Pisces is a 1978 Contessa 32 built by Jeremy Rogers Ltd in Lymington, UK. I bought her in 2010 and she has had extensive refurbishment spending the winters of 2012, 2013 and 2014 in Jeremy Rogers yard. Work included:
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| Pisces in Jeremy Rogers yard 2014/15 |
- New mast, boom, standing and running rigging including new mainsheet track and rod kicker.
- New stainless steel water and fuel tanks with new plumbing including foot pumped fresh water and hand pumped salt water.
- Holding tank.
- New Beta 25 HP diesel engine with Featherstream propeller and cockpit mounted waterproof keypad and instrument panel.
- New galley with coolbox (no fridge).
- New wiring and switch panel including LED lights, shore power, battery charger and two solar panels with separate regulators.
- 3 new batteries in two banks with Smartguage battery monitor.
- Windlass with new bow roller and pulpit to fit 15 KG Rocna anchor with 50m chain in locker. Spare 10KG Delta anchor and Fortress kedge anchor, both with separate chain and line.
- New electronics with NMEA connections including two chart plotters, AIS, depth sounder and log, mast mounted wind instruments, 2 GPS, fluxgate compass, DSC VHF radio at chart table with hand held extension wired in cockpit, 12v plug in cockpit for floodlight, horn loudspeaker mounted on mast connected to radio for automatic fog signals, radar, dual band radar reflector, navtex, electronic barometer, auto helm, SSB radio with ATU and pactor modem, Ipod/stereo radio and speakers (see ‘Pisces electronics’ attached).
- Seago ISO 9650-1 Liferaft with >24 grab bag.
- New sails including fully battened main, genoa on Furlex 200, Cruising shute on Profurl Spinex 1.5, storm jib and working jib that can be hanked onto detachable inner forestay, twin headsails with poles for Twistle rig, carbon fibre spinnaker pole, spinnaker.
- New rudder.
- Hull checked for osmosis and found to be sound. New copper coat antifouling applied.
- New taffrail and teak locker seats in cockpit.
- Respray of topsides and superstructure and internal headliners and bulkheads.
- New internal and cockpit cushions, lee cloths on salon berths, pipe berths forward and fitted bedlinen.
- New spray hood with back drop and cockpit bimini.
- Personal effects carried separately include 2 laptop computers, iPad with Navtronics software, Iphone, handheld VHF, handheld GPS, EPIRB, PLB and R10 AIS in lifejacket, Freiberger sextant, WASP towing log, Sestel Radient hand held compass.
The skipper and crew.
Dr Paul Thompson is skipper.
Paul will sail single handed mostly day sailing and will be joined for various legs by friends and family all of whom have some experience at least to ‘competent crew’ level. For the Atlantic crossing Paul will be joined by Dr David Everett. David has extensive experience of sailing in Australia and the South Pacific. He has a 35 foot sailing boat in Adelaide which he sails, mostly single handed in the Gulf waters.
In 1979/80 Paul and David spent a year sailing a Clansman 30 foot sloop 10000 miles from Sydney, up the Barrier Reef to New Guinea, on to New Ireland than back via Townsville to Sydney, through Bass Straight to Adelaide.
Paul will seek experienced crew for the return journey from friends or through professional organisations. Both Atlantic crossings will be with the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC).
The Itinerary
Departure from Portland marina, UK at the end of May 2015. June and July day sailing to the coast of North and South Brittany, then, with crew from La Rochelle to Bilbao. Cruising the North Spanish coast and Spanish rias, then daysailing down the Portuguese coast to be in Lisbon by the end of August. With crew from Lisbon to Madeira and onto the Canary Islands to be in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria by the middle of October. Paul will return to the UK for a family wedding on October 24 leaving Pisces in Las Palmas. He will return at the end of October and make preparations for the crossing to St Lucia with the ARC (Pisces is registered). David will join Pisces about 14 November for a week’s acclimatisation. Depart November 22 with the ARC fleet and scheduled to arrive in St Lucia before Christmas. David will return to Australia. January to April daylight cruising up the Windward and Leeward islands to the Bahamas, up the USA Intracoastal Waterway to the Chesapeake. Depart Portsmouth, VA May 7 with the ARC Europe to Bermuda and the Azores. Then back to the UK by the end of June 2016.
