Let’s begin by introducing the boat and captain and crew of s/y Karma Daze: the boat, a bermuda sloop, is an Elan Impression 434. She is 4 years old, was built in Slovenia, is 13.4m long, 4.1m wide, her keel is 1.9m deep. She has 3 double berths, 2 heads, 2 showers, plus a deck shower, a galley with cooker, fridge and freezer.
The crew are somewhat older, and range in age from 63 to 68, with an average age of 66. Chris, the captain, and Penny, his wife, have been sailing for about 26 years, firstly on dinghies and then on big boats. John, crew, has already sailed the atlantic both ways, but in a much bigger square rigger. He is our sextant expert, so can tell us where we are if all our GPS’ fail. Richard, our fourth crew member, provides the muscle (and brain! – Rich).
Richard’s bit:
Being a long term non-boat owner sailor i.e. “yes please I’ll be very happy to come on your boat and help wear it out with you” Penny and Chris were ripe for my attentions and and the trip from Monte Negro to Corfu (avoiding Albania) a few years back showed me that the Elan is a “well fit boat”. Despite (or maybe because of that) I found my way onto the short list for the 2012 ARC. The shake down trip; for crew AND boat, from Gibraltar to Lanzerote in September found some useful faults; mostly in the boat and luckily not the crew (!) All now fixed, we are sitting back(ish) watching the feverish activity around us in the last few days before the off on Sunday.