When the Great Seamanship column put out to sea 20 years ago, the extracts were drawn from classic sailing literature, much of it written before World War II. As years went by, we
realised we were missing a trick and that a stream of eclectic new material was being published. Mining this rich vein has been a source of continued delight. A fine example arrived this month and I confess it has been a struggle to put it down. The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow by AJ (Sandy) Mackinnon tells the tale of his solo voyage from Shropshire to the Black Sea in, of all things, a Mirror dinghy.
The tale begins with Mackinnon, a teacher at a small public school, discovering the dinghy upside down under a pile of leaves by the local lake. He rescues the boat, names it after a pet raven, and decides to use it to take his departure from what might be described as ‘life so far’. Once underway, the book is a wild helter-skelter of experiences, people and narrow squeaks with disaster.
We join him beating into a rising north-east gale towards Whitstable out of the Swale on the Thames estuary. It’s noon and he has already been underway since 0515 but matters rapidly deteriorate from the tough to the bizarre.
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Yachting World.
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
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Yachting World.
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
NIKKI HENDERSON
WHERE DO YOU FIND HANDY BILLY WHEN YOU NEED HIM?
MATTHEW SHEAHAN
IS OLYMPIC SAILING ACTUALLY HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS A SHOWCASE OF THE SPORT FOR BOTH COMPETITORS AND SPECTATORS?
Building fleet for Baltic Sea Race
The second edition of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race, a 635-mile race out of Helsinki, Norway, saw varied conditions and a new benchmark course time set.
New cruising charter 'Odyssey'
Charter company Dream Yacht has launched a new round the world supported cruising programme for yacht owners which draws on the company's extensive network of charter bases.
Mixed fortunes at Marseille
The Paris 2024 sailing regatta saw mixed fortunes for many favourites - some confirming their dominance, others crashing out as variable winds played havoc.
The yacht Bayesian
Bayesian is one of Italian yard Perini Navi's 56m series, originally named Salute.
Seven dead in superyacht sinking
Seven people are dead following the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, a 56m/184ft British-flagged Perini Navi, off the coast of Sicily.
5 EXPERT TIPS HELENA DARVELID ON MULTIHULL CONTROL
Performance multihull racing is growing hugely in popularity. Helena Darvelid shares some key learnings with Andy Rice
PALMA'S FUN FACTOR
FUN ON AND OFF THE WATER IS AN UNBEATABLE COMBINATION AT THE SUPERYACHT CUP PALMA, WRITES PHIL RILEY
SWAN 88 DREAMCATCHER
GLOBAL LEADERS AT THE SEMI-CUSTOM END OF THE PRODUCTION SCENE, NAUTOR SWAN INVITED US FOR THE FIRST SEA TRIALS OF ITS BIG NEW 88