Sam and I always wanted to sail around Britain but after his stroke it was not a practical option, as it would have been very difficult to get him on and off the boat in moorings and anchorages. So in 2024 I plan to sail around Britain in his memory. I have even set up a JustGiving page to raise money for the Stroke Association.
- Weather and everything else permitting, I would set off in mid-May, travelling anticlockwise from our base on the River Orwell in Suffolk, through the Caledonian Canal.
- I hope to spend June and the first part of July in Western Scotland.
- In mid-July I would leave the boat and return home for five weeks or so to produce the September edition of Cruising.
- Then in mid-August I would return to the boat and (unless I decide to keep the boat in Scotland for a while) sail her inside Ireland down to the Scillies and back along the south coast, with a diversion to the Channel Islands to scatter Sam's ashes, returning home to Suffolk by early October.
If you are interested in doing any part of the voyage with me, please get in touch. I would particularly value help on the long route to Inverness, as I have never sailed north of Lowestoft on the east coast. I haven't yet decided where we'd stop but I'd definitely want to spend a couple of nights in or near Newcastle, where I was a student.
