By Alexandra Horsfield
Sailing across the Atlantic is a once in a lifetime journey. I sailed with my family, Apple, Uncle Alex, Fede and Captain Morgan. We set off from Gibraltar and sailed to the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, which was 600 nautical miles. From there we sailed to Cape Verde. The trip was 850 nautical miles, then we sailed across the Atlantic to Grenada on this journey it was 2150 nautical miles! The whole thing was about 25-30 days. ARC means Atlantic rally for cruisers. This trip was one of the funnest trips I’ve ever done, though some scary moments happened also, but all in all it was fun!
The best moments of the crossing were when I sat on the fly bridge reading my books. They were all series called Percy Jackson, The Roman Mysteries, Wings Of Fire and Sherlock Holmes, all and all I read 13 books. Catching the Marlin was fascinating , but I normally don’t watch Mama or Babi catch fish, because I feel bad for the poor fish. The Marlon was 500 pounds and 2.7 metres long! playing games with Arabella was exciting, my favourite game was losing against Arabella in backgammon. When we watched dolphins, it was amazing. They jumped and swam along with the pilot whales and sharks. Art class was awesome, especially when we get to make trading cards, doodle and make fridge magnets. Fixing the parasail Maui was both the best part and the worst part, because when the sail broke in the squall, that was an awful moment in my memory, but fixing the sail was thrilling.
I hated it when there were breathtaking waves when I try to sleep. I sleep outside, because sleeping inside makes me very very seasick. Watch was not so fun, but it’s good to help around the boat… But if there’s dolphins you have to stay very still. I can read during watch in the helm, but my book would fly away. Putting the main halyard away is just boring. It’s the most annoying job and it takes forever, just sitting there putting some rope in a box, think of that. I really don’t enjoy squalls, it’s so bumpy! And it makes me even more seasick! Though I do enjoy a fresh shower! Getting seaweed on the fish hook, you have to reel it in and then let it go again and again. Why does global warming exist? Why can’t seaweed stay in one place?
I would recommend this trip to families who love sailing. I had loved this trip, just waking up to the sound of rocking waves, watching dolphins swim by, whales happily swimming past our boat, reading while the wind brushed across my face.