November 9^th

Julia arrived on Monday evening and the crew is now complete with John the skipper, Mikaela, Julia and Regis.

The ARC is a very well organised event with a busy schedule for the next two weeks. We collected our tickets for the events and seminars we wanted to join. The evening parties and dinner are great entertainment and there are plenty of opportunities to meet with fellow sailors and slowly get into the spirit of the adventure.

At the evening drinks reception with friends from Nyda and Fair Lady

We had our ARC inspector on board on Monday. All the hard work John and many crew members did over the last few months has paid off. The inspection went very smoothly and apart from a few minor details we are officially ready to go. Chiscos is proud number 229 with full dressing on.

The last two days have also been shared between DIY on board and food shopping. The local market takes place in a two storey building. The butchers, fishmongers, fruit and vegetable stalls are amazing. We tried a Khaki fruit. It's really good and unfamiliar tasting. Julia cooked a wonderful fish meal for yesterday's lunch and the beef curry is waiting for us tonight.

Regis