Mixed fortune crossing the Pond

Mixed fortunes during Arkyla's trans-Atlantic trip in Nov/Dec. On leg 1 to Cape Verde, the Parasailor was terminally shredded after the halyard inadvertently fell out of the mast winch jaws and the spinnaker dropped overboard. On Leg 2, we experienced some rudder failure after a suspected impact from a whale; on hauling out in Grenada, we discovered that the hull had suffered a crack around the skeg in the incident too. The boat has been undergoing repairs and we hope to relaunch first week of Feb 2025. On the positive side, Arkyla finished 3rd in Division and 5th overall on handicap of the 96-strong fleet. Some liquid compensation too in the form of Blue Light aribbean Gin for winning, for the second time, the ARC+ Photo Blog award.