Will and George landed at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea at 14:04hrs local time.
the last yards.........
Well done! What an extraordinary achievement. We're all very proud. Go and get that cold beer.
The Welcome Committee!
Local news!
The Final Push
(Picture taken on an earlier departure from Nassau)
Short update from the UK.
Should you be finally putting your feet up for a rest day after a hectic Christmas spare a thought for Will and George who kicked off at around 01:15hrs this morning to start their final leg from Cat Cay to the Florida Coast on what is Day 90 of their epic expedition. 2,000 miles in a 22 foot kayak with only a few millimetres of fibre glass between them and bad things, a mini sail the size of a tea towel and a strong sense of humour have seen them pass through 21 countries with sea and weather conditions which would test the most experienced sailors.
You can follow their progress throughout the day here and their arrival in Florida sometime this afternoon where the redoubtable Gillian Trowbridge and her family are on standby to sweep the guys up and help and assist sort themselves out on the US side. Karl and Gillian have been good friends to the expedition and have kindly been on standby for many days now to drop everything to help out which is very much appreciated by all.
This leg was planned to start on Christmas Day but was delayed on advice from the US Coastguard who have been very helpful and free with their advice. At the moment the boys have a following wind and are cracking along at a fair old lick, (7.47 km/h). As they get closer to the coast the northerly current will strengthen and should start to push them north, perhaps as much as 30-40 miles. They are aiming for Fort Lauderdale but frankly, anywhere safely will do from where I'm sitting. Shipping density will also increase as they move into very busy shipping lanes
I am still trying to source a friendly face with a drone who might be kind enough to film them coming in. If anyone knows anyone....... don't be shy!
Thank you again for all the messages of support which I pass on to Will and George over the Batphone satellite texting thing. In the dark of the night with just the pair of them and an awful lot of water I know they appreciate your good thoughts.
Anyone wishing to bolster the boy's fundraising can do so here or by texting GETX44 £10 to 70070.
I will post again on their safe arrival.
Reflections from the Home Front
The Last Leg
As the Golden Arc rolls to its conclusion I wanted to write a few reflections on what has been a long journey for all of us left at home, friends, family and supporters alike.
Will and George incidentally have just landed at the Cat Cay Yacht Club after a terrific 14 hour overnight effort. The Club have kindly welcomed them as guests for the night. I’m sure they will be grateful for the hospitality.
That leaves the final leg to the Florida Coast. The plan is to kick off late tomorrow afternoon and arrive sometime on Boxing Day. They will be aiming for Fort Lauderdale but strong northerly currents could see them land as far north as West Palm Beach, further up the coast. The leg is further complicated by going into much busier shipping lanes than they have so far experienced and stronger winds forecast for the period, gusting up to 23 kts which puts a question mark over the timing. Notwithstanding that, the end is in sight.
Final preperations
When they first dreamt up this enterprise I thought it was mad. I still do. It was though, the least barmy of all their options, one of which was to traverse the East Africa coast in a dug-out canoe. It almost makes the Golden Arc seem sensible. The motto of the old parachute school is ‘Knowledge Dispels Fear,’ and it became apparent to me through the months of preparation and planning by the boys, interspersed with the odd bit of university study, that the expedition was a real runner. The last few weeks were very hectic with kit arriving with almost every postal delivery and a heightened sense of tension and anticipation at home. So just before the expedition start date Will went on a climbing expedition to California for two weeks, (What else would you do?) leaving George to fly to Grenada with all the kit, (I think they parachuted less equipment into Arnhem). So, it began.
His brother has a point...
Having sat here for 3 months closely monitoring their progress day by day one does of course experience a huge range of emotions. Fear, pride, concern, envy and frustration spring to mind but most of all I’ve felt a deep respect for what they’ve done. The thing that separates expeditions from other activities is the need for self-discipline, endurance and tenacity. That is, the will to get up every morning and do it all over again over a prolonged period. To deal with problems and frustrations with kit, the weather and with local bureaucracy in a practical and unemotional way and to maintain the ability to make level headed and pragmatic decisions. That they’ve done it in good spirit and humour throughout is impressive.
However, the expedition would simply not have been viable without the many kindnesses and warm hospitality on all the islands that Will and George have experienced right from the day they landed in Grenada back in September. That, for us at home, has been heart-warming. Is it because people on the islands have a more visceral connection with the sea and seaman, one that many of us on these islands have lost when once it was a part of our way of life? Perhaps it is something as simple as a deep-rooted willingness in the DNA to help the traveller, to help the Pilgrim on his way. We are all looking forward to hearing more on their return but to anyone reading on the islands may I offer a genuine thank you from us all here.
a not untypical message from a friend, this one from early October.
Monitoring the expedition has not been at all a solitary task. Many others have been drawn in and keep an eye on the ‘blue dots,’ and your warm support has been most welcome. I won't miss it. I'm not sure what practical value I added anyway but it made me feel kind of useful which I guess is half the game! The worst moments were when the Delorme satellite tracker occasionally wouldn't update for an hour or two..... that's when the messages would start coming in, especially in the early days. Stress was somewhat mitigated when Will later explained, 'oh.... the dry bag ripped so I used a sandwich bag. When it was silver foil side up in my pocket it obviously blocked transmissions.' That's ok then......
Looking forward to switching these off.... just one more night and day of gut wrenching blue dot watching
It is rather an inconvenience that the weather delays in the Dominican Republic mean they won't be back for Christmas. When I mentioned to Will's mother a month ago that I thought it doubtful they would make their flights, if I'd said the house had just burnt down it couldn't have cast a bigger cloud of gloom over the weekend. I take a more utilitarian view of events, the expedition comes first and arriving safely has priority over some festive jollity over a piece of turkey. For those though, who find themselves helplessly drawn into a weepy eyed moment of sentimentality, here's a clip to help you get there. Grab a tissue.
Merry Christmas lads; proud of you both and stay safe.
Elvis sings Blue Christmas and with the help of some modern video witchcraft is joined by Martina McBride
Moving in Circles
Last Phase
We left you last as we arrived into George Town, the capital of the Exuma Islands. We were kindly hosted by Lumina Point Resort during our rest day and made full use of the time we had to resupply and sort our rather dirty and smelly camping gear!
Carlton, the manager at Lumina Point, was incredibly welcoming and we have nothing but praise for the fantastic resort. The cost of supermarket products in the Bahamas are, as you can imagine, extremely high! With 4 nights of camping ahead we approached the supermarket with slight unease. To our surprise it turned out to be one of our best supermarket shopping experiences (For us to enjoy the supermarket is really something special!). A huge thank you must go to Kevin (our aforementioned hero from Long Island) for his massive support and Basil Cartwright and Exuma Markets for sponsoring our food shop! Running around like over-excited puppies we grabbed so much food that we had to take a trolley back to the boat to carry it all! Needless to say at 4am the next morning we had some real difficulty packing the boat. With bags of food stuffed between our legs and dry hatches overflowing we began our journey (very very slowly) up the famous Exuma chain!
How close is too close to a cruise ship?
It was brilliant to be able to escape the rough seas we've experienced so far. With the islands sheltering us from the Atlantic to our East we were able to make good progress across the calm seas. The only downside was the sweltering heat and the lack of wind, made worse by the fact that we had plastic food bags between our legs making us hotter and hotter! So we had a new challenge. Not only did we have to make good mileage each day but we also had to eat. A lot. In principle this sounds wonderful. Two guys who have spent the majority of the time starving over the last 3 months now have too much food! Unfortunately our stomachs have shrunk and trying to eat and paddle doesn't make for a particularly comfortable day. That said, we found an amazing camping spot on Lee Stocking Island that night and cooked an absolute feast! It was the first time we went to bed feeling full.
No luck diving for conch.... just a massive hermit crab
We soon realised we had finally entered the land of friendly yachties cruising the Bahamas. As we climbed into our hammocks that night to escape the bugs we heard the hum of an engine approaching. We both rolled our eyes and prayed it wasn't the police kindly telling us that no camping was allowed. Fortunately it was Diego and Marina, two lovely sailors we had met earlier in the day who had their boat anchored just offshore. They supplied us with a couple of beers and some brilliant snacks. Ironically replacing all the food we'd tried so hard to eat during the day to reduce our weight! A huge thank you though to Diego and Marina and thank you also for donating to our charity!
If you want to be like Diego and Marina, you can donate too by clicking here.
Campsite on Lee Stocking Island
From Lee Stocking island we carried on to Staniel Cay Yacht Club. A good mornings paddle was followed by a knackering afternoon. Some very strong headwinds set in just after lunchtime which left us fighting to move forward. 5 hours later and we arrived in Staniel Cay Yacht Club. Such a friendly community with some great accommodation where we were kindly placed for the night! Staniel Cay showed us a side to the Bahamas we were yet to experience. The land of super yachts and celebrities, spending their time down in the stunning Bahamian water for Christmas and New Year. We were quick to meet Steve and Jay who showed us a brilliant time. Steve, with a stunning house on the island, loved the sound of our trip and invited us back to his house to learn more about what we have been up to. After sharing our stories Steve and Jay shared their great knowledge about the difficult currents and tides of the Exumas which we had struggled with the day before. As we said our goodbyes and headed back to our accommodation Steve decided to go out his way once more. Having two jet skis at his house he suggested that before we set off the next morning the 4 of us take the jet skis out and plan our route for the day ahead. Neither of us having been on a jet ski before (and of course to gain more knowledge about the currents of the islands) we jumped at his suggestion and had great fun on them the next morning! Returning back to the boat and paddling at 3 knots as opposed to 30 knots wasn't as fun.
Field repairs on an Exuma Island.
After speeding around in the morning our spirits were high but progress on the boat was slow. We were about 4 miles from our planned camping spot for the night when disaster struck. Will tapped his foot pedal to turn the kayak right when we both heard a twang. Shit. A lighthearted conversation two days prior had turned reality. We had snapped a rudder cable and now only had the ability to turn left. On a long open water crossing this would have caused some serious panic but fortunately we were in the lovely Exumas. Our first attempt at tying a piece of string to the rudder which Will could pull to turn right failed and so we limped to the first island we could see (the first island we could see that was on our left).
After a long think we attached some rope to the snapped rudder cable and hoped it would hold until we reached our end point for the day. Fortunately our patchwork was so good that we haven't had to fiddle with it anymore. Duck tape does wonderful things! To our joy we were welcomed in by the Park Rangers for the night and they let us crash on their sofa out the wind and rain. The drama had however not finished for the evening. One of the bolts in the mast of the sail had sheared off when we were tightening the mast that night and we were seriously worried this could be a big problem. In turned out we had arrived in no better place. Early the next morning the Park Rangers opened their tool shed and we were able to drill and new hole in the base of the mast and fix the sail. We must say a huge thank you to Patrick, the president of Falcon Sails, for such a rapid response that night (even whilst being in the theatre) and giving us the much needed solutions!
Trouble with the mast!
At this stage we had one day left in the Exumas. The islands certainly live up to their reputation. The water is incredible, there's so much wildlife and like the rest of the Bahamas everyone is so friendly. So we continued onwards to our crossing point at Highbourne Cay. Kevin and his wife who are the managers of the island generously gave us a bed for the night in their house and supplied us with some much needed grub. An early night was had before the 4am start to head over to Nassau.
Kevin and Carol at Highbourne Cay
An extremely windy and rather rough crossing but rather speedy at the same time. With half our mind on the rudder cable and the other half on life the world and everything we failed to realise that the wind, which was directly on our backs, was shunting us along at an incredible speed. We were able to arrive in Nassau just after lunchtime which is definitely a first! We are being looked after amazingly in Nassau and are preparing everything for the final stages of the trip.
Carey and Bullock from the Royal Bahama Defence force wishing the Golden Arc team good luck.
Although anything can happen at any stage of any day on the water, we have 2 'major' crossings left. From Nassau we head to Andros where we spend a day traversing the north side of the island. From here we will be crossing 65 miles to Cat Cay which will be the longest crossing of the trip (over 24 hours of paddling). Here we plan to get a good nights sleep before crossing 55 miles the next day to Miami! It's fair to say that we don't exactly have an easy ride to finish the trip but spirits are high and the end is potentially (weather permitting) nearly in sight!
Feeling small.
Feeling very small.