SV Venturoso
24/11/2024 – 18/12/2024
3081 nautical miles
Gran Canaria – St Lucia
Well, I’m finally off. Several months talking about it, and now I’m finally underway. ARC 2024. My first ocean crossing. All my preparation over the past year has led to this.
This adventure started with a week of preparation and meeting the rest of the crew. Choosing to switch to another boat 2 weeks before arriving in Gran Canaria was in on itself, a big decision. After all, I had purposefully sailed on Escapado in previous months in order to grow accustomed to her. However, I was given an offer that I accepted. A younger crew and a faster boat. Upon arrival, I realised how much work was needed to get Venturoso ready for such a voyage. Ripped sails, no starlink, filthy interior, worn lines, faulty batteries and insufficient liveaboard equipment to name a few.
As you’d guess, inter-crew relationships strengthened during all the work that we did. Our skipper, Joss Creswell was First Mate in the Clipper Round the World Race, and so, even at only 25 years old, had plenty of experience. We had 9 people on board from all over. Germany, Canada, the UK, Australia, Belgium, Italy, and myself, the only African as usual.
This blog was written over the whole duration of the ARC, and as I now type it up from my notebook, I will keep it as was written, as I am obviously in a different mental state now compared to how I was in the middle of the Atlantic.
