2007 planning

This morning I received five Imray charts in the post from an Amazon seller - and a few days ago we got the pilot book for the Costas del Sol and Blanca. It's time to start some serious planning for 2007.

The problem is going to be time - with the boys at school, someone has to be here to look after them. In the school holidays, flight costs and marina prices go through the roof. But I just can't get my head around Sam sailing Kalessin without me and with someone else, or me without Sam for that matter. One way or another we hope to reach at least to the Balearics and perhaps as far as Malta.

Anyway Ben, Sam and I hope to spend at least a week out in Lagos in February to catch up with the various things which need to be done. (Guy is going skiing with his girlfriend). We'll also take some time to instruct each other on what is currently one-person territory - I'll be leading Sam through the mysteries of the chart plotter, radar and Navtex, while he teaches me all about the engine, electrics, bilge pumps, Lavac pump and goodness knows what else. Ooo-er.

We already have a box of crucial items to go out to Portugal - not just headlining and glue, but also vital domestic items such as Tesco microfibre cloths, Maldon Salt, a spare gasket for the pressure cooker and cheap silicone rubber eggcups.

Meanwhile we're worrying about anchors. There has been a huge anchor test in Yachting Monthly in which our lightweight Fortress has done superbly well but the bog-standard CQR, which we carry as our main anchor, has done very badly. We bought a slightly bigger Delta as a spare and I think we need to try and swap them over - naturally the Delta doesn't fit properly at the moment, so we may need to unbolt stuff from the foredeck. Alternatively perhaps we should buy a new Rocna anchor, which came out among the best - the only problem is that you have to wire the money to New Zealand, where they're made, and they post it to you...