Its been a busy few months for us and some things have slipped substantially as a result (mostly keeping this blog updated). Since my last post we've visited Malta, Tunisia, the Balearic Islands, mainland Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco and now the Canary Islands. When I list them out it sounds like a lot and it was a lot of miles - just over 2700NM under our hulls.
Some of the memorable moments were:
Riding Camels in the Sahara desert.
Catching several large tuna and a spearfish.
Broken rigging in the Balearics.
Meeting up with old and new friends along the way.
Chance encounters with family to share the sights of Barcelona.
Monkeys in Gibraltar.
Installing a new watermaker.
And...
A succession of "longest passages yet" starting with Pilos Greece to Malta, then Gibraltar to Rabat Morocco, then Rabat to Lanzarote in the Canaries.
Now that we're caught up, I can let you know what's in store.
We're in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria completing many minor boat projects, tucked in for Christmas with new and old friends, and waiting to depart for Barbados. We expect to be here until about Jan 10 when we'll shove off for our longest passage yet - approximately 2700 NM (about the same as all the sailing since our last blog post). We expect it to take us about 19 days (depending on winds).
While the weather outside is not quite frightful it is a bit colder than we like (down to 16 degrees Celcius today) and it was raining - we are indeed looking forward to sun and sand in the Caribbean - not to mention some quality time with old friends from Vancouver.
Regardless of where you are when you're reading this, we hope you are warm and comfortable and that the season offers you all that you deserve from it. We wish you the best in 2017.
