Novara's expedition and climate adaptation project is about to begin
by Novara 3 Apr 2023 10:21 UTC
Novara's expedition © Novara
The first quarter of 2023 has flown by. Here's a quick summary of what we've been up to on the Novara project in preparation for our expedition.
Where's Novara?
She's still in Dover - but not for long. Over winter we've been sailing as much as possible. We've had some memorable sails - including up the Thames with Bob Shepton, and to Stangate Creek in the Medway. All this has been in preparation for our long journey - first to Scotland - which will start on 11 April. You can follow Novara's location from our website and at blog.mailasail.com/novara.world
What work are we doing on Novara?
The year started with a success - we finally reinstalled the rebuilt steering quadrant gearbox. Thanks to Wander for his help on this. It's now working a treat. Turns out having steering on a boat is quite useful. In addition to the steering, we've been hard at work installing the new solar panels on the bimini and coach roof. They're all connected and working well.
Special thanks to the OCC for awarding us a Challenge Grant and another grant from a private donor that helped cover the cost of the panels and installation. Also thanks to Patrick, Stuart and Maddy for their expert assistance with the installation.
We're also continuing with maintenance - we've made progress fixing nav lights, rebuilding the workshop, installing a washing machine, making an inventory of spares, tools and medical supplies, replenishing supplies, testing/replacing safety gear. Still lots to do, but we're getting there. Finally, thanks to the support of Brompton, we now have new bikes on board for when we get to port.
The crew has also been busy - we've had a group RYA First Aid training and RYA sea survival. Several crew are also getting their radio licences.
Novara One Planet project
We've recruited our first communities to partner with on climate adaptation. So far, we'll be working with Campbelltown in Kintyre and we're talking at the Shetland Islands Climate Festival in June. We're also hoping to be working with some communities in the Outer Hebrides.
Networking and outreach
Our Instagram account and Facebook are now more active thanks to Despina and Laura. We've made amazing connections in the University of the West Indies as well as academic colleagues in Iceland and Greenland. And thanks to Paul's efforts, some luck connecting to the Faroe Islands. It looks like our plans are starting to come together.
If you have any questions, or you'd like to get involved, let us know: www.novara.world