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