Tom Cunliffe

When we’re cruising my wife Roz often grabs the entry-level SLR camera, waves it in my direction, and says, ‘Come on, let’s make a quick movie.’ We post these on my YouTube channel where they clutter up the internet for free. Our videos don’t get the ‘views’ that youngsters with bronzed bodies achieve as they sail around in sun-drenched bliss, but I still feel humbled when a football stadium-full of hoary sailors tune in to my salty efforts.

It’s interesting that you can never tell which topics are going to grab an audience. As you’d expect, storms at sea are a sure-fire winner, yet, inexplicably, a ten-minute session about the benefits of a solid fuel stove in a modern cruising yacht excites almost equal interest. Another offering that cranks up the ‘clicks’ describes how to operate a paraffin riding light. The main argument in favour