Time to GO!

Attempt two of our sail from Gibraltar to Las Palmas is about to commence – we plan to set sail Friday morning, October 4th. We now have a new gearbox installed, however the engineers who removed it unfortunately damaged our stern gland so now we have a new one of those too! That and they blew the alternator!

It’s been a very tough two weeks for us and we’ve had to fight all the way. The engineering company Volvo Penta of Alcaidesa were incredibly unhelpful, slow to respond, and sadly unprofessional and we had to take sourcing supplies into our own hands, continual chase etc. etc. Very frustrating. Indeed the lowest point was when I realised good sausages had gone to waste as we were so busy we didn’t have time for a good breakfast to enjoy them.

However, many have gone out of their way to help us. Allie Smith of Sailing Logic responded to our call for a new gearbox within 30 seconds, and within 24 hours a new one was on it’s way to Spain. Richard Plume dropped everything and fetched it so it could be sent via DHL getting from Oxford to Spain within 24 hours. The engineer Mario who repaired everything, and with years of experience, just did everything slowly and carefully, caring for Adina. Our neighbours in the marina Donal, Sarah and their boys Ted and Robert were just lovely and kept our spirits going. And then there were all the friends who mailed, called etc. Thank you all – we are tremendously grateful.

Please keep your fingers and toes crossed as we set sail. It’s 710 nautical miles to Las Palmas. Winds look good, should be a crossing of around 6 days. As usual the yellow brick tracker will be on.

We are  Ready to GO!