Live Update: July, 6th 2022 (Patreon)

Wow Hello :)

A lot has happened since the last update. If you keep up with discord, you’ll already know that we had to divert our plans and sail to Plymouth! That’s where Mads is now while I head to the U.S. for the month.

How it happened…

We left Ireland this past Thursday, not before a hike up to see The Beacon in Baltimore. In my last post, I wrote that it was a monument to the rebellion of 1798, but it wasn’t. The beacon, along with other lighthouses along the Irish coast, was built after the rebellion as a warning system for ships. It’s not a lighthouse but a whitewashed brick structure. From far away, it is a prominent part of the skyline, but up close, it feels pretty remarkable. Standing next to the Beacon, where it stands on top of a sharp cliff overlooking the crashing waves at the head of the harbor, you can’t help but feel its prominence over Baltimore. I understand why the community embraces it as a symbol of their home :)

Okay, I think that’s enough gushing over the Beacon; now it’s time to get to what you all are wondering, how we wound up in Plymouth! But the beacon is still beautiful, though ;)

We left Thursday to start making our way to France. We did one overnight sail, then decided to stop on the Isles of Scilly to break up the trip. We got the sails up, and the sun shone and had zero issues. It was a perfect sail through the day and night. We got into the Isles of Scilly mid-day the following day. Exhausted, we went to bed so we could get up early and make the final jump to Brest.

To cut the story short, the following day, about 5 miles out, our auto pilot would not work. We pulled back in, anchored, and Mads tried to take a look at it. We quickly realized it was the drive unit, and there was nothing we could do to fix it then and there. We had to decide between hand steering to Brest for 28 hours or heading to Falmouth, which was a little over 10 hours. In situations like this, we are more likely to pick the safer choice, which is what we did. A concern of ours was if one of us got seasick or hindered in any way, that would leave the other person to steer the entire course. Not a situation either of us was comfortable with. Our primary focus at this point was to get the boat and ourselves somewhere safe where we could fix the autopilot issue. Falmouth it was.

Once we got to Falmouth, we decided to jump to Plymouth to be closer to some friends who could help Mads out. We are still figuring out what will happen with the autopilot. Supply chains are backed up, but we keep our fingers crossed and will keep you all posted.

I’m currently en route to Michigan because my sister is having a baby. My background is in child development, and I’m a trained doula, so when duty calls 😉 My flight is out of Paris, so the journey to get there will be a bit longer, but nothing a few train rides can’t fix.

Mads will be in Plymouth for the month, completing some of the last few projects on Athena. Those include but are not limited to fixing a leaky chain plate, putting up some final trim, installing fans, and hopefully installing some new blinds to replace our chic paper towel curtains we are currently using ;) I think he’s excited to have free rein over Athena again and leave his tools wherever pleases him. For Mads, that’s most likely in the bed, right next to him ;)

I’m at the airport right now and about to take off soon. Don’t worry; the following month's Live Updates will not be filled with all things Baby. I will save that for my FaceTime calls with Mads ;) I’ll keep you filled in with what’s happening aboard Athena.

A few of you reached out when you saw us diverting. Thank you so much for keeping an eye on us 😊 it’s a good feeling knowing you all have our backs when we’re out there 😊

The Baltimore Beacon while we we’re sailing out :)

Mads saying, “Ava just take the hat off before it blows off!” 😆

Easy Breezy sail to The Isles of Scilly :)

Sunset getting into Falmouth

What a relief getting into Plymouth 😊