Crossing the Atlantic Ocean (Day 15) Arriving in Barbados

The last night of our trans-Atlantic passage was probably the best one. Not because the journey was nearly over but because lots of things came together. Firstly, the sea had settled and so BV had a steadier rhythm. She still rolled a bit but the movement was more predictable which made clambering around easier. Secondly, the wind was a relatively steady 18-22 knots, so BV comfortably bowled along at 7 knots with the odd surf down a wave at 10 knots. Also, the moon was late rising and, with very little cloud, the sky was a beautiful canopy of stars lighting our way.

Dawn on the last day of Atlantic passage   

Getting close: time to hoist the Barbados courtesy
 ensign and the ‘Q’ flag to show that we need to clear in    

And, finally, we were nearly at our destination! However, we also felt that if we needed to we could keep going. We've been sailing for 2 weeks and we could continue on for another 2 weeks if we had to. We can make water, bake bread and we have enough food on board to keep on going for the same time again. Additionally, we know that our watch routine works with just 2 of us on board. It is tiring at times but overall we get enough sleep and can time the big sail changes and manoeuvres around the periods that we are both up.

Land ho! Barbados appearing between some rain showers (above). 
Reaching down the sheltered western side of Barbados (below)    

Barbados is quite low lying and so it only appeared when we were less than 20 miles from it. It didn’t help that there was quite a lot of cloud and several rain cells reducing visibility. However, we got to our waypoint of the northern tip of the island and turned south to sail down the sheltered western side of the island.

First impressions as we reached down the western side of Barbados was of rolling green countryside and deciduous trees; it could have been the south of England on a sunny day! However, as we got a little closer the odd palm tree or two and the architecture made it all look a lot more Caribbean.

Approaching Port St Charles   

Chardonnay of Solent was in the anchorage    

We arrived in Port St Charles at 1530 and went onto the Customs Quay but the surge was so bad that we weren't happy to leave BV there even for the short time it would take to complete the arrival paperwork. Instead, we moved to the anchorage, pumped up the dinghy and then went ashore. Happily, we just caught the immigration, health and customs staff before they all went home for the day and so we now have our passports stamped, have certified that no one on the crew has the plague and have admitted how much booze we have on board. With the yellow Q flag down we are now clear to explore the island. However, our first stop was the yacht club for a beer with the crew of Chardonnay of Solent (Martin, Hilary and one of their sons, Josh); amazing how you keep bumping into the same characters!

All the thought and preparations that we made in getting ready for this passage have worked. There have been just 2 breakages; my fishing reel and a few bolts on the stanchion post that have now been replaced. Everything else has worked perfectly and so the careful prep work has paid off.

As full members, we can now fly the Ocean Cruising Club burgee   

We will submit this passage as our qualifying passage for full membership of the Ocean Cruising Club. To date we have been associate members but crossing the Atlantic definitely meets the criteria for full membership. However, more importantly, we've achieved our own goal of making the crossing with just the 2 of us on board. We can think of just 2 other yachts that we have met who are doing the same [Ed: and one person planning to do it single-handed; now that would be hard work!]; all of the others have added extra crew for the ocean crossing.

Finally, thank you for tracking our progress over the past couple of weeks and sending messages to us via Charlotte and/or the sat phone. It has been great to hear from you and get snippets of news from the world outside our small saucer of water; sorry that we couldn't reply to your messages individually. On the subject of comms, once we've found a suitable bar/cafe with good internet connectivity, we'll post the various updates on the blog, including photos from the passage. And now, today's chef is busy producing dinner - one-pot roasted chicken and veg. We're both looking forward to eating tonight's meal off a ceramic plate with a knife and fork rather than, as has been the case for the last fortnight, eating out of a plastic bowl with a spoon. Little things.......

Position at 1600 at Sun 7 Jan: N13 15.79 W059 38.80
Distance run 1159 - 1159 local time: 154 nm
Total passage distance: 2113.3 nm
Passage time: 14 days 4 ½ hours

Port St Charles, Barbados