Five of our illustrious crew (Steve, Peter, Mike-R, Christian-R, Mike-W) have arrived in Las Palmas and preparations are underway. Of course, all prep starts at the bar and we have already found a few good watering holes. Peter and Mike-R are in the safe hands with partners (Yvonne + Alison) providing strategic direction and guidance to the provisioning for the trip. What would we do without such excellent guidance…. we thank the ladies.
By the end of yesterday we had about half of the provisions on board.
At mid-day yesterday and with great excitement we went over to the marina to find our boat - SKYELARK. She is a beautiful 62ft Oyster and has the biggest and best display of ARC flags amongst all the yachts. We met Dan and Emily (owners) and enjoyed our first beer sat on deck in the sun. The bonding has started and it feels like we have a good team. We are starting to think about the fish we will catch…
At first sight you may not think of us as an overly competitive crew (with an average age of 61 ???)….. however, we have already started to talk about our goals. We are thinking: first in class; and a crossing in 14 days - this is ambitious!
The marina is a hive of activity with many boats completing last minute maintenance tasks and everybody going through their safety checks. We have one niggle on SKYELARK, the fuel pump is leaking slightly and we are awaiting a replacement, we have 2 on the way.
The atmosphere around the marina is building.
With 3 more days before we sail our priority is to find and explore the best watering holes around the marina - having tested 5 in our first 24hrs we are off to a flying start.
We are looking forward to the arrival of Gareth and Christian-L tomorrow - we will then be a crew of seven.
WhatsApp Image 2022-11-17 at 08.36.57