A jaunt to Eday

Despite spending all hours on the boat recently, we hadn't left our mooring for what seemed like an eternity and waking up to some nice weather we couldn't resist giving the engine another blast. We set sail from our mooring around 8.45am and headed south towards Eday.

Getting the engine up to speed we got some added practice with the trim tabs
All running smoothly we decided to take the scenic route between Eday and the Calf of Eday, finding a visitors mooring we tied up and took the tender ashore in a hunt for breakfast.

Discovering the most vitally important rule so far - no matter how comfortable and dry your rubber boots feel aboard, don't presume they will still feel as comfortable after walking a few miles on tarmac! 

Limping back we took the tender and motored to the beach close to a lighthouse. Sitting enjoying our breakfast in the sun whilst looking across the water at the Calf of Eday we made the decision to cross the Calf Sound and say hello to the sheep.


Climbing back aboard Quickstep sun burnt and with blisters on our feet but happy sailors!

Although we had a lot of fun exploring today we also were very pleased with the main engines performance and helped build familiarity and confidence in the boat. Now though we settle in to an evening of more mundane tasks...

Daniel E in 15 questions

Daniel E long awaited answers!

Name: Daniel Elves
1. Why are you taking part in this trip? Lifes too short to miss out on any opportunity
2. Something surprising about yourself? I only have one ball!
3. If you could change one thing about yourself it would be? I'm happy how I am, if i changed anything I wouldn't be me!
4. Something you really appreciate in life? My health and friendships
5. What do you like to do in your spare time? Renovating a 1904 lifeboat to travel on with friends and family
6. If you could live anywhere, where would you choose? Somewhere beautiful with few people, which gets harder to find each year
7. 3 things to do in your lifetime? Live to an old age with my wife, travel on my boat with my wife and kids, and I'd love to dive in a submarine to see the Titanic
8. Something you have always wanted to try? Flying a spitfire!!
9. Someone that you admire? Anyone who is honest in their life, again a bit of a rarity nowadays.
10. Favourite musician? Kylie Minogue
11. What annoys you most in others? The green eye, jealousy an envy aren't nice traits!
12. First memorable boating experience? Helming my dads boat when I was 4 years old off Naze near Harwich
13. Superstitious? Would you set sail on Friday the 13th? Not superstitious but I do have respect!
14. 3 things you would take to a desert island? 60ft Oyster, my wife and lots of Prosecco!
15. Biggest fear? Dying young and leaving my wife behind.

Filmed on the LIC Ego

Heading ashore

Heading to land on the small tender.
Filmed on the fantastic Liquid Image Co EGO, very easy to use and great for action! Expect more soon!
Now back to the boat for continued preparations!

Please keep giving at www.justgiving.com/Papay-Arctic-Adventure
Thanks again!

A little bit about us...

Apologies for the lack of updates over the past few days. It is with a heavy heart Amanda has said goodbye to a wonderful and loving aunt, RIP to Aunty Winnie, truly one of a kind.
We are still working long hours on the boat, doing a few of those vital but smaller niggly jobs ie wiring up radios etc that seem to take forever. Also several larger but equally niggly jobs ie Windscreen wipers. The boat is definitely coming along though and becoming somewhat less of a floating workshop and more of a floating home/adventure machine! While the last days haven't involved many trips we thought we might let you know a little more about the crew. So without further ado...

Name: Daniel Wakeham
1. Why are you taking part in this trip? More than anything its the challenge, I've always loved the idea of going to Norway and going by boat is as good of way as any!
2. Something surprising about yourself? I have a really bad temper.... Some of the fiddly jobs on board can confirm this!
3. If you could change one thing about yourself it would be? Id love to be less stressed.
4. Something you really appreciate in life? My freedom
5. What do you like to do in your spare time? Hours of working on the boat?!Hah! Maybe not, exploring and messing about on boats
6. If you could live anywhere, where would you choose? Holm of Papay!
7. 3 things to do in your lifetime? Travel, be happy and make it to Norway and back with Quickstep!
8. Something you have always wanted to try? Hang gliding.
9. Someone that you admire? Anyone who follows their dreams...
10. Favourite musician? Amy Winehouse
11. What annoys you most in others? Pessimism. (maybe it annoys me in myself!)
12. First memorable boating experience? Sailing with my dad.
13. Superstitious? Would you set sail on Friday the 13th? I probably would set sail....
14. 3 things you would take to a desert island? Quickstep, lots of fuel and a bottle of Fireball!
15. Biggest fear? Being alone

Name: Amanda Hourston
1. Why are you taking part in this trip? Something a bit different, you have to challenge yourself in life!
2. Something surprising about yourself? I think I can put up with a month on a 7.5m Rib!
3. If you could change one thing about yourself it would be? Id be happier with more confidence and would make me a lot less nervous and awkward!
4. Something you really appreciate in life? My friends and family
5. What do you like to do in your spare time? Spend time with friends over a few glasses, or just relaxing, going for walks.
6. If you could live anywhere, where would you choose? Somewhere quiet but beautiful, Papay fits this well!
7. 3 things to do in your lifetime? Be happy, spend more time appreciating the gift of life and explore the world.
8. Something you have always wanted to try? Would love to fly a plane.
9. Someone that you admire? Many people, anyone who can be themselves despite peer pressures.
10. Favourite musician? At the moment I'm really liking the Avett Brothers and Counting Crows.
11. What annoys you most in others? Snobbery, and looking down at people.
12. First memorable boating experience? Sailing on the Swan to Fair Isle as part of a school trip.
13. Superstitious? Would you set sail on Friday the 13th? Sure, I'm not superstitious
14. 3 things you would take to a desert island? Group of friends, a barbecue and some instruments!
15. Biggest fear? Growing old with regrets.

Daniel Elves is still working on his! Also, on a side note, Daniel has found some very pretty Duck tape for the boat!

Sea trials

After a few days of frustratingly poor weather we finally got the flat calm we had been hoping for, unfortunately this arrived at 2am on the summer solstice and despite the promise of daylight approaching we decided to give in to sleep and hope the weather would stay in our favour. 

Waking up to a similar calmness we decided to take the plunge and donning our Crewsaver Ergofit 290N lifejackets we cast off from the mooring. We took the opportunity to try the outboard out yesterday, to run it in as well as trying to see if it was suitable for what we had planned for it. We took the boat down to Eday and back by outboard bringing its total running time up to 7 hours. On the whole it seemed to perform well and really helped our confidence in it as a viable auxiliary engine.

Which meant we needed to trial the Volvo Penta inboard and a trip to Fair Isle seemed as good of time as any. Fair Isle lies about 40nm  to the North East of Papay most of which is open sea. Although exceptionally lucky with the weather we were given a more realistic indication of what we might experience when heading for Norway with several rougher patches on the way. (not that the picture suggests anything but mirror calm!)

We took time at Fair Isle to practice approaching landings which we were unfamiliar with which will help us massively in the future. 6 hours after departing we returned to the mooring just as the weather appeared to be taking a turn for the worse. 

Great to spend some time getting familiar with the feel of the boat in circumstances similar to that of a crossing to Norway, although the chances of getting relatively smooth seas for 400miles is less likely! 

Good News....

After an uncomfortable wait Daniel E finally got his results and has the all clear. We are all very happy for him and know this has been a huge weight off his shoulders. With around two weeks until Daniel E's arrival in Papay he can now really look forward to the adventure without the same worry involved.

The other good news is...at long last... we have launched and are safely at our mooring (thanks to Douglas and Nathan for help with that). We will keep you updated daily about what we have been up to, but for now were off to the boat!

... and the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray...

The boat is still firmly in the barn, however the mooring is now only a matter of meters from the sea! Despite thinking we were nearing launching day over a week ago we have been delayed by leaking shaft seals on the stern drive. Craigie Engineering to the rescue! One of our problems was we didnt know which model as the identification plate is long since gone, but with a lot of patience and research from Craigie Engineering this has now been sussed and parts ordered. With this forced barn time we have been doing further work on the engine. Huge thanks to Mitchell Powersystems who have guided us from afar through numerous emails and lots of wiring diagrams!

  So our new launch date? Very soon! 

Again we are very much indebted to both Craigie Engineering and Mitchell Powersystems, we would have been lost without their help and support over the last weeks... Thank you!

Preparing for the launch

With launch day now well and truly in sight we have taken a few moments to look back over the 8 months of Quicksteps time on Papay. 

Arriving on the island after her journey from Littlehampton Marina, Quickstep had spent the past few years enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle, and we knew that to prepare her for the adventure ahead we would have
significant work to do. Quickstep was soon tucked away in Daniel Ws barn, despite the extensive work planned on her the reality of employment and life meant she remained practically untouched for the first few months. It was January before there was much sign of progress, when following on from designs by Roger (Daniel W's father), Daniel W and Paul the wheelhouse began to take shape. 

Since then the wheelhouse has been completed, fuel tanks have been removed and replaced, an auxiliary engine fitted, complete rewire, new fuel pipes, repaint including anti-fouling, re-decking, replacing propellers, addition of chartplotters, gauges, radio, radar and an endless list of smaller jobs. Perhaps one of the more complicated smaller jobs was a major servicing on the engine where a special thanks to David cannot be overlooked.

Our plan for this week includes laying a mooring and launching! Unfortunately launching doesn't mean we will have a few peaceful weeks before heading to Norway, instead we will be busy with sea trials and performance tests as well as loading the boat.

Daniel E is booked to arrive on Papay on 2nd July mid afternoon and this will be when our weather watch begins in earnest. As soon as the weather allows we will head off on our adventure. Keep an eye on our blog and twitter for more updates and images. 

Also please take a minute to sponsor us at http://www.justgiving.com/Papay-Arctic-Adventure and help us raise money for Woolverstone Wish.