During the first day of June 2010 I set sail in 'Equinox' my 24ft 6' Cornish Crabber from Chichester Marina and headed West down the Solent on a once in a lifetime adventure. Three and a half months later I completed my challenge; having sailed solo around the entire UK; visiting the Scillies, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and the Hebrides; going with huge trepidation over the top via Cape Wrath - the 'big right turn', before the next 'big right turn' heading south, at John o'Groats. This blog is my diary, written most evenings as I took stock of the day's progress; often with a huge lump of Cheddar cheese in hand and a pint of Speckled Hen to keep it company. Sometimes I was almost in tears; tiredness and frustration having taken its toll. Other nights exhuberant after breathtakingly beautiful passages along our stunning coastline with favourable following winds. It describes the ups and downs; the tears and laughter; the extraordinary kindness shown by complete strangers who offered a tired sailor in their midst refuge, solace, warmth and company; their generosity often humbling. My hormones were, I'm sure, in a mess making me perhaps rather vulnerble; as just six months earlier I'd endured the surgical removal of a cancerous prostate gland; laprascopically - a six hour procedure that left me physically weaker than before. You can read the background to the illness and the reasons for the challenge - to raise awareness of this terribe disease; that could have so easily have killed me elsewhere on this blog.

I am indebted to many; and recorded their names elsewhere; but as I reflect on the voyage many months later, I have not fully sung the praise of Cornish Crabbers, the builders of my sturdy little yacht and Roger Dongray the yacht's brilliant designer who drew upon a hull shape that had developed over hundreds of years by men who worked and fished at sea and whose very life depended on their vessel's seaworthiness. It's long keel, sail configuration and weight distribution in seemingly monsterous seas; quite incredible for a yacht so small. A Crabber 24 is not the swiftest yacht to be had for her size, for sure. But what she lacks in that respect she makes up for by her abilty to take heavy weather and harsh conditions in her stride. Built solidly without compromise, Equinox delivered me safely home after a voyage of well over 2500 miles in some of the most hostile and dangerously tidal waters you can find anywhere in Europe. In Wales, for example, the RNLI were phoned by an experienced commercial fisherman watching Equinox from his harbourside office; reporting to them, that a yacht was struggling in heavy seas and a F7 a mile outside the harbour entrance. By the time the lifeboat had been launched, I was tucked up in Aberystwyth marina; a little bruised and battered it has to be said, but safe and sound; I never even saw the lifeboat!

I've recently set up the blog so that readers can cover numerous diary entries in one go. To access earlier diary entries just click on the link 'Older Posts' at the foot of each page. Only a few clicks are needed to get to the entries at the beginning of the voyage and my preparation beforehand.

I hope you enjoy reading it; and if you do, or have done, please be kind enough to leave me a message. For which, in anticipation, I thank you.
The voyage also raised over £10,000 for the Prostate Cancer Charity - not my main goal but those who donated on my 'Just Giving ' page made a huge contribution too; as I was notified by email of each donation as it was made; each raising my spirits immeasurably. My main goal was to encourage 2500 men to get PSA tested - one for each mile sailed; and I beleive that goal was achieved too. And finally, I would also like to thank the growing number of men who have, both during and after the voyage ended, taken a PSA test, as a result of the publicty the voyage attracted; been diagnosed with the disease and taken the time and trouble to email me.

Monday, 23 August 2010

Luce Bay to Portpatrick - Scotland - August 23rd

I'd planned on Stranraer as my destination and needed the ebb tide to squeeze me up the North Passage, so didn't leave until 11am - high water. No sooner than round the bottom of the Rhins of Galloway and heading North at a terrific rate, than over the radio came a severe gale warning - a Force 8 and soon! If it had come an hour earlier I'd have stayed where I was but, diving below, I entered Portpatrick as the destination in the plotter, having earlier entered the Lat and Long as a precaution. The GPS gave me an instant fix and told me it was just 8.9 mile s away - an hour's sailing due to the 4 knot tide under me. Having confirmed it as my destination, I stuck my head above the cockpit and spied a solitary whale heading South, not 50 yards away. I say whale, but I'm really not sure what it was. It behaved like a dolphin, but was humongous ; black and at least five times the size!
   An hour later Portpatrick came into view and using the Irish Sea Pilot Guide book used the two red leading marks - one on the harbour wall and the other on a building in the village as the angle to steer into a tiny almost empty harbour with lots of seaweed, rubbish and dead brown jellyfish. The harbour master was waiting for me up a rather daunting metal ladder! Portpatrick is rather cute and boasts at least three pubs and restaurants - local caught fish a speciality, it seems. It's a favourite haunt for Irish sailors at weekends apparently! The first pub I went into, and it was lunchtime by the way, sold Speckled Hen and Timothy Taylor! My two most favourite beers in all the world in just one place. Fate, some would say, so drank a toast to whales, with both! That made me feel much better.
The rain came in bucket loads the wind didn't!
It could have been worse, much worse!
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