Algise
is the name of our boat It comes from St Algise, an Irish monk and
one of the disciples of St Fursa. He evangelised the area
around Arras and Laon in northeast France. The village of
St Algis in Picardy grew up from a small monastery founded
by the saint in the centre of the forest of Thiq'erarche.
We believed we would be setting off on our journey in early
September, how wrong were we! Without boring you with the
details these are just a few of the major issues we had
with Algise: the engine was taken out to be repaired, all
the standing rigging was replaced except the mast, then
we discovered a small leak in the hull, all the windows
had to replaced. The latter we thought we would do ourselves
to save us money but little did we know what we were letting
ourselves in for. It was a complete nightmare but we managed
to take breaks from each other in different cafes!
We
are now at the stage where we cannot believe we are heading
out into the blue ocean.
The
major change for both of us is spending every minute together
in a 36ft boat; it's very cosy but not always romantic!
It was during one of our many discussions regarding crossing
the Atlantic and how difficult it is going to be that we
thought we could do the crossing while helping others…
Tragically,
few weeks after her wedding, our friend Polly lost her husband
and close friends in the Bali bombing of October 2002, as
well as suffering from severe burns herself. Having gone
through physical and emotional trauma she created a charity
for burns victims. It is her charity that we have chosen
to push us through the Atlantic Ocean: www.dansfundforburns.org
COMPETITION:
bet on how long our Atlantic Crossing will take and you
can win…
We
will be leaving from Madeira in December to land in the
Grenadines. This trip takes on average 20 to 35 days, depending
on the trade winds, the navigator and the crew of course!
All you have to do is bet on how many days it will take
us, between 20 and 35, it is your choice! If you get it
right you will be rewarded with 10% of the total amount
donated to the charity. We are hoping to raise €4000,
which would give a prize of €400 to the winner!!! So
get on this website and place your bet! www.justgiving.com/algise
We will update you on our Atlantic Crossing so that you
know how you are doing with your bet.
Juliette
& Gwendal
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