Getting ready to live the dream can be daunting. For anyone embarking on a bluewater adventure, especially if it is the first time they have set off for an extended period of offshore cruising, the months and weeks preceding departure can be stressful. There is a never-ending list of jobs, while you balance work and family life, and the clock seems to speed up as departure day approaches.
Having been involved with the ARC rally as an organiser for over 20 years, I know that getting boat preparation right is essential to enjoying your time away and being able to relax. To help with the blizzard of tasks and to bring some order and focus into the crucial pre-departure preparation time, it helps to break your efforts down into smaller segments. We have compiled an ARC bluewater checklist, drawn together from our collective years of experience of the rally team, and this knowledge will hopefully help give some focus to your tasks and tame the beast that is your boat jobs list.
Rule number one is ‘set a date to leave’. Nothing focuses the mind like a deadline. Having a date to leave will instantly make your adventure more real. You may not have left work yet, but this is the project you’ve contemplated for years.
Writing a date on your calendar makes it a definite plan, and by telling family and friends you’re leaving on a specific day there is less room for slippage.
Rule number two is ‘learn to love lists’. You will have them for all sorts of things, and no doubt devise your own system and method for them. By planning and segmenting these you can stay focussed and on track with your chosen timeline.
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Denne historien er fra July 2020-utgaven av Yachting World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prÞveperiode pÄ Magzter GOLD for Ä fÄ tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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5 EXPERT TIPS BOB BEGGS ON SAILING IN COLD WEATHER
As temperatures drop, Andy Rice gets tips on how to handle the cold from self-confessed Arctic weather fan and winning Clipper Round the World Race skipper Bob Beggs
SPECIAL REPORT EXTENDED CRUISING IN THE BALTIC
Sweden offers cruisers a warm welcome for winter - Janneke Kuysters has advice on how to boost your sailing time in the region
NIKKI HENDERSON
SEARCHING FOR MORE SPEED? BEFORE TINKERING WITH TINY ADJUSTMENTS, MAKE SURE YOU'VE GOT THE BASICS RIGHT THE POWER DRIVING THE BOAT
MATTHEW SHEAHAN
WHAT WILL THE BOATS OF THE 38TH AMERICA'S CUP LOOK LIKE? THAT'S THE $20 MILLION QUESTION IF BRITAIN OR NEW ZEALAND DECIDE TO DEPART FROM THE AC75
60-knot squalls hit Middle Sea Race
The 45th running of the Mediterranean offshore, the Rolex Middle Sea Race, saw a spectacularly random mix of conditions - even for a race which is famed for its variable weather patterns.
Italy win first Women's Cup
The first ever Women's America's Cup was won by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli after a single, twoboat shoot-out final on 12 October.
'Three-peat' for ETNZ
As Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand came into this year's 37th America's Cup as clear favourites. But the Kiwi camp has far more than just the structural advantage of being the ones that wrote the Protocol for the competition, and the originators of the AC75 concept.
ROOM WITH A VIEW
SWEDISH DESIGNER GABRIEL HEYMAN POURED A LIFETIME OF IDEAS INTO THIS PILOT SALOON CRUISER, WHICH INCLUDES ARGUABLY THE LARGEST COCKPIT AVAILABLE AT THIS SIZE
LIVING HISTORY
THE ICONIC SEASON-CLOSING REGATTA LES VOILES DE SAINT TROPEZ WAS AN IMMERSIVE HISTORY LESSON FOR CROSBIE LORIMER
CHANGE OF PLAN
LEAVING AUSTRALIA, MARIANNE URTH NEVER PLANNED TO MAKE LANDFALL IN THE ISLANDS OF VANUATU, BUT THE EXPERIENCE WAS MAGICAL
