Dairne and Graham have both been sailing since the 1950s, when they sailed in Southampton Water.

We kept our wodden sloop Fay-A till 1995, then purchased Ariadne, a new Rustler 36. Since then we have mainly done short handed (2 person) Channel cruising till 2001, when retirement allowed more ambitious cruising – usually 3+ months each summer. Destinations have included Hebrides, Orkney, Round Ireland (the Log won the RYA Cruising Log competition), S Brittany, La Rochelle and Gironde. Logged distance in Ariadne has exceeded 36,000 nautical miles.

Later we assisted our eldest son, resident in Auckland, to purchase a 42ft cutter “True” in New Zealand. We have both cruised from Auckland to Bay of Islands and Great Barrier Island, with Iain, and on our own.

In early 2012 Dairne suffered a serious stroke. We carried on sailing for a while, but the angle of heel especially when beating spoilt the enjoyment for her. So at the end of 2015, we bought Teal, a Hardy 36 Commodore motor boat, thoroughly described elsewhere n this website. Ariadne was put on the market an sold at the end of 2015, but we will still follow her adventures in the Golden Globe Race