Saludos desde Las Palmas.

Earlier this year, at the end of April, I wrote a post on “seglarbloggen”. I mentioned then and there that I didn’t know whether writing in English or Swedish would feel right. Truth be told I still don’t know, but I do know that some of the people following the blog can’t understand Swedish so for that reason alone I’m going to continue in English.

Today it is one week since we arrived in Las Palmas. It has been a week of preparation and for acclimatising to life aboard and away from our loved ones. As we are still in Las Palmas we can talk daily and use FaceTime to keep in touch, so they feel close even with the geographical distance between us.

Per-Erling has kept us busy and seems happy with the work we’ve done and the errands we have run. Link One is Shipshape and Bristol fashion and we are ready to set sail. 

I must mention my good friend Gary Dargon who we have had fantastic help from, he has helped us with so much, muchas gracias Gary. Gary and his wife Amanda are old friends living and running their own business here on Grand Canary. That we managed to catch a meal with them and their three daughters was an added bonus, happy days!

We have even had the exceptional pleasure to meet another fantastic couple and spend an evening in their company. Nette and Patrik Lind from Visby. They are old friends of Per-Erling and Maria and even if this was the first time Johan and I met them their warmth and hospitality made us feel like old friends too! Tack N & P.

Today we have done the last of our shopping so hopefully we have enough food aboard to keep our hunger at bay for 3-4 weeks. The plan now is that we leave Las Palmas tomorrow afternoon and set sail towards Cape Verde. We’re still undecided if we will go to Cape Verde or directly to the Caribbean, the weather will have a huge part to play in that decision.

Expectations are running high, I can’t wait to get underway and try to find my sea-legs. A day or two (possibly three) of seasickness wouldn’t be a total surprise, but that is something I’ve calculated with. I assume I must go through that to get to the other side of it. Once I’ve climbed that hill, turned that corner or whatever the sailing expression is for going through a tough spot and ending up on the other side is, then I’m looking forward to settling into our daily routine. As I am a complete novice I am eagerly awaiting to learn from P-E the ins and outs of sailing and experiencing life on the high seas, taking responsibility for my watch and living as one with the water and winds ……………. and Johan and Per-Erling!

Before I sign off, I would like to thank everyone who has sent us their best and wished us good luck. It is appreciated and means the world.

Tomorrow we sail. May the winds be in our favor.

Good night.

// Iain

Gary going onboard Link One for a look around.

A good meal and a lovely evening with The Dargons.

Fruit and veg needs to be stored in nets both inside and on deck.