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ClimateNE & Climate Change Schools Project support the move to a low-carbon, resilient economy and help businesses avoid risk and realise commercial opportunities. Posts by Jen Atkinson, Krista McKinzey and Harriet Thew » The clock has been ticking steadily down, the preparations on the boat have been coming along, and the handover period at work has been hectic! However, we are now only 2 days away from casting off our lines and sailing over the horizon (well, the Irish Sea initially!).
Its a very strange feeling to be leaving so much behind and stepping outside the comfort zone of your job and the known elements of your day. Sailing, especially ocean sailing, has so many unknowns, the day can start out a gentle sail on a calm sea and end in stormy weather with a failing engine or faulty water pump (just the thought is scaring me!). However, true to form I have been busy preparing both myself and the boat to mitigate against such risks for a long time now and feel as confident as I can be that we will be able to handle things.
In the midst of the many goodbyes we've been saying for the last couple of weeks, and I'm sure more to come in the next couple of days, I've had lots of advice from "watch out for whales" and "try not to sink" to more purposeful and useful; "look after the boat and the boat will look after you", "20 years from now you will regret more the things you did not do than the things you did", "keep a weather eye", "try to be prepared for what you least expect". All humbling and thought provoking (although how I achieve the last one I'm still not sure!).
I suppose the next update will come from the boat.
Jonny
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