Hi,
Yockman here from Tasmania, small island state below the Australian mainland.
I've always wanted to do a sailing trip and thought one day I might be offered a trip to
Sydney or perhaps if I was really lucky, all the way to
new Zealand. A mate of 25 years has bought a yacht in
Italy which he has been sailing there for the last few months. He's leaving
Gibraltar soon to cross the Atlantic. This is where I get lucky.
He has asked me to join him in the Carribbean for a few months, to take the
boat through
Panama to
Galapagos to
Tahiti. I'll get off there and fly home.
The plan is to meet around
Christmas on
Martinique, and to be in
Tahiti by late March. It's not really a problem if we only get to the
Marquesas.
I have very little sailing experience but have spent 25 years in tough southern waters tuna
fishing, so i understand rough, cold and wet. No experience in extended times at sea, no experience of tropical conditions apart from a bit of time in Darwin, about 11S.
The
boat is a 43' aluminium job, which came up A1 on the
survey.
I plan to fly to
Miami, have a look round for a few days, then catch a flight to
Martinique.
I guess I'll have a lot of questions in the coming weeks, about everything - what to take (and not), how to prepare, what to do before departing, etc, etc.
I look forward to hearing from you, and who knows, we might meet up somewhere along the way.
Cheers,
Yockman