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John Raynor, 54, has been crewing on other people’s boats since 2009 and regularly sailed on a friend’s Sadler 29 and Lloyd’s of London Yacht Club yacht Lutine. He lives in Surrey and works in finance payments technology. Since buying Dreamtime in 2021, John has sailed her from Pwllheli to Portsmouth and cruised the regular Solent haunts as well as taking her west to Portland.
For John Raynor, sailing is a way to get away from the pressures of work; unlike his other hobbies, it’s a non-competitive pastime.
‘For me, ownership is not about trying to push the envelope. It’s about being a pleasant place for us; family or friends.’
As a first-time skipper, he wanted a yacht that was manageable without being too scary, while his wife was more interested in the caravan comfort aspect.
‘I hankered after buying a boat because I liked the idea of being a skipper and wanted to be more in control of my own destiny,’ explained John. ‘We thought we could wait until we’d got the money and put off the idea until my wife and I were older; but then we thought maybe it won’t ever happen. We decided to bite the bullet, give it a go, and see whether we enjoyed it or not.’
John, who has been sailing for over 10 years, began looking at older yachts, but because it was during the COVID-19 lockdown, there was little on the second hand market ‘just manky old things hanging around in boatyards.’ Those that were in good nick were snapped up within hours; he thought buying second-hand was a non-starter. Then, John’s father-in-law, offered to help out with a loan. Suddenly, John was able to look at a different price point for new or nearly new boats.
A LEAP OF FAITH
John’s wife spotted the 2018, lifting keel Beneteau Oceanis 35.1 on the internet. was in North Wales and looked to be well equipped, and a lot of boat
