ON OUR WAY!

The Oyster fleet in English Harbour just before the start.

A very eventful week has delayed my blog post somewhat. I will do my best to post a blog every week to keep up to date on our progress.

The highlight of the week was of course the start of the Oyster World Rally on Sunday 6th January. This date has loomed large in our psyches for over 2 years and it lived up to all our expectations and more.

On the penultimate eve of our departure Oyster held a briefing for the skippers and I attended in my capacity of second in command. This may be my official designation but in reality Alan is the Captain and I am the Admiral!

The briefing was followed by a very elegant dinner at the Admiral's Inn. Elegant is a long stretch if you are living on a boat but we had a wonderful evening and the Oyster owners and their teams are bonding well.

On our final evening in Nelson's dockyard we were serenaded at Happy Hour by Eddie  Jordan, the formula 1 racing fellow. His 2 man band is called " Robber", apparently an insult hurled at Eddie by Bernie Eccelston and happily adopted by him as the name of his rock and roll duo.

Robber entertaining the fleet.

The company on board Legend IV expanded that evening with the arrival of Chris and Helen Tibbs on Saturday evening. Chris and Helen will be joining us as far as the Galapagos and are both experienced sailors so will be a great help to the Captain and the Admiral alike.

Chris is also a highly esteemed sailing  weather guru so in times of doubt will be in big demand from the Oyster fleet...expect to see them hot on our  heels in the doldrums..(not sure if we'll hit the doldrums literally or even figuratively but it sounds good and we did muddle about for days in the Pacific on the way to Galapagos on Legend I)

The big day dawned on Sunday and the start was set for 12 pm..... Anchors were weighed ..actually weighed down in some cases..in the tight confines of English  Harbour boats regularly drop anchors on top of one another and  a tug o war ensues when they are lifted. Divers patrol the harbour like ambulance chasers hoping for tangled chains and a 120 dollar fee to free the trapped boat...a lot like the tow trucks at home who race joyfully to the scene of accidents..or vultures..many metaphors and I am sure you get the picture.

Needless to say, Legend  avoided the 120 dollar fee and headed into the bay where we were thrown into the teeth of what seemed like a maelstrom after the calm of the harbour. The wind was blowing 20 to 25 knots and the seas were rough...4-5 metre swells.

With 27 boats jockeying for pole  position on the start line in these conditions, I was very glad of the help of Ryan and Chris and Helen who pulled ropes and tweaked sails like the professionals they are. I was most grateful to avoid the maritial discord that no doubt would have ensued if I had had to manage the tacking and gybing etc!

Crew members hard at work

Nicole was, as always, happily ensconced on the aft deck in a bikini with her phone- much to the amazement of one Oyster whose crew was bundled up in foul weather gear and harnessed into the cockpit!

The competitive spirit of all sailors came to the fore at the start and I have heard several claims from several skippers of "being first across the line".

Alan had assured me when we signed up for this mission that it would "be a rally and not a race". This first rush for line honours makes this claim blatantly untrue and I am sure there are several other wives in the fleet left feeling that they have been duped...we will however soldier on and keep a quivering upper lip in the face of the friendly (I hope) rivalry to come.

Our mascot ..casually facing rough seas and high winds.

There are great pics of the start on the Oyster website..I am still battling with the technicalities  of the blog but am improving...won't tempt fate by trying to link the Oyster photos directly to this post. Hopefully my amateur video of the start has loaded here.

 Most of the fleet sailed off south from the start to various destinations. We have a month to get to Panama so we can take our time and meander through the islands from here. Legend IV is still in Antigua. Ryan and Manuela and Nic leave from here and we will miss them enormously. Alan has promised full airconditioning at all ports along the way in order to encourage their eager returns.

For those of you who don't know the details...you can track the progress of all the Rally participants on a 4 hourly basis on the Oyster yachts website..we have what is called a 'Yellow Brick" on board (I presume as per the road followed by Dorothy on the way to Oz...very appropriate) .

 The yellow brick updates our position and speed every 4 hours...on the way up to Jolly Harbour we hit 11 knots surfing down a wave and we hoped that the brick was recording at the time. If not...you will have to take my word that we were flying along.

The Yellow brick says anything different, it is because we caught another big dorado on the way up and had to slow down considerably to land it.

The dorado  has fed admirably and deliciously for 2 days..a change from the Med where we trolled a lure for 4 summers and never had a nibble. I have consigned the cans of tuna to the most inaccessible locker just to let the Universe know that we are completely trusting in the ocean's bounty from now on and expect sushi all the way!