10 Lessons from a round-Britain cruise

My experience of offshore sailing since 1987 has been a combination of snatched weekends and the odd couple of weeks’ holiday. There were so many frustrating occasions when free time coincided with bad weather, leaving only a day or two for local cruising instead of cross-Channel jaunts. So with retirement fast approaching, and no work targets, it was time to fulfil the dream of circumnavigating the UK mainland.

It was going to be a solo adventure, which meant choosing a boat that could be managed single-handed and would be heavy enough to keep going in all weathers and offer shelter on long passages. In the back of my mind was the long passage from Orkney, across the northern Scottish coast and round Cape Wrath, facing the full force of the Atlantic.

I’d owned an LM27 in the past and had always been impressed by the heavy layup and quality finish of the Danish motorsailer. That was going to be the standard to meet. After many months of scouring broker’s lists and many trips to view boats, I settled on Lyrisk, an LM30 true 50/50 motorsailer with the quality of the LM27, but more accommodation and stowage for extended cruising.

Preparations

I had many years experience of sailing in southern UK waters from Falmouth to the Crouch in Essex, but zero knowledge of anywhere north of that line. I set about collecting paper charts, pilot books and any books published by previous round-Britain sailors. Of course, no matter how much you read or watch videos, nothing can really prepare you for how you will react when it’s the real thing.

I’d completed some basic theory and practical RYA courses