Tabitha’s Tales

It is a well known fact that you just can’t get a decent cup of tea in America, or come to that, Canada, the Bahamas or Cuba.

That is why we shall be taking 980 Typhoo bags with us. Even with so many, cups of tea will have to be rationed. There have been complaints because yesterday I have bought Typhoo and not our usual PG Tips but Budgens in Woodbridge just don’t do the favoured brand in the quantities and in the flexible packaging that we need. Anyway, I reasoned that as Typhoo is stronger we wouldn’t run out so soon.

In any case, we haven’t got room for more. In the last few days it has become all too apparent that our luggage exceeds the capacity of our transport to the airport. This is quite a serious problem. We are well under the luggage allowance for the flight but my Mother’s Renault Megan is not as big as it looks. Luckily we have guests coming out at strategic intervals of time. They will have to be pressed to serve as mules.

I am writing this on a late night bus from Ipswich. I have been up to the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London where Alex Whitworth of Berrimilla was giving a talk. I followed his online log closely. He and a friend completed the Sydney Hobart race in 2004, then sailed via Cape Horn to Falmouth, competed in the Fastnet race winning his class, and then sailed back again to complete the Sydney Hobart 2005. A truly remarkable achievement in a 30′ boat! We exchanged emails during his trip so it was great to meet him in person. His website received 111,000 hits during his trip.

My friend David worried that his epic 15 month, solo odessy might form a barrier between him and his family. To his delight, when he returned he found that through his daily emails his family felt they had shared fully in the experience.

Four weeks today we will be on our way. I don’t know whether to panic or celebrate. People often say ‘You must be getting excited!’ but to be honest the excitement is often eclipsed by the anxiety.

You can’t do this sort of thing without a great deal of planning. Yesterday I took the car for an MOT test - not because it is due for one - but because Sue and the girls get home from the trip two months before me and so I have to be sure that the car is ready to pass its MOT when she gets back. Happily, despite our worst fears I don’t have too much to do to get it back in shape.

Speaking of MOT’s, I am writing this, sitting in the dentist’s waiting room. He has given my teeth a full MOT and where found wanting, he has been setting them right. I should walk out of here a set of teeth ready for everything the ocean, or more likely the Caribbean beech cafe’s, can give.

We’ve also been attending to the medical kit. I spent a fascinating couple of hours aboard the boat of a Doctor friend going through every kind of medical issue we might encounter and checking we had the right medical supplies. David recentley returned from a 15,000 mile solo circuit of the South Atlantic so he knows what we are in for. David’s boat ‘Tuesday’ is a sister ship to our boat ‘Tabitha’ so it is quite a treat to go aboard.

Actually, we’ve never been healthier than when we have been long term sailing so hopefully we won’t need to use much. We ship a few prescription drugs (mainly antibiotics) but it is amazing what can be achieved with very little and most of the time we will be within reach of medical assistance if needed.

One of the things David recommends in the medical kit is a good supply of super glue. Apart from repairs to nails and some wounds, it is good for sticking teeth back together. On his last trip, David broke a tooth hundred of miles out at sea but managed to glue it back together until he could get to his dentist back home. Of course he also had his teeth MOT’d before he left!

Four weeks today we will be on our way. I don’t know whether to panic or celebrate. People often say ‘You must be getting excited!’ but to be honest the excitement is often eclipsed by the anxiety.

You can’t do this sort of thing without a great deal of planning. Yesterday I took the car for an MOT test - not because it is due for one - but because Sue and the girls get home from the trip two months before me and so I have to be sure that the car is ready to pass its MOT in April 2007 when she gets back. Happily, despite our worst fears I don’t have too much to do to get it back in shape.

Speaking of MOT’s, I am writing this sitting in the dentist’s waiting room. He has given my teeth a full MOT and where found wanting, he has been setting them right. I should walk out of here with a set of teeth ready for anything the ocean, or more likely the Caribbean beach cafe’s, brings.

We’ve also been attending to the medical kit. I spent a fascinating couple of hours aboard the boat of a doctor friend going through every kind of medical issue we might encounter and checking we had the right medical supplies. David recently returned from a 15,000 mile solo circuit of the South Atlantic so he knows what we are in for. David’s boat ‘Tuesday’ is a sister ship to our boat ‘Tabitha’ so it is quite a treat to go aboard.

Actually, we’ve never been healthier than when we have been long term sailing so hopefully we won’t need to use much. We ship a few prescription drugs (mainly antibiotics) but it is amazing what can be achieved with very little and most of the time we will be within reach of medical assistance if needed.

One of the things David recommends in the medical kit is a good supply of super glue. Apart from repairs to nails and some wounds, it is good for sticking teeth back together. On his last trip, David broke a tooth hundred of miles out at sea but managed to glue it back together until he could get to his dentist back home. Which reminds me, he also had his teeth MOT’d before he left!

There are people who will miss us when we are away.

Perhaps is shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. It is over a month until we go but Sue has already been invited out for three ‘last suppers’ with her friends, I’ve been for one and this weekend there was a Scottish ceildh for which our departure provide the excuse.

Some might think there is something bizarre about a fish and chip supper in a village hall in deepest rural Suffolk followed by an evening of Scottish Country Dancing to a nautical theme . . . but NOT ME!

is very touching that friends think our forthcoming absence is worthy of providing the excuse for a party - or perhaps all these social engagements are exactly that - friends celebrating our departure!

One of the things I most enjoy about the cruising life is the self reliance. Sailing hundreds of miles offshore or anchored in an sheltered bay three days from the nearest civilisation your fate is in your own hands. If the electrics go down or the loo blocks up it is down to you. You are not only the electrician and the plumber, but the electricity board and the water board. You are the doctor and the weatherman, the mechanic and so they say, master under God.

For the last two weeks I’ve been learning to be a communications expert. The ham radio network is a source of invaluable information and support for cruising sailors. Offshore, radio is the only means of communication with the outside world. However, ham radio at sea is a closed shop. Only Full license holders who have passed the Foundation, the Intermediate and the Advanced exam are permitted to operate ham radio on boats at sea. The same license allows the holder to design build their own radio transmitters. Thus for the cruising sailor if you want to use the ham radio bands you have to learn how to design and build a radio transmitter and then be examined in it. Its not unlike being expected to know how to design and build a motor car in order to be allowed to drive.

Most people take a course lasting twenty weeks but Suffolk being a sleepy place there was nothing of the kind nearby. I tutored myself over a period of only two weeks and then joined the students of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge for a two hour exam. It is a 4 week wait until I hear whether or not I have passed.