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First and foremost, thank you everyone! Iºm blown away— and Iºm sure you are too— by the support and generosity everyone has shown in the past few weeks. Itºs remarkable and everyone deserves a big pat on the back! Great Job.
As you may know, we are nearly halfway to our goal of securing our matching $10,000 donation, so keep forwarding this campaign to your buddies.
And now an update:
The trip from South Carolina to Bermuda was quite an introduction to sailing. As you may or may not know, my previous boating experience has been very limited… a few canoes and the odd paddle boat.
Phat Alice, our 40 ft sailboat, shipped out from the Cooper River into the Atlantic around 2am and I spent the next eight or so hours taking in my own bilious reflection in the water off the port stern. Eventually (days… and days…), i gained my sea-legs and have only intermittently returned to the port stern.
In the seven days it took to reach Bermuda we hit no less then seven storms, the first of which ripped our mainsail from the mast and broke both of our auto-helms. Still, through the cold and wet and slow-going (800 mile trip at around 5 mph), with a tattered genoa sail and long shifts at the helm we made it to Bermuda in time to hoist dark and stormies (rum and ginger beer) at the Dingy Club before closing time.
Bermuda is beautiful and the people are wonderful, however, itºs nearly as touristy (and overpriced) as Disney Land. We had planned to stay only long enough to replace victuals and repair Phat Alice, but fate had other ideas, and… long story short… Phat Aliceºs engine exploded (no one was hurt) and she is now out to pasture in the St. Georges marina. (More on this some other time, if youºre interested).
Fortunately, I met a sailboat delivery team, skipper Ben and first mate Markus, at a St. Georges pub a few days earlier and having heard about this campaign, offered a berth on their UK-bound Bavaria 38 (aka: the ikea of sailboats). All was well until about halfway between Bermuda and the UK (1,400 miles from anything), when we hit a spot of weather— 50 mile winds on the nose, 30 ft waves, et al— and lost the steering gear, much of the electronics, and a water tank. We threw down a sea anchor, jury rigged the steering and decided to see how the Azores look this time of year.
We were chaperoned by a playful pod of dolphins for the eight days it took to reach Horta, on the island of Faial.
We arrived in Horta (again) in time for last call at Peterºs Cafe Sport— one of the best bars Iºve ever had the privilege of patronizing. If you have the inclination to visit the Azores, which I would strongly suggest, visit Peter…
This morning we went to the market and loaded up on fresh veggies and cheese. Ben and Markus are fixing the boat, after which, weºll pick up the last of our groceries and (hopefully) ship out with the sun. Next stop: the UK (we hope). ETA: 12 days (we hope)
Again, big pat on the back to all. Iºll give an update when I hit land.
Best,
Ari
