Going places?
01 January 2011 | Northwood
It would seem I've neglected our blog for a bit. The sad but true fact is that we haven't really done anything worth mentioning.
Work has been a major factor, so has the truly atrocious weather of late. Way too cold, way too wet, or a combination thereof. To be fair, we've managed some quite bracing, but fun daysails, but not to the extent I would have liked. All in all, I'm grateful to my long-suffering family for every day we did manage to get on the water.
The day before yesterday we moved Guapa to a new berth. Shotley was OK, however... the berth was quite 'snug' - no margin for error whatsoever (the at times nasty crosswind was a constant worry). This meant that a singlehanded sail was out of the question. Add to that the rather rural setting (and access roads to go with that setting) and the occasional long wait to lock in/out and a move began to make sense.
We moved - at least for the time being - upriver to Ipswich Haven. Larger berth, easier access, but further away from the sea. Everything is a compromise, but if I get to use the boat more, it should be an improvement - I hope.
The move itself was 'interesting' - very dense fog. At times I could not see past the bow of the ship. Brigitte at the bow on the look-out for buoys, Evita down below plotting what we saw and advising on a course to steer. Zero visibility, steering by compass alone, it can be quite disorientating. To give you an idea of how bad visibility was: we did not see the Orwell Bridge till we sailed under it. Still, no mishaps, but not in any hurry to repeat the experience. Onwards and upwards.
What are the plans for 2011? In a nutshell: sailing more, longer and further. However, I work shifts at the moment and these sometimes change at very short notice making it hard to plan ahead. So, instead of plans, we now have goals. The goal/ambition for this year is Norway & the Shetland Islands, but we might just as well end up in France.
How's the boat doing? Better than before, but still a bit to go. We're replacing the running rigging in February and taking receipt of new sails (genoa, main and cruising chute) in March. This will be a landmark moment - propulsion (wind & mechanical) will be all new. Still on the wish/shopping list: windvane steering and a hydraulic windlass.
Now that we've got the sailing hardware sorted, we can turn our attention to the domestic side of things. After all, we are planning to live aboard in a few years. Our plumbing is suspect - it would be nice to have running water on board again. The electrics are in a similar condition. Rewiring is well overdue and we will need new batteries at some point in the not too distant future.
Also looking at having a goalpost arch made to fit some solar panels and (finally) the radar dome.
The year before our departure, we'll look at communications (SSB & satcom) and a watermaker. Technology changes so rapidly and it does not really make sense to buy & fit these items now - financially or practically.
We've also been giving some thought to the practical organisation of our eventual life aboard. Once we set off on our Round The World trip we will send most of our time on the Southern hemisphere. There can be quite a distance between bits of land, so it's likely we'll spend some winter months holed up somewhere. It could be a long time to be 'stuck on the boat'. I've talked, e-mailed to quite a few long term sailors and the happiest by far seem to be those who spend four or five months ashore each year. Sounds like a plan to me.
Of course, we would need a place to live. Having lived in rented accommodation all of our lives, this might just be our single biggest project for 2011. Stand by your beds for further developments.
In the mean time; all the best for the New Year from Guapa and her crew. May 2011 bring everything you wish for - and more.