“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines! Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover!” Apparently not by Mark Twain and not accredited to anyone else. I shall have it then.
2024 ATLANTIC COAST OF IRELAND & A WEDDING IN BERGERAC. The plan
Slightly different this year, no big destination. When we (EIVIVA and me) sailed around the UK in 2022 we went up the Irish Sea. This was not my intention when I set out but time and wind made the decision for me. This year we will sail west along the south coast of the UK to the Scilly Isles then up it Ireland with the intention of exploring the spectacular Atlantic coast of the island. On 20th July Jules and Margaux are getting married in Bergerac so we (Carol, EIVIVA and me) will sail the boat to Bordeaux. Then slowly back to the UK along the Brittany coast. Map will be coming along once I work out how I did the Bezier curves on the last two!
2023 AZORES AND BACK. The plan
Simple. Sail to the Scilly Isles with my mate David. Then solo 1,100 nautical miles south-west across the Atlantic Ocean to the Azores archipelago. Hang around for a month or two in the Azores. Then sail to Portugal and up the French coast to home. Or possibly straight home, depending on how much I enjoyed the trip down.
Proposed route 2023
2022 ROUND UK. The Plan
After a six week delay whilst Carol hobbles around on one leg EIVIVA is being launched on 6th May. So I aim to get going the following week. The plan is to sail down the south coast to the Isles of Scilly as I have never managed to get there yet. Then on to Kinsale in Southern Ireland, up the west coast of Ireland and round to Glasgow. From Glasgow continue up north through the Hebrides to the Faroe Islands. Then across the Northern Atlantic to Shetland Islands and then cross the North Sea to Norway. Depending on time either south through the Baltic and Kiel Canal to home. Or cruise Norway for a while and head back across the North Sea to the UK East coast and back around to home.
Well it was a grand plan! In the end we didn’t get to Norway or the Baltic. I had quite a lot of work to do on the way so I ended up doing shorter hops. Then the Scottish Isles were spectacular so I stayed a while. Then the Faroe Islands were amazing and so were the Shetland Islands…….then there was not so much time left to go across the North Sea. I will save this for another year. Perhaps 2024.
The final route 2022