….

Arriving in St Lucia

Incidentally, our sister ship (owned by the same Greek shipping company Sail Ionian) crossed the line about the same time as us, and the company’s owners Neil and Di Bingham (who we’ve known for years) came out to meet Dan, Tony and Jonathan and ourselves in what they call a reggae boat to check we were both safe and well looked-after.

As you can probably tell from the name, the boat was blasting out some Bob Marley – it was so loud our own boat shook as they approached!

It was a very emotional moment as we moored up and stepped off the boat. There was a huge party atmosphere at the harbour; everyone was very jubilant that we’d all made it across safely.

Di and Neil had brought a huge cool box full of beers, champagne and alcoholic beverages, which we were very grateful for – Phoebe B was a dry boat and we were all gasping for a glass of champagne!

Even in all the excitement and relief of a successful crossing there was one thing we managed to remember – to put out the fenders before docking! It is a tip that was passed on to us before we left, as being away from land for so long can make you forgetful of the normal routines.

Sue and Paul in the race of a lifetime

All in all, the ARC was a challenging experience – but we’re both so happy and proud to have done it.

If you enjoyed reading about Sue’s experiences racing across the Atlantic, why not take up the challenge yourself?

First Class Sailing are putting together a team to sail in the 2015 ARC taking place in November. Book your place today – visit our ARC Rally page for more information.

Posted by: First Class Sailing