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After a long lonely few weeks getting everything on Widdershins ready for the trip yesterday I was finally joined by Dr Leonie Suter (take note of the very fresh and shiny new prefix). After a series of close flight connections she arrived on a fresh Tromsø afternoon very much in need of the coats and warm clothes that were taking their own little holiday …. it seems that the luggage (full of very important and expensive equipment) had disappeared into the parallel universe that sits like a parasite at busy airports waiting to prey upon unwary suitcases. And of course they only select the most important ones! Hopefully the luggage will arrive today but there still seems some uncertainty as to where it exactly is … I hope the gnomes of that parallel world (Lostluggopia) aren’t interested in diving equipment.

Meanwhile Leonie and I are in the process of provisioning for the big trip so we are stocking up on dry-goods, powdered milk, tinned veggies and all the tucker we will need for a long leg at sea. Wheels of cheese and chocolate are the main demand from the Swiss delegate while I am still trying to work out to keep a couple of kilos of fresh steak in our tiny fridge.

Last time I painted the deck of the yacht Leonie complained that it was a rather drab and dark colour… well … aided be a shortage of selection in the paint shops of Tromsø, she no longer has grounds to complain! Spent the day painting the deck in “souvenir blue”, presumably named by someone whose entire memory of a holiday kept reverting to the blinding blue deck the boat they took for a sail on their holiday.  Well it’s not too bad I guess, and on the grey, cold, Arctic days we merely need to look down to get a dose of tropical blue to warm us.

Another strange thing about painting – or perhaps more about my particular style of painting – I never seem to manage to complete a job without getting thoroughly covered in paint. I know I could wear gloves, but the boy in me rallies and cries “what’s wrong with getting a bit dirty!”.  And since I’m still all alone here in Tromso who could possibly complain that a certain unmentionable part of my anatomy is bright blue following a short toilet break  …

Our yacht, Widdershins, is alive again. She sways gently in the breeze and dances with eager anticipation in the wake of every passing boat – as eager as I am to cast-off the lines and take to the open ocean.

The launching went without a hitch. In the water by 9:00 and the motor starting after only a small grumble at being inactive for the past six months. Having anticipated trouble, I was pleasantly surprised to slip away from the dock and make my merry way to a nearby berth for the night.
Right now there is a chilly breeze blowing across the fjord from the snowy peaks in the distance … but here in Widdershins the diesel heater is churning out a comfortable warmth, and the gently rocking oil lamp is casting everything in flickering amber tones. I finally feel like we are on our way! It really doesn’t get better than this – a rolling deck beneath your feet and an endless horizon ahead.

Well they say time and tide wait for no man … but when it comes to boating endeavours in the Arctic port of Tromsø there is a lot of waiting to be done by the mariner himself! There was only one window to launch today due to the tide (early in the morning), however at that time there were a series of quite severe snow flurries blowing through – after consideration the guys at the slip here decided to postpone the launch until tomorrow morning at 8:00.
So rather than reacquainting myself with being on the water today was spent tinkering with electric circuitry as I put together the HF radio system that will keep us in touch with the rest of the world while on the high seas. By tinkering I mean trying to attach 1 mm plugs to tiny wires with solder (a material used to bind electric circuits). Given my clumsy paint encrusted fingers this is no mean task, but perseverance got me there in the end … with a few curses delivered to the heavens on the way.

So it seems I will have terra firma beneath me for yet another night and I’m presently suspended by a crane by the water’s edge just waiting to get the hull wet in the morning  … just goes to show nothing goes to plan!

Not much time to write last night as today we get dropped into the water! So right now I’m tying up all the loose ends and saying goodbye to land for the next two years. Tying up loose ends means painting, servicing the  engine, stowing away all loose gear and just generally tidying up to make the transition from land to water. That being said … I had better get back to it … I’ll write more once more when we are safely back in our element!

Well with all the preparations in full swing for the trip we are running almost to schedule albeit a few day late. However, it seems the Arctic was not content to wait for us. Right now there is a heavy snow falling around the yacht and I am hiding out inside with the diesel burner on full blast rising out the weather. Today I was supposed to be painting, and with only one full day to go before we launch it is getting critical that another layer of paint is applied to the hull and the antifouling paint is applied to the bottom – this latter is important as without it we will carrying more than just two in the blue on the boat …. Beneath us we would be dragging marine organisms all around the globe where they may end up being major pests and ecological nightmares. So it looks like come rain, hail, snow or sun I’ll be out lathering the hull in paint. Then it’s just a matter of slipping into the water and sailing away!

Somewhere along this epic voyage we have a plan to tie the knot – I’m picturing us exchanging vows under the shade of a coconut palm while gentle waves lap upon a sandy beach in the Caribbean. The alternative of performing our nuptials on a barren icy shore with the spectators carrying large calibre rifles in case a polar bear decides to join in the festivities just doesn’t have the same ring to it… That being said, I reckon it’s pretty important that one of us doesn’t fall overboard sometime between now and the happy day! Now I’m sure there will be times when Leonie will feel like pushing me overboard, but the aim is to definitely arrive with the two in the blue intact.

The problem is that during our long ocean passages we will be sailing 24hrs a day sometimes for several days at a time … If you do the maths then that means that one of us has to be asleep below while the other fights the elements, or hopefully simply fights off the fatigue of a long watch at sea. But what if the person at the helm falls overboard? The thought of Leonie flailing in our wake while Widdershins happily sails on and while I slumber on unawares is not a notion that will be conducive for a good night sleep (in the case around four hours).

The solution to the dilemma takes the form of our newly installed man (or woman) overboard alert system – the Raymarine Life Tag. It works like this – whenever behind the helm you very own intrepid explorer will be wearing a small beacon strapped to his/her wrist. Wether drawn by the song of a siren, sick of the on-board company or simply taken unawares by a wall of green water coming over the side – once in the drink and 6 meters away their blissfully slumbering companion will be torn from peaceful repose by a blaring alarm. Provided they don’t knock themselves out when sitting bolt upright in the tight berth, they are then free to take charge and return for their sodden soul mate.

Of course we will also be attached to the deck by a harness at all times, but I don’t plan to make it easy for my bride-to-be to escape!