Monday 7th - Some people on the line, they think it's all over ...

Fishing tally for the day again very good – 3 fish, including long-billed spearfish only hours before the finish. Sac fishing (Phil) scores again and hauled in by Martin this time – what a catch!
Making reasonable speed with parasail, skip and crew more relaxed.
We are aware via radar and AIS where other yachts are but considering we are only about 40 miles from the finish there are no boats visible. Expect to finish around 1700 local time.
Midday a very intensive squall strikes with gusts up to 30 knots and heavy rain but with the jury rig our only option is to run with the weather. At 1215 a loud bang and the parasailor splits in half, half of it staying aloft held by the mast head and the other half hits the water. We recover the sail and set sail again under white sails only with about 4 hours to Rodney Bay. At this stage we find out later that our competitors (like Les Papillons) have jettisoned water to help boat speed! That’s what you might call a dry boat! Meanwhile Skip looks circumspect and says “Another 8k of sails gone, give me a sherry”.
We cross the line at 1707 local time, 42nd overall out of 209 – from 4 days seeing no boats they converge from all sides with 2 crossing just ahead and 4 astern. The elation is palpable. We’ve done it! We are on a high and drop the sails for the first time in 15 days and motor into the marina to receive a screaming supportive welcome from Nicky and Thea on the end of the breakwater and a standing ovation from Les Papillons . Jasmina is the heroine having sailed so well and safely even when tested to the limit. After this Stu And the family know they can sail anywhere with her.
As for me (Rob), I have ticked the box I wanted to tick for years and, yes, it has been worth it. But far more than that, I have had the rare privilidge of spending 15 days with 5 very good and dear friends and I suppose you shouldn’t need to sail 2700 miles to find that out.
So, Jasmina, where are you going to take us next for a new adventure?
Finally, a massive thank you from the whole crew to our 51 blog followers – your support and comments made a big difference and helped us to know that in the big wilderness of the Atlantic ocean we were never alone. We also know that many wanted to and tried adding comments but were thwarted by the technology. Oh well – we knew you were there in spirit.
This blog by Phil and Rob