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on tour
ALL AT SEA JULY 2021
Solent based dinghy sailor David Henshall is a well known writer and speaker on topics covering the rich heritage of all aspects of leisure boating.
epic voyage around the world.
ith all the pressures of modern life, the urge to ‘upsticks’ and sail off on a voyage of global discovery probably affects most sailors at some time in their lives, yet for the majority the limit of any blue water sailing might be a trip across the Channel to explore the beauties of North Western France or, for the sportier crews, a race out and back to the Fastnet Rock. Yet the romance of sailing away to a new horizon has been instilled in us through the wonderful writings of trail blazers such as Joshua Slocum who, 126 years ago, cast off from his winter berth in Boston on what would be a three-year solo circumnavigation, although today, sailing around the world, either crewed or single-handed, is more a case of racing around as quickly as possible. This leaves little choice in the course, as sailors in the Volvo (now ‘The Race’) or the Vendée Globe aim for a fast run down across the equator, then a long board south towards the coast of Brazil, before turning South-East for the long haul down into the Roaring
Image: Shutterstock
Forties, passing south of Australia and Cape Horn, before the ‘last leg’ northwards up through the Atlantic. However, as Southampton based sailor Terry Coles likes to point out, this high speed dash may well tick the box of having seen every one of the 360 degree points on the compass at some point in the voyage, but it misses out on so many wonderful locations. In his mind, if you are really going to sail the globe then you need to be thinking in terms of a pair of ‘figure of eights’. And this is exactly what he is doing after slipping his lines in late June from the pontoon in Kemps Marina, on the River Itchen in Southampton, to embark on what will be a true sail around the world, a 55,000 mile marathon that could take upwards of five years to complete.
Since returning home after a double Atlantic crossing, home has been under the care of Kemps Marina on the River Itchen. But after eight years, it is time to move on.
The story begins
Amazingly,Terry is very much the antithesis of the ‘born to be a yachtsman’ sea salt, as he was
the son of a carpenter, growing up in Farnham in very much inland Surrey. One day, wanting a holiday with a difference, a friend suggested sailing, which saw Terry coming down to the Solent and take a course at a sailing school. Sailing had really bitten its latest recruit, as Terry then wanted his own boat, settling on the Folk Dancer 27, a sweet derivative of the classic Folkboat that enjoyed a long keel, sea kindly handling and a reputation for safe passage making. It was just as well that Terry had chosen his boat wisely as his first voyage was from Faversham in Kent, around the North Foreland and then westwards down the Channel to the Solent. This really was a case of ‘hands on’ learning as there would be a number of interesting experiences along the way that saw him learning about inboard diesel engines and navigation en route. Having done a quarter of the way around the compass,Terry decided that he might as well do the other three-quarters and thus set off to sail around the UK. Apart from some scary moments with poor visibility when transiting the Pentland Firth, this voyage left Terry wanting to head away to more exotic destinations, which would require a bigger and more blue water friendly yacht. As luck would have it, right at the very top of the Hamble River another hopeful sailor had been building a ferro cement Norsk 35, the John Perryman designed canoe sterned ocean going yacht. Sadly, the builder was unable to complete the yacht, which he had named Mahler after listening to his favourite classical composer during the construction phase. Terry all but gutted the interior, starting at the bow and working aft into the main cabin, then starting again at the stern and working forwards until the boat was complete.
Taking to the sea
In the way of a shakedown cruise,Terry sailed Mahler westwards to Falmouth, before heading further west to Kinsale in Southern Ireland. From there it was a run that was pretty much due south to the beautiful Rias on the north-western tip of Spain. However
ABOVE: With sails set and drawing nicely. Mahler heels slightly as she sets out along a route that will take her right around the world in a pair of huge ‘figure of eight’ loops. When/if Terry returns to the Solent, the skyline will look very different… LEFT: A final thumbs-up and a wave goodbye, from now on Terry is very much on his own. He may be alone for now on the boat, but it is in his nature that he will make friends wherever he goes.
The tide had just started to ebb, so the timing was perfect. Terry slipped Mahler’s final warps, leaving behind one life, All images: Andrew Wiseman whilst sailing off into a new one.
