West Country stop-start getaway

Your first cruise on a newly acquired boat can simultaneously deliver trepidation, relief and excitement. This is especially true after a big refit, when it’s also an opportunity to test and check that all the new equipment works as expected, satisfy yourself that nothing important has been overlooked, and find out whether the boat performs to expectations.

Immediately after my partner, Kass Schmitt, bought Zest we had six weekends of sailing before starting a refit to update systems and optimise deck gear and the sail inventory for long-distance solo racing. This process is also one that creates an efficient and easily handled fast cruiser. In addition, we had done a 250-mile round trip from Cowes to Plymouth and back, crossing Lyme Bay in gusts of 38 knots as a cold front swept across our path.

However, the passage to Plymouth was before all the new equipment had been added and it was carried out very much in delivery mode, focussing only on the essentials for that voyage. A more gentle week or so, sailing from the Solent