Having made the decision to leave the UK for a long-term cruise around the world, we had 9 months in which to prepare ourselves and our boat (See previous postings). It is now the beginning of November and the trees still haven’t dropped their leaves. It must be due to the unusually warm weather at this time of year, maybe this warmth has something to do with the unusually vicious hurricanes strafing the Caribbean and American coast this season. I must remember to keep an eye on the occurrence of hurricanes and tropical storms through November in order to get some yardstick as to when we should set sail across the Atlantic next year.
In the meantime, we have not quite stood-still since we started the clock for our departure in June 2006. This Blog intends to catch-up with events and the preparations we have made so far.
- Insurance
The boat insurance ran-out at the end of September. In order to make life simple during our round the world travels, I wanted to find a company that would support us wherever we wanted to go for the duration of the trip. Historically, I have insured with Bishop Skinner who have always delivered best value for the usual UK waters plus English Channel (Elbe to Brest). They said that they could insure as far as the Canaries (but no further) as long as we had 3 persons aboard and as long as they could double the premium.
We exchanged details with a broker at the Blue Water Rallies seminar but having chased twice by telephone, they failed to return calls.
I hunted high and low on the Internet for Insurance companies willing to cover “The World” with very little luck and only one company being represented at the Southampton Boat Show showed any interest.
We eventually came up with a shortlist:- Admiral Insurance (http://www.admiral.com/) might have insured us but they didn’t like the age of our boat (20 years).
- Yachtsure Insurance (http://www.yachtsure.com/) were helpful and would cover extended cruising at least to the Caribbean
- YachtLine Insurance (http://www.yachtline.co.uk/) could cover as far as the Canaries but could not confirm insurance as far as the Caribbean at this stage.
- Pantaenius Insurance (http://www.pantaenius.com/) will cover at least as far as the Caribbean and probably further. The restrictions in-place were minimal and they were not averse to single-handing.
Part of our problem may have been caused by the age of our boat. Some other concerns may have been raised by lack of offshore experience (although I am still unsure about what “offshore means”). However, the majority of Insurance companies and brokers simply refused to consider insuring anyone who was foolish enough to want to venture outside UK waters.
We eventually opted for Pantaenius due to their good record and lack of policy exclusions. Prices from those who would insure us were comparable and therefore the policy itself became the determining factor. They wanted numerous questions answered about our experience and about the boat and were eventually satisfied although there are a number of things that need attending to on our boat before next year. I see this question, answer and caveat system as being good for us since they have pointed-out possible weaknesses in our safety systems that we are now in the process of rectifying.
- Preparing the Boat
Not a lot has happened in this respect. Each time we visit Nadezhda, we do so for pleasure rather than getting-on with the task of fitting-out for extended cruising. The fitting-out task will be relegated to when she is hauled-out for the winter at the beginning of December – some time off work will be called-for! However, I have been researching what is needed, contacting suppliers of equipment and we had a big spending-binge at, and immediately following, the Southampton Boat Show. Here are a few things that have been considered:
Anchors
We have two 20Kg CQRs. Although these provide good overall holding, it is always a good idea to have more than one type of anchor and to use the variety that best suits the conditions. What we wanted was a Bruce claw anchor (good overall and on rock/coral and also a spade variety (ie: Danforth, Fortress etc). We opted for the best since the safety (and hence value) of the boat depends on your anchoring. This meant getting a Fortress FX37 (boats > 55’) and a Bruce 30Kg both of which are oversized for our 40’ boat and therefore give peace of mind.
The Fortress purchase was simple but obtaining a Bruce 30Kg requires persistence and determination since no stocks are available in the UK. We wanted a Bruce rather than a “reproduction” claw anchor since we have heard reports about failures of the look-alikes due to casting failures. It appears that Bruce subcontract the supply to an Italian firm who get them made in Brazil and the whole supply chain has stopped. I would imagine that the 30Kg variety is mid/top range and therefore stocks of these have expired earlier than other weights. I have just sent a cheque off to Boatworld in Birmingham who were recommended by the guys at yachtparts.co.uk who were very helpful, I cannot find Boatworld on the Web nor in the yellow pages – I am hoping to get delivery of my (second-hand) Bruce soon!!
Electric Power
We currently have no charging mechanism except the engine and therefore need to supplement this somehow. Wind, water, solar and generator devices are available but with an adverse reaction to complexity and noise, we decided that a power generator was immediately off the list. The final choice was a 120W rigid Solarmax solar panel, a 32W flexible solar panel and a DuoGen combined wind and water generator. This poses some problems in terms of fitting. We have a true canoe stern that offers very little space for attachments. Having had a local stainless steel fabricator visit the boat, he rubbed his chin, he ummed, arrghed and said he would get back to us. That was 8 weeks ago and I must chase him up!
The director of DuoGen has promised to come-up with a scheme to fit his wonderful device onto the stern so that it swings clear of the Aries self-steering. I gave him measurements, plans and photographs of the stern 6 weeks ago and I must chase him up!
The theory is that the rigid solar panel goes on top of a small gantry at the rear and this then serves as the rear-edge of a bimini (absolutely necessary in the hot climates that we intend to visit). The flexible panel will be brought-out and placed wherever when conditions are right.
Reading the literature, the right approach is to add-up the wattage of all the electrical equipment and the hours which you expect to run the equipment and calculate the daily/weekly load and then determine what power input is required to reach an equilibrium. My view is that we have bought what we can afford and what we have the room to fit and if we exceed this in wattage, then it’s time to turn something off! As I said earlier, we like to keep things simple and do not have water maker, washing machine, microwave and the likes.
Communication
This has always been a difficult decision. Do you buy a two-way SSB radio so that you can communicate by radio to others that may be hundreds of miles away? The equipment allows you to send and receive e-mail whilst in mid-ocean although this is painfully slow. The guys presenting the Blue Water seminar that we attended promoted it but I think that, since they also run the Blue Water Rally, they like SSB since they can do a role-call of entrants each day. The costs are high (£3000 for purchase and fit) and operators need to have been on a course that lasts a week (another large monetary sum). In addition, none of the “cheaper” units available adhere to the stringent radio interference rules in the UK so whatever you buy will be illegal on a British registered boat!
The alternative is a satellite phone that allows you to ring or receive calls wherever you are. This also comes with e-mail but the operating costs are still very high.
We have decided to but a SSB receive-only unit that allows us to receive voice weather forecasts from radio stations and radio-hams (the famous “Herb” and the like) and also download Weather Fax. At £250 plus simple fitting, this should give us the best of both worlds.
Communications whilst ashore will probably include a pay-as-you-go mobile and we will buy SIM cards locally (which is cheaper than topping-up a UK one). Also, we will have a laptop computer aboard. We are hoping that we can link this to the internet (wireless or otherwise) so that we can make Voice-Over-IP calls. This is a method of using the internet to make calls at the price of a local call in the UK via software such as SkyPe. I am not sure yet whether facilities for this are available abroad but I am keep an eye open for more information.
Other Bits & Pieces
Everything needs a backup. You need spares for all essential equipment aboard because mail order companies do not deliver to mid-ocean locations!
The list goes on!!! Repair kit for rubber dinghy, spare shackles, repair kit for broken rigging wires, spare oil for the engine, fan belt, toilet pump kit, sink pump kit, engine filters, bulbs, etc etc etc. We carry two auto-pilots (plus the Aries self-steering), two GPS (fixed & handheld), two VHF radios (fixed & handheld), spare sails plus a score of other parts plus half a mile of rope of varying lengths, types and sizes.
Other bits are related to safety including Man Overboard kit, Drogues, new EPIRB battery, Medical kit etc etc.
Everything needs organising, storing or fitting!
Pete & Fliss's Chandlery
- Selling a house
I have a rental property that is owned by my computer consultancy business that is currently dormant. This is the funding mechanism for our travels and needs selling. The theory is that the equity in the property can be taken out of the business at very low tax rates whilst we are abroad. The house went on the market and I accepted an offer on it at the beginning of this week. Let’s hope it goes through smoothly and we can then tick another item from the list of things that need doing!- Personal
We still need to organise banking, copies of ships papers, itinerary, new passports, powers of attorney, wills and a host of other things that we have not even listed ourselves yet
So. The original 9 months is now down to 7 months and the pressure is on to get everything ready for departure.
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