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Everything I needed to know about the spirit of Athos, I discovered at its bar. It was the third day of the St Barths Bucket, with strong gusts forcing a rethink by the Race Committee. Instead of the traditional race around the island, a brand-new course was invented to avoid the big swells on the Atlantic side. It was blowing 18 to 24 knots, which is plenty of breeze for these big boats, and even with the shelter of the island much of the day was spent heeled hard over at 30 degrees. Despite this, the main deckhouse bar on Athos remained fully stocked. Some boats in these conditions will decant delicate loose items to shore to avoid any breakages, while others will secure bottles in a locker low down, tightly packed to stop them moving. Here, however, the crew had simply stuffed towels between each of the 50 or so expensive bottles behind the bar. This was my kind of racing – competitive but creature-comfort competitive. Ready and immediate access to the bar and its contents was guaranteed the second racing had finished. Athos has now embarked on a world cruise, taking the owner and his family on the adventure of a lifetime over five, six... maybe more years. At the time of writing, she had transited the Panama Canal and was nosing into the Pacific proper. “[The trip] might even be longer,” says the owner in this month's feature. “[The captain] keeps telling me about places in the Pacific that I’ve never heard of. And I’m like, ‘I want to go there as well.’ I keep adding months and months on.” That is what it’s all about. And judging from the vibe on board, it’s going to be a fun few years.

Stewart Campbell
Editor-in-chief

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