UHURU heads home......
UHURU
Steve Powell
Sun 17 Apr 2011 09:25
55:00.32W
This will come as a surprise to some, a disappointment to others, and a great relief to my family.
But after nearly three years at sea I have decided to head home. After all the amazing experiences I have had down here in the South Atlantic and Antarctica the thought of spending another three years sailing around the ‘middle’ of the world no longer really excites me. I would have to cross the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and then twice more across the Atlantic Ocean. All eminently doable, but just long, long ocean passages that owe more to dogged perseverance than true adventure sailing.
So I have reset my goals. I am planning to this winter at home, being the husband and father I should be, and then sail up to the Arctic Circle and find some Polar Bears!
Conveniently, this can be best achieved by starting out from Lymington next summer. As they say, “When you have an Oyster, the world is your Oyster”, a little tacky I know, but I had to throw it in. (FYI: UHURU is an Oyster 62)
I must, however, put a large caveat on this as It has not yet been ‘negotiated’ with ‘Da Boss’. Said negotiations will begin the moment she receives this blog :-), and continue when I get home which should be early July. Wish me luck.
A little real time update, we are now in Punta Del Este, Uruguay, waiting for a storm to pass through. We have been celebrating taking our ‘long johns’ off for the first time in nearly six months. No not the same pair! The sun is shining, the temperature has risen, and the shorts and T shirts are back out of storage.
As soon as this storm blows through we plan to head up to Salvador, Brazil, about 2000nm. Then on across the Equator to French Guiana, Grenada, Antigua then across the North Atlantic to the Azores and then home. About 9,000nm from here, so there is still a long way to go but providing we can get up to the Caribbean by the end of May, ahead of the hurricane season, we should be OK. Subject to the usual mishaps and adventures that attend all ocean passages.
Well, that’s enough news for today. I am sure this blog will set a few tongue wagging. Not the least Beans :-)
Luv to all
Steve
17th April 2011