I didn’t want to jinx anything by writing a post until now, but things are starting to come together so I thought I would risk it…

The Classe Mini’s decision on my miles for the Pornichet Select was quite even handed and fair I think. They have said, that if I finish one more single-handed race, then I will be able to count the miles for both races and thus will have my qualifying miles for the Transat. This means that I will be sailing one extra race in France this time round, the MAP which starts on the 9th is a 220nm race in La mer d’Iroise.

Logistically this has been a bit of a challenge… I arrive in Lorient on the 7th and the MAP starts on the 9th. So I needed to find someone to deliver the boat from Lorient to Douarenez. The good folks at Classe Mini found me a very qualified delivery skipper (merci, merci, merci Sandrine!!!) and the boat should arrive in Douarenez ahead of me. I will sort out some business in Lorient and then high tail it to Douarenez to get through the security inspections, and get the boat ready to race.

Following the MAP, I will then start preparing for the Mini Fastnet which starts on the 18th. This is a big race for me, as it will have the fleet of 150-160(!) minis sailing into the Irish Sea round fastnet rock and back. The weather can be a bit rough up there, and the shipping traffic can be very, very busy. My co-skipper for the event, Samuel Dufou,r has done a bunch of mini sailing, so I will have good company for the race.

I’ve gotta say, the roller coaster of the last month has been tough. One day it looks impossible to get it all done and the next, opportunities arise that make it all seem possible. It’s seems it’s always like that in single-handed sailing…

I’m extremely happy to have this second chance at qualifying, but there are no words to explain how hard it is to leave my little family alone again. This is probably the biggest hardship to overcome for all of this sailing that I am doing.

The next few weeks are going to be crazy, but I will try and keep the updates coming, both on the blog and facebook. Hope you will follow along on this roller coaster of a ride…