Less than a month to go to the start of our 3-4 month Baltic Odyssey
The boat went back in the water mid April and we have had a few excellent sailing weekends around the Solent since then.
Both of us are off to SA for 2 to 3 weeks and I get back 3 days before the planned departure date. While we are away an SSB radio and a Sail-Gen towed generator will be installed on the boat. Despite good intentions it seems this is all happening at the last moment. That said I am not uncomfortable with that, as we will be doing coastal sailing, so the SSB, the watermaker (still not fully commissioned) and the Sail-Gen are not critical for the cruise. I will however give us a chance to shake this equipment down before we really have to rely on it.
Two things that are yet to be tested as good or bad ideas, are that we have now got a partially un-assembled 26" mountain bike and an aluminium fold up, stashed in the locker behind the sail drive. The plan is not to haul them out often, at least not the MTB, but when we do the Gota canal and the mast up route in Holland we will have them out. The other partially unproven experiment, isthat I now have my Prijon Sea kayak on the foredeck. We did a shake down for 3 days last weekend end and it seemed to work well and be very secure with no interference with sheets or sails. I may be proven wrong but when I see the paddling opportunities in the Archipelagos of Sweden, I am happy to put up with some minor inconvenience.
So, all the route planning is done and we will work on the victuals as we go along. That is the beauty of a coastal hopping trip. Veronica will be back from SA before me and go down to the boat for final preparations. So just the Wild Ride to do in the Transkei with all my old cycling buddies and plenty of catching up with friends and family in Cape Town. We have a had a great response to the invites and will only be sailing on our own for short periods with guests and helping hands all along the way.
Both of us are off to SA for 2 to 3 weeks and I get back 3 days before the planned departure date. While we are away an SSB radio and a Sail-Gen towed generator will be installed on the boat. Despite good intentions it seems this is all happening at the last moment. That said I am not uncomfortable with that, as we will be doing coastal sailing, so the SSB, the watermaker (still not fully commissioned) and the Sail-Gen are not critical for the cruise. I will however give us a chance to shake this equipment down before we really have to rely on it.
Two things that are yet to be tested as good or bad ideas, are that we have now got a partially un-assembled 26" mountain bike and an aluminium fold up, stashed in the locker behind the sail drive. The plan is not to haul them out often, at least not the MTB, but when we do the Gota canal and the mast up route in Holland we will have them out. The other partially unproven experiment, isthat I now have my Prijon Sea kayak on the foredeck. We did a shake down for 3 days last weekend end and it seemed to work well and be very secure with no interference with sheets or sails. I may be proven wrong but when I see the paddling opportunities in the Archipelagos of Sweden, I am happy to put up with some minor inconvenience.
So, all the route planning is done and we will work on the victuals as we go along. That is the beauty of a coastal hopping trip. Veronica will be back from SA before me and go down to the boat for final preparations. So just the Wild Ride to do in the Transkei with all my old cycling buddies and plenty of catching up with friends and family in Cape Town. We have a had a great response to the invites and will only be sailing on our own for short periods with guests and helping hands all along the way.
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