So it’s only a month till we depart now (23rd May departure date), and we’re into super orbit panic mode of pack/sort house, sort boat, sort kids, trying to be in two places (south coast and Cotswolds simultaneously!) What games to take, what clothes, how many books? Small problems of generator, engine, hot water system and solar panels are keeping Russell just slightly busy too. We go from crazy details (ordering courtesy flags for all the countries we will visit, how many spare engine parts to take) to renting the house out and selling cars. It’s a whirlwind of lists, buying bits and endless things to do. Work and studying seems tame in comparison (and that is manic)! The boys are super happy and excited and we are all still smiling amongst the whirlwind!

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The children were delighted with a visit from their best friends Lara & William today. It turns out the dining room table is a superb Lego platform. I am sure Lego and bilge pumps works out just fine…..!

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Grandad kindly got them all a visit to the local lifeboat station, which was a great excitement. Huge thanks to Mike & Pippa for the ice-creams and for Miranda and Caroline for making the trip.

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Great day for everyone and it will be a very sad day when these little guys have to say their goodbyes. Please come and visit us during the trip!

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The boys have been delighted to show Kate, David and gorgeously cute Anika (my god daughter) around their soon-to-be new home. Lots of fun was had clipping life jackets together with carabiners, exploring the yacht, a Lego fest in the saloon and no trip to the seaside is complete without the obligatory ice-cream!

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Huge thanks for making the trip, see you again soon.

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So if we can’t sail, we certainly can play! Nothing like testing the halyards with your children dangling at the end of them. And exactly how much weight can you hang at the end of your spinnaker pole?….a 7 year old!

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Fun climbing the mast too, and yes he is right up by the radar and spreaders with a grin from ear to ear!

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So the official ARC race folder of rules and long lists of stuff needed has finally arrived (the transatlantic ARC is a cruising rally from the Canaries to St. Lucia in the Caribbean across the Atlantic). Included in our pack was our ARC flag which we are now proudly flying. We hope to meet other ARC crews on our journey south to Gran Canaria (the start line).

Although this sounds like a title of one of the boys Thomas the Tank engine books, I can assure you it’s unfortunately not and is much more expensive….

The morale of the story is if you have a Diesel engine a) use it often b) work it hard. If you buy a beautiful old yacht in pristine condition which hasn’t been used much, then be very wary of the exhaust elbow and its resulting impact on the turbo. Both of which in our case are corroded and need replacing/refurbishing and weren’t spotted until we did a full engine service. Ouch. Not exactly what we planned with 5 weeks till departure. Ho hum…

Our Christmas presents were places on a two day Ocean safety course, and I had slightly been dreading this booked weekend for awhile! We went through all those things you never want to happen and heard about numerous terrible case studies of what has gone wrong before and importantly the lessons learnt, and how and when to use all the emergency kit. Then it was time to get wet….

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Wearing full clothes and sailing waterproofs (Oilys), life jacket, we then hurled in the life raft (yellow bag) and learnt how to right the raft, climb in (easier said than done!) whilst our opposing crew hurled buckets of water at us and made a vast amount of noise. We are super jolly glad we have bought a self-righting life raft with a proper weighted and inflated step and not one like this. Believe me we are fit, but this was exhausting (but all doable). Then it was time for using flares..

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Full on weekend and I hope we never have to use any of it, but best to be prepared and trained. Huge thanks to Jon for being a superb trainer (managing not to entirely terrify me) and for a great cohort to learn with. Good luck with the Fastnet race guys!

The sails have been cleaned, re-stitched with new UV lines. Now it’s the small job of a) lifting them (they are seriously heavy) and b) re-attaching them. Several hours later, with a few sail batten fitting ‘moments’, they are safely up and furled away. Phew.

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Another day of loading and sorting. Just how much rope do we need?? I’ve counted 34 ropes so far…..the boys had great fun measuring them all along the length of the pontoon in 5m sections (5x table maths lesson!)

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Sunshade will be important for our route, so great to see the new bimini fitted and it fits a treat. Just awaiting the solar panels (600w) which will cover the top to arrive and it will be perfect. Great outdoor classroom and play area.

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