ARC Opening Ceremony

Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Sun 14 Nov 2010 17:53
Firstly, apologies for the lack of blog entries over the last couple of weeks - since we arrived in Las Palmas on 28th October we have been working almost non-stop, every day, to get the boat ready for the big adventure! On Friday evening the big shop arrived which was a huge delivery from the local supermarket which took 5 hours to unpack and stow - slightly longer then your average weekly shop!

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On Saturday night, after a delayed departure, our crew arrived about 3am - we were slightly jaded having been at an owners cocktail party, and then out for dinner but we managed a few welcome beers! There have been a lot of parties all week hosted by various people and organisations, with lots of free beer.

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The Crew of 'Seaduced'

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny and was a glorious day for the Opening Ceremony, which started with a band and was followed by a parade of all the sailors, carrying their country's flag along the marina. There were also some dancing girls and their band which gave a carnival atmosphere to the day.

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John & Tony with one of the dancers

Once the flags had been raised there was a stirring welcome speech given by the head of the St Lucia Tourist Board which moved one or two of us almost to tears! After the ceremony John treated us all to a crew lunch.