GOING SOLO

As my Westerly Typhoon 37, Talisker 1 sailed slowly north in a light easterly breeze I looked back over the starboard quarter at the beautiful island of Santa Maria. Her peaks were cloud-covered, much as they had been a few days before when we approached the island from the east. Santa Maria is the most easterly island in the beautiful Azores chain. Later today we would pass the eastern side of San Miguel and then be clear of land and traffic: we would then have the Atlantic Ocean much to ourselves. Land’s End was 1,150 miles to the north-east. Cabo da Roca, the most westerly point of Europe, 750 miles to the east. I hoped the easterly winds that were promised for a day or two would get us well to the north.

SOLO DREAM

I always had a plan to sail further. I’m smitten by the sea and I’ve always devoured books and articles on sailing. With limited sailing experience I bought my first cruising boat in 1998 at the age of 42. When I retired in 2013 I was