Our first Sail...

was AMAZING!

We had our instruments installed, we now knew how deep we were. Time to test everything out.
We went out in about 10 - 15 knots of breeze to have a proper sail.

It was a "trip to nowhere", an out and back experience. A Texan friend of our (Myles) came with us as he is currently waiting for his boat to be repaired in the nearby yard.

We left late in the afternoon as we had some chores to do in the AM. We raised anchor, sailed out past Twizzle (a 183 ft super yacht owned by what must be a very wealthy family).

We raised the main. Thanks to the Antal Cars and the size of the sail, it could be pulled up by hand and then only needed tensioning with the winch.

Out came the headsail next. The centre board was lowered and away we went. As I was busy at the mast prepping the sails, Sally was at the helm. We both found her very well balanced and easy to steer.

She should handle a wind vane very well if this is any indication of things to come. Engine off, a nice reach, full sails. Man, it was nice to be on the water again.
It felt so long since we sat in near silence only to hear the swish of water under the hull.

As we turned in towards Prickly Bay, the sun starting to set on the horizon, I gave a thought to how nice it would be to just stay out there and sail through the night. There is something terrific about sailing at night sitting on watch, thinking, philosophising. This is the boat to do that on!

The Kindness of Cruisers...

Dedicated to Vernon and Donna on Endless Love Too, Sarah and Doug on Mindemoya, Keith and Marcey on Mimi - fair winds.

Where to start.

It has been quite an eye opener for us London folk. We lived in one of the biggest cities in the world and did not even know our next door neighbours. We do not speak to people on the transport system and we most certainly do not go around asking random people's advice. Keeping our anonyminity was what we were used to.

But cruising is different. It is a community where every one knows what it is like to be novices and some
profess to still be learning after 20 years on the water (yes and on the flip side, a few do profess to know it all).

There is always common ground and a story that can be shared. Generally these are the frustrating ones of parts that once ordered, have never arrived or the hairy ones of being stuck in hurricanes or the usual story of charterers (or the French) dragging anchor into you.

We have met some wonderful people whilst getting the boat ready in the yard. They have taught us a lot and asked nothing in return. Most are cruisers that take a few months off every year to sail the Caribbean, some are just starting their adventures and some ending theirs, selling up and moving back to dry land.

To aid in our networking with salty folk, there is a daily VHF session every morning for cruisers to listen in and find out all sorts of info, ranging from weather to stuff for sale to when the next get-together / event will be. Cruisers ask questions and for help regarding all sorts of matters and the forum of listeners all too often has a useful phone number or post session call to discuss.

Regardless of the radio to hide behind, yachties are a social bunch. We have had drinks with a few people now despite being the 'new kids on the block' (figuratively and literally as we are most people's children's age...or younger). It is great to sit in another boats cockpit, admire their home and take note of the little tips and tricks they use. How to keep your head from blocking, best way to store fruit and veg in the heat, etc. Their stories are also inspirational as they tell tales of other beautiful anchorages and islands just begging to be explored.

We have received a few gifts from cruisers who are returning home and no longer had need for a few items. All that they ask in return is that we pay it forward. What a wonderful attitude to have to life...

The plan...

The initial plan...subject to change at a moments notice!

Quite a bit of thought and research was done around what we wanted to do and hence what we wanted. As we are both relatively inexperienced with cruising, we wanted to ensure that we started off in a location that was not only fantastic for sailing, but also not too challenging so as to allow us to learn safely and comfortably. Hence us deciding that the Caribbean would be an ideal place. Many of the islands / anchorages are day sails apart with the odd over night passage required. The climate is tropical, water gin clear and it is a beautiful place to sail. We did initially toy with the idea of buying a yacht in Europe / UK and sailing it locally and prepping it before then crossing the Atlantic, however a number of factors dissuaded us. The price of yachts in Europe are a lot higher than the US, sailing in the UK can be a bit chilly (even in summer) and doing a transatlantic crossing might scare the crew from ever setting foot on a yacht again. The game plan is to pick up a yacht in Florida and sail it down the leeward and windward isles and be out of the hurricane belt by July. A bit of a push seeing as the season has already begun and buying a yacht is not just a "jump on it and sail it away the next day" sort of activity! Generally a fair amount of time will need to be spent preparing a yacht for cruising.
There is also the risk or "analysis paralysis" - Sitting in a marina trying to buy every contingency piece of gear, waiting for the perfect weather, needing to do "just one last thing" etc
There is also the risk of being naive and heading out under equipped / prepared and running into issues.Getting the right balance is tricky and different for each individual.

So now we had a jump off location to start our adventure; our next step was to identify our requirements for a yacht!

Leaving London...

In preparation for our adventure, we must first sell a London flat and 8 years worth of possessions to accumulate as many freedom chips (money) as possible. Ebay, two trips to my parents place in Wales and a couple of charity trips later - our flat resembles an ikea showroom, bare and empty with a few clothes to take with us (each item justified the effort of carrying them - doubt Dylan will agree with that!).

Last Friday we made the trip up to Hampstead Heath to get the jabs necessary for our trip. £166 and 5 jabs later, we had a suitable array of bruises on our arms...now for the Yellow Fever side effects to kick in apparently in 4 - 7 days time.

We spent a good deal of time researching the right 'yacht' bags to take on our trip, settling for 155l and 90l Helly Hansen bags, Dylan had to be sure that the zips wouldn't rust when on board our yacht. After packing our few remaining items and Christmas pressies into our luggage, we still have plenty of space for those 'must have' items of clothing that were heading for the recycling bin (result!).

May I remind you that at this point in time, we own no yacht, nor are we even in the same continent to buy one. A trip to Canada (via Seattle) to see Dylans family is first on the itinerary prior to flying to Florida and starting our boat hunt.

I am typing this post whilst sat in a motel room in Seattle at 6am, slightly jet lagged. Looking forward to a day sight seeing around the home of Starbucks.