NARCotics Anonymous

Suzie Too - Western Caribbean
David & Suzanne Chappell
Wed 27 Oct 2010 08:15
Well, that was just lovely, I sat on deck and watched dawn break in my PJs with a coffee and a Snickers bar for brekkie (needed the sugar after 4 nights at sea). We arrived in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria last night and anchored in the harbour with the NARC boats – the Not Atlantic Rally for Cruisers boats who will all cross the Atlantic over the next few weeks.
 
So, this morning the sun breaks a beautiful red as I sit and watch 2 huge cruise liners arrive to disgorge the next horde of tourists, watch the pilot boat race in and out of the harbour and see other yachts setting off to unknown destinations. The temperature is already much warmer down her at 28N, just a few degrees north of the Tropic of Cancer and the dew point is much higher, no more wet decks in the evening or morning, so we can spend more time in the cockpit.
 
The original plan was to sail to Tenerife, then changed to go to Rubicon Marina on Lanzarote for a few days R&R at their hotel and spa complex, getting a few rays. But then I had a call from Ancasta who have 2 engineers down here all week and they said they would like to sort a couple of issues and do a 6 week check if we could get into Las Palmas. They have a Lagoon 62 which is a VAT export like us and she is crossing with the ARC and I think they have quite a few complex Multi Media issues to resolve with her 5 cabin entertainment systems.
 
So here we are down at the home of the ARC, we will go into the marina today and register our arrival and then send this to the UK for our VAT exemption certificate. Then meet up with the Ancasta engineers, get a couple of electrical things checked or fixed and Suzanne & I have to bleed the hydraulic steering system – haven’t done anything like that since I did the brakes on my Mk1 Ford Cortina, with my Mum pumping the pedal while I held a jam jar under the wheel !
 
 
Kind regards to you all
 
David
 
Farr 57 GBR 2457L
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