Friday, November 22, 2013

ARC 2013 - Las Palmas and the atlantic crossing to St. Lucia


The crew enjoying a couple of beers at the sundowner (happy hour).  Conveniently it is on every day.




Some last minute maintenance, Pete remembered we had to fix the leak/hole  in the bottom of the boat?????
As you can see Wolfgang has embraced the Aussie culture and is now able to work one handed and offer plenty of advice.
We nearly had to call in a mediator to resolve a dispute during the construction of a simple shelf. Should or shouldn’t the glue go on both sides of the timber, should the holes be predrilled, what colour do we paint it, how many coats.
It is going to be a long trip...




Preparing for the fancy dress party was comical. The tails were not long enough to go around our waist so we had to look for an orifice to secure the tail.
Daz took out first prize on the night for best costume, (100 euro which bought us a nice ham). He was scary looking, so scary that the bouncers asked him to put his mask back on as he was scaring the kids. 


Wolfgang baked the first breads. They were so good that they eat one in the night as they came straight off the oven and still where hot.
We had to do our safety training at sea. Skippy did the m.o.b. exercise quite well.

Now only the provisions are missing, which we store professionally. Jetzt fehlt noch der Proviant, den wir fachgerecht verstauen.


After the Skipper Briefing, we finally leave.... Nach dem Skipper Briefing geht es endlich los......

After the start we are doing very well, we are coming 4th from 250 on day 3! Nach dem Start sind wir gut im Rennen. Am 3. Tag auf Platz 4 von 250 !

Der wind is coming increasingly from the south and we have to change sails.  Der Wind dreht zunehmend auf Süd und wir müssen die Segel wechseln.

 The 3 fishing rods are always in use and the results are presentable! Immer sind 3 Angeln in Gebrauch und das Ergebnis kann sich sehen lassen





 Hmmmm.... Lecker!


Time flies with great sunsets and games.  Die Zeit vergeht mit tollen Sonnenuntergängen und Spielen


Gambling... Ganz schön abgezockt.......

Finally, after 19 days and 17 hours we arrive short before sun rise in St Lucia, Rodney Bay. Endlich - nach 19 Tagen und 17 Stunden kommen wir morgens kurz vor der Dämmerung
in St.Lucia Rodny Bay an


Tired but happy through the finish line... Müde aber glücklich durchs Ziel...


 Sunrise and land ahoy! Morgendämmerung und Land in Sicht!

We made it (and drink rum punch at 6:30 in the morning :-)! Wir haben es geschafft (und trinken morgens um 6.30 Uhr Rumpunsch :-)

She has him back! Sie hat ihn wieder!

The route of Havachat. Die Route der Havachat.
Unbelievable - 2,800 nautical miles across the Atlantic! Unglaublich - 2.800 nautical miles über den Atlantik

Sunday, November 17, 2013

ARC - Las Palmas preparations 16th/17th November

Thomas from Parasailor was on board and we tested the new sail. It went very well and it looked awesome.

 
The 2013 Havachat crew preparing for the grand opening march. Wolfgang was made an honorary citizen of our great country with a ceromony on the back of the boat (he still has to swallow a fly to complete citizenship)  They loved the blow up kangaroos and the toys and trinkets
 
 
Peter, reflecting about the honour of hoisting the Australian flag on behalf of our entire country
 
 
The boys in the parade
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Lanzarote - 3rd to 11th October

Lanzarote - A volcanic Island
 


3rd to 5th of October

We arrived on the 3rd at 10:30at Lanzarote at Puerto Calero. Geat Marina, great facilities and friendly people. We find other boats that also go in the ARC and also 3 other Aussie boats. The rest of the first day and second day we spend with catching up on sleep and cleaning the boat, washing etc...


On the 5th we hired a car and explored the island. All black volcanic ash, no grass the only green are cacti and palm trees on the waterfront. Lanzarote is also a wine growing area. Each plant grows in a dug out hole with a rock wall around it. Looks like lots of work to set up.
 

By chance we came across a leaflet about a donkey race that day in the mountains in the wine growing area. It was so much fun! Not a touristy thing, but part of a festival from the local wine growers! And besides us and a couple of German people that live on the island, there were only local Spanish people; the whole event was very loud and lively. The races we didn’t quite understand, but the aim seemed to be to be able to stay on the donkeys! The local wine was handed around and some cooked pork belly pieces and in a raffle you could win a pony! The number that won was one after ours! We just missed out on travelling with a pony in the cockpit....


 
 
 
 
 

The next few days we spent having a look around the Island, having dinner with our new friends Barbara and Fritz from Germany which we met at the donkey races, more sightseeing and of course celebrating Lisa’s Birthday on the 10th of the 10th. Back home then on the 11th.
 
 
Dinner at Fritz and Barbara's Place
 
8th of October: In the morning visit of National Park Timan  Faya (The mountain of Fire)...
 
 
 
 
 
...followed by a fantastic seafood lunch...
 
 
...followed by visiting the residence and art gallery of Cesar Manrique. Cesar was a local artist born on Lanzarote, studied art in New York and came back to Lanzarote to practice his art there. He put through, that after the first high riser apartment block was build, no building was to be built higher than 3 storeys on Lanzarote. It is the only one of the Canary Islands where this was put into place. His house was amazing, it is built into a lava tube!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10th of October: Lisa's 14th Birthday....
Starting the day with presents...
 
 
 

...followed by a visit to the waterpark...
 
 
 
 
 
 
...lunch: the best Pizza in Puerto Calero...
 
 
... and finally the birthday cake... Happy Birthday, Lisa!
 
 
 
 
 Barbara and Fritz came over to help celebrate and say goodbye.