Against the Odds

Frank Dye and Bill Brockbank Were Caught Out in a Force 9 While Sailing Between the Faeroes and Norway in Dye’s 16ft Wayfarer Dinghy. This Is Their Story of Survival
 

When I was a student in Liverpool in the mid-1960s, sailing the university’s Fire fly dinghies when I ought to have been studying, the local hero was a young man called Bill Brock bank. His sister attended the same lectures as me. Bill had sailed to Norway from Scotland with the great Frank Dye in his 16ft unballasted, open Wayfarer dinghy, Wanderer.

I only learned the details of this remarkable voyage when I discovered Ocean Crossing Wayfarer, a second edition of which is published by Adlard Coles. This extract soars beyond a story of indomitable spirit and survival against the odds: it represents the summit of great seamanship. The skill with which Dye and Brock bank coax their cockleshell craft through a northerly storm is officially logged as Force 9, but clearly a lot worse than that at its height. Their tale is an object lesson in preparation, clear thinking under shocking pressure, understanding the options and, of course, dogged refusal to quit.

The storm hits them on passage from the Faeroes to Ålesund. In subsequent chapters they arrive in good health by their own unfailing efforts. The book, written by Frank and his wife Margaret, is not to be missed.

A full blooded Force 8 was blowing by 1630, and I suggested to Bill that he might like to have a look. His answer was a decided ‘No’. My view was very impressive — seas long, high and steep, with wave crests cascading down their fronts, and foam everywhere. I sat on the stern locker feeling awed but, surprisingly enough, enjoying such a thrilling sight.