Aaron and Abbie Ashton were having none of this. Their wedding list read: “Let’s buy a boat! We don’t need or wish for lots of ‘stuff’ but as you all know we love the water and feel it is only natural that we should eventually have a boat. So, rather than gifts let’s see what we can achieve to set sail on the seas – will it be a bathtub toy, a dinghy or a yacht? Whatever it is, you will always be welcome aboard! Donate (or not) as you wish.”
By chance, a friend stuck the note on their fridge door and a mutual friend spotted it. The mutual friend, former radio engineer Michael Clark, happened to own a 46ft ketch called Heron II, which Aaron and his family had visited when he was just six years old. At the time, the boat was out of the water having a spring refit, but Michael had shown Aaron and his sister around, and the siblings had even helped varnish the yacht’s mast. Aaron never went on the boat again at that time, but the visit made a strong impression him and even now he traces his love of sailing to that single childhood experience.
Sailing was an easy hobby for Aaron to pursue as, although not himself a sailor, his father ran an outdoor adventure company and had access to any number of dinghies and instructors. Aaron soon became a competent dinghy sailor and, aged 14, sailed with the Ocean Youth Trust around the Isle of Wight, followed two years later by a trip to the Azores. He followed the conventional professional yacht career path, taking his Yachtmaster Offshore qualification aged 21 and his Yachtmaster Ocean two years later.
Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av Classic Boat.
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Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av Classic Boat.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Need For Speed
Saving lives at sea has always been bound to the speed of rescue, from the first rowing boats to the 60-knot, all-weather motorboats of today
ROW YOUR BOAT
There has been a steady rise in recreational rowing over the past few years, and the choice can be bewildering. What’s the right boat for you?
Traditional Tool
JOINER’S NAME STAMP
Classic misuse of a word
Real classic ownership involves rot, rust and reward
SCUD MISSILE
Herreshoff’s newly-restored Bar Harbor 31 Scud lit up the classic racing scene in the Med in 2020 with a double win at Cannes and Saint-Tropez
BOSUN'S BAG
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR THE TRADITIONAL BOATER
DOUG LEEN - Tugboat man
Vietnam vet, park ranger, dentist, small-craft conservator and tugboat skipper.... meet Ranger Doug!
CHANCE TO SAVE AN Albert Strange yawl
Chances at Albert Strange ownership don’t come up often, and Sheila II is the quintessential Strange – and one with a great history, too
AFFORDABLE CLASSIC Salcombe Yawls
A friend and I once decided that walking might make a change from sailing. So we set forth to walk from Branscombe to Bigbury, a 100-mile stretch of the south-west coastal path marked by knackering climbs and knee-wrenching descents.
Cardiff, Wales - Save The Elena Maria Barbara!
A rare, 18th-century schooner replica, restored to the tune of around £1 million, could be abandoned if a buyer is not found soon.
