Philippe has been sailing for 8 years on his RM1060. Ready to make his dream of a long cruise come true, he first had his boat prepared in Marseille by an experienced sailor: Sébastien Audigane. This sailor is known in ocean racing, notably for having been the co-skipper of the boat La Fabrique with Alan Roura during the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2019.
Philippe made a first step to bring the boat to Tenerife in August 2020 accompanied by his wife. He went back to work in Belgium, then followed a World Sailing course (sea survival course) in October 2020. Back in Tenerife on November 7, 2020, accompanied by his son and two friends, they made the final checks before leaving for a major leg of the journey: the Atlantic crossing from El Hierro Island (Canary Islands) to Barbados (West Indies).
What were the last steps you had to take before you left?
Day 1: After 3 weeks of being blocked at customs, we were able to get our new sails back the day we arrived. We didn't have time to change them in Marseille. So we checked the mast, adjusted the shrouds, rigged the new sails.
Day 2: I had planned to take the boat out. During the Marseille - Tenerife crossing, I had a problem with the protection of my sail drive. The rubber that protects it had come off. I tried to repair it underwater, but it didn't hold. So we also took advantage of the fact that the boat was out to clean the hull.
Day 3: We lowered the forestay and had to shorten it because of the new sails. We also checked the life jackets, bought a 9-volt battery for our IOR boom. We did some tests with our Iridium. We had to make one last connection between the AIS and the Octopus Software (the cruising version of the Adrena racing software).
Day 4: We took care of the bunkering. For the crossing, I did my routing with the Octopus software. It told us that in 15/16 days, we had to reach Barbados. But we planned a little more time for food: 24 days for 4 people. I didn't manage the food, I hope we'll be able to fish during the crossing, otherwise it will be canned or pasta every day!
Day 5: We wanted to test the sails. Instead of going around in the water, we decided to make a first 12-hour crossing between Tenerife and El Hierro Island. We took out all the sails and the good news is that everything was working perfectly.
Day 6: Last step before casting off, we filled up with water and diesel.
They left in the early afternoon of Friday 13th November after a complete check-up of the boat. Apparently, they are not superstitious, we wish them good luck on this departure day during the crossing!
