Change of plan - sailing to Ireland!

Okay so it's July the 29th which means we've been at sea for 24 days and we've covered around 3,700 miles since we left Florida on the 5th of July and we're currently around 400 miles west of Ireland so we are closing in on the UK and Ireland and this is just a really short video to tell you guys sort of what the plan is as we come in and make landfall. My original plan was to sail straight into Falmouth in Cornwall but the new plan is actually to stop in Ireland along the way and actually to make our landfall at Farsnet Rock, Farsnet Lighthouse and come into Baltimore, the closest harbour to the Farsnet. That's just because I think it'd be really cool to see the Farsnet Rock and Lighthouse and there's some really interesting history around the Farsnet Race in Baltimore Harbour and some old friends of mine there and a really cool little boatyard and some nice stuff to see so we're just going to pop in there and then also I think it would be cool to sail from there to the English Channel to Falmouth and that'll be part of the route of the Farsnet at the return leg so it'll be good to get that experience. It will also be roughly this time of year next year when we'll hopefully be doing that in the actual race. So that's the That means we'll be coming into Baltimore with any luck on Friday in a couple of days on the 31st of July or maybe the following day and then hopefully sailing into Falmouth next week sometime maybe 4th or 5th of August, not sure exactly yet. I know some people are interested in coming down to meet us. I'm not sure quite yet how practical that'll be but if there is a chance to do that and to meet us I will be posting about that on my social media so just keep an eye on that. Feels crazy to be approaching the UK and Ireland on this boat. It's been such a long time coming, it's such a milestone for me and for the boat. This boat has not been this far east since the 1960s. So yeah big homecoming and really fascinating and interesting to feel the change in climate and weather as we cross the North Atlantic and to really get a sense of the distance. It's so easy to fly across an ocean in a few hours but when you're traveling across it at more or less walking speed or a lot faster you really appreciate how big it is. So yeah it's been over three weeks at sea, we've had all sorts of different conditions but the boat and the crew have handled everything really well. I've been really pleased with this trip, it's been a really great trip. I almost don't want it to end really in the rhythm of it now. We've been eating well, we've got lots of food, we've had a few minor technical challenges but really nothing much. A couple of systems things had to be fixed, the electric cooker stopped working. I was able to take it apart and fix it, it was just a bad electrical connection which melted some wires and made some smoke but was more dramatic than serious. Had a cooling fan on one of the watermaker pumps fail but we've got a backup and we were able to manage quite well. I think I mentioned we replaced the halyard, we're constantly finding chafe of course as on any traditional rig but yeah really pleased with how everything has held up and how the boat's handled it. A little autopilot has just never missed a beat, quite amazing that that thing can steer this boat so consistently. Of course we have backups but we haven't needed to use them yet, touch wood. So yeah that's it, I'll be posting more from Baltimore and more from our journey into Falmouth next week but yeah throughout this trip I've also just felt very grateful and honoured that I'm able to do this on this boat. That's all thanks to people watching these videos and contributing and supporting the rebuild of this boat, the operation, the maintenance and the making of these videos so I'm just very grateful that I can do this and I hope to continue the adventure and I've got some really exciting plans actually lined up for the rest of the year so I will be coming soon as well but for now thanks a lot for watching, thanks so much to everyone who has contributed, donated or otherwise supported this channel, really really really appreciate it and I'll see you guys soon, cheers.