TAHIRA ARC BLOG
D-Day -2 [17-Nov-23]
Location: Gran Canaria - West of Africa
Welcome to our plan. There is a lot to consider as we plan and replan and whilst we are all experienced sailors, the challenge of spending 21 days in an ocean challenges the way we think about every aspect of what we do.
- OUR ROUTE: will take us from Gran Canaria to St Lucia over 21 days +/- a week dependent on weather and currents. There is a big low building off the coast of the US that will be heading towards Europe that we will aim to avoid (too much rain and wind), and we will also hope to avoid the doldrums if we go too far south (too little wind).
- NAVIGATION: we will head south ish for the first few days and then turn right (West) once we hit the trade winds - but final waypoints will be set on a day-to-day basis.
- WEATHER: we will get our final briefing tomorrow morning - the day before we go. But we will also be picking up a daily weather overview from the US - this will allow us to make tactical decision to avoid the worst weather and to optimise our speed.
- SAFETY: the final safety briefing will also happen tomorrow, and we will cover off typical risks in a separate blog in the coming days. Chris and John will lead this briefing supported by Peter's knoweldge and experience from his adventure last year.
- POWER: we have a lot of gear on board and we need to make sure we have sufficient to start the engines and charge up all our safety and navigation equipment. We have on board two sets of batteries, a wind vane, 5 solar panels and we plan to start the engine to create power for devices like the fridges and desalination plant / water maker.
- THE LOO: otherwise known as the 'heads', this is the smallest (and smelliest) 'room' in the boat that presents unique challenges - trying to do your business when the boat is rocking from side-to-side requires a great deal of dexterity!
- SHOWERS: Who needs a shower???