‘With no sails, no engine and no jury rig - I decided to abandon ship'

Solo skipper Billy Brannan lost his home when his 34ft yacht Helena was knocked down, rolled and dismasted during an Atlantic storm - and the rescue itself proved to be a challenge

- Billy Brannan

I ’ve sailed Northern Europe for about 25 years up to Shetland, Ireland, Holland, Germany and places in-between. But I had never done any long trips and I’d always wondered how I would cope with an ocean passage.

I’d researched the boat and journey for many years but the actual logistics took about a year. My Fisher 25 wasn’t really suitable due to lack of storage space and windward sailing ability, despite our many thousands of miles together.

I wanted a long keel with encapsulated ballast and a well-protected rudder hung on the back. I wasn’t keen on the Rustler type with the sloping rudder and I liked the Vancouver range from the same yard as my Fisher. A quite rare Vancouver 34 Pilot came up in fantastic condition in Germany and I jumped on the first plane out. When I saw her I thought, ‘This is a boat that will take me places.’

I set off from Tollesbury, Essex in May 2019 down the Channel and over to Ireland for a couple of months. This gave me and Helena the chance to become acquainted, sailing from Dublin to Dingle.

From Bantry Bay we set off for the first big leg into the Atlantic and south for the Rias of northern Spain, ending up in Vigo and clocking 700 miles. From there we skirted Portugal’s west coast and relaxed in the pleasant Algarve with New Year 2020 celebrated in Seville, Spain.

Mid-January had us on the 550-mile leg to the Canaries, stopping at Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria. With a suitable weather window we set off south and west for the 31-day, 3,000-mile crossing to Marigot Bay in St. Martin. Atlantic crossing accomplished, I was pretty pleased with myself!