So after several farewell parties and much preparation, on Sunday 20th November we finally set off across the Atlantic (with the ARC Rally) - 250 boats, from 31 countries, crossing the 2,700 miles from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to St Lucia in the Caribbean.
We expect to take about 16-18 days (but could be a lot longer) so over the past few weeks we have been getting the boat ready for our 6 man crew of Hugh, Janice, Andy, Debbie, Doug and Graham (and of course, Simon the Ship’s Cat). Provisioning the boat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and drinks is quite a planning and shopping feat – over 360 meals (6 people, 3 meals, 20 days) and over 180 bottles of water! About 10 trollies worth in total and that doesn’t include the 115 bottles of wine on-board.
Luckily it hasn’t been all hard work as with over 1,000 sailors crammed into Las Palmas Marina there’s been plenty of parties and we’ve explored the the island and the town via numerous bars and restaurants.

A new member joins the adventure....our very own "Curious Ship's Cat" (some of you may recognize her) has agreed to come with us. Janice is very happy!

We finally left Palma on October 2nd but not before some last minute preparations (including putting the mast back on and cooking over 25 meals for the freezer!).

Farewell to Miss Tiggy, Mark and Palma