A belated Happy New Year

I’ve missed Christmas and we’re already into 2025, but here at last is my festive message to friends and family. Very belated happy Christmas to you all and all the best for the new-ish year.

To begin at the wrong end, I spent Christmas & New Year at the Herrmann house in northern Bavaria, having driven out there on the 23rd with Guy, Kai and Ivy, now just six years old and always bright and entertaining. Ivy brought with her an infection which caused her a lot of coughing, but not much more. However by Boxing Day I realised that I had it too, and it’s been a pretty unpleasant chest infection which has laid me low ever since and made driving back across Europe, solo via Baden-Baden and Gent, a major challenge. Almost three weeks on, I’m now on antibiotics and I’m still only just feeling up to writing this update. I really hope I’m now on the mend…

A visit to the Eden Project

Anyway, 2024 has been a memorable year, my first whole year without Sam, dominated by my sail around Britain from May to September, but with plenty of other activity as well. In February I drove down to Cornwall to visit my beloved Aunt Sonia, now in a care home near Marazion when it finally became clear she could no longer cope on her own at the age of 97. (My mother, her twin sister, is still coping pretty well on her own in her big house in Essex). I took the opportunity to visit the Clifton Suspension Bridge, visit friends who live just outside Bristol and go to the Eden Project on the way down, so that was at least two ticks on the bucket list. My younger son Ben joined me in Cornwall for a couple of days, and Sonia recognised us both and seemed pleased to see us.

The completed casket

In early March I took on an interesting and challenging project at the wonderful Wakelyns farm, around 10 miles away from us in Suffolk. With the help of teacher and mentor Emma, I made a willow coffin (for myself), something else I have wanted to do for many years. It took a week’s solid work and I was very proud of the result, although the lid still needs a bit of rework. I hope not to need it for many years and in the meantime it fits snugly into a corner in our TV room.

Architecture, wildflowers and gorgeous Mediterranean colours in Malta and Gozo

I thought it would be a good idea to try out an activity holiday – in this case, a walking holiday in Malta in late March with Ramble Worldwide. It turned out to be a good choice, walking with a bunch of like-minded people, many travelling on their own, and it was lovely to see some Mediterranean sunshine. However Malta and Gozo are two very densely populated islands, and although I’d like to see more of Valetta I probably wouldn’t bother visiting again. This year’s tour at the same time will be to Madeira.

Whitby Abbey

Newcastle

Another windy day in Whitehills

On the Caledonian Canal

Oban

Tobermory

From May onwards my summer was dominated by my sail around (most of) the UK. There’s lots of detail on every aspect of that right here in this blog, so here’s just a summary, or if you have 90 minutes to spare you can watch a video of my talk to the CA. From Suffolk Yacht Harbour I sailed Kalessin to Woodbridge Tide Mill Marina, where Guy works, and then solo on to Lowestoft. With volunteer crew Erika we sailed up the North Sea coast via Whitby, Tyneside and Tayport to Whitehills on the Moray Firth, where I was weather-bound for 10 days with strong westerlies. On 12 June I was joined by good friends and neighbours Alex and David, and we sailed through the Caledonian Canal in chilly but fairly calm weather. Once we reached Oban we played “dodge the depression” for the next three weeks, with a fairly steady string of storms seeing us holed up in various safe ports. We didn’t even make it to Skye, let alone the Outer Hebrides, but we enjoyed Mull and spots close by. In the end we gave up on the Hebrides and ducked into the Crinan Canal to enjoy the lovely, relatively empty, sheltered waters of the Firth of Clyde, before leaving the boat in Rhu for a month on 9 July, while I went home to edit September’s Cruising.

Ailsa Craig

The superb Titanic experience in Belfast

A singing tour of Dublin

Me and Erika

Paul managed to photograph me passing Mousehole

With Sonia in her care home

On August 10 I returned to a few days of warmer weather, and then yet more depressions. Erika joined me again to take the boat from Troon over to Bangor outside Belfast, and then plugging into southerlies as far as Dun Laoghaire, just south of Dublin. I was stuck there for another 10 days and then joined by another volunteer crew, Alice, who helped me sail to Ardglass and then a long passage (186 nautical miles) to Newlyn, where I managed to meet up with my brother Paul and once again visit my aunt. We continued via Falmouth to Plymouth, where Alice went home and I was joined by my elder son Guy. 

Lovely Dartmouth

Portland Bill on a quiet day

On an eco-mooring in Studland

We were hoping to get to Guernsey where Sam wanted his ashes scattered, but alas it was not to be, with especially strong winds hovering around the Channel Islands. Guy and I spent three lovely nights in Dartmouth and a horrible afternoon in Brixham before crossing Lyme Bay to Portland, where we met up with my younger son Ben and his fiancée Anne for a meal en famille. Guy went home and I was joined by my sister Lucilla and her husband Mark for an overnight stay on an eco-mooring in Studland Bay and then on to Cowes so I could visit the Southampton Boat Show – and also for the only day on the entire trip when it was warm enough to wear shorts.

A whole day out at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard: Mary Rose, Victory, Warrior and the Gosport submarines

Thames Estuary at dawn

Safely back to SYH with champagne from lovely friends Richard & Cathy

By this time it was mid-September and the end was in sight, but the weather was still against us, and the next leg was a short hop to Gosport. Lucilla and Mark went home while I sat out a  few days of strong winds at met up with several local friends, then Lucilla rejoined me to get to Eastbourne and on to Ramsgate. Finally, I left Ramsgate on my own early on the morning of 25 September, and reached Suffolk Yacht Harbour around lunchtime… just ahead of yet more strong winds. Boy was I glad to be back. I contemplated putting Kalessin on the market straight away, but in fact I have now decided to keep her for at least one season. If you fancy some gentle East Coast sailing, or a trip to the Netherlands in June with the Westerly Owners’ Association, let me know.Throughout my trip I was raising money for the Stroke Association. If you haven’t already donated, there’s still time at https://www.justgiving.com/page/camilla-herrmann-roundbritain

It was good to be home and plunged back into normal life: work, running, walking with my lovely Nordic walking group and meeting up with friends. The East of England NHS patient & public voice group on stroke, which I chaired, came to a rather bumpy end during 2024, and with a bit of time for more voluntary work I stood for the Council of the Cruising Association, and was elected in November. There are some oddities about working for and being on the governing body of the same organisation, but so far things seem OK. I will retire from the editorship eventually but I’m not quite ready yet.

In December I spent a few days walking in the Peaks, this time with HF Holidays, and took the chance to visit my brother Paul in Manchester and Ben in Nottingham. Ben is working for the HS2 project and finding it rather challenging, while Anne is about to launch into a new career after a short break from work. And after various other outings, on 20 December I helped my baby brother Piers celebrate his 60th birthday before heading off to Germany the next day. Perhaps I tried to cram too much into one month and that’s why I have been so ill? But I enjoy being busy and travelling to the many places I could never get to with Sam. Long may it continue.

I hope 2025 proves to be happy and healthy for you all.