Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Welcoming An-Tiki














We were so fortunate to be in St. Maarten when the An-Tiki raft arrived after 66 days at sea, crossing the Atlantic Ocean. An-Tiki's intended destination was the Bahamas, so this was extra-special for all of us. A warm and friendly crowd of sailors and reporters greeted the crew of An-Tiki at the St. Maarten Yacht Club as they passed through the Dutch bridge at 5:30pm on April 6, 2011.

The An-Tiki expedition has a goal of raising £50,000 for the charity, Water Aid. They're a long way off their goal, so would surely welcome any tax-deductible contribution from near or afar.

Our friend, Maureen, and I interviewed John Russell and I was excited to meet Dr. Andrew Bainbridge, after learning he is from Canada. Dr. Bainbridge and his wife, Beryl, live in Edson, Alberta. John explained to us that for 5 days, they actually sailed backwards! They put out the sea anchor and just settled down to wait for wind.

Various delays caused a slow passage (they averaged 2 knots and their maximum speed was 4 knots), so they had to make landfall in St. Maarten instead.

The boys were amazed that a raft could cross the Atlantic Ocean. They know the swells are bigger in the Atlantic, bigger than the biggest swells (4 metres) we've experienced in the Caribbean Sea. They were also impressed by the small living space that was shared by the 4 crew on board. They learned that you can cross an ocean in almost anything. And what inspiring individuals are those four men!

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