Palm Pleasure 2

Friday, April 24, departure from Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal. We are delivering the boat to Aruba, a small island in the Dutch Caribbean just off Venezuela. The crew consists of five people alongside my father, the Captain - one of the designers of this Punch - the catamaran’s rigger/sailmaker, a journalist, and myself. I’m taking part in this crossing as a crew member, and it’s my second transatlantic aboard a day-charter boat, whose comfort is naturally a bit basic for long-distance cruising.

The first leg was to reach the Canary Islands; we sailed mostly under sail, primarily on starboard tack with a steady northerly wind of around twenty knots, which at times also allowed us to sail wing-on-wing.

We arrived in Las Palmas on the night of Monday, April 27, around midnight. Average speed observed: 8.5 knots, with peaks close to 16 knots while surfing. A technical stop of a few days has been planned to complete the final adjustments, restock supplies, and prepare for the next leg of the crossing.

Next stage: about two weeks one-on-one with the ocean before arriving in Le Marin, Martinique. We can’t wait - and we’ll keep you posted!