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This 17ft boat is going to cross the Atlantic!
September 21, 2023 · 5 min · 3K views · Southampton
What this video covers
John Kenneth Habershaw, skipper of Poppet — a 50-year-old Leisure 17 — plans a December 2024 Atlantic crossing from Tenerife to Antigua, 2,600 nautical miles at roughly 3.5 knots hull speed, estimated at 35–40 days.2:46 His crew is Farris Collins, a former Commonwealth gold medal powerlifter with no sailing experience. The boat has undergone extensive structural modifications for the passage: chain plates upgraded from 3 mm to 6 mm laser-cut 316 stainless steel, reinforced internally with Kevlar and carbon to prevent tear-out; all five portlight windows glassed over with epoxy fore and aft; extra mini bulkheads added at the keel bolts, forepeak, companionway, and lazarette; and a Lumar 70 storm hatch fitted to make the companionway fully watertight.0:39 The rig was upsized in collaboration with ZSPA, requiring redesigned chain plates and internal structure. A watermaker is carried because the 40-day duration exceeds the boat's water-carrying capacity. The crew will eat ration packs throughout. Geest Line will return Poppet to Portsmouth by cargo carrier after arrival. The crossing supports Macmillan, Mind, St Helena's Hospice, and MSUK.3:18
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