August the 22nd this year marked the ten-year anniversary of the purchase of my then, 8-year-old Southerly 135 in Holland. Since then, she has been progressively updated and refurbished, building on what was perceived to be, a good solid hull. Unfortunately, my experiences have exposed a good deal of shoddy workmanship carried out by Northshore,... Continue Reading →

I am aware that I may be encroaching on an area that is sensitive, and I am certainly stepping outside of the subject areas and tone normally associated with my blog postings. I apologise for this in advance but please read on as I believe this to be important. By way of background, my support... Continue Reading →

During the depths of the Covid crisis when I was denied access to 'Hejira' while she was inaccessible on the Cote D’Azure, I looked to get my ‘water fix’ with a small dinghy on the British waterways. This was explained in the blog ‘Wind in the Willows’  (which also explains the nomenclature of the 'Dramatis... Continue Reading →

More bad news unfortunately. My brother Hedley passed away in the early hours of Monday 31st January 2022, aged just 73. He was diagnosed with Leukaemia last year and after periods in hospital undergoing treatment, he chose to spend his final weeks at home with his family. I was fortunate to see him very recently... Continue Reading →

Reference to Homer’s Iliad might be seen as rather ‘highbrow’ and somewhat incongruous given the usual more ‘earthy’ content of these blogs. So, not surprisingly, I must confess to having been introduced to it by an infinitely more learned and cerebral friend and fellow Southerly 135 sailor, John Goodall. Here is his mail to me... Continue Reading →

Is it just me being a cantankerous pedant, or are nautical standards slipping? Maybe they are just evolving and changing to reflect the times ? There was a time when yacht Ensigns were ‘dipped’ to Royal Naval Vessels, and the Navy were expected to ‘dip’ in return as a matter of courtesy and etiquette, poor... Continue Reading →

The announcement of the venue and dates for the 37th America’s Cup in 2024 has been delayed again. With the NZ government only offering $100 million dollars (!) to fund the staging of the cup, there appear to be several locations clamouring to host the event. The speculation includes Ireland, Italy, Spain and even Saudi... Continue Reading →

It is such sad news to report that Barry Locke-Edmunds died at home in Wales on the 28th of October aged 73. Readers of this blog will know that he crewed on the Atlantic crossings to and back from the Caribbean. Barry helped me prepare Hejira for the adventure and gave me such a lot... Continue Reading →

Since returning, I have been in touch with Steve Hancox, skipper and owner of ‘Bryony’ and we have had some interesting correspondence. Bryony is an old wooden ‘Gaffer’ which Steve restored in the garden of his house in Herefordshire. She is 10 metres over the deck with a 2.85-metre bow sprit.   She is a “double-ender”... Continue Reading →

We did manage to evade the zealous Yarmouth Harbour fee collectors and after a sumptuous full night’s sleep, we slipped our mooring at 06.45 bound for Northney Marina. Heading down the Solent under a clear blue sky and with the tide under us, we had the best ‘white sail’ sail since departing the Cote D’Azur... Continue Reading →