OK. It's beginning to look and feel like we're heading for the start of something big.

Since the summer we've been spotting occasional ARC flags in anchorages and marinas around the Med and Morocco.

Once we arrived here in Las Palmas, every day or two another ARC flag flying boat would turn into the welcome dock. Slowly over the last week once or twice a day has turned almost hourly. A few ARC flags flying has turned into a forrest of masts and flags. One or two individual sailors peering into their laptops in the bars has morphed into what looks like an "Introduction to Computers" class for the newly retired with a dozen or more grey haired folk playing the Flight of the Eagle as their fingers hover and swoop over the keyboard searching fruitlessly once again for the Q.

We've blown our year's budget at the chandlers, all the odd jobs are done and, other than FedEx conspiring with Spanish customs to lose our new Duogen drive shaft we are pretty much set to go.

Brother Eric has arrived and Pat and Huw land at 8pm, the social events, starting with my birthday party kick off today.

Had a few cards and gifts including a new AIS personal locator beacon so they can find me if I fall off! Secretly very pleased as, being ever practical, I'd have thought an insurance policy had a better return.

Provided I can think of the material I/we aim to blog daily so, if there's nothing on the tele, keep watching this space.