Nearly ready to go
RAVEN - Atlantic Circuit 2021-22
Richard Foulkes
Thu 19 Aug 2021 16:36
though boat and crew are ready for departure on Saturday! Currently
alongside at Darthaven marina, Kingswear in Devon 50:21.029N 3:34.366W .
The first leg of the trip is down to Lisbon, with planned stops in La
Coruna, Porto and a couple of other places.......Covid restrictions
permitting! Crew for the first leg is Bilal, Jon and Simon who join
tomorrow. Louise, Amy and Ollie are joining for farewell supper tomorrow and
the departure on Saturday. We will do a short coast hop round to Salcombe on
Saturday to get us in the mood, then set off proper on Sunday morning. The
outline itinerary for the trip is;
21 August Depart Dartmouth UK
4 September Arrive Lisbon
26 Sep Depart Lisbon
10 Oct Arrive Canaries, via Madeira
22 Nov Depart Canaries on ARC Rally
Mid-Dec Arrive St Lucia
Until April 22 Cruising Caribbean
Mid/late April Passage to Bermuda
Mid May Depart Bermuda
May/June Passage to UK via Azores
Mid/late June Arrive Dartmouth UK
RAVEN came out of the water 2 weeks ago for a "bottom clean" and some
underwater checks on anodes and anti-fouling. Whilst working on the boat
ashore, it was good to catch up with Clipper chum Allan Jones who was
sheltering here from some strong winds during his extended round Britain
trip in his yacht WINDRUSH. It was a bit of a Clipper gathering as Bob
Beggs, one of the race skippers was also working one his boat ashore.
On recent days solar panels have been fitted to the bimini and even on a
grey Devon afternoon they are generating sufficient to power the fridge
which is good news as that is our biggest drain on the batteries. In
preparation for the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) rally which I am doing
with a different crew in November from the Canaries across to St Lucia,
RAVEN has had a virtual safety inspection with the rally organisers. This
went well, with just a few minor improvements to be done. Another
preparation, ably coordinated by Louise is the crew attire which is
demonstrated by her here.
We are settling ever deeper in the water as more supplies come onboard,
hopefully we will find everything when needed !