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The Bilge Rat offers thanks and says “Orevwa” – by Al Valvano Dear Patient and Lovely Reader: Well, I’ve made it. I’m writing this from the island of St. Lucia, on solid ground that does not move unless the rum punch has been particularly effective. When I last wrote, I was a man adrift, grappling…
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Sails, squalls, mysterious radar blobs, and close encounter with a superyacht. – by Al Valvano Beloved Reader: Remember last post when I snarked on how sailors love to complicate the English language unnecessarily? Well, I’ve learned something else about them. They also have a talent for taking something that is infinitely complicated and somehow making…
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The Ballad of Captain Jay (The Birthday Edition) (To the rhythm of “The Wellerman”) Verse 1There is a man who leads this crew,On an Oyster boat in the ocean blue!He’s turning six-and-sixty, too,And the Captain’s name is Jay!From Washington state he made his way,To the deep blue sea where the dolphins play,To celebrate his special…
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One man, 3000 miles, zero qualifications. – by Al Valvano Dear Reader: If, like me, you’re new to sailing, then you might encounter the term “Bilge Rat.” From some light internet research, it’s a “friendly insult for the lowest-experience person on board.” No one’s actually called me that, but that’s definately me. *waves* About a…
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The 2025 edition of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers began just a few days ago, the day we published our last blog post. So, the first few days has been all about getting into the rhythm of boat life — daily inspections, watch rotations, and fixing the minor things that need fixing along the way.
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By: Hiten Patel The day has finally arrived! Departure Day . . . I awoke pre-dawn, made some coffee, and opened the iPad to jot down a few thoughts before the last minute preparations began and the day got away from us. This final week of preparations was focused on some larger and more time…
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Wow, week 2 kicked off with a bang! The ARC+ departed on Sunday, so there was a ton of activity on the T Pontoon with the larger catamarans and monohulls welcoming last minute crew arrivals, stowing gear, filling tanks, completing repairs, and finalizing inspections. In the midst of all of the hullabaloo, the children that…
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Hiten and I arrived in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria on November 3 to give us almost three full weeks to prepare as crew for the Atlantic crossing. We currently have an AirBnB about a 10-minute walk from the marina, primarily for sleeping and cooking. Our days are spent learning as much as we can about…
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Guest Blog: Sailing Aboard Welcome It was a real privilege to sail aboard Welcome and to get to know Jay and Donna as we made our way from Ipswich to Las Palmas. We had spring tides and some tricky wind conditions to contend with as we left port, but managed to time our entry into…
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We left Ipswich, UK on October 7, 2025 and arrived in the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria marina at about 10 a.m. October 21, 2025. Total distance traveled in that time: 2095 nautical miles. The marina will soon be filled with 150 boats who will be crossing the Atlantic with us on November 23. We…