When we bought a YB Tracking device we moved our blog action over to the one supplied with the device. This tracker dynamically adds our position and speed etc. to the blog map of our travels.

The blog can be found at https://my.yb.tl/freeascent

Email us at yachtfreeascent@gmail.com if the blog asks for a password.

Well, after a much longer period than anticipated, we are finally moving onto to boat. A long period of refurbishment and improvements/additions is now complete. And the other massive task of sorting out our household items is nearing completion. We will have moved to living on the boat in the next day or so.

The new tentative departure date is the first of February, with an absolute date of the 6th of February when the marina payment runs out!!

It is always a hectic time when the boat is up on the hard for antifouling re-paint and general hull sprucing up. The first blog picture shows the final bottom job and a little detail of the rig.

This may seem a little complicated but it is a modern version of the old wishbone ketch concept. So yes, the boat is rigged as a ketch with two masts. However, instead of a normal mainsail on the main mast, there is a second staysail from the top of the mizzen mast, the same size as the staysail on the main mast.

In front of the main mast staysail there is a yankee jib, cut a little high on the foot so together with the staysail they create a very good and powerful slot effect.

Of course there is a standard mizzen sail, looking like the normal mainsail of a sloop rigged yacht. However the "mainsail" of the main mast is sometimes called a fisherman main. It is a triangular sail somewhat like an inverted jib which sheets to the top of the mizzen mast and fills in the space between the mainmast and the mizzen staysail.

A second gallery photo shows how the sails all set.

The fisherman main is a powerful sail because of its height and is usually the first sail to be reduced when the wind gets over 10 knots.

The "modern" version has replaced the old wishbone boom concept for the staysails with a self tacking track arrangement with the sheet going from the traveller up into the mast 5 or so metres up then back down and back to a single winch each on the coach house.

So, even though there is effectively five working sails, only the foremost yankee jib requires attendance when tacking with its own two winches either side of the cockpit.

All sails except the mizzen are on roller furlers/reefers, all controlled from the cockpit. This makes single handed sailing (if necessary) very easy. The mizzen has a jiffy reef arrangement for the very worst situation where a "rag" might be wanted aft to keep the head of the yacht up to weather in a storm.

However with the multiple furlers it is easy to let out any small piece of "rag" as required for heavy weather to balance for the desired course.