Come late June I had made it to Falmouth. On arrival, and after putting Coralee to bed, I popped straight up to the Turn to Starboard office, to say hello and let everyone know that I was safely in the marina. With one of the T2S boats out, I had slipped into her berth and … Continue reading Juggling berths, naughty bottoms, and racing
After finishing the work on Coralee which needed to be done in the shed at Hayling Yacht Company, I had planned to move her down to Falmouth via Portsmouth, staying in Gosport only for a few days to prep her for sea and sort out a few things. A month later I was still in … Continue reading The home of sailing
The last few months have been, to say the least, busy. I could write a few pages just on the list of work that I have been progressing through - after all the 'to do list' is over two-and-a-half pages of A4 paper. Regardless of the necessary work done on Coralee, I have been lazy … Continue reading Boat ownership: learning lessons
Director: James Marsh 12A 1:41 hours 4 stars With thanks to the Daily Telegraph and their Readers' Offer, I was fortunate enough to attend a preview of Jamie Marsh's new film, The Mercy - a portrayal of Donald Crowhurst's ill-fated entry into the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. The race, launched by the Sunday Times … Continue reading Review: The Mercy (film, 2018)
When I tell people that I'm planning to sail around the world they are generally very interested, excited and enthusiastic - which is really heartening. When I tell them that I'm planning on doing it alone the reaction changes. This can be to shock, awe, surprise, or bewilderment, so perhaps that's one reason why solo … Continue reading Being Alone
I certainly consider myself to be lucky to have been born in the United Kingdom, to have been given a good education, and to have had the opportunity to learn to sail. Of course I'd like to believe that I work hard, but no-one imagines himself as lazy and like everyone, I can be caught … Continue reading Giving something back
Other than a few weekend sailing trips with friends and the move of Coralee from Lymington to Hayling Island, I had done no significant sailing since May 2016. The magnitude of my plan to quit work and sail around the world was starting to bear down on me - was I dreaming of a different … Continue reading Reaffirming one’s faith
As the military says, "no plan survives first contact with the enemy" and so it goes that come my anticipated departure date from work in London I was still be there and not setting sail on Coralee, my newly purchased Nicholson 40'. So why have my plans been changed? I had hoped to spend a … Continue reading …of Mice and Men
A lot has been going on since my last Blog and that's probably the root cause of why there hasn’t actually been a Blog in a such a while. The most obvious thing to the casual reader is that the website has moved. The previous site was hosted by SiteBuilder but for a number of … Continue reading The Final Countdown
I'm very lucky in life, I've been fortunate in many ways and, unlike a large number of people in the World, I have little to worry about and those things that I do worry about are more often than not 'first world problems'. So as I plan this trip and venture off, I will no … Continue reading First World Problems
