Our Itinerary

We expect to pick up the boat at Port Hamble on Friday 31^st August. We will spend two weeks fitting and testing essential equipment. We then plan to sail down to Falmouth we will wait for a good weather window before heading across the Bay of Biscay to La Coruna. Biscay has a fearsome reputation and we are anxious to make the crossing before the October gales start sweeping in from across the Atlantic.

Once across Biscay we will be able to relax a little as we head South into sunnier climes. We plan to potter down the Portuguese coast before heading for Gibraltar in November. From Gibraltar, we head for The Canary Islands, aiming to get there in late November, in time for the final provisioning before the crossing. We expect the crossing to Barbados to take approximately three weeks and we aim to arrive shortly before Christmas. We will spend about five months, island hopping in the Caribbean, before either heading back across the Atlantic or to the USA.

The Boat

The Boat we decided on..... We are buying a brand new Lagoon 420 catamaran and will be naming her Octopus. (Octo –because we are a family of eight and pus- because it is a cat) We chose a catamaran because they are large, stable, comfortable, fast and almost unsinkable. We chose the Lagoon 420, because it has the largest accommodation in its class and was offered at a very good price. The 420 is a brand new model and we bought her based on the spec, without having seen anything more than computer generated graphics of what she would look like. We finally got to see a 420 at Easter and are very pleased with our choice. She also has electric engines which generate electricity while sailing. For the last few months we have been busy obtaining everything we think we will need and necessary equipment for our trip. We are going to have a hectic time installing all the equipment before our departure, especially as the boat is arriving two months later than we were originally promised.

What Boat?

Chris and I came home and both wanted to get afloat again and soon. First things first, what boat would be big enough for a family of eight plus the odd crew (family and friends) who would no doubt want to join us at some point. It had to be a catamaran, at least forty foot in length and if we were going to spend that much money on a yacht we would want to sail towards somewhere hot and for a good length of time. We would plan to sail her when we finished our trip, hopefully recouping a good amount of the money we spent on buying her. Most of our friends seemed very positive about our ideas; some people think we are mad to be thinking about going anywhere with so many children, let alone in a yacht!

Crinan and Gigha

Last year we went on a camping trip with friends at Tayvallich on Loch Sween and decide to take a look at Crinan on our way home. Seeing all the yachts making their way in and out of Crinan to the Sound of Jura made us have a deep down feeling of emptiness and longing. We had forgotten how much we had enjoyed being at sea. Although we had done a little sailing in the last twelve years, our family and home had taken up lots of our time. We had made a falling down house a home and had six fantastic children but it felt like time to do something new. When looking around Crinan we were surprised to see ‘Gigha’ who was Chris's Dad’s old boat. He was delighted to see her after so many years and it brought back all his memoirs of past trips in her.

Sailing into the Sunset

Have you ever wanted to sail away into the sunset? Have you thought of selling up and setting sail or just taking a year off and getting away from it all in some beautiful blue waters? This is where our adventure beings. Chris and I, and our six young children started planning to set sail last year and have our long talked about blue water adventure. At one time we thought we would wait until the children had grown up and left home, but I don’t think the ‘right’ time will ever come so we decided to raise the funds and go for it now. This is where all the preparations begin!