This is our penultimate day in Gibraltar. The first leg of the 20 month around the world “Bluewater Rally” commences at 10AM local time tomorrow. The weather forecast is for fair winds all the way to Lanzarote, albeit with a slightly windy start from Marina Bay to Tarifa. Then its a left turn down the African coast for a 650nm downwind (hopefully) gentle sail. All being well we will be in Puerto Calero on Wednesday. We have covered some 2700nm since leaving Dartmouth at the end of May, and now we are poised to cover around 30,000nm in 20 months. We will continue to run the Blogg (www.mailasail.com/webdiary/zipadedoa) for the duration of the trip so that we can share some of our experiences with you as our floating village of 34 yachts proceeds in a westerly direction, hugging the Equator. To all our friends and family, and those who have supported and helped us prepare for this great adventure, thank you very much for your support and understanding. Best Wishes, David & Jennie

Location : Transatlantic Ocean

Hi Contest Yard, We read your homepage today and saw that you wanted to hear from Contest owners that are cruising theworld. We have a Contest 41 SY Coconut and are currently in the Caribbean. We sailed here from Norway last year and will keep heading west for another couple of years. Coconut has done an excellent job so far. She is safe always, comfortable and actually quite fast. We did the Atlantic crossing in 19 days including a one day stop in Cape Verde Islands.See our website www.sycoconut.co for details about our trip. Regards, Trond Åsdam S/Y Coconut. Camilla, Colin, Lesley and Trond Åsdam

Location : Caribbean

Hi Marcel, Just thought I would drop you a line to let you know that Jennie and I are currently participating in Rally Portugal, with World Cruising Club. We have a web diary for the trip which is www.mailasail.com/webdiary-zipadedoda We had a very challenging night last night in South Biscay, so you might find our views on what a fantastic boat we have, of interest for the Contest Magazine. After Rally Portugal and some fun in the Algarve we are off to the Azores for some time before we head back to Dartmouth at the end of August. Thank you and best wishes to everyone at Contest Yachts, David & Jennie Kerr

Location : England

I thought you might like to know that Caatje Caar is now in her new home at Plymouth Yacht Haven. We had a very enjoyable trip back over the last two weeks, albeit with a mixture of all sorts of weather. We are very pleased with everything about her and are very happy with our choice. "Caatje Caar" seems to have no meaning in Dutch other than it was the nickname for the previous owner's daughter-in-law' so we are planning to change the name. She seems to have have had three names in her life, all lady's names, so we are going to call her "Dutch Lady". I would just like to take this opportunity to say how impressed we were with the service and help we received from you and your colleagues at Charles Watson Marine as well as from everyone (and particularly Yvette) at Contest Brokerage. It made the purchase very easy for us and gave us a very good feeling for the Contest name. Please pass on our thanks to all concerned. With kind regards Rick and Sue Ballard

Location :

Bought a Contest 31HT a year ago in Greek Islands absulutely love her. Few weeks ago visited the Contest Yacht Yard at Medemblik what a wonderfull time shown around the factory. Going to visit her again soon

Location : Wales

We've enjoyed the Aurora (48 Ft ketch built in 1984) for a couple of years now every summer for about 4 months mostly on the English coast. She has a comfortable and smooth seaworthy behaviour at sea. It's a pity that this type will never be built again.

Location : The Netherlands