My boat is a Seal 22. It was built in the 70s by a company based at Starcross on the River Exe. the company has long gone, but the rights to build them was acquired by Parkers who still exist on the east coast. What sets the seal 22 apart is the lifting keel which allow it to float in about 2ft of water and the removable washboards which allow the cabin to be opened up in good weather.It's small (22ft-6-7m long) for this sort of trip, but people have done it in kayaks, on surf boards and in dinghies, so it is doable.
The name of the boat is Hylje, which is Finnish for seal,I pronounce it Hill-gee, but not sure the Fins would. The seal is a great name for a boat which can site upright on a beach on her detachable legs, so she's happy in or out of the water.
As i write this a couple of weeks before going, the question most people ask me is which way will I go. For various reasons I keep changing my mind, In "UK and Ireland a Circumnavigator's Guide",Sam Steele explores the merits of going clockwise or anti clockwise.There is a slight tidal current advantage of going clockwise, but the biggest factor is wind direction. However the wind can come from any sector and it depends what sort of summer we have. We tend to think the prevailing wind is from the south west but she says off the Irish coast in May there is only a 21% chance of the wind being a westerly, in which case mostly it will be coming from somewhere else. In her survey, it seems that most people conclude they'd have had more favourable winds if they'd gone the other way. This is true for those who went clockwise and anticlockwise. Her conclusion is that there is no clear advantage one way or the other and people should make their decision based upon factors which are important to them.
Articles I have read talk about the number of yachtsman who are in harbour getting things mended. Stuff breaks and weather can pin you down so there are many reasons why people don't get all the way around. Most consider that the west coast is more interesting than the east,So if I set off westwards I would stand a better chance of enjoying the best bits if I can't complete the circumnavigation. However, there is plenty of time to change my mind many times over.
I'd like to use the trip to raise money for the RNLI and the RSPB so if you would like to help either of these causes, please click on the links below:
www.justgiving.com/Stephen-Munday/ - find out more about the RNLI http://www.rnli.org.uk/
or
www.justgiving.com/Stephen-Munday-RSPB/ - find out more about the RSPB http://www.rspb.org.uk/
