Back to the journey - Countdown to ARC+ 2021

After a week of socialising in southern Gran Canaria and Tenerife, we headed back to the marina at Las Palmas (northern Gran Canaria). Martin had to pop back to the UK for a week, but I stayed in Las Palmas, taking the opportunity to scour the town, sussing out the sights and the best places for provisioning. I also ticked off a few boat jobs.

On Martin’s return, we only had 10 days before we were leaving on Leg 1 of World Cruising Club ARC+ Rally 2021 (Las Palmas to Mindelo in Cape Verde). The ARC+ boats had already begun to arrive in Las Palmas. Everywhere you looked there were ARC+ flags and boats ‘dressed’ with signal flags to add to the atmosphere.

We were helped in our preparation by the team from Oyster Yachts who were in Las Palmas supporting Oyster owners in readiness for the upcoming Atlantic crossing. Will, Edie and Andy came on board and carried out a thorough check of all systems above and below decks. I am pleased to say that they were suitably impressed by Escapade and she was given a clean bill of health and ‘exceptional’ on her report! Thanks guys.

One of the more unusual jobs for me to do was sewing the courtesy flags. These are small flags which boats fly when visiting other countries. As they are different for each place, on our travels, we will probably need about 30 and, at about £20 each, that is a lot of money! Luckily, I found a brilliant website (Noforeignland) where you can download images of the flags. The images can then be sent to an online printing company (which we did in the UK) to be printed onto outdoor fabric. All that you need then is binding tape, signal cord, a sewing machine and some time to cut and sew. Eh voila!… lots of flags at a fraction of the cost.

Finally, there was the social side of our time in Las Palmas. The WCC organise various social events in local bars/restaurants. This year was no exception and we were able to attend a welcome drinks with tapas, a crew meal and, finally, a leaving party with a Caribbean theme. These were a great way to unwind after a hard day preparing and also enabled us to meet other people on the rally. Even Sinbad made some new friends…Gian from SV Gian and several from the Ocean Cruising Club at BBQ run by port official Agustin.

The 10 days flew past and our focus was firmly fixed on preparing for our departure. However, although we were busy, we still had a little time to explore the city.

Las Palmas is a big city and has plenty to see. From the old town with its historic buildings, to the beautiful beach and the busy harbour and marina. Definitely well worth a visit!