Yacht Aditi
Aditi

Year: 2012

Paul and Claire

Chained

Cruising, Preparation

The existing 12mm chain of 60m in length has gone to a specialist welder to extend it to 100m. Managed to miss putting the anchor through the window as it was lowered before we roped the hook to control the swing – just. On the way down it cleared the roof and guttering by about 3mm as it arced through the anchor roller link by link. The chain has now returned but there are concerns about locker capacity as a straight onshore lift leads to a full locker at 85m as chain piles up under the hawser but this isn’t

Paul and Claire

Getting zinced

Cruising, Preparation

Most of our zincs have turned passive having obtained a thick layer of white zinc oxide on them possibly through being in brackish estuary or river water. Looking back they were fairly oxidised a 14 months ago so the bow thruster and prop anodes have been doing most of the work. Having spent eons of time searching for an alternative to replacing 13 zincs, and having discussed the matter with many in the industry, the great face-off began to recover what are otherwise very good anodes by weight. Having tickled them with a wire brush, a bigger wire brush, a

Paul and Claire

Signed up – ARC 2013

ARC, Cruising, Preparation

So it was a bit of a surprise yesterday when the WCC tweeted that the 2013 registration was open. We signed up to book our place so the Transatlantic train is rolling. We now have the key dates, the rules, the crew requirements. New sails are almost on order. Some measuring to produce a final spec still to go. Not replacement white sails but a storm jib and a heavy weight assymetric which should get us through to the other side of the Pacific. The bow thruster reveals itself… and the bow has come up clean again

Paul and Claire

T-10 and ARC 2013 entry round the corner

ARC, Cruising, Preparation

Our final lift-out is complete and winterisation has begun. It’s exciting to think that the next time in the water launches us into our adventure. The ARC 2013 rally entry is open next month and we are looking forward to putting our name on the list. In the meantime we are keeping a close watch on the 2012 rally with great tips being published by participants. Our winter shopping list is shaping up: Several litres of white vinegar, hydraulic oil, diesel oil, enviromentally friendly anti-freeze and a few kilos of grease, polish, oils, Boracol 10RH, Arborsil 101, and numerous bits

Paul and Claire

Brest

Ports, Sailing

What a great place to sail – the Rade de Brest is very Solent-like and with many nearby towns to visit such as Camaret, Morgat, Douarnenez and numerous anchorages there is plenty to keep a crew occupied. Exiting the Gulet de Brest is another thing altogether – wind if straight on accelerates through the gulley and as we hit the open water we hit 20-25 knots and kept burying the bow before being thrown skywards wave by wave. About a mile later, probably less, we were on a calm blue sea with a steady 8 knots over the deck and

Paul and Claire

Final Pre-ARC 2013 trials

ARC, Sailing

So we knew that summer would be the time to do all of the above deck jobs that need sorting from the waterline to mast head – bathed in sunshine and a light breeze with sealants and paint setting fast and jobs being ticked off. Well not in April, nor May, June, nah; try July in rain and 15 degs C with a constant F7 and a bit of windchill – so most of the ‘outside’ jobs list is carried forward and may have been added to. Aside from that we have had a few good sessions with a 48

Paul and Claire

Preparations for the circumnavigation

ARC, Cruising, Preparation

Both Aditi and we are at the half-way mark. We all feel that we are progressing well against our original 2 year timetable ahead of departure. Our preparatory work is covered under the ARC 2013 page of this site. As we are now at the mid-point in our 24 month run up to the big cast-off we can definitely confirm that it takes two years hard slog alongside a job to get a boat ready. It’s about what we expected. We turned away from some serious projects because, although a great challenge, we could see a 5 year commitment would

Paul and Claire

Naming Ceremony and Party!

Photos

We decided to hold a party to mark exactly one year in the water, celebrate the first year of preparation and to officially toast the new name now that it was safely stuck on the boom! We had a wonderful evening with fun, friends and frolics! The highlights of the evening were: Greetings to Reggae music and sweet sunshine Fran hosting and looking after the food (thank you!) Everyone having their photo taken in the ‘Captain’s hat’ A loud compact ‘city’ Club with 17 in the saloon Flashing of various tattoos and however concealed! (how I missed this I don’t know!) A rather tipsy guest going missing

Paul and Claire

Dieppe Dash 2012

Sailing

  We had a full ship with the 4 of us joined by Simon and Clare. Clare nobley took the top bunk. Although as it turned out, in a very rolly Dieppe on our second night, that was the best place to be! We were somewhere between being a bit late to very late to get started as we had to firstly wait for enough depth of water to move plus we had some broken battens in the main to replace. In Force 2/3 we mainly drifted East and eventually had to motor for three hours before a north westerly

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