READY OR NOT, WE'RE OFF!

Arnamentia
Jon & Carol Dutton
Sun 28 Aug 2011 23:15

                                     Solent July 2010 1 Cropped.png

Too tight on the main halyard and kicker?  A bit, but you’ll have to excuse a little idleness as we jog back to Gosport à deux on a lovely summer afternoon.

5 DAYS TO GO AND COUNTING!  READY OR NOT, WE’RE OFF ON 2nd SEPTEMBER

Arnamentia will shortly be slipping her mooring in Lymington (50:34.13N 01:31.40W) for points south and west for the next three years.  Until now we’ve been pottering around the Solent with some longer excursions to north and south Brittany, south west Ireland and the Netherlands.   We’ve also competed in a couple of Round the Island races and several Royal Artillery regattas at Yarmouth.   It has to be said that Arnamentia is now considerably lower in the water than at any of those events.  But, then, we weren’t carrying enough spares almost to rebuild the boat or all the rest of the kerfuffle to see us through long ocean passages to anchorages in faraway places in the Pacific and beyond. 

Time slips through our fingers  like water as we battle to get the boat ready, deal with the fact that stuff that has never previously failed us chooses now to do so, try to get to grips with completely new stuff - particularly around communications - think about all the contingencies, chase up suppliers and others upon whose skills (applied now) the plan depends, sort out the admin in UK, plan to get to Northern Ireland for Jon’s mother’s 90th birthday on 6th September and back to depart from Plymouth on 8th September, say goodbye to people, thank all those who have helped us so much and on and on.

We have been very lucky in being able to draw upon the experience and kindness of many people.  It would be invidious of us to list them here.  But, you know who you are and the help you have given us.  Many thanks to you all.  We know that we shall see some of you aboard as we make our way around the world.  Other friends may yet wish to join and we have let you know how to start the conversation by e-mail, no matter where we are. 

After lunch in Lymington on Friday 2nd September, we’re off with the tide to Plymouth with Bob Raley and Chris Austin as crew.  There, Chris leaves us and Andy Anderson joins as we set off for the 560NM hop to Bayona in north Atlantic Spain; thence a dawdle down the coast to the Algarve.