GHOST

You little beauty!! We crossed the finish line on the 9th at 17:04.41 local time. We had a fabulous run in on the last 10 miles running the kite at 10 knots average which was so very welcome after an afternoon of fluky winds. We rounded the last headland, dropped the kite and headed in with the main and headsail to the line. Our mates on Boundless1 (Richard, Sue, Geoff, Annie, Andrew and Lesley) who arrived two days prior (they have a very fast catamaran) came out to shadow us in to the line which was just amazing and the greatest of gestures.

So we tied up in the marina to a backdrop of steel drums, horns, whistles and a typical St Lucia welcome. Representatives from the ARC and St Lucia meet all the incoming boats with a basket of fresh fruit, cold rum punches, massive smiles and handshakes. WOW what a feeling. The generosity and thoughtfulness of the crew from boundless didn't stop there, they had a dozen pastries ready for us so we didn't have to think about breakfast come morning and Richard had taken the liberty of sourcing us some EC dollars (local currency) so again we could just get on with the party rather than seeking out a cash point. What great people.

So quick showers and it was straight out to the welcome party at 1900. Free food and free alcohol, local music, fire breathers, dances and about 5 hours later (well for some of us anyway) it was bed time for a well earned, motionless, well ventilated and deep sleep.

Thanks against to everyone that sent though words of support via the blog and email, it meant a lot.