Author: Nick Mines

Having sailed for most of my adult life, I retired (took a step back) from my companies Atom and Thorp which continue in my partial absence, producing really excellent work and run by gifted teams of loyal employees. I now sail my Southerly 135 and crew on various friends yachts, just enjoying being on the water. I continue to 'nudge the tiller' at the studios, probably more often than really necessary or welcome!

Starlink Enterprise.

For my Atlantic crossings in 2015 and 2016, as recommended, I installed the pricey Iridium Satellite communication system, together with special equipment to compress Emails to try to limit the colossal expense of communicating using Iridium. This was all justified, at the time, so I could keep on top of weather forecasts on passage by... Continue Reading →

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173 years…

I have followed our unfulfilled attempts to win the Americaā€™s Cup for most of my life and, for those that donā€™t know, we originally lost it to the Americans over 173 years ago and we have never won it back. In the meantime, it has been won by the Australians, New Zealanders and even the... Continue Reading →

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Last Legs

Having returned to Torquay by train, it was prudent to ā€˜sit outā€™ the next day while another weather front passed through. I confess to regrets at maligning Torquay in my last blog because, substantial walks contradicted my previous assessment. Initial impressions were tainted by the semi derelict Pavilion building adjacent to the marina which is... Continue Reading →

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Geriatrics

Having returned by train to Plymouth, there was only a modest target for the next 5 days, to transfer Hejira from the oversubscribed, QAB Marina in Plymouth, to the sister MDL Marina in Torquay for another period of ā€˜freeā€™ berthing. It was a pleasure to welcome old friends, Peter Hoade and Jem Vercoe as crew... Continue Reading →

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Schlep

As one gets older, inevitably, one accrues more experience and certain niceties fall away in favour of expediencies. So it is with sailing, gone are the days when I am prepared to sail close hauled to windward for hours on end, beating into a lumpy sea, tacking back and forth, barely making any progress, getting... Continue Reading →

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