The ship’s journal from the Delivery from Mallorca to Fiji

Update 20/01/25 0900 GMT Las Palmas

What a sleigh ride this was! 

The Med tested us a bit, but from the moment we tied up at the Gibraltar fuel dock, things have been going smoothly.

We zigzagged out of the Strait, fell off Morocco’s shoulder, bounced off the curve near Casablanca, and were blown further down toward the Canaries. As if to avoid a hard landing, the wind died in the last 16 hours so we could gently float into port. In those final hours, we spotted fin whales and watched the summit of Teide emerge from the clouds in the distance. The temperature increased, as well as the excitement for our next landfall. We were welcomed by the friendly marineros of Muelle Deportivo de Las Palmas. 

An and I are so proud of our trainee crew who all pulled their weight and continue to learn every day. As mentioned before, I am amazed by how the kids just undergo offshore sailing without much talk about arriving somewhere. I hope it stays like that for the next 4,5 months. 

This morning we’ll have our happy hour! This is the time when we’ll wash Pelki’s exterior and clean her interior. As an old British Navy saying goes: “A clean ship is a happy ship and cleanliness is only second to godliness.” In the afternoon and tomorrow we will have some rest and recreation. On Wednesday we’ll start to tackle the substantial list of things to do before we can head out and set sail for the West Indies closer to the weekend.