Planning continues for the Summer

So, its the 2nd February and our idea of two years ago of heading north is slowly coming together. It should be an epic adventure. The current plan is to depart from Troon in mid July this year and head north along the west coast of Scotland. We will leave the UK with a 3 day hop up to the Faeroe Islands, then 10 days across to Iceland possibly stopping at Husavik and Isafjorour on the north coast where there is an excellent fish restaurant. Finally, and subject to ice conditions we will make the 3 day passage across the notorious Denmark Straits to either Ittoqqortoormiit or Tasiilaq, two of the remotest villages in the world. We will make the decision of which to go for when we get to Iceland and can get a picture of ice conditions. It’s not quite as obvious as you might think because although Ittoqqortoormiit is further north it is not necessarily harder to get into, so best to keep our options open. The end game with respect to coming home is not quite finalised and probably won’t be until midway through the trip. The current thinking is either back to Rejkavik for the winter or if time permits we will try and make it to Scotland. I have 6 weeks off work for the trip so getting back to the UK could be a push.       Crew for the trip is largely agreed with Rob P on board for the whole adventure. Selma will be with us for the shakedown sail in Scotland, Tom Parsons from Scotland to Iceland and Ella and Chris Perkins for the leg over to Greenland and back. We should be able to find some really exciting spots for the crew-changes that make the recent record of a 6 hour train ride and then rocky ferry trip look like a walk in the park!       Planning this trip has a number of special challenges. The most novel is the need to carry a firearm for protection against polar bears but there is a long list of other, rather vital, bits n bobs. Survival suits, Satelite Phone to pick up ice charts and weather en route, pilotage where charts either don’t exist or are of very limited use, learning about navigating in ice ... the list goes on. Thank goodness I got ahead and bought my new, Guy Cotton, non-breathable oilskins last year.       It is all very exciting and provides an extraordinary opportunity to make essential improvements to the good ship to make her ‘adventure ready’.     We have just been up to Troon to check that the good ship is OK and check on a few pieces of work that the excellent WCMS have been doing which include a new prop, two new winches and a new cutlass bearing. A new sprayhood has been made but I’m worried now that the new bright blue may reveal that the mainsail cover is really quite faded and so must also be replaced. Whilst not the most important issue, every detail counts. Watch this space.