Three boats, Daydream, a Beneteau 31, sailed by Nick Funnel, Foreness, a Sadler 290, sailed by Michael Frankish and Jeddo, a Westerly Fulmar 32, sailed by David Metcalfe, sailed around Great Britain during the summer of 2024. We loaded the boats on the afternoon tide of Monday 13th and set off early on 14th May. A voyage of over 2000 miles ahead of us. We all set off sailing singlehanded, but with the possibility that crew may join for periods along the way. We set off in a clockwise direction, West along the Channel.
Post Index
A couple of people have asked if we are doing this for charity. We have decided that if anyone would like to donate to spur us along, any donations will go to Sheerness RNLI Lifeboat Station’s RNLI 200 year anniversary appeal Just Giving page
- 4th August Pyefleet Creek to Lower Halstow Yacht Club
Well we did it, home at last! An 05.30 start gave us the last of the ebb out of Pyefleet Creek, the Rivers Colne and Blackwater and across the Spitway with a minimum depth of 1.5m under the keel, quite a… Read more: 4th August Pyefleet Creek to Lower Halstow Yacht Club - 3rd August Harwich to Pyefleet Creek
Whilst Harwich to the Medway is possible the time of the tides would have meant an extremely early start and the forecast was for strong Southwesterly winds Saturday afternoon. We decided to break the journey on the Blackwater and set off… Read more: 3rd August Harwich to Pyefleet Creek - 2nd August Lowestoft to Harwich
We left Lowestoft at 06.30 to catch the tide South along the coast. Having an even earlier start from Wells the previous morning we decided on a little later departure and then push a bit of tide when nearer to Harwich.… Read more: 2nd August Lowestoft to Harwich - Nearly home
We are now about a day or two from completing our circumnavigation of Great Britain. It may take a day or two longer as strong South Westerlies are forecast at the weekend. I hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventure.… Read more: Nearly home - 1st August Wells to Lowestoft
Another early morning saw us slipping our lines at 05.30. The tide was just ebbing so it carried us away from the silent Wells quay that will be buzzing again later with children and their parents catching crabs. We wound our… Read more: 1st August Wells to Lowestoft - 30th-31st July Spurn Point to Wells Next the Sea
An early start was necessary to leave Spurn Point in time to reach Wells Next The Sea about an hour before HW. The alarm went at 04.30 after a disturbed night wondering if it was time to get up. By 05.00… Read more: 30th-31st July Spurn Point to Wells Next the Sea - 29th July Bridlington to Spurn Head
After waiting for the tide to rise sufficiently to lift the boats from the mud and to give enough clearance to get into the deeper water of the harbour we set of heading South, well SSE. What was imediately obvious was… Read more: 29th July Bridlington to Spurn Head - 27th-28th July Whitby to Bridlington
We set off from Whitby on the last bridge opening for the morning tide at 10.30. We didn’t want to leave any earlier as our destination Bridport is only accessible 2 hrs either side of HW. Once again there was very… Read more: 27th-28th July Whitby to Bridlington - 26th July Hartlepool to Whitby
After locking out of Hartlepool Harbour marina we crossed the busy Tees Estuary with the sprawling industrial expanse of Teeside. We actually had a breeze on the beam all the way, so once clear of the Tees the engines went silent.… Read more: 26th July Hartlepool to Whitby - 25th July Blyth to Hartlepool
This was a fairly uninteresting leg of the journey. We departed the very commercial harbour at Blyth with its huge Oil and Gas rig support ships. I was confused as to why we were approaching a square lighthouse, but when closer… Read more: 25th July Blyth to Hartlepool - 24th July Amble to Blyth
Amble marina is behind a tidal cill, so we either had to leave very early or wait until about 3.30 in the afternoon. We took the later option which gave us the chance to catch up on some jobs, such as… Read more: 24th July Amble to Blyth - 23rd July Holy Island to Amble
Before leaving Eyemouth a local recommended setting a tripping line on the anchor as many yachts end up with there anchors fouled at Holy Island. When anchoring I had set up my tripping line. I have used it previously on the… Read more: 23rd July Holy Island to Amble - 22nd July Eyemouth to The Holy Island
Sorry about the delayed posts. I have been having trouble uploading photos to the website. I suspect it has been due to slower than normal mobile data speeds. Another landmark day on our journey.we ste off on the 20Nm journey from… Read more: 22nd July Eyemouth to The Holy Island - 21st July Arbroath to Eyemouth
After our night moored on the wall outside the fish marked we set off about 07.30 with very little water under our keels. We picked our way out through the pot markers and when relatively clear we set our sails. The… Read more: 21st July Arbroath to Eyemouth - 20th July Stonehaven to Arbroath
After the very uncomfortable ride to Stonehaven we expected much of the same moving on to Arbroath. The breeze was SW again, dead on the nose, but a bit lighter and the sea was calmer. We made good progress, initially getting… Read more: 20th July Stonehaven to Arbroath - 18th -19th July Peterhead to Stonehaven
We set off from Peterhead with a favourable tide, but yet again a Southerly breeze dead on the nose. The wind against tide built the sea into a very uncomfortable short chop that neither boat coped well with. Progress was very… Read more: 18th -19th July Peterhead to Stonehaven - 17th July Whitehills to Peterhead
We departed Whitehills harbour and set off along the North facing coast, again with many small harbours along the way. Another day of very little wind to start with, but I put up the main that gave a slight push to… Read more: 17th July Whitehills to Peterhead - 16th July Lossiemouth to Whitehills
A very uneventful day, other than Summer seemed to arrive in Scotland….At last. There was one drawback, no wind, so we motored the whole way, but just 24Nm to Whitehills. The shorts came back out and sailing in a tee shirt… Read more: 16th July Lossiemouth to Whitehills - 15th July Helmsdale to Lossiemouth
Helmsdale is another amazingly friendly place. Walking around the village everyone says “hello” or starts to chat. After a fairly stressful day on Sunday trying to clear the rope from Foreness’s prop we went to the Belgrave Arms Hotel for a… Read more: 15th July Helmsdale to Lossiemouth - 13th July Wick to Helmsdale
Leaving Wick we set out with the light breeze behind us giving a bit of a role. Not enough wind to get us to Helmsdale at a reasonable time so it was a motor sail all the way. We had a… Read more: 13th July Wick to Helmsdale - 11-12th July Stromness to Wick
Firstly I haven’t forgotten to finish the last post, its just that it was a busy few days and quite a bit to compile. Leaving Stromness was the start of the final leg of our trip we were starting to head… Read more: 11-12th July Stromness to Wick - 4th July to 7th July – Ullapool to The Orkneys
issue 1 – 10th July Apologies about the silence over the last few days. It been a combination of long days, lots going on, weather too rough to write anything at sea and in places poor internet connection. Since my last… Read more: 4th July to 7th July – Ullapool to The Orkneys - 3rd July Gairloch to Ullapool
The plan was to head up in the direction of Ullapool and anchor in the Summer Isles and head in to Ullapool on Thursday to pick up Barry and Mike who are joining me for a few days. The thought of… Read more: 3rd July Gairloch to Ullapool - 30th June to 2nd July, Portree to Gairloch
Sorry for the lack of posts for the last few days. After a couple of days in what felt like isolation on Rona we decided to take a couple of days out spending a bit of time on land. On Sunday… Read more: 30th June to 2nd July, Portree to Gairloch - 29th June – Rona, Arcaiseid Mhor to Skye, Portree
We let the wind die down and set off from the very sheltered Arcaiseid Mhor anchorage on Rona. Whilst it is a picturesque Island and anchorage, it is very isolated with its single rough track that winds it way through the… Read more: 29th June – Rona, Arcaiseid Mhor to Skye, Portree - A windy and wet afternoon in Rona
The gale has abated, but it’s still pretty unpleasant up here. We went ashore this morning and explored Rona. It has a permanent population of 4. At the other end of the island are some holiday cottages that are unoccupied at… Read more: A windy and wet afternoon in Rona - Kyle of Lochalsh to Rona pictures and Dolphins off Skye
- 25th -26th June Rum to Kyle of Lochalsh and 26th – 27th June to Rona
First of all, I am typing this update tucked up the small sheltered anchorage of Acarseid Mhor on the Island of Rona attached to a visitor mooring. There’s a gale warning in force, although the wind isn’t anywhere near that in… Read more: 25th -26th June Rum to Kyle of Lochalsh and 26th – 27th June to Rona - Rum to Kyle of Lochalsh pictures
- 23rd-25th June Inner Hebrides The Small Isles, Muck and Rum
We haven’t covered many miles over the last couple of days, but are starting to experience the more remote parts of Scotland. On Sunday morning we set of from the anchorage Loch Na Droma Buidhe not far from Tobermory. We sailed… Read more: 23rd-25th June Inner Hebrides The Small Isles, Muck and Rum - 22nd June Tobermory to Loch Sunart
A pretty uneventful day yesterday. We stayed at Tobermory until lunch time before setting off to Loch Sunart just across the Sound of Mull. Loch Sunart is described in the pilot books as a delightful Loch often missed out by visiting… Read more: 22nd June Tobermory to Loch Sunart - 21st June Puilladobhrain to Tobermory
We awoke to rain landing on the boats. It hadn’t let up by 10.00, our agreed starting time. Full water proofs on again and up with the anchors. The breeze was behind us so there was no shelter under the spray… Read more: 21st June Puilladobhrain to Tobermory - 20th June Loch Tarbert to Puilladobhrain
Something I forgot to add on the last post was we hit a bit of a milestone on Wednesday. We went over 1000 N miles, I was going to say sailed, but as an awful lot of our travels have been… Read more: 20th June Loch Tarbert to Puilladobhrain - 18th-19th June Craighouse to Loch Tarbert
Sorry for the break in posting. Hopefully this post will send when I get mobile signal again. We spent Tuesday moored at Craighouse. The home of Jura whiskey. It wouldn’t have been right if we hadn’t visited the distillery and tasted… Read more: 18th-19th June Craighouse to Loch Tarbert - 16th &17th June Crinan to Craighouse (Jura)
Sunday was a lazy day in Crinan Basin. I had a visit from very good friends Tina and David and their grandson Leo, They were visiting their son in Stirling and made the 2hr journey over to Crinan. It was great… Read more: 16th &17th June Crinan to Craighouse (Jura) - 14th June Cairnbaan to Dunardry 15th June Dunardry to Crinan
We have traveled through the canal at a very leisurely pace. Apparently it is possible to transit the canal in about 6.5 hours, but the transit licence lasts for 4 nights and 5 days, so we are getting our monies worth.… Read more: 14th June Cairnbaan to Dunardry 15th June Dunardry to Crinan - 13th June Into the Crinan Canal and on to Cairnbaan
Today marks a milestone on our journey. We have transferred from salt water to the freshwater in the Crinan Canal and is exactly 1 month since we loaded the boats and set off up the creek to anchor in Stangate creek… Read more: 13th June Into the Crinan Canal and on to Cairnbaan - 12th June Caladh Harbour to Ardrishaig
Another relatively short day, just 23 nm from the beautiful Caladh Harbour to Ardrishaig. The morning started not that cold and no wind. We set off down West Kyle and bit of light breeze picked up and we had a gentle… Read more: 12th June Caladh Harbour to Ardrishaig - 11th June Rothesay to Caladh harbour, Kyle’s of Bute
We found Rothesay are rather run down town with a busy ferry running too and from Bute to the mainland. The inner harbour was quite sheltered from the strong NW wind that we arrived in. We were a little concerned to… Read more: 11th June Rothesay to Caladh harbour, Kyle’s of Bute - 10th June Millport to Rothesay
A short sail of just 14.6 NM today from Millport to Rothesay. It would have been shorter, but we sailed virtually all of it and had to tack to get there.We set out from Millport cutting through between Greater and Little… Read more: 10th June Millport to Rothesay - Dolphins came to play at Millport, Isle of CumbraeAn evening surprise when a pod of bottle nosed dolphins arrived to entertain the visiting yachts. Sorry bout the wind noise.
- 9th June Lamlash to Millport
After an easy day in the natural deep water harbour of Lamlash we moved on today, to Millport, just 15.5 NM away. The tracking apps crashed again, so I had to manually create the voyage on Sailties, hence the 15.9 above.… Read more: 9th June Lamlash to Millport - Lamlash to Millport pictures
- 7th June Portpatrick to Lamlash, Isle of Arran
More photos Click here We had been comfortably moored in the idyllic Portpatric harbour until I was awoken at 01.00 by the wind howling through the rigging, and then a large bang. I jumped out of bed and threw on some… Read more: 7th June Portpatrick to Lamlash, Isle of Arran - Portpatrick to Lamlash photos
- 7th June Bangor to Portpatrick
Photos. https://lhyc.org.uk/bangor-to-portpatrick-photos/ Our planned 10.45 departure was delayed by about 30 mins waiting to get on the fuel pontoon, but got going about 11.45. The sunny morning became damp and miserable. We started with a bit of sailing, but once past… Read more: 7th June Bangor to Portpatrick - Bangor to Portpatrick photos
- 5th June Ardglass to Bangor
I lost the normal tracking again. The image above is from the Sailties App I have mentioned my old outboard a couple of times. I have davits on the back of the boat to carry the dinghy. I thought the davits… Read more: 5th June Ardglass to Bangor - Ardglass to Bangor pictures
- 3rd-4th June Port St Mary to Ardglass Pictures
- Conwy to Port St Mary Pictures (plus a bus ride to Douglas)We couldn’t be on the Isle of Man during TT week without seeing a bit of it. We only watched the Sunday Warm up laps. 180mph down Bray Hill.
- 3rd June Port St Mary to Ardglass NI
Daydream has had crew since Milford Haven and with windy weather forecast this week wanted to push on to be able to get to somewhere on the UK mainland with a railway station by the end of the week for the… Read more: 3rd June Port St Mary to Ardglass NI - 1-2 June Conwy to Port St Mary
Sorry for the delay again. It was a long day on Saturday and. Busy day Sunday. We departed Conwy at 0630 on Saturday. After winding our way out f the approach channel we set course for the Isle of Man, about… Read more: 1-2 June Conwy to Port St Mary - 30-31st May Caernarfon to Conwy
When we arrived at Caernarfon Victoria dock marina we went to the harbour office to pay and found they had a lot of printed handouts for transiting the notorious Swelly rocks between the two Menai bridges. The tide can run at… Read more: 30-31st May Caernarfon to Conwy - Caernarfon to Conwy pictures
- 28-29th May Pwllheli to Caernarfon
Sorry for the break in posts for a few days again. It has been difficult to update at sea and always something going on when ashore. Tuesday was a very damp day In Pwllheli marina. Having already walked into the town… Read more: 28-29th May Pwllheli to Caernarfon - Pwllheli to Caernarfon pictures
- Day 14 Fishguard to PwllheliAnother early start and it was raining. Whilst getting ready the sun broke through the rain and formed a spectacular rainbow. We raised our anchors and set off. Soon after exiting the harbour Daydream called on vhf that they had a… Read more: Day 14 Fishguard to Pwllheli
- Day 13 Milford Haven to Fishguard
A slightly different format as I’m sitting at a table on a steady boat in Pwllheli marina today, rather than standing in the cockpit with the iPad resting on the hatch cover trying to steady myself and not make too many… Read more: Day 13 Milford Haven to Fishguard - Two Weeks GoneDear All The Admiral has been keeping you informed and hopefully entertained with daily reports on our progress so far. We now have a day off sailing so I thought that I should offer a contribution. Progress up to now… Read more: Two Weeks Gone
- Day 13 Milford Haven to Fishguard
This should have gone out earlier, but I made a typo in the header that controls the posting. We have just departed Fishguard on a long leg to Pwllheli the mobile signal is getting weak and we are going to be… Read more: Day 13 Milford Haven to Fishguard - Day 12 Padstow to Milford Haven (Dale)
We departed Padstow Harbour at 05.40 once the gate was open. By 06.05 we were across the Doom Bar and out into a much calmer Atlantic Ocean than we arrived in. We got past the off lying rocks and set a… Read more: Day 12 Padstow to Milford Haven (Dale) - Days 9-11 Helford to Padstow
Sorry for the lack of updates for the last few days. We set off from Helford on Wednesday Heading for Newlyn. Once out the River we turned and set course for the Lizard. The area was littered with crab and… Read more: Days 9-11 Helford to Padstow - Day 8 Falmouth to Helford
Tuesday was a bit of a rest day. With Thunder Storms forecast we decided on an easier day. A couple of showers during the morning was all that arrived. It gave the opportunity to tidy the boat and do some laundry.… Read more: Day 8 Falmouth to Helford - Day 7 Newton Ferrers to Falmouth
Another 43 miles crossed off and our first encounter with dolphins. We set off from a much quieter than we arrived on Sunday afternoon, Newton Ferrers and down the picturesque River Yealm. Once out on the open sea we set a… Read more: Day 7 Newton Ferrers to Falmouth - Day 6 Dartmouth to the River Yealm
We departed Dartmouth at 07.30 before the town had awoken. A cruise ship had crept in early morning, but apart from the harbour team setting up a jetty to welcome the visitors there was little other than evidence of activity. Even… Read more: Day 6 Dartmouth to the River Yealm - Pics Portland to Dartmouth
- Day 5 Portland to Dartmouth
After my post about Portland Bill yesterday, not a lot happened. We set course for Dartmouth about 43nM and motored straight across Lyme bay expecting the forecast rain that never came apart from a light shower as we reached Dartmouth. The… Read more: Day 5 Portland to Dartmouth - Portland and Portland Bill
One part of the UK South Coast that most sailors dread is the Portland Bill. It is a huge lump of rock jutting out into the English Channel. The sea bed around it is very uneven and the tides can be… Read more: Portland and Portland Bill - Daily Summary – Day 4 – Cowes to Portland
I have made a slight change to the way these posts will appear. Each day of the trip, at either the end of the day or first thing next morning I will give a brief summary of the day’s journey, with… Read more: Daily Summary – Day 4 – Cowes to Portland - Day 4 Left Cowes on our way to Portland or Weymouth
Yesterday was another wet day and no wind, so engine running all day again apart from a brief attempt of sailing off Selsey, but my speed dropped so the engine went back on. Our initial plans were to head into Gosport… Read more: Day 4 Left Cowes on our way to Portland or Weymouth - 16th May – On our way to the Solent
Yesterday started off overcast and a few drops of rain and then the sun came out, but next to no wind. What was there was from behind us and may have given us a little push, but the engines were running… Read more: 16th May – On our way to the Solent - 15th May – Dover to Eastbourne or Brighton
Sorry, no arrival post last night. For some reason Vessel Finder lost me off of St Margaret’s Bay. I initially thought it was my AIS playing up, but Marine traffic showed me safely in Dover Marina. It had been a damp… Read more: 15th May – Dover to Eastbourne or Brighton - 14th May – We’re on our way.
After a night anchored in Stangate Creek at 05.30 we up anchored and at 05.40 the big adventure began. At 06.30 we said goodbye to the Medway. Follow us on lhyc.org.uk/gb24 - LHYC Great Britain Circumnavigation 2024
Three boats, Daydream, a Beneteau 31, sailed by Nick Funnel, Foreness, a Sadler 290, sailed by Michael Frankish and Jeddo, a Westerly Fulmar 32, sailed by David Metcalfe, sailed around Great Britain during the summer of 2024. We loaded the boats… Read more: LHYC Great Britain Circumnavigation 2024 - The three boats taking part
- Back in the water
Jeddo went back in the water on 10th April nearly ready to set off on the trip. - Jeddo all polished and waiting to go in the water
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