Final Preparations Continue
Escapada
Andreas Haas
Fri 20 Nov 2009 01:45
|
We have had some delay in updating our diary as everyone
has been extremely busy with all of the final preparations for our departure on
Sunday .
Andreas and Manuel did a great job last week
getting much of the most critical work done on Escapada. A full Rig check was
completed and necessary
corrections made. Escapada was officially
registered for the ARC after passing a full series of safety and technical
checks and received her ARC 2009
flag which flies proudly from our mast. Peter
and Nick arrived on Saturday and immediately joined in the preparations (or at
least in the beer drinking).
The list of work that still needed to be done
was quite extensive and the Skipper (Andreas) effectively started to distribute
the tasks to all of us.
Sunday marked the officially opening of the
ARC 2009. I fun parade and flag raising ceremony led off the festivities. 250
ships from 39 countries are
registered for the ARC. During the parade the
entire crew of Escapada marched under the Ukrainian flag! It was a fun event
full of energy, excitement
and anticipation.
 
Manuel, Nick and Andreas
in ARC Escapada crew
shirts The
Opening Parade
  
Working the
mast!!
Our
Skipper
The Barber of Las Palmas!
On Monday we continued our preparations of Escapada and
also started to attend the various ARC briefings. In the afternoon we went out
to sea
for 3-4 hours to practice
raising and flying our new Parasailer as well as reviewing emergency procedures
and some sailing skills. Tuesday through
Thursday involved continued
preparations, buying last minute necessary items, making final repairs and
doing preventative maintenance on
Escapada as well as attending further ARC lectures on Weather, First Aid, Downwind
Sailing, Helicopter rescue and Emergency procedures at sea.
Everyone is healthy, spirits are high and we are all
looking forward to our Sunday start. On Friday we will take delivery of all of
our provisions, complete
our last minute tasks, get some
well deserved rest and attend the evening farewell
party. We will keep you informed as
everything progresses!
|