How will you remember the summer of 2004 with its bad weather in late June and July?
I will remember it for sailing around Ireland in Dansa, my Sadler 25.
Since I started sailing 4 years ago, at an age where the formulae of a foot for every year should see me sailing a boat at least double in length, I'd dreamed of sailing around Britain. However with work and limited holidays and an even more limited budget. it seemed likely to remain just that, a dream. But to sail around Ireland, now that was a possibility as it could be done in a month. By taking my annual holiday allowance of 21 days, all at once, plus the weekends, it should just be possible.
So I took the plunge, fixed a date, mid June to maximize daylight hours, booked
my holidays and spent a small fortune on charts and pilot books. As for crew,
well when I mentioned my idea to an old school friend, he quickly expressed an
interest. OK he was a non-sailor but as W H Tilman was fond of quoting "When
they bring you a heifer be ready with the rope." Anyway I reckoned
that
during our month away I might be able to turn him into something of a sailor......
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