Atlantic 09

Sea worthiness: The boat is design into water tight compartments along the length of the boat and she also has two water tight cabins. This design is to ensure that, should any compartment get damaged, the boat will still remain sea worthy.

The boat is also designed to self right, luckily for the previous owner it worked when he was hit by a rogue wave off the coast of Ireland the boat did what it was designed to do and self righted. It probably took a couple of seconds but I am sure it felt like an eternity.

Safety and communications equipment on the boat includes two EPIRBs Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. Once they come in contact with the water they transmit a signal to a satellite approximately 24,000 miles (39,000 km) up in space. This signal includes a unique identifier that recognises that Tess is in distress and lets the coast guard whose boat is in trouble and where the beacon is. Rescuers in planes or boats can home in on the EPIRB.

I have two, one on the boat and the other a hand held that I can put on my arm should it start to get dodgy.

Another item I will bring is a lift raft, I need to get one that is light and well equipped. The life raft is the last straw, I do not intend to use it as in many cases people end up getting lost in life rafts and their boats wash up on shore several months later in a seaworthy condition. If I use it I intend to be stepping up to get into it. Also on the deck I will have a ‘grab bag’. This contains items such as flares, some food, mirrors and some light sticks.

The sea anchor is like a parachute which once deployed slows the boat and keeps the bow (the front) pointed into the waves.

This helps reduce the likelihood of the boat turning on its side and capsizing in heavy weather.

The Boat

The boat has two solar panels which charge two large (and heavy) gel filled Marine batteries. They provide me with all the power I need for my desalination unit, VHF radio and laptop and shortwave radio to keep in touch with my family and my team !

Water making.

Onboard I have a SPECTRA water maker which takes in seawater and desalinates it (removes the salt). The water maker uses a lot of power and so it’s important that I use and manage my power well.

The fresh water allows me to rehydrate after and during each session on the oars and also rehydrate my meals. If this goes I have an emergency supply of 65 gallons which I keep low down in the boat to ensure that its weight also helps the self righting of the boat.