So we?re now readying
ourselves for departure tomorrow, when we'll set sail with over 230 other boats,
into the sunset for our destination of St Lucia. We?ve spent the last 2 weeks
here in Gran Canaria doing last minute preparations, not quite the relaxing
gearing that we thought. Our two extra crew Mark Goodhand and Mark Meadows have
just arrived, and we?re about ready to go.
We've had a magnificent trip
so far and have been spoilt by having such good company on board, with a fair
few excellent passages as well as a few challenging ones!.The passage just the
two of us from Lisbon to Porto Santo (Madeira) with the asymmetric flying in the
light winds was delightful. We tore our main sail in a force 7 approaching
Lisbon, but managed to get it repaired at a reasonable price by a sailmaker who
had trained in Lymington. We also lost our engine while approaching the small
island of La Gomera in the Canaries. We managed to sail onto an alongside berth
without incident, but then needed to remove the fuel tank to clear out the
organic ?diesel bug? that had been growing in it! (A huge thank you
Charles!)
Beyond the sailing we managed to squeeze in an intensive
Spanish course, but have yet to really feel the benefit of it.
Best
wishes to everyone. All our nearest and dearest are missed by us! We?ll be back
in touch soon and will try to send updates to the ARC log whilst we're
underway.
John and
Laura