Despite having never had aspirations to be a yacht delivery skipper, I was coerced into delivering a Moody 426 from the Algarve to the UK in 2006.
It all started when I met an acquaintance, Malcolm, in the Kings Arms, Salcombe. After the first pint had mollified my apprehensions about Malcolm uncharacteristically buying me a beer, he bought the next round. As I wet my lips on the second pint, Malcolm wondered aloud if I would be prepared to collect his late father’s yacht from its mooring in Vilamoura and sail her back to Salcombe.
I’d recently retired so the chance to sail a yacht from Portugal to the UK, all expenses paid, was an attractive proposition. My wife and I had owned three yachts since 1989 sailing extensively to North and South Brittany, the Isles of Scilly and southern Ireland so a trip back from Portugal wasn’t daunting. Also, a Biscay crossing would enhance my sailing CV. My thoughts went along the lines of “keep an eye on the charts and the weather forecasts and avoid big ships” – what could go wrong?
About the boat
Malcolm’s elderly father, Keith had been living aboard his Moody 426, Wave Dancer enjoying his retirement in the warm climate and hospitality of Portugal’s Algarve coast, although sailing little in his latter years. When Keith passed away, Malcolm and his sister inherited Wave Dancer, and wanted her brought back to the UK where she would command a better price.
I asked Malcolm to allow me to sleep on his proposal, but lay awake considering crew (who and how many), the boat and whether the trip would be non-stop or a series of day sails. Malcolm had utmost faith in his father’s ability as a yacht owner and assured me that Wave Dancer would be seaworthy and ready to go.
With all due respect, I wanted to see first-hand evidence and insisted that Malcolm would pay for my crew and me to fly home in the event of us not being able to make Wave Dancer sea-ready. Malcolm agreed, subject to his approval, to pay for any parts needed for the trip, plus mooring fees, fuel, food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Crew assembly
My wife was not interested in committing a few weeks to sailing home so I called on a friend, Mike, a retired RAF and airline
