Summary

Early in 2008 I bought a little, old wooden Folkboat called Valmik. I was going to spend a few months on repairs and begin sailing her around Europe, with Australia being the final destination. As my knowledge of boats improved, so did the thoroughness of the restoration. I decided to become very involved in every aspect of construction, doing almost all of the work myself: making my own sails, doing the fit out and all woodwork, splicing my own rig and wiring in the 12 volt electric circuit. Self-reliance, I suppose, is the goal. Follow the link to my photo albums for a detailed documentation of the work and some videos.

For a long time now, I have been striving to achieve my goals and begin an adventure. I had planned to complete a circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland in the summer of 2015 with my wife. Unfortunately, this will not be possible and I went back to work. Valmik is ready to sail, however, and I am finally in a position to start enjoying her for what she was designed for. Of course there is a never ending list of modifications and enhancements with a small section for repairs. I will be sailing as much as possible and documenting my adventures on this blog.

My plan is to build up to a epic solo sailing Adventure.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Ready for some sailing

 I have been working like mad trying to get my boat Valmik ready for the Swale barge match on the 11th August. It is a race between the old working Thames barges and very traditional craft. There is a class for classic Bermudians which I will be entering in. It will be Valmik's longest sail since I have owned her, 4years, and she was out of the water for about 4 years before I bought her! So it is a pretty exciting step for us both!-)  She will be sailing with boats much much older and of the similar era. This is a massive step forward



I have completed my 12volt electrical system which consists of,
.125aph sealed lead acid battery, strapped down tight in a battery box with a battery monitor connected,
.wind generator with battery regulator,
.masthead nav  and anchor lights,
vhf, log and depth sounder,
.2 powerful electric bilge pumps as a precaution!
. cabin lights


I have managed to get this all finished in time for the Swale barge match. But that is just the warm up!! I will be attending the folkboat regatta down in the Solent. It will be a week of racing against other Folkboats. I also about 2 months ago, wrote a lovely little article about Valmiks restoration in the annual Folkboat magazine.  I do not expect to win any of these races or to get even close. As Valmik is heavily reinforced and weighed down with all of my tools(boat building,sailing making, rigging) and lots of equipment for cruising. It will be a good test to see how she goes against other Folkboats. I will also get the opportunity to get on other boats and check them out, get ideas and lots of advice!

I have two weeks to sail down the English coast to the isl of wight from the Swale. I have crew for all of this so no single handing I think! I plan to port hop and make the most of the tides and hope for good weather. I don't think I shall get a chance to post again until mid September. As after the Folkboat regatta I will be close to broke and looking for work down in the solent area!   Well that's enough for me as I will be leaving conyer creek with the tide this afternoon, and I need to tidy my nav table.    later
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