We need more hours in a day
06 November 2011 | Las Palmas
Voahangy
Hello Everyone,
Have you noticed news from this blog are over a month old?
That’s because I am a slow writer, and while I jot down ideas in point form all day long, it takes forever to put it all together and let’s be honest, I need the perfect environment to concentrate: a few hours of solitude, quiet, a fresh mind (the day after a late night does not do it!), and a sound stomach ( read: not sea sick). These moments have been rare in the past few weeks: between discovering new islands ( Madeira and the northern Canaries), meeting other boats, inter islands passages, and the most time consuming of all, home schooling…I have not found the opportunity to update the blog as often as I’d like. But I have a lot of “posts in progress”, waiting for inspiration to hit and bring them to life!
So, it is that I will fast forward to our arrival in Las Palmas, leaving Madeira and anything in between for a later date as they are destinations really worthy of a chapter or two (not sure yet if I’ll back date the entries or not, that might be really confusing…)
Las Palmas marina has been our home port for 2 weeks now, as we have joined the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) for the Atlantic crossing. Yes, after sailing on our own for so long, we will get together with another 245 boats and cross to the Caribbeans in what is referred to as a friendly race across the Atlantic which starts on Nov 20. Officially it is not a race, but judging by the number of big boats on the list, there seems to be a lot of competitive crews out there. Scary!
Whatever thought Terry had to race, it is slowly evaporating as we realise that some of the yachts are so much better equipped than us: they have 2 or 3 sets of sails and sheets, 6 or 7 crew members ( professional sailors I mean, not your average mum, dad and 2 kids!) which means there will always be someone refreshed on watches and all hands on deck for sail changes. The memory of our last transat 4 years ago is still vivid, with the equipment failures as we pushed to be one of the firsts to arrive in Salvador (as it turns out we were the fastest boat even though we ranked 5th). I know that Terry would love to measure up but we may have to settle for a comfortable and fun ride ( flat seas and light winds would be perfect, but that won’t happen).
Being the biggest transoceanic sailing event in the world, the ARC provides logistical support both in the Canaries and St Lucia as well as a wide range of entertainment activities before and after the race. The social program is the main reason why we’ve arrived here earlier, as we wanted the children to complete their schooling before the festivities start. After all, the highlight of such a rally is the preparation period, getting to meet the other crew and have a few parties. As a result it’s been a very busy month for both Marc and Anne, who tackled the task of finishing 6 weeks of school work in 3. They’ve been working office hours (9.30am to 5.30pm) including week ends, our scanner hasn’t stopped to keep up with the materials having to be returned (thank goodness for WIFI!) and it looks like school will be over by next week end. Of course, Terry and I are delighted at the prospect, since there will be a lot of running around with provisioning, last minute fixes and emergencies, and we will no doubt wish there were more than 24 hours in a day.
The ARC has set up a daily log competition via their website and are encouraging all the participants to join their online bloggers. With all this free time ahead of me now, I’ve decided to take up the challenge and will share our ARC crossing experience thru their daily blog, rather than our “Steen Rally” one. As other boats will be sending their daily logs, it will be interesting to compare different experiences ( I must warn you that some of the logs are quite creative already, so the pressure is on!).
The ARC website address is www.worldcruising.com/arc.
As for our regular blog, I plan to bring it up to date during the crossing, add the French translations and a few more photos and resume the story telling after the ARC, at the end of the year. Oh I think it’s going to be a busy passage!
Until next time,…
This photo was taken 3 days ago, from our deck. Our marina feels like a floating boatshow, we’re surrounded by two Jeanneau 54s, a Swan 62, a Benetti 17, and the QE2 sailing past in the background. I love these moments!