Fw: Arriving at the start - Las Palmas!

Freespirit
Fri 6 Oct 2006 15:04

 
 
More beautiful sunsets....
 
Colin, James and I had a relatively uneventful last leg of 280nm to make Las Palmas by 0800 on the 20th September.  The sun shone, there was some wind most of the time and we had a wonderful sail for the first night.  The wind dropped during the second day but we motor sailed for most of the remainder of the trip. The watermaker was fully operational, enabling us to use as much water as we wanted.  The only slight negative was that we did not catch any more fish, in spite of the extra gear we picked up in Madeira.  We know we can catch them but our technique clearly is not yet fully refined.
 
It was a great feeling to see Las Palmas at dawn and know that Free Spirit has made it to the start.  It has been a much bigger task than I had really expected to get everything organised in the timescale I had set but we have made it.  I am relieved, elated and exhausted all at the same time.....
 
 
A tired, but satisfied skipper
 
 
Colin on the approach to the Las Palmas harbour entrance
 
 
The marina at Las Palmas
 
 
Filling up for the big one....
 
The marina at Las Palmas is better (as seen from the water) than I expected and seems relatively clean.  We refuel for the Atlantic trip and are given a berth right on the outer pontoon which I am not happy about.  We can see straight out to open water from our berth.  Remonstrating with the port office brings no joy so we settle down to make the best of the mooring and sorting out the arrangements for the next 2 months.  In the end, the marina does not appear to suffer too much from the swell and wash from the outer harbour and, by the time we leave, I am reasonably comfortable with the location. 
 
There is a lot to do before we are ready to leave and we book flights for the Thursday night.  Everything seems to take a huge effort as we are all tired, it is very hot and we are berthed a long way from the facilities.  Slowly, we get sorted out and head to the airport for another night of travelling - but this time in the air and not on the water.  It all feels a little strange.....