LAS PALMAS – GRAN CANARIA                                                           finalÉ

"You got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there."

- Yogi Berra

“The problem with doing nothing is that you don’t know when you are finished.”

- Malcolm Lindsay

One of the sagas of Las Palmas was the washing machine. Over the past couple of years we have had running problems with it that were somewhat mysterious. It would run for a few minutes, stop and then flash a signal indicating that there was no water. I had checked all the obvious places to no avail. We had tried in places along the way to get it attended to without success but as we had the time here in Las Palmas we thought we would have another go! First to find someone to have a look. The local Bénéteau agent had a lass called Chari who was most helpful and eventually a techo arrived to inspect and pronounce that it could only be fixed at the factory.

How to get it out? It seems as though Bénéteau had bought a washing machine and built a boat around it! John Gilder opined that the screws in the door frame could come out as could the door frame and in that way it would be wide enough for the machine. So out came the frame around the washing machine, the screws from the cabin next door which held it to the bulkhead, the screws in the hold down plate, the door to the washing machine cabinet, off came the door to the entry to the cabin and then the frame around the entry door, after first pulling out the door step.

We then pulled the washing machine forward off its plinth onto a couple of fenders lying on there sides and while JG braced the machine I scrambled over the top onto the deep freeze and then inserted myself into the small space the washing machine had come out of. We then tried to manhandle it out the door. Nothing, Nada, No Way!

So we lifted it up onto the deep freeze and tried to roll it over. No way and there it was stuck. Angel the Raymarine man was here and had a mate who was a carpenter and he arrived 24 hours later and we then started to modify the yacht. Gustavo sawed into the fore and aft bulkhead and cut a small flap out which was reattached with a piano hinge. This then gave us enough room to swivel the machine around and into the passage way and so onto the deck and onto the dock where it sat for another 36 hours until picked up.

It is back in again and working as advertised! Thanks to John G off Storyteller and Alastair off Blue Anteater for all their help.

Form start to finish it only took 10 days!

The new flap, the machine fits into the small space to the left.     All alone on the pontoon.

I think I will finish with the Las Palmas series with a pictorial essay of the images currently on offer;

                                                           The Star Wars characters are back                 Pantalan 18 – A$50m worth on this dock

JH, Irene & Joanna at the opening parade of the ARC.

And a pictorial essay of the rest of the opening day:

The Canadians pose- The Aussies get dressed and the parade begins

Irene & the crew march              Aussie Flags & team           View across the marina

Pretty girls with even prettier girls       & some not so pretty blokes playing at being girls

Pedros Famous Dinghy Race and General Maritime Mayhem

We have had a ball in Las Palmas. There are now 243 yachts in the marina getting ready to depart on Sunday. All the jobs are done or nearly so we still have to fill the deck fuel bladder and do a test run on the Raymarine gear but apart from that we are in good shape to depart Sunday 25th at 13:00 hours.

I am going to endeavour to provide a log and position report daily to the blog site and if you are interested in our snail’s pace across the Atlantic, I will be updating the Google Earth map as we go.

ALSO from November 25th until December 12th or 13th please DON’T SEND any attachments, pictures etc with emails as they will clog up our Iridium Satellite Phone and I won’t be able to give position reports.

Love to all

John & Irene