1 December 2017 - Day 3  - Irene III maiden trans-Atlantic voyage

Louis’s list grows ever shorter – hurray! Here’s a brief extract to give a flavour of the detailed preparations were involved in:

• Activate Sat-Phone and sort connections.
• Rig Jack Stay lines
• Rig Spinnaker Pole
• Check Gas Levels etc. x 4
• Flagging
• Life Jacket AIS and test one or two
• Check Electronic charts working & update
• Stow running back stays – no chafe
• Locate softwood plugs with sea-cocks and secure
• Check RACOR filters
• Rim diesel & petrol tanks including
• Procure 25 litre diesel Jerry cans X 4
• Check all batteries
• Check all lights – NAV especially
• Compile all Medi-stuff, compile, and stow.
• Check Defrib is working and do a test and quick re-training.
• Check first aid kits

As you’ll see from the list, the long awaited spinnaker pole has been fitted, John HH - our onboard White Coat, has taken baseline blood pressure readings (greatly reduced from yesterday) and the freezer is completely jammers with the delicious meals lovingly prepared by Sabine and Johnny.

The route that yachts normally follow during the trans-Atlantic trade winds season, is that they head south from the Canaries towards the Cape Verde islands, and then turn right, when the butter begins to melt.

Having studied the forthcoming weather pattern, which stretches out to 16 days, Sean the Navigator (a distant relation of St. Brendan) has plotted a counter-intuitive route that will take us very slightly north for the first five days (during which we hope to cover about 1,000 miles) at which point we’ll head south-westwards for Antigua, for the remaining section of the voyage.

All of our experts, including our Dublin based crew member, Eddie Tingle - feel that given the current wind patterns, this route is absolutely spot on.

So the current plan is to set off on Sunday, but before then there are even more tasks on Louis’s list to be scratched off:

• Man Overboard Drill – everyone has volunteered for this, so that should be fun!
• Remove Life raft security band
• How to use sat-phone training
• Pay Marina fees
• Clean down boat inside and out
• Divvy up mother watch stuff and update chart
• Safety briefing & First Aid

In La Gomera, Christmas has officially started. As we head out for our penultimate ‘last supper’ a brass band is playing seasonal carols in the town square. Here’s hoping we’ll be back on dry land in time to hear that Chris Rea song on the radio.