Treacherous Atlantic tow
“Abacon and egg roll started it all,” says skipper Alfie Moore. “We thought we’d run out of ketchup but then Stu found another bottle. We bit into our rolls at the same time, looked at each other and said, ‘yeah, we need this!’. It was going to be a good day… but then we spotted the dismasted vessel.”
Alfie, together with wife Ceylan, mum Adele Jeal and friend Stu Finch, were crossing the Atlantic on their Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40, Coco. They were taking part in the ARC+, the sister event to the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, with a stopover in Cape Verde.
Alfie, an electrical engineer, and his new wife, Ceylan, were on an extended honeymoon, having rented out their house in Croydon to start new lives as liveaboards.
When they met Alfie had been sailing his whole life on his grandad’s Westerly Berwick. He introduced Ceylan to sailing in 2013. She loved it so much that, not wanting to spoil the momentum, he went out and bought a 27ft Snapdragon… complete with 2ft of rainwater.
“The fact the boat was storing rainwater was a result for me,” says Alfie. “If it was holding water, then surely it could keep the seawater out.”
They named the boat Mushu after a Disney character and spent the next few months renovating her.
After only two shakedown sails Alfie got a call out of the blue from his grandad’s friend, offering to sell him a 33ft Colvic Countess.
“She had a stern cabin and two heads, and was much bigger than the Snapdragon,” says Alfie. “I bought the boat there and then and waited till that evening – when we were at a birthday party – to tell Ceylan the good news.”
Even after a glass of wine, the news that they’d bought another boat came as quite a shock
