Forgive my reference to grandchildren, please bear with me, it is integral to the story. (Written October 2026) Our daughter, Rebecca and her husband, Michael live in Blackrock, south Dublin, near the sea. Their daughters, Darcey (7) and Matilda (5) attend and enjoy sailing school in Dun Laoghaire. Our son, Ollie and his wife, Gini... Continue Reading →

So, it came to the repatriation of Hejira to her berth in Northney Marina. On the face of it, the passage from Ocean Village in Southampton should have been straightforward, especially in the balmy Indian Summer weather at the end of September, in the event it was not without incident. I have volunteered in the... Continue Reading →

While ‘chewing the fat’ with the crew on passage through the Solent to Southampton, I was whimsically reminiscing about the last time I visited Ocean Village. It was a long time and several yachts ago in my Parker 31, “Karisma” (she was already named when I bought her) and I was sailing with Phil, the... Continue Reading →

For the third time this summer, we suffered (we were in no hurry, and we didn’t really suffer) a delayed train journey, and we arrived in Torquay in plenty of time for our crew rendezvous in the Offshore bar. There was another announcement on the train suggesting that we could claim compensation but, anyone who... Continue Reading →

Following my thoroughly enjoyable sojourn in America with the family, it was time to return, by train to Plymouth, this time with a purely ‘social’ crew comprising of Peter, my next-door neighbour (aka 'Toad'), and our friend, Jerry who refers to his forecastle cabin as ‘the front room’... Sailing was almost a burden for this... Continue Reading →