Where Does the Time Go???......

It feels like ages since I've written my Blog, the time is just flying past and I have lots to tell. I have decided to stop writing for the RTN due for various reasons and have am now providing features to The Coastrider, another local newspaper instead. That way I am still getting published by someone locally and the readers are getting lots of cool info about what is available to them right on their doorstep. It's an exciting transition for me and as we move from winter, through spring and in to summer, the articles will shift from more earth bound activities to sea based experiences. Woo hoo!
The sailing school is busy (Serenity Sailing), we've had a fantastic start to the year, we're very lucky. Costa Adventures is in need of a revamp so my dear friend Anthony will be creating an amazing new website which will be launched at the end of the year.
I've recently had meetings with a group that will be starting a car club and a boat club. The car club already has 2 Ferrari's and another supercar for track use and the boat club has 2 tidy power boats and 2 jet ski's that are based in Torrevieja. More info to come as it develops.
I continue to go on brilliant adventures. This week I went on a 38km downhill bike ride in the mountains behind Benidorm - it was FANTASTIC! A special mention should also be given to the 2 members of staff that I was with that day, Terry and Alistair; they were fun, professional and so knowledgeable about the area. An article will be published soon about this amazing experience and I will publish it here.
I'm working closely with various activity providers so that I can keep bringing you information on events, races, club launches and interesting local developments. If you need any information about any aspect of adventure tourism on the Costa Blanca, please get in touch and I will do my upmost to help.
For now goodbye, but I will be back soon. Have a great weekend, wherever you may be.
Hasta luego! Anna :)

Yacht Maintenance & Anti-Fouling

Every year or two we have to take our yacht, Serenity, out of the water for maintenance and do to something called 'anti-fouling'. When you anti-foul a boat you basically paint the belly (hull) with a substance that discourages growth e.g. barnacles and other marine life. If you didn't do this your boat would not go through the water so well as this growth, creates resistance.
Having the yacht out of the water also makes other jobs easier and we normally use the time to give Serenity a lot of tlc.
One of my friends asked how you get a boat out of the water, so I thought I would show you some pictures.

Serenity backs in to a holding area and a huge crane comes along, two harnesses go underneath her.



Then they lift her out of the water and pressure wash off all the crud.





She's then put on stilts so that we can work on her hull (belly). We paint and polish the sides and clean up the propellers.

Crazy Days

Well, last week was pretty crazy. Richard (partner and Director / Principle Yachtsmaster Instructor of Serenity Sailing) had taken some more experienced students to Ibiza for the week so I had decided to pack my week full of fun things to keep me entertained.
Cut to me getting hopefully lost south of Murcia in search of an airfield, I forgot to print off my directions and maps!! Darn! I ended up being 1.5 hours late and was so stressed out! I hate being late and have never been THAT late before, gggrrrr. I was visiting a microlight (ultralight in Spain) school for a flying session which I have just drafted an article about. That was a really cool experience, although not as adrenaline-pumping as I would normally get my kicks from :)
I then dropped in to a fabulous yoga retreat - Tara's Retreat - run by Vivienne and Dan from the UK. It was a lot easier to get to :) I took part in a great Pilates session with two other guests, Ben and Belinda. Ben has worked on the motor racing circuit since the 90's as a commentator, notably for Eurosport. I must get his full name so I have a proper claim to fame! Belinda is an events coodinator on the same scene and they both were just lovely. I really wanted to stay an extra day so I could talk with them more and do more pilates but the next morning, I had to dash off and climb a mountain!
I had made contact with a resident at the famous La Manga Club resort as they are running a month-long fiesta!! All the proceeds go to local charities and so far, it's all going really well and they've raised loads of money. I volunteered to walk a local mountain with a good-sized group of enthusiasts. The gentlemen leading the walk (Robyn) has a great knowledge of the local area and made it very interesting for all of us. He even managed to get us in to a mine that will eventually be opened as a tourist attraction! Good man! That was pretty cool inside. The walk took just over 3 hours, the highest point looking over La Union, Portman and if not for the haze, Cartegena. It was so hot that day and we were all drenched with sweat, nice :)
Anyway, you'll be able to read all about these adventures in my next few articles so watch out!

Sailing Article

http://www.roundtownnews.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20007&Itemid=38