Well, I can’t believe how long it has been since our last blog. We’ve had such a busy time so far in Gibraltar and have only got a few more days left! So what have we been up to…… I won’t bore you with all the details and promise I’ll keep it brief…..

The first week was mainly taken up with briefings and I’m proud to say Jackamy passed her safety check with flying colours! Of course in amongst the briefings were numerous parties! The first welcome party, hosted by the Blue Water Rally team at the Royal Gibraltar yacht club was a great evening where we spent the night getting to know and making friends with everyone who will be sailing around the world with us. We then continued the party back on Jackamy until the early hours! This was followed by another welcome party the following evening and a few more late nights throughout the two weeks. We’ve started how we mean to go on….having fun!

The boats dressed overall

Friday morning Marie and Steve flew out to join us for a weekend rally to Smir in Morocco. We slipped the lines at 8.45am on Saturday and had a brisk and bouncy 4 hour sail over to Smir. A coach had been arranged  to take us to Tetuan where we visited a souk, a very interesting place where they sell everything from chickens to carpets. The whole place was fascinating! We then ended the day with a traditional Moroccan meal. On Sunday, unfortunately we had to motor most of the way back to Gibraltar. We were however joined by huge turtles and dolphins who playfully swam alongside us and brightened up the crossing.

              Marie and Derry in Smir                       Chickens for sale                    The hustle and bustle of the Souk

             More chickens                              Steve with Moroccan man                   A turtle for company

The second  week has been just as busy! Most of our time has been spent getting the boat ready for our Sunday departure, and with daily trips to Morrisons we surely must have enough food to last the whole 20 months!!!

Monday evening a group of us visited the lower St Michaels caves which has an underground lake and staggering stalactites and stalagmites, it was really quite stunning. We spent 3 hours abseiling and squeezing our way through the caves, simply holding on to ropes and clambering around tiny ledges. Possibly the most exciting bit was negotiating a lake by walking around the edge on a shelf only three inches wide. Thankfully the health and safety laws that stop us doing so much in the U.K. haven’t reached Gibraltar as it really was an amazing experience!

                Derry holding on tight                          The Lake                               Stalagmites and stalactites

Thursday evening the Minister for sports and leisure hosted a farewell reception for us at King Bastion, which of course ended with an after party on Lucie Alice. I think we are starting to get a bit of a reputation! We are ready to move on now though. We have one more cocktail party on Saturday evening, then we get to rest our livers!

Sunday morning is the DEPARTURE DAY when all 18 boats will line up at Europa Point, and await the gun fire at 10 am signaling the start of everything we have been planning and preparing for over the last year. Looking back at our first blog talking about courses to complete and injections to have it all seems like a distant memory and it makes me wonder where all the time has gone! I have to admit we are slightly anxious but also very excited and eager to start the much anticipated adventure.

LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN