As usual, the best laid plans have had to be flexible. Challenges have ranged from A Day at the Races having to pull out of the cruise because of mast damage, to several changes of plan in the face of rather un-June-like weather forecasts.

 

 

Of course, the Little Ship Club skippers have responded with their ususal resourcefulness. From the ADATR crew, Barrie Martin has been offered a berth on Mary Lunn, and Julie Coleclough will be sailing on Lazy Life. One upside for Julie is that she can worry a bit less about the weight of her kit. Where ADATR keeps an eye on the weight to stay competitive, Lazy Life, starting from a displacement of 14,200 Kg can afford to take a more relaxed view.

 

There's a wide range of yachts on the cruise - the smallest, Martyn Graham's Sadler 32 Willow displaces a mere 4320 Kg, less than a third of Lazy Life. Next up the displacement rank is Mary Lunn with 5800, then a group all around the 7100 to 7500 Kg range with Keith Irons' Silver Tide, Julian and Diana Hansen's Southerly 32 Roshanak, and Aeolus the Halberg Rassy 36 that Michale Forbes Smith has chartered.

The original plan was to go out via Dartmouth, then across to l'Aberwrac'h, but the forecasts seem to keep on predicting westerlies for Saturday, so maybe Cherbourg and the Channel Islands may turn out to be a better route. Plenty of waiting and watching the forecasts as the weekend approaches.

We're hoping for good reports back from the fleet as they go, via word of mouth, blogs uploaded when Wi-Fi presents itself, and tweets via mobile phone when there's a signal and the skipper isn't too busy sailing. Watch this space!