Getting ready for the ARC

Nov 7, 2019, Lanzarote, Canary islands.  We have been here just over a week, and I have posted a YouYube video of this strangely beautiful island.

We are now in last-minute preparation mode. We will leave for Las Palmas, the location for the start of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), this weekend.

The ARC may not be known to all our family and friends.  The ARC is a yearly event that departs from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria across the Atlantic Ocean for the Caribbean. The ARC is held in, after hurricane season. The Rally is a fun competition that provides logistical support for safe passage across the Atlantic, and there are pre-departure and post-arrival events organized by the Rally. The camaraderie of the ARC allows like-minded blue water sailors to share experiences and information. 

We do not want to arrive in Las Palmas too early to avoid the hustle and bustle of many boats doing last-minute preparations.  This year 200 boats are registered for the ARC, with 40 catamarans.  A list of the boats that will take part in the ARC can be found here.

The winds are blowing > 30 kts in the next few days and we will stay in the marina until the weather is better to spend a night at an anchorage at Papagayo Bay, at the south end of Lanzarote. We need to clean the bottom of the boat and the props, and that task  will be more pleasant (?) to be in the cold water if it is not windy and rainy! It is a task I like in the tropics, but here the water is the North Atlantic and cold!

I enjoy the comments very much posted on Youtube. I am trying to improve my video skills, and I have a stabilizer arriving in Las Palmas. Hopefully that will help me capture some of the more epic ocean scenery as we sail towards St. Lucia.  Most of comments that I receive in Youtube comments are from people I don’t know and it motivates me to keep the videos coming. Comments from friends and family (other than my Dad who is an avid follower) would be much appreciated!