Practical Boat Owner - July 2018

You WILL meet tribulation, all the worse

for being solo. Accept that; don’t fret

about it before you depart.

Remember the five P’s: ‘preparation

prevents piss poor performance’ and

you will be better able to handle

tribulation. You will also encourage the

support of fickle ‘lady luck’ who we all

need sometimes.

Much of the standard kit aboard small

modern cruising boats isn’t designed

for heavy duty use. Carry spares, check

your boat regularly, reef early and relax.

Enjoy your triumphs, don’t dwell on

the trials and you’ll be in better mental

shape to handle the bad times.

Don’t underestimate yourself.

Weaknesses – yours and the boat’s –

can be overcome, so rejoice in your

achievements no matter how modest.

John’s thoughts on single-handing

English

Channel

N

St Peter Port

Weymouth

Fowey

Falmouth

Padstow

Milford Haven

Dublin Holyhead

Bangor

Tobermory

Mallaig

Oban

Lochinver

Inverness

Stromness Lerwick

Ardglass

Port St Mary

Arklow

Penzance

Land’s End

Dale

Bay

Wicklow Head

Ardnamurchan

Point

Corryvreckon

Cape Wrath

Irish

Sea

North

Sea

Atlantic

Ocean

Caledonian

Canal

Loch Lochy

North

Channel

GUERNSEY

SCILLYISLES

ISLEOF MAN

GIGHA

ISLANDS

NORTHERN

IRELAND

IRELAND

WALES

ENGLAND

SCOTLAND

KERRERA ISLAND

ORKNEY

ISLANDS

SHETLAND

FAIR ISLE ISLANDS

OUTERHEBRIDES

MULL

SKYE

kilometres

0 100

Ange/Alamy

coast 155 nautical miles off. The wind and
seas grew as night fell, 30 knots from the
west as my old friend retired with ‘mal de
mer’ and I sat tethered to the cockpit,
watching huge seas and jerking in rhythm
with the boat. Waves occasionally joined
me in the cockpit and it was unseasonably
cold, so much so that 12 hours later my
oilskins gave up the ghost and I headed
below to fight off hypothermia as my
gallant mate took the watch.
By contrast the Moray Firth slept as we
puttered across it to tiny Whitehills for a
rest. In Inverness my old soldier friend left,
no doubt with relief, and my wife joined
ship for what she hoped would be a
gentle journey through sunlit uplands
down the Caledonian Canal.
Sadly the weather had decided
otherwise and lady luck took another
vacation: unbelievably, the tiller pilot again
spat out its dummy as we entered Loch
Lochy with a Force 6 on the nose. So it
continued, as Ben Nevis sulked under a
grey blanket and we eventually locked
down into Corpach sea lock.
Here for some reason I acquired a
convoy, though my knowledge of these
waters was zero and my seamanship of a
lower order than these salty ocean-goers.
An hour later, as we entered the Corpach
Narrows – admittedly a little early – the
wind peaked at 40 knots on the nose and
the nasty little seas did their best to keep
A-Jay airborne, as our convoy reduced to
one little red Polish boat, which stayed
glued to our stern.
Sensibly the Norwegian, German and
Scottish contingents had turned back to
seek shelter.
We arrived at Kerrera Island off Oban
after six miserable hours glued to the tiller
in pouring rain, to be greeted with bear
hugs by the Polish crew of the little red

John Willis sailed mostly single-handed from

St Peter Port in Guernsey to Lerwick on the

Shetland Islands – and then back again

boat. This septuagenarian couple had

battled from Poland to Iceland: Mrs Polish

was so tiny she looked like a wren in a

lifejacket; Mr Polish was squat and

rugged. My wife departed, leaving me to

join my new friends aboard their little red

boat for dinner. Google Translate was on

hand for communications and I was

startled to see a loaded revolver swinging

nonchalantly on the bulkhead. Though

pirates in these parts are rare, my host, it

transpired, was a retired Polish colonel

who believed in being prepared for any

eventuality. I left with lovely farewell letters

from them and also from a Norwegian

father and son whom I had also met in

Corpach – all fellow travellers on the sea.

I had an autopilot to replace and was

GUERNSEY TO SHETLAND... AND BACK

Craobh Haven marina where I

needed another autopilot repair

➜