Blue Moon's trip around the UK

I’ve been in Scotland too long. It’s not that I’m not enjoying it (I’m loving it) but I’ve started to self-diagnose a degree of over-confidence with anchoring in interesting places, often really very close to scary rocks, and even sailing under terrifyingly low bridges. When I get home I shall start doing daft things like…

Way back in January, my fellow 325-owner John Clack did me the huge favour of recommending that I went to a seminar hosted by the Cruising Association on sailing around the UK: this was such a good idea that I joined the CA in order to go, and a very good move that was too…

I can see why people get so excited by Skye: although of course it’s an island it absolutely dominates the coast for miles around – its mountains tower over the other islands and most of the mainland peninsulas, and because the bit of water that makes it an island is so famously narrow, it just…

For some weeks now, I have been ashamed of Blue Moon. Or, to put it more traditionally, she has been ashamed of me. There have been occasions when I have walked away up a pontoon, or even rowed away in a dinghy, and caught sight of the huge tentacles of slimy green weed growing around…

If the pressure was on not to disappoint Neil, how much more significant was this week? Not only was it Sarah’s second week on the boat in one year (she really is a saint) but we were joined by Marnie in another case of spouse missing out – this time pressure of work rather than…

The first time I took Neil sailing (his first more-than-one-day-sail) it was a bit of a baptism of fire – or more specifically water: there were a peachy couple of hours as we drifted down the Western Solent but then it turned horrid and we spent an afternoon beating to and fro in St Alban’s…

I hate sailing under bridges. Luckily it doesn’t happen very often in this country. I gather that if I sailed on the Eastern Seaboard of the US (why do they call it that? What’s wrong with the East Coast like the rest of us?) you would do it all the time on account of all…

Shall we start with the festival? I know you want me to, much of the readership probably still in shock at the thought, knowing me as someone for whom Festival means more Royal and Hall than Worthy Farm. Well, HebCelt (as the Stornoway Celtic Music Festival has rather unfortunately rebranded itself) was rather good fun.…

This has been an interesting few days of contrasts. The previous post left me bathed in the silent sunset of Loch Drumbuie, but needless to say as soon as I had pressed ‘Publish’ the rain began again and it was a damp start next morning for the long sail across to the Outer Hebrides. I…

I realise whilst writing this that only those readers blessed with children roughly the same age as mine will have the foggiest idea what I’m talking about, and if you don’t, then count yourself lucky because I can’t say that Balamory was my favourite kid’s TV programme, not by a long chalk. It always really…

Well, of course there is, and I’d be in trouble if there wasn’t, what with being on a boat. But I often marvel at how a spot of rain can change the experience even when sailing and surrounded by the stuff. Oban being one of the UK’s more westerly towns, and in Scotland to boot,…

I do need to get over the desire for snappy headlines, this one is almost untrue – we did see both, but very much in the distance, and I have no photographic evidence. Still, that’s two things you don’t see on an average weekend in Chichester Harbour, and this trip is all about broadening my…

This is Peter. And behind him, the other two Peters. Peter, Tamara and their children Logan, Blythe and Rowan are our New Best Friends. As you have spotted there are actually two boats involved, but Jerome K Jerome’s publisher suggested that ‘Three Men in Two Boats along with One of Them’s Family’ wasn’t so snappy…

Sorry, couldn’t resist it. Andrew headed off on the early morning ferry to Ardrossan to catch the train south. I had a day spare before heading over to the marina there before going home for a few days. There was a tiny bit of breeze so I let it waft the boat around the coast…

Well, this is awkward, as annoying websites say when they’re broken and trying to sound like they’re on your side and it’s not their fault. Which is exactly what’s happened here. I’m fairly sure it’s WordPress’ fault but customer service is not high on their list of attributes, along with spell checking and being the…

Sorry, it’s the Mull of Kintyre Post and I have ruined your day: now you’ll be humming the worst song ever recorded. Worse even than Day Trip to Bangor. But we’re round it, and still alive. In fact, we rounded it quite a few days ago but have been having so much fun since that…

I suspect sunburn is not a big thing in Derry, nor is a visiting yacht judging by my experience so far. It’s been 24 degrees and unlike elsewhere in NI, rather than going to the beach (which is huge and beautiful but 15 miles away) and eating arwarding-winning ice creams (only one outlet in NI’s…

It had occurred to me that sailing on my own was more likely to result in experiences worthy of a blog: Bill Bryson, Jonathan Raban and Paul Theroux didn’t take their mates along for a reason. Much as I have enjoyed having guests on board, it does seem that things happen when they’re gone, and…

Now there’s three words I didn’t expect to write in the same sentence, and to my shame I may as well confess that if a month ago you’d asked me to voice the first three words that came to mind when you said ‘Antrim’ then I guess I would have said ‘Green’, ‘Cold’ and ‘Dour’.…

Belfast has been my most significant destination ever since leaving Itchenor, as I have a flight home booked (back in the days when I was hoiping to spend Sunday afternoon celebrating in N5), and I’m delighted and slightly surprised at myself for having arrived a day early. Belfast’s also been a significant destination in other…

Younger readers (surprisingly there are two, but I suspect since they are closely related to me they may be reading out of loyalty rather than because it is better than Insta) will struggle to finish this sentence but everyone else will have guessed that I had a Day Trip to Bangor. Not, as it happens,…

It’s been mentioned that I have developed a tendency to find fault with places I write about. I think of myself as a largely positive person (cue muffled laughter) so take comfort from the accompanying observation that it is hard to write a vaguely amusing blog whilst being positive about things. The last few days…

Part One saw us hightailing it out of Carlingford Lough under engine in the face of a forecast 4 knot southerly. As has been the case all week this turns out to have been nonsense, it came on to blow a full 8 knots from the South East which was enough for Roger to insist…

Roger too has now joined the ranks of ex-guests, chauffered to Belfast by nephew Henry after an excellent dinner (thank you Roger) at Daft Eddie’s on Sketrick island. Amongst his many parting comments was one that whilst the blog is entertaining there doesn’t seem to be much sailing involved, which is far from the case…

Eagle eyed linguists will have spotted the seamless transition from Welsh to Gaelic. Students of Gaelic and Geopolitics will be keen to point out that Droichead Atha (Drogheda) is not in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is what I am sailing round. Sailors of any kind, and indeed anyone who…

I’d imagined making Holyhead a pitstop too, but since I was meeting Roger off the train on Friday night I found myself staying the whole day. What a strange experience. I’d known well in advance that Holyhead’s marina had been destroyed in a gale five years ago. I’d checked before coming and knew that they…

I have form with Pwllheli, and in my experience the less one has to do with the place the better for all concerned. However, beggars can’t be choosers and if you’re looking for somewhere to park for the night it’s the most comfortable place in all of Cardigan Bay: the marina is modern, smart, very…

Aberystwyth has also been on my must-visit list (why is it called a bucket list? Mine isn’t.) for completely different reasons from New Quay, but reading the pilot doesn’t really sell the place, going on as it does about the dangers of a shallow rock-strewn entrance in Westerly winds. Jan recounted surfing into the harbour…

I’m prepared to bet that Blue Moon is the only Parker 325 with a two-manual organ on board. Sadly there simply wasn’t room for the pedals, but I reckoned that five months without touching a keyboard would render my organ playing even worse than it already is (and it is really poor – no false…

I have wanted to visit New Quay in Wales ever since I saw a SuperSeal for sale there. (Explanation from Narnia: the SuperSeal was an early incarnation of what became the range of boats that is now Parkers and Seals, they changed the name to Parker but kept the seal logo, all v confusing). I…

In the world of Yacht cruising, owners’ associations get a bit of a bad press. The general impression is that it is a home for the anorak, someone a little more interested in the history and mechanics of the class in question than in going sailing. The Parker & Seal Sailing Association is not like…

Today (yesterday actually, but surely you can write a blog in the present?) was a turning point in several ways. I’ve sailed from Milford Haven back to Itchenor a couple of times, so sailing to it was different but not exactly totally new. But today (see above) was new: I have sailed at Fishguard before…

My first guest has just stumped off into the rain (this is Milford Haven) to catch the rather slow but mildly scenic train home, so it’s time for some updates. Choice of first guest was quite easy: Andrew Penman and I managed to occupy a 14 foot boat for some years without falling out, so…

As I am sure you know, for Welsh speakers Swansea is not Swansea but Abertawe. I know enough Welsh i.e. about a dozen words to know that this means ‘The mouth of the River Tawe.’ Now, being the sort of culturally sensitive chap I am, I like knowing this but I would never dream of…

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Yacht cruising is all about how you deal with the wrong weather, and I’ve had a pretty good run so far. I’ve moaned about not enough wind, but all you have to do there is bend down and press the starter button on your brand new engine…

I had never been to Padstow but now I have, and I can see the attraction. The Camel estuary is beautiful, the sands are wide and clean and would be an amazing holiday spot when not wrecking unwary yachts, and the town itself is a pleasant little fishing place. That was then, but this is…

This post may be of more interest to sailors, but it is probably their turn. You may have heard of Mark Fishwick, author of West Country Cruising Guide. I met him once on the Yachting Monthly stand at the boat show, and mentioned that I had read YM pretty much since I learned to read.…

These people are French. I know this because I overheard them in the garden of the New Inn on Tresco, where I had slipped ashore for a swift half. But I didn’t need to hear them, I knew they were French the moment I saw them. They were wearing full offshore oilies, and had all…

I’ll have to admit to being a bit chuffed arriving in St Mary’s, it is after all quite a journey off to the far west, and it is famously rocky and tricky sailing around here. It being April the visitors’ moorings only had half a dozen boats on them and the harbour guys were stil…

I foolishly set myself the challenge of circumnavigating all the inhabited bits of the UK and today I ticked off the first corner – the Lizard is the southernmost point of mainland England and if you’re being pedantic I will tick off the southernmost point of island England (is that a concept?) tomorrow. Unlike the…

I adore Falmouth, and I have had some amazing times here with good friends: pretty much every class of boat I have sailed has had its national championships here (some several times) and I have loved them all, even the one we lost at the very end defying mathematical near-certainty that we were going to…

Not so long ago a columnist in a yachting magazine wrote about how much he detested people who gave their autopilots names, and I felt a bit ashamed because I have always named mine. I’ve had Cuthbert, Clarence and now Raymond. Raymond is supposedly far superior to the others, being (for the geeks) a Raymarine…

…who married a mermaid one fine night.The result of the union was children threeTwo were kippers and the other was me. Hey ho, the winds blow freeOh for a life on the rolling sea This cracking little ditty was probably my Dad’s favourite song: he used to wander about the house singing it for no…

Crossing Lyme Bay is one of those things that make cruising in a small(ish) yacht special, at least if you keep your boat somewhere to the East of it. First there is the small matter of negotiating the sometimes scary tidal race off Portland Bill, always worth getting worried about even if you’ve done it…

I’ve had some dull Sundays but this one took the biscuit. And I didn’t even sit through a sermon. Ten hours motoring across a grey, cold, damp sea rather sapped the Sunday spirit. And at the end of it all? Portland. A place designed to sap the spirit further by being permanently grey, cold and…

Ancient Chinese proverb? Surely they didn’t have miles in Ancient China? They still have them on the Isle of Wight though, which is where Day One has taken me. Itchenor to Bembridge is not a journey to make up proverbs or poems about. It’s the nautical equivalent of catching a bus from Tufnell Park to…