One of the issues with sailing around on a “performance” catamaran is that its performance is directly proportional to how much stuff you carry onboard. Stuff, over and above the minimum required to sail the boat.

When anything new comes onboard we look for what we can chuck out of an equal weight.

On passage, we work out how far from land half way is, how many hours we’d have to motor in a disaster scenario, i.e. mast down, out of pies and the like, then carry that amount of diesel to get us to a place of respite. Preferably one that serves beer. We do the same with water. We do the math based on the recommended two litres per day times the maximum number of days we’d be lost at sea, less what’s already in the liferaft, and then take away the number of litres of wine, beer etc on board and that’s what we aim to carry.

Coastal sailing we’re being extravagantly careless if we have more than half tanks.

Last year, suddenly presented with an empty basement at the new home of the “Boston Lettons” we firstly dumped our spare genoa then sneaked in our Jordan drogue. On our passage south to Grenada the difference was amazing. It wasn’t really, in our usual thirty to forty knots, getting more speed isn’t usually the challenge. I don’t think we even noticed but we felt better.

However, for the last few months we’ve been gazing into the crystal ball trying to work out what to do next. Pacific north west - too wet. Europe - what can you do in three months? (thanks Brexiteers); Bahamas - a possibility. New Zealand and Australia. Jeez, that’s a long way but we’ve pals there.

We’re all a-dither but we did feel that in case we make a snap decision to head west, a long way west, we should have all the gear on board so, back came the genoa, that’s about 35kg and back came the drogue, another 25kg.

All that weight. What could we do to compensate?

And then it struck us. We were watching the Olympic gymnastics and all these wee girls dashing across the big matt, a quick hop, skip and a jump and then they’re twirling about in the air for what seems like endless minutes, apparently weightless.

So, like the athletes, if we were to jump up and down alternately, so one of us is in the air at all times, we’d immediately save, what, upwards of a massive seventy plus kilos?

Genius. Problem solved!

Meanwhile, the unanswered problem is, “what to do next”. Any preferences?

Let us know.