David Tyler wrote:
Wow, interesting project! (No problem seeing the picture, Graham).
When I was researching for my cruising in South Alaska, I kept coming across good additions to the OCC's Cruising Information Service by the Fine Tolerance crew. Obviously skilled and experienced people, and this will be worth watching.
Phil and Liz sailed through the NW Passage after several trips from Australia to Japan and back on
Fine Tolerance. They were beset in the ice at one point which caused some damage to the hull, and then capsized south of Greenland, damaging the rig and suffering a lot of water ingress. After jury-rigging, they made a slow passage to the east coast of the USA before returning home via Panama. They have been refitting
Fine Tolerance ever since and hope to get away in a few months for Patagonia, via New Caledonia and New Zealand. I took Phil on a short coastal passage on
Arion a couple of years ago which confirmed his enthusiasm for junk rig and we continue to discuss his project. As you say, they are skilled and experienced people and I am sure that, in time, they will make a significant contribution to the world of junk-rig voyaging.