11/16/2010
James and I getting a bit wet !
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11/16/2010
The parade had a real festival atmosphere with a local brass band leading the procession, local salsa band and dancers bringing up the rear. We had to run back to our boat which is on the other side of the marine and row back to teh fuel dock to make it to the Dinghy race, even though we were a bit late we still joined in the fun !
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11/16/2010
There are alot of British participants in the ARC this year, I think they are in the top 3 number of boats participating this year ! We haven't met everyone but this is our little gang !
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It was the Opening Ceramony on Sunday in the Marina all of the Flags were hoisted from the participating nations, I was a little torn even though I am sailing on a British Boat, I had to go and meet and march with the Aussies!!
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11/14/2010, Gran Cararies
If anyone is interested following us on our journey across the Atlantic you can do so by following this link :-
During the rally, all yachts will be fitted with a Yellowbrick Iridium tracking device, which will automatically upload the yacht's position to our online Fleet Viewer. Your family and friends back home will be able to view your position on the rally website, and World Cruising Club can monitor the progress of yachts at all times. In addition, there is a daily SSB radio net, which keeps the fleet in touch and provides an opportunity to share experiences amongst the boats.
www.worldcruising.com/arc/viewer.aspx
or
www.worldcruising.com/arc/
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xxxx
11/11/2010
Its 7.30am and I am de-stressed enough to update the blog. The last few days have been very hectic and non-stop. After more and more yachts arriving in Catamaran Alley and everyone complaining to the ARC, we were given the choice to move yesterday into the main marina, we didn't know what to do because we have met some great new friends and us leaving is not really fair on them either.. But after every Monohull left, we decided to as well.
When berthing in our new spot yesterday we felt a vibrating noise at the stern of the boat and James knew there was something wrong with the Propellor, he had to go for a swim in the filthy marina to see what had happened, one of the prop blades sheared off. James isn't a happy camper at the moment because that was the whole reason we lifted to boat out in Lanzarote was to take the propeller and get it re-serviced whilst we were back in the UK? We have already spoken to Kiwi Prop and luckily they have posted some new blades so our crew can bring them out next week.. I hope it doesn't happen again mid-Atlantic?
Today is the start of the seminars and I am off to a provisioning talk at 10, I hope I am going to learn a few things because it feels like I haven't stopped shopping and provisioning since I was in Gibralter! But I am nearly there I have most of my dry stock, with the exception of 58 milk cartons, around 250 litres of bottled water, wine , beer, coffee, tea and then next week it is onto fresh provisions fruit and vegetables and meat, which I will get two days before we leave.
We also had the ARC opening party two nights ago which was great fun and very boozy, luckily it started raining and everyone just ran for cover or back to the boats. Happy Hour is in a different place every day for 2 hours, sponsored by different companies , We are busy enough meeting up with different ARC boats who we have met along the way and all of us have seemed to have joined the same club in the marina, which has a swimming pool, gym, bar, pool table and internet it is our new meeting place !
Photos coming soon as I left my memory stick in someone else's computer DOPE...
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11/09/2010, Gran Canaria
Well were do i start... We arrived from Lanzarote on Saturday morning 5.30 am having had a very quiet night at sea, a little bit of wind as we left the Marina dropping to absolutely nothing at all. I had to wake up James in the early hours of the morning because a ship was getting way too close and i couldn't really see the Navigations Lights, only because it was a big Cruise Liner with all lights on .. Very difficult to see which direction they are going, I just changed course to get out of its way, You never play chicken with those things....
We had to moor the boat on the waiting pontoon until the office opened to receive our berth, I was soo excited about getting into the Marina to start meeting everyone till we were told your not in this marina you are down in another area with the Catamarans, We were the only Monohulls to be seen and about 4 catamarans and nothing else...
We were fuming at first but then calmed down after a while about the whole situation because what else can you do.. Other boats started arriving and they feeling the same way, You pay your money to join an event and you feel like your not even part of it because we arent even in the same Marina as everyone else.. This is what the pontoon looks like...
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Facilities have been great in Rubicon Marina, You can sleep on your boat out of the water, great security and marina staff very friendly. It has been quite expensive on the hard just as much as in the water around 25 euros per day after our ARC discount. We only a few more things to do on the boat like installing our cup holder and fitting the new Jabsco water filter. Happy Days !
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10/30/2010, Canary Islands
It has paid off for spending a week on the River Guadiana, the fresh water has cleaned the bottom of the boat and its looking very, very clean (with the exception of the water line)
We anti-fouled in February and have decided to wait until we get lifted out in the Caribbean for some new RED paint ! Do you not like the red Chris ?
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10/30/2010, Canary Islands
We have been having several problems with our Kiwi Propellor, so we decided take it back to the UK with us and have it re-built, We were deciding wether or not to buy a new one but unfortunately the budget didn't allow it. We have our fingers crossed that its going to feather otherwise it is going to be a very noisy Atlantic Crossing . I have stocked up on ear plugs but would rather not have to use them..
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