Ad Lib 48

 

Flags ripple and billow, tides ebb and flow, friends come and go.

Sue, on the helm of Dehler 37 Illywhacker, as usual. Once of Guernsey, these days of Gosport. Usually in St Peter Port, when Stargazer is passing through. Often as not with a similar passage plan.

This time, Illywhacker, returning from Treguier, is in more of a hurry than Stargazer. Whose skipper is resolved, in the interests of inner pleasure, not to force the tempo set by wind and tide. 

Mindful of Mike Richie's metaphor (along the lines of): Conducting a satisfying passage under sail is similar to fashioning a wooden chair (he, an accomplished wood carver). With many disparate elements to resolve into a, simultaneously aesthetically pleasing and functional, whole. (Alas, I cannot locate the original quote)

Mike, the owner of Blondie Haslar's pioneering Jester. Completing thirteen solo Atlantic crossings aboard the junk rigged, fully decked, Folkboat. Rejoicing in precision navigation by sextant, sun and star. A skill acquired during wartime service (which included a hand in the planning of the D Day Landings). Later put to civilian use, as a founding member of the Royal Institute of Navigation. Mike's full story on the  Junk Rig Association Hall of Fame.

Picture Credits

Jester on passage courtesy of Rick Tomlinson