
Hi Everyone. We set sail yesterday on AB20 - What a day ...cloudless blue skies, calm clear seas, and even a light Easterly breeze to ghost us out past the Needles on route to that wonderful first night anchorage in Studland Bay and thoughts of the West Country and beyond....
Rewind...We hope everyone is coping ok with Lockdown and that we will see some lifting and easing shortly. There seems little doubt that this is all going to take a while and that the new normal that emerges won't necessarily be the old normal.
Jan & I are in a fortunate position of being able to make the most of this period. We have a lovely home, nice garden and some great walks and cycle routes around. The family are well and safe, although some jobs are on the critical list. My sailing instructing and Jan's Wedding celebrant work have both bombed for the moment.
Undeterred Jan has set herself a target of painting a picture a day and is now up to number 53! You can see them on facebook. I have rallied the local cycle group in to action and 45 of us have just completed a virtual around the world cycle of 19,531 cumulative miles in 48 days, 15 hours and 41 minutes from Hamble to Hamble encompassing 30 countries - check out our route here at www.hamblecyclegroup.co.uk. So the good news for us is that we are keeping ourselves fit and suitably challenged. Most of our social interactions take place on Zoom ... I wish I had shares!
Kasara is locked down also. She was launched a week before we isolated, and had time for just one shake down sail. However, on our walks along the river we can keep an eye on her from a distance. It is very odd looking out over the Solent, normally one of the busiest waterways in the world, and there are just no ships of any description in sight.
It is difficult to comprehend what next week may look like, let alone next year, but as promised I have rejigged the dates for AB21. They are on the website www.sailkasara.com
I have to say the plan looks awesome. There are a few great tweaks, the first being that we set off on 30th April, rather than 8th May. Timings are dictated by the events we are still aiming to make such as the Dartmouth Music Festival, Edinburgh Festival etc. There has even been an opportunity to slip another leg of the journey in (as we are no longer breaking off for the Antigua wedding we were slipping away for). Where possible I have kept as before, but some legs have an extra day or two in the schedule - especially those where we are more remote.
I have added the new AB21 date planner to the website. There are a few new spaces for crew positions if anyone prefers to reposition or come back for more!
Please take a look and let me know if you have any issues or questions or requests. Otherwise - get the dates in the diary and let's hope that by the time AB21 comes around Kasara can deliver!
Just to reiterate, I am fully aware that peoples situations change and the ability to commit to something this far ahead is sometimes difficult. I remain totally flexible and if you have to change - just come back and let me know and we can work out a plan together.
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