So much has happened since my last post.

The major event is that I now have the boat.
 



It had its maiden voyage out to Lundy and back on Saturday and it went really well. Just over 3 hours there, a quick whip round the west coast, and 3.5 hours back. I arrived on the island desperate to "relieve"  myself only to find that the Oldenburg was due to depart and there was around 150 people milling around the landing beach. I must work on some form of covert wee technique involving smoke and mirrors...


Approaching everything seemed quiet


The offending ferry ruining my toilet regime


The paddle round was pretty special, as always.


The water quality was amazing


Back at Hartland Quay.


Lundy in the distance.


I'm starting to piece everything together now and have had to take over one of the bedrooms in the house just to accomodate the piles of stuff I seem to have amassed. There's no way it's all going in the boat, so I figure if I load the food first and work backwards from there I'll probably be ok.

Today I did my BCU Advanced Navigation and Tidal Planning course with Howard Jeffs. Turns out I know how to navigate, which is reassuring.

I'm spending the next couple of days 5 Star training with Howard and Lee Pooley. Lee is in the final stages of sorting his circumnavigation attempt http://www.aroundbritain4britain.co.uk/ so its been great being able to chat about preperation. It's also made me realise I've got a lot to sort by next Saturday!...