Speedy boarding

My 32ft Ted Brewer-designed East Orient is like most offshore cruisers – high bow, and stern, which makes them safe at sea, yet more difficult for boarding. After a visit from elderly guests, I became interested in finding a better way of getting on and off my boat than by climbing over the pulpit using the stowed anchor as a foothold.

Cruisers who sail in the Mediterranean need to be prepared for Med style mooring, either bow or stern- to a dock, but mooring in such a way is not limited to the Med. To make getting on and off the boat easier, many people use special gangways called passerelles. So I was intrigued to see John Chipps building a passerelle on the dock in Lefkada, Greece, where both of us were staying for the winter. John is an Englishman who, after retiring from life in the army and in airport security, bought his 1973, 35ft Elizabethan, , and has been sailing as well as