I have been lucky enough to have sailed most of my life, starting in dinghies in the Carrick Roads, Wimbledon and Queen Mary sailing clubs (London), and followed by summer cruises across the south coast of England, the Channel Islands, Brittany, the Hebrides, and the Mediterranean. I am a qualified RYA dinghy instructor and an Offshore Yachtmaster. In the last few years my interest and fascination with long-distance single handing has increased exponentially. I have been straddling this with my formal training in jazz music at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, where I will graduate in summer 2025. Though I love and will always love the music, I don’t see myself pursuing it as a full time career (at least at this stage). There are many reasons for this, which I won’t go into here. Having obsessed over the available material on solo sailing, I realised that a project of my own was what I was really yearning for. Since then there has been no question of the direction this stage of my life will go.
Knowing a boat inside out and being competent in working with the materials used in its construction will be vital in making repairs on passage, and will provide invaluable skills in life in general. With that in mind, I bought a stripped-out Contessa 26 with a very dry hull and new engine, with a plan to fit it out (learning as I go). I am currently 10 months into the project and expect it to take another 15. I chose the Contessa 26 due to its modest size and exceptional reputation as a seaworthy boat. My plan, on completion of the fit out, is to undertake a few ‘qualifying’ passages during which time I can test my seamanship, the boat’s sea keeping ability, and make any necessary alterations. My ambition is for these passages to culminate in a circumnavigation in a few years time.
Given its relative proximity and affordability, I moved my boat to Lowestoft so that I could study at the International Boatbuilding Training College (IBTC) and work on the boat simultaneously. Since then, IBTC suddenly and unexpectedly closed. Consequently, and at great physical, emotional (and financial) cost, I have moved the boat to a barn in Somerset belonging to family. I plan to study furniture making at the Boatbuilding Academy Lyme Regis for 3 months this summer, which will give me the skills and experience I need to design and fit Tarka’s interior, thus completing the refit. The work so far has been a huge learning curve, especially at the beginning, and without the patience and guidance of Kit Rogers at Jeremy Rogers Ltd, Rob Harbord and Sam Larass among many others at IBTC (to mention but a few), the curve would have been a lot steeper!
As one can imagine, there are many costs involved in a project like this; I have been funding the project thus far with years of personal savings, and continue to fund it with my work as a freelance Jazz drummer, private music teacher, delivery driver and local handyman. On completion of the furniture making course in Lyme Regis, I hope to work as a joiner/carpenter, between offshore passages.
I am incredibly fortunate that I am able to keep my expenses down by living with family while working on the boat and working to save money for the project. I’m very aware of how immeasurably more difficult the project would be if this were not the case, and am extremely grateful for all their support and interest.
I have, after much deliberation, decided to make this site as a medium through which to share my activities and plans with friends, family and the world. I publish regular blog posts showcasing the progress I’m making, the struggles I’m facing, and general musings on the subject of sailing boats.
Please do reach out if you have any questions or comments, I’m always down to chat sailing!
Joe
