XPLORE arrives in Stanley, Falkland islands

Heel angle high, cup level low The final 18 hours into Stanley was an interesting sail for all. Within the team on Xplore for South Georgia we have Allan Stott from the UK, John Wilson from Canada, John and Kristy Totton from Alaska, and crew mate Audrey from France - making it an eclectic mix of cultures, ages and experience. The team though in this breezy stonking trip up to Stanley have been great; no one has been particularly sea sick and everyone is settling into life at sea and on Xplore. With good forecasting information we had positioned ourselves to the north so the strong north and then west/northwest winds would give us favorable sailing directions. The final six hours sailing up the southeast coast of the East Falkland island were fine on the nose, so heel angle was max, keeping the level of tea in the mugs very low. But through good fortune we arrived into Stanley at a sociable hour, and even as the afternoon winds started to fade, the warm smiles on the faces of good friends Dion Poncet, of Golden Fleece, and Ian Bury, mechanical repairman extraordinaire, were there waiting for us at the wharf, to take our lines. It has been three years since I was last here in Stanley; for me, it's such a nice, refreshing change to be back in 'Little England'. ~ Stephen [note: Xplore leaves Stanley shortly, for South Georgia Island]