Atlantic Prep

Before we knew it, the Atlantic Crossing – 3,000 nm over 2 to 3 weeks – is upon us.

Since arriving in the Canaries we toured Lanzarote and Fuerteventura by land and sea and then headed off to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. For our Atlantic crossing, we joined the ARC Rally across the Atlantic, organized by the World Cruising Club. Here, 200+ boats, including us, will leave from Las Palmas on November 24th and finish in St. Lucia. It is not a race per say, but as is often said, any time two boats are going in the same direction, they are racing. For our crossing, we all want to get there as soon as possible, but will also be taking time for science experiments and fishing.

Las Palmas and the ARC has been an ideal way to prepare for the crossing. With so many boats getting set to head off at the same time, the port and city has developed a whole network to make things as easy as possible. There is likely the best sailing supply store in the world and many food provisioning options.

We’ve been enjoying our time at Las Palmas. We were been berthed on the ARC family pontoon with kids and parents from all different countries up and down the dock. The kids have had raging monopoly games that have gone on for days. There has been group homework sessions on the foredeck – this is the closest the kids have come to school all year! Meanwhile we’ve had ARC organized seminars on everything from the night sky to downwind sailing tips and first aid. Best has been meeting and getting to know whole collection of other sailing families.