ARC build-up in full swing now...

Tuesday 13th November

Today was the 1st official day of the ARC build up. We attended the office this morning at about 10am and got an appointment for check-in at 4pm. The Atlantic crossing and the rest of the journey is getting closer now - suddenly. At 4pm we presented ourselves for check-in and received another ARC bag, I wonder how many we'll have when we get to Australia? We also have lots of forms to fill in and waivers for the crew to sign.

We were then meant to go to a welcome reception which was being held this evening, but stayed on board instead, as we had someone coming on board to convert our cool box into a freezer. The whole conversion job is superbly done and looks as though it was built in in the factory! The new freezer is currently running at -16 - so we will at least have ice cream while we are in the middle of the Atlantic!

There is an ARC Parade of Nations on Sunday, so Val is going to carry an Irish flag - I will try and get some video and pictures for the record. The flag is supplied by the ARC people, but we are using our boat hook as a pole! There are also lots of seminars and demonstrations over the next 10 days, but on Thursday we are taking a day tour of the island, as we have seen very little of the place so far. To think - we were initially concerned about boredom! No time for that!

There is also a lovely, good-sized salt water pool on the roof of the yacht club, which we have been making good use of. We also bought some folding bikes, which are great and we have been using them lots. They are especially useful for getting up to the yacht club, as it takes about 10 minutes to walk up there!

Anyway, we are really beginning to look forward to the journey, as the atmosphere is great and there is a lot of support. Crew for the Atlantic crossing are arriving in the next week too, so that will add to the excitement.

That's it for now...