Month: April 2020

For those wondering how far we had actually got in our planning and preparation for 2 years away sailing…

More like: In the Bleak Mid-Winter -19,

In the bleak mid-winter
COVID made us moan,
Earth stood devoid of travel,
Planes like a stone;
Germs had fallen, germs on germs,
Germs on Germs,
In the bleak mid-winter
(Not so) long ago.

The germs, Earth cannot stop them
Nor our World contain,
Kings & Queens shall flee away
When COVID comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A hospital place was rare,
In the bleak mid-winter
Not so long ago.

Enough for COVID, who other bugs
Worship night and day,
A nasty cough and sneeze
sends the bugs away.
Enough for COVID, who other bugs
Adoration yearn,
The flu, the cold and SARs
Can only watch and learn.

Professors and the learned
May have gathered here
What have they achieved
Except to spread some fear.
But only some were able
To brighten up this war
All hail the total hero
Captain Colonel Tom Moore

What are we to do about it
Simple on these lands?
If I were a clever man
I would wash my hands.
If I were a kind man,
I would help some others
But what I can I will do
Wear my face covers.

We were so near and yet so far. The Valent project plan was well on track and I was due to fly out on Tue 17th Mar for the relaunch. Phil and the guys had done a great job and completed all of the work on the underwater sections by the close of play on Mon 16th. Sea trials and snagging were lined up for 21/22 Mar – and the weather forecast was glorious. Just one unpredicted pandemic, the viral mugger – and the big lock down started on the night of the 16th with the closure of Spain, followed, as you know, shortly afterwards by the UK.

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As you can see above, the underneath was looking good. The sails had been laundered, repaired and ready to put back on. The construction of the new bimini was underway and the solar panels were purchased. Even the replacement kicker had been fitted.

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Then came the lockdown and everything shuddered to a halt. To the best of my knowledge Valent was shut up and the boatyard secured. Hopefully at some point soon the guys in Spain will be able to return to work and some progress will be made. But I see no prospect of us being able to visit Valent or indeed use her in the foreseeable future. Until some form of freedom of movement is permitted between the UK, Spain and France we will not be visiting or progressing the refit of Valent.

With that in mind I cannot see any prospect of the Collins family being in a position to depart on a trans-Atlantic voyage in 2020. Even if we could get to the boat in 6 months time she would not be ready, we would not be prepared and certainly not safe to go and sail in an ocean 1000 miles away from any land based assistance. At the moment we have put our dream on hold and are working on the premise of a 12 month postponement. Fingers crossed that within 12 months we will be able to travel between France and Spain again.

So here’s to Aug 2021 and hopefully a more stable global situation.