Entries have now closed for this year's Atlantic Rally for Cruisers

Entries have now closed for this year's Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), the 24th edition of the annual transatlantic rally. The Rally organisers, World Cruising Club, have now opened a waiting list after accepting 225 entries for the 2010 rally.

There are 28 countries represented in this year's event that starts on 22nd November in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. 200 yachts from all over the world, will cross the Atlantic to Saint Lucia, one of the most beautiful in the Lesser Antilles. The 2,700 nautical mile passage on the NE tradewind route takes typically takes between 14 and 21 days and the fleet reaches its destination and the finish line in Rodney Bay.

Whilst fundamentally a fun rally for cruising yachts, the ARC does have a more serious Racing Division, run under the auspices of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC). Yachts in the Racing Divisions are not permitted to use their engines for propulsion (unlike the cruisers), although use of autopilots is allowed.

Source Yachting Monthly 30th June 2009

International Business Opportunity, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

International Business Opportunity with leading real estate company in Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands.

Are you looking for a business opportunity in the Canary Islands?

Are you looking for a lifestyle change with High Rewards?
Do you want to run your own business and be supported by one of the most experienced Real Estate Companies in the Canary Islands?

GoldAcre Estates is looking for partners to fuel our expansion program in the Canary Islands Our Partnership program is looking to offer exciting opportunities to selected individuals that want to run their own business in the Canary Islands with ongoing existing business available for franchise. Low Initial start up costs, Full Training and Ongoing Support provided. Take the initiative today and invest in your career and lifestyle for a future in the sun! For further details e-mail nicolast@goldacre-estates.com

Are you ready to POUNCE?!

Having offices in GC and FUE often gives us interesting insights into the differences between the Canary Islands and the reaction of the property markets in each. As a more mature market GC has tended to ‘hold’ rather than reduce prices as it knows the true values will return and appreciate over the long term having experienced slump periods in the past. Developers realise there is less opportunity to acquire new land for development in the future and to sell out now would damage future earning potentials.

While many of the Fuerteventura developers would argue the same point and have echoed GC by not reducing prices at all, there have been one or two short term reductions on selected products giving investors and those individuals ready to buy a unique opportunity to pounce and secure a ‘never to be repeated deal’. The Fuerteventura office has seen an increase in sales as a result of this during the 1st and now 2nd quarter of 2009 in both the resale and new property sectors.

Gran Canaria has made few changes in contrast, however there has been a growth in recent activity where individual vendors have made exceptions to the rule due to their personal circumstances. In the area of Mogan and the exclusive beach and marina of Mogan valley itself there have been some snap buys as the occasional price has been reduced for a quick sale. High rental potential in the area means that any reductions bolster the capital return to buyers of holiday homes and investors alike.

This week a very special property in Playa de Mogan should do well, now priced below €200,000 with a position behind the Hotel Cordial with its lovely gardens and just 150m from the beach itself. For those actively searching for properties to buy now this 2 bedroom apartment offers some lucky purchaser a real deal. Likewise our property of the week in Maspalomas is just €87,000 for a position close to the golf course and famous sand dunes, plus it has its own communal swimming pool and would be an ideal holiday property at a fraction of the cost. The question is are you ready to pounce?!

Danish and Rumanian Routes to Gran Canaria

18,000 new seats will be available from Cimber Sterling this August flying from Copenhagen and Billund in Denmark to Las Palmas Gran Canaria. The new route will serve the Danish interest in the island as well as offer an alternative departure point for the more established Southern Swedish market close by. The Tourism Minister Roberto Moreno along with the Tourism Department has been building relations with International Tourism sectors to boost the industry and widen access to the Islands from abroad. A further new route from Bucharest was also announced earlier this year broadening the islands client base. The Tourism Minister commented ‘the good news here is double, now that Cimber Sterling (company) not only have began to connect Gran Canaria from the Danish capital and another second Danish airport…but also they are beginning in August, when usually routes begin in October’.

Is Real Estate and the Economic climate starting to see a turn for the better…….

Real Estate across the world is starting to see an upturn in the news being reported, Canary Islands and Spanish employment is being affected by Tourism numbers , United States consumer confidence is seeing a rise can this be the Obama effect….

US consumer confidence jumped the most in more than three years in April as the recent stock market rally dispelled gloom about the economy, but house prices in the largest US cities tumbled further in February. The 18.6 per cent drop in house prices followed a 19 per cent year-on-year decline in January. However, for the first time in 16 months the rate of decline eased from the prior month, offering some hope that the property market could be beginning to bottom out. Combined, the results add to the case that the US economy could be digging itself out of the worst recession since the Great Depression.
to the HIA.
Australian new home sales rose by 4.2% year on year in March following a significant upward revision to the February annual rate of increase to 7.8% from 3.9%, according to the HIA

29th April 2009

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email info@goldacre-estates.com

Spainair Increases flights to the Canary Islands

Between July and September Spainair is adding 10 direct routes from Mainland Spain to the Canary Islands. The summer schedule offers 67 domestic routes and over 47,000 flights in general with 27 routes open to the Canaries accounting for 7,000 flights. With it Star Alliance partners it also 20 International routes from Madrid and 19 from Barcelona making it the number one choice to Barcelona. Next summer, Spanair will operate 2 weekly flights from Madrid to Fuerteventura and 3 to South Tenerife. It will also increase from 2 to 4 its direct frequencies to Lanzarote, completing its service from Barcelona to the Canary Islands as it maintains its daily flights to Tenerife and Las Palmas. With this schedule, Spanair will be the only airline serving 5 direct destinations between Barcelona and the archipelago, and the only one flying as well to Fuerteventura and South Tenerife. The 50 weekly flights planned between the Catalan capital and the archipelago set Spanair as the best alternative in this market in flights and seats offered. From the 27th July and until 6th September Spanair will be offering 10 additional direct connections between the mainland and the Canary Islands: - From Seville to Las Palmas, South Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. - From Santiago de Compostela to Las Palmas, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. - From Vigo to Las Palmas and South Tenerife. - From Bilbao to Fuerteventura.

Furthermore, Spanair operates code-shared flights from several Spanish cities to amongst other destinations, London, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Vienna, Warsaw, Geneva, Zurich, Oslo, and Philadelphia.

Monarch Report Strong Numbers for Canary Islands

Holiday and flight provider Monarch have reported promising visitor numbers for the Canary Islands this winter. Gran Canaria along with Tenerife and Lanzarote are all listed in the top five of their ‘Whats Hot for 2009’ List.

Liz Savage, the managing director of Monarch Flights and Holidays, commented: “Despite early indications that holidaymakers were looking to head east for their holidays this year, the picture to date is somewhat different. The Canary Islands which benefit from year-round sunshine and are only a four hour flight time from the UK, are the surprise destination leaders for both holiday and flight-only bookings this winter, already 13% ahead of holiday bookings vs 2008