08/05/08

Fitting Out…

I mentioned in my last newsletter that Canasta is to be berthed until August / September on a mid-channel pontoon mooring at Wicormarine in Fareham . Well, she’s there now and settled comfortably into her new home (quite literally on the huge spring lows!). From there, it takes just half an hour to sail out to the harbour entrance at Portsmouth beyond which lies the Solent . Wicormarine (www.wicormarine.co.uk) have promised to help source some of the items on my ‘shopping list’ at favourable rates and for that I am enormously grateful. Barden Energy Solutions (www.barden-uk.com) have agreed to support the project by providing two solar panels and all the associated battery charging hardware at cost price. Canasta is already fairly well equipped and as such, adding the solar panels will be one of the few major expenses to consider but the shopping list as growing by the day. I’ll be upgrading some of the navigation equipment by adding a Chartplotter, updating the Navtex, adding an AIS receiver, a DSC VHF and an EPIRB. Then, if there’s any money left in the budget, I’ll look into getting a satellite telephone. So, a lot of electronics but it’s all pretty standard stuff and shouldn’t take long to source or to fit. Everything up on deck is ready to go although if anything, she could do with a new mainsail. If my route takes me anywhere near China , I may have a new mainsail made there at a fraction of the UK cost but I’ll just have to see how it goes.