Since 2017 Pippin, my Francis 34 Pilot House, has carried me 8,000 solo miles including an Azores trip, brutally revealing my limitations which, with creeping arthritis, and a desire to go boating with the first mate, turned my thoughts to the dark side… motorboats.
Two more sailing seasons I thought, until I sat down to curry with a friend and came home with a motorboat. The first mate, a sensible accountant, softened when she realised our new boat was 40 years old and cost less than a very decent holiday, so we are still speaking and Pippin sold quickly to someone who will cherish her – indeed, he is such a nice chap I offered to deliver Pippin from Guernsey to his home in Helensburgh on the Clyde.
Despite geography being my best subject at school, I
