From May 22nd till June 20th Ara-Moana completed its first ocean sail of longer duration, 2,700 nautical miles, 29 days and nights, from Amsterdam to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. The trip, which went through the English Channel and across the Biscay Bay, the most heavily trafficked and notorious waters in Europe, was in every aspect a success. The crew became famili-ar with the handling of the boat, which by the way proved to possess surprisingly good sailing qualities. Before the sail, the participants work intensively with the clearing and pre-parations, and the project has now come far in its preparation phase.
Until late October Ara-Moana lies at Gomera, another of the Canaries. A comprehensive clearing will take place before the sail here as well. The summer has been and is completely domina-ted by fund raising. And we must not forget that the future of the project is totally dependent on the results of this.
