Thursday 19 December 2013





Preparations for the World ARC circumnavigation.    Jan 11 2014 – April 2015


It’s been quite a while since I last posted here. Had a good season in the carib and a long summer. We have been completing the preparations for the World ARC. Quite a bit to do, it turns out. I have been asked what is involved with getting ready for the circumnavigation so allow me to respond. At length. Sorry. Grab a bevy.

New Parasailor
New Genaker (Code Zero)
New main sail
New electric main winch
Spares Spares Spares
New water maker. 50 gal/hr capacity
New house bank batteries. 800 A. Gels
A/C pump replaced
3 new IOTA battery chargers. 2 24V, 1 12V
Safety lines replaced
Osmotic blisters repairs
Bottom paint
Tri-Color LED masthead anchor light
All 3 engines gone over
Topping lift, Main halyard, furling lines replaced
Radar reflector installed
Jib wheels installed
Knot Log repaired
Fuel bladder fill line replaced
Update flare set
Life raft repacked
Dingy steering cable replaced
Dingy bottom interior epoxied
Replaced Isinglass in Bimini
Sail bag overhauled
SSB checked out
New starter batteries
Port side diaphragm grey water pump
Delorme Aux GPS and email system
60 lbs of paper charts for entire trip
CMAX chips for same
Fuel polishing system on board
Furuno weather fax
Immunizations and meds for the trip
Personal AIS transmitter for MOB
And a Partridge in a pear tree


That’s what I remember. From my notes anyway. So how exciting was that? Kept me busy for the better part of the last year and a half.  As of today its 23 days till go time!!


The Route

The Itinerary

Month
Details
Miles
January

Saint Lucia to San Blas, Panama
1100 NM
Transit Panama Canal

February
Cruise Panama

 Las Perlas to Galapagos
 850 NM
 Cruise Galapagos

 March
 Galapagos to Hiva Oa, Marquesas
 2980 NM
 Cruise French Polynesia

 April
 Tahiti rendezvous

 Cruise Society Islands

 May
 Bora Bora to Suwarrow
 690 NM
 Suwarrow to Niue
 540 NM
 Niue to Vava'u, Tonga
230 NM 
 June
 Cruise Tonga and Fiji

 July
 Fiji to Tanna, Vanuatu
450 NM 
 Cruise Vanuatu

 Port Vila, Vanuatu to Mackay, Australia
1150 NM 
 August
 Cruise the Great Barrier Reef

 Thursday Island to Darwin
830 NM 


Route: Second Half from Australia


Month
Details
Miles
September 
Darwin to Bali, Indonesia
990 NM

Bali to Cocos (Keeling)
1100 NM
October
Cocos to Mauritius
2350 NM

Mauritius to Reunion
130 NM
November
Reunion to Richards Bay, South Africa
1370 NM

Cruise South Africa

January
Cape Town to St Helena 
 1700 NM

St Helena to Salvador, Brazil 
 1900 NM
February
Cruise Brazil 

March
(TBC) Brazil to St George's, Grenada 
 1700 NM

Cruise Windward Islands

April 
Final prize giving in Saint Lucia 

1 comment:

  1. Very impressed Caotain Mike. We will be following you all the way. How's your ability to calculate VMG coming along?

    ReplyDelete