David and Judith Behan "Autour du Monde"

Our post rig tune passage planning meant that we brought forward our departure to Grenaa to 0700 and we headed out towards the island of Anholt in the middle of the Kattegat into another strong breeze, this time over the port bow, with pouring rain to top things off. During the course of the day the wind swung from SW to SE to NE and then back to SW and dropped from 25kts to amost nothing. We spent a seemingly endless day passing Anholt (which in the summer is a Danish party and festival island and apparently really special) and after the last 5 hours under engine, tied up in Grenaa having taken on some fuel at around 1930. The crew rushed ashore to grab a table in the marina restaurant and left David washing the boat, only to return 15 minutes later to announce that everything was shut! So Spaghetti Carbonara and decent red onboard it was... Now our original plan had been to break the next part of the journey at Korsor beside Storabaelt for the night and then continue the next day to...

Donald and Julia joined us mid afternoon on Monday 18th September and over lunch we discussed the voyage we were about to undertake. We had planned to set sail the following day, but the forecast was 30kts plus from the SSW which was exactly where we needed to go, so the first decision was not to go! This had, of course, the advantage of removing any risk from a serious dinner with oysters and mussels and provided an excuse for a lengthy vist to the Goteburg Museum of Art the next day. On Monday night we returned to the boat to find our cockpit locker wide open in the pouring rain, and the boat covered in filthy footprints where an opportunist had tried to get in. Padlocks were purchased first thing on Tuesday and we had supper onboard that evening to be extra careful. Lila Bommen may well be in the centre of town but it is wide open, which brings other risks. Lesson learned! The forcast for the Wednesday was better with 20 - 23kts forecast from the west so we set off for Varberg ex...

On Saturday 16th September David, Judith and Atom set off for Goteborg. We said goodbye to Ellos at around 7.15 in the morning just after it had got properly light. Once clear of the islands we set sails with the wind almost on the nose. Atom was perfectly happy at around 32 degrees apparent but we found we were tacking through close to 120 degrees. There is no tide in the Baltic but some quite strong currents flow North as the land water finds its way into the North Sea. On with the motor until we could tuck back in behind the islands. The entry to Goteborg was interesting with an angry Danish Tanker who took exception to our very presence just outside the navigation channel and a nerve wracking passage under the bridge. Atom's air draft is 23m and the bridge is 45m, but from where we were it looked like the mast was in jeopardy...squeaky bum time, but we needn't have worried, the maths was right. We finally got to Lilla Bommen marina in central Goteborg at 18.00 to find...

Our great friends Charles & Helen joined us in Ellos and we set off to Norway to export the boat. Day 1 was a gentle sail through the islands, past Lyskil and up to Fjallbacka. The latter is the most beautiful little town where Goteborg's rich and famous have their summer houses. Ingrid Bergman spent her summers on Dannholmen island! We tied up for the night on the quay closest to the centre of the town and were very flattered by a stream of visitors who came to look at Atom. The folowing day we set off for Stromstad with no wind. We we motored serenely through more beautiful islands before arriving at the most northerly port of western Sweden. The following day, having completed customs formalities in Stromstad we made a brief excursion to Norway in order to formally export the boat from the EU. We arrived in Skjaerhalden (Norway) with 32kts over the deck blowing directly into the harbour, so we turned around and went back to Stromstad for more prawns and herring! From S...

HR finished the build before their summer break and then stepped the mast in late August. "Atom" starred at the entrance to the HR "Open Yard" boatshow at the end of August. Jonathan Taylor from Transworld Yachts in Hamble was there for the show and sent us these pictures. When we left for Ellos on 4th September we couldn't wait to see her. We were not disappointed. Jonathan flew with us and after two days of handover it was time for a G&T onboard! The boat was ours and her journey could begin Massive thanks at the end of this post to the hugely talented Jake Murray from Harrodian who created the design for Atom's name and logo, amd then refined and refined it until we were all content. The back of the boat is quite magnificent. Thanks Jake!

Atom at the start of May. Keel on, deck looking splendid. Photo credits Jonathan Taylor Transworld Yachts

Photos of the hull and interior taken just before Easter. Progressing nicely towards the September delivery date. So exciting to be making physical progress now. Photo credits Jonathan Taylor Transworld Yachts.