Sailing solo to the Isles of Scilly

In the summer of 2020 Katie McCabe (aged 13 at the time) sailed her newly restored classic yacht solo to the Isles of Scilly

- Katie McCabe

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Winner of the YJA Young Sailor of the Year and Young Journalist of the year, Katie McCabe is a 14-year-old sailor based on the river Exe. In 2019 she found her dream boat abandoned in Polruan and spent the winter restoring her. In summer 2020 she sailed Falanda to the Isles of Scilly in preparation for a solo sail around Britain this summer, and is now considering her next offshore challenge: a mini-Transat race.

After buying Falanda, my 26ft Morgan Giles, in September 2019 and spending the winter restoring her in my dad’s shed, she was launched on 19 March 2020 – two days before the first UK lockdown.

Living on my parents’ 50ft converted fishing trawler Ros Ailither on the river Exe, I was able to spend the whole of lockdown sanding, varnishing, painting and scraping in the amazing weather. Once the river was open again, I could finally go out sailing and enjoy the light winds and sunshine on the water. After several trial sails alongside my parents in their 33ft classic yawl Amaryllis dad and I set off west on the two boats on 10 July 2020.

My first proper single-handed sea trip was to Salcombe. It was my first time navigating completely by myself, and without any electronics on board I was completely reliant on two-point fixes.

I planned the passage and waypoints the night before to give myself a rough line to follow. It was an amazing eight-hour trip with the wind behind us.

I had been in front the whole time, however as we rounded Start Point the wind changed and dad shot ahead.