Well, it's been an trip of a lifetime and we are now enjoying and adjusting to life on dry land.

Having finally picked up the wind again with 250 miles to go, we had a great last 24 hours sail with following winds and waves pushing us ever closer to St. Lucia.

On Monday evening we had our first sight of land - Barbados - despite the cries from the cockpit of 'land ahoy' and the temptation to pop in for a rum punch when only 20 miles away, we sailed on through the night and by 3AM had our first sight of St. Lucia (or rather the lights of St. Lucia).

As the sun rose we were able to make out buildings on the island and for the first time in almost three weeks we started to hear other voices over the radio. At about 10AM local time (2PM UTC) on the 18th December we rounded Pigeon Island (the rocky outcrop actually attached to the northern tip of St Lucia) and the ARC finish line was sighted.

We were expecting a small welcoming committee on land but as we approached the ARC finish line we were approached by a water taxi making a huge amount of noise! As they got closer we realised that Lizzie, Alexis, Zoe, Debs, Viv, Pat & John were onboard and had come out (complete with Union Flags and foghorns) to see us across the line - they were joined by another boat that we'd got to know (Wife of Pi) and they both, along with the Arc finish line team, set off simultaneous fog horn blasts as we crossed the line at 10:15AM local time.

The welcome from there got louder and louder - as we dropped sails for the final time and motored into harbour the cheers and fog horns of our two support boats were joined by those of nearly every ARC yacht in the marina. A bugler played from the pontoon and having acquired a berth for the boat we moored up and stepped onto dry land for the first time in almost exactly three weeks - welcomed by family, friends and a glass of rum punch!

Having decamped from the boat to the houses that had been rented and in which our support crew had been staying, the next 24 hours was a reminder of life's luxuries - hot showers, proper beds and a steak dinner to welcome us back. Since then we've been able to adjust to dry land and the St. Lucian way of life as well as enjoy the sandy beaches and a trip across the island through many of the little island villages to the Rabot Estate and the original Hotel Chocolat (there's actually a hotel).

The final ARC activity was the prize giving ceremony on the 21st December - along with a healthy dose of rum punch, prizes were given away for everything from the fastest crossing to the oldest skipper (81 if you were curious!). Canapesia even got a mention and a moment on stage as we picked up a bottle of rum for being one of the SSB radio net controllers.

Pat & John left us to fly back to the UK on the 20th December and Shane and Debs left on the 21st December for a UK visit before heading back to their home in Spain and the Mar Menor Sea School - if you ever want to learn to sail then you'd be in great hands there. You can get in touch at www.marmenorseaschool.co.uk. Finally, Keith & Zoe and Neil & Viv left on the 23rd December leaving the rest of us to enjoy a St. Lucian Christmas and a few more days holiday before returning to normality.

Life on the boat seems an awfully long time ago despite it being less than a week since we crossed the finish line. As mentioned before, it's been one hell of an adventure and whilst there were moments of hardship and loneliness the overwhelming feeling is one of happiness at having achieved what we set out to do and, whilst easier than ever before thanks to modern technology, something that very few people can say that they've done.

We hope you've enjoyed the blogs and at sea updates - thank you for all your emails and blog & Facebook comments.

Happy Christmas and as they say on the ship's radio: Canapesia Out!