No pictures I'm afraid but I wanted to give a quick update on Impossible Dream. Apologies for the technical stuff, but there will be those who like to know these things.

The owner of ID and myself set off at 0600 last Thursday morning in my van to Plymouth.  By the time we arrived at Mayflower Marina at 0930, some of the guys from Multimarine were already on board getting on with various maintenance jobs. Having only ever seen ID in Malta 6 months ago from a stern-to mooring perspective in the marina, it seemed strange seeing her side-to the pontoon in Plymouth and I was able to rub my hands along her hulls.  First impressions were "enormous".  Her hulls are more than 2 metres high and her 60ft length made her look more like a football pitch than a yacht.  "Awesome" with a capital "O" as my Kiwi crew tells me (apparently it's an "in-joke" in NZ).

Another first for me was going aboard ID in my electric wheelchair. When I flew out to Malta, I had take my lightweight, push along wheelchair which I only ever use when flying.  But as I will be using my heavier, bulker, electric wheelchair for the Atlantic crossing, it was important to see exactly how we would get it aboard.  Luckily, ID was designed with 2 stern hydraulic lifts, one on the port stern quarter, the other on starboard.  Although it was a tight fit, we managed it without any difficulties - phew..!!  Another worry crossed off the list.

I spoke with one of the boat builders on board and discussed the 2 most immediate jobs; converting the saloon table into a bunk so I can sleep in the saloon which is alongside the Nav Station (that way I am on-hand with the controls immediately if there are any difficulties whilst at sea). And secondly we are removing the sliding Captain's seats which slide in an arc on tracks around the Nav station.  Ideal for a paraplegic who can transfer into them, but an obstacle for me in my wheelchair.

One of Hyde Sails' top guys was on the boat by 1100 and we talked through our various options on the 3 sails; the genoa (the big front sail), the staysail (smaller, inner sail) and the big mainsail. All are a few years old and somewhat weathered and suffering from UV damage. It was agreed they will be taken off the boat and they come back to Hyde's sail loft in Southampton this Wednesday for an inspection and some maintenance.  A big thanks to Hyde. Followers of my previous voyage around GB could not fail to miss ther huge "H" on my mainsail.

As Hyde left an hour later, so a senior engineer from Raymarine arrived to assess the electronics.

I regard there being 4 main cornerstones to the success of this project;

1. Having the boat itself which is designed for sailing by a disabled person in a wheelchair
2. My ability to sail the vessel
3. The power management of the boat
4. Having the latest electronic technology to enable me to navigate across the Atlantic

There are obviously other requirements, but these 4 underpin the entire project. So it was with much excitement and gratitude to learn that Raymarine, the world leading marine electronics company, have agreed to completely replace all of the navigational electronics on ID with the most up to date suite of electronics. This comprehensive set will include radar, GPS, auto-pilot, weather instrumentation and remote control systems.

This entire Atlantic project is not only intended to demonstrate through example, the abilities of disabled people and inspire others to take up sailing, but it is also an opportunity to showcase state of the art technology; from the design of the boat itself, to the systems which operate it, and the systems which allow me to sail the boat independently. Having the latest Raymarine kit has well and truly knocked item 4 on the head so their engineer spent a long time talking through the various options available.

Of the 4 main cornerstones, all we need to satisfy ourselves on now is item 3, power management.  It looks as though we may need to replace the existing generator and we are looking at acquiring an additional, completely independent, power source, in case of power failure.

And so, at 1530 hrs, and very tired, having had our meetings, I drove home again, satisfied we had completed a good days work.

A final word to say the With Sails+I gig in London last night was great fun. It was Phil Jupitas' first stand-up gig in 7 years and his imperonation of Eddie Izzard was inspired.