Around the Isle-of-Wight in a
Wayfarer Sailing Dinghy
We, that is myself, my wife Lydia, and son David, set off
to sail round the Isle-of-Wight in our Wayfarer, Salsa, sail
number 8684, at 05:45 on Saturday, 14th July 2001. This is a
passage of some 55-60 miles and is nearly 10 times the distance
any of us had sailed before in a dinghy. However, the beginning
of this adventure was much earlier.
The Wayfarer
Association organises a cruise around the Isle of Wight each
year. It had been one of my ambitions to undertake this cruise,
especially since the sailing club we are members of, Hill
Head Sailing Club, lies on the Solent - the body of water
between the south of England and the Isle-of-Wight. When we set
out we had been sailing for about the last 6 years, and we had
owned a Wayfarer for 3 years.
This article is in three parts:
- This introduction.
- Preparations for the passage.
- A description of the passage itself.
In 2002 I also took part in the Isle-of-Wight cruise, this
time going the other way round. The article I wrote for Mainsheets,
the Hill Head Sailing Club magazine can be found here.
Matthew West
W8684 Salsa
|
