Sailing round the world

I like sailing.  I suspect my love of sailing dates from childhood reading of the "Swallows and Amazons" series of books, written by Arthur Ransome. Happy days.

I started sailing in dinghies, originally on the River Dee in Chester, a sailing location so placid (the river in Chester is narrow and frequently overhung by trees) that boredom is probably a greater danger to health than drowning, but I loved it, and was given the freedom to sail whenever I wanted.

I particularly remember an idyllic summer when I would cycle down to the Chester Sailing Club with the sails for our Mirror dinghy in my rucksack, then spend the day exploring the river.

Much later, when I went to University, I started sailing on the sea for the first time.  Still in dinghies, I came to the realization that the gentle sound of water trickling around the bow of the boat was not an indication of great speed after all.  All the rules I had leaned from sheltered river sailing were void.  The water could be three-dimensional rather than a two-dimensional plane, and with a strong breeze, and some decent-sized waves, the boat would surf at a speed that was both exciting and exhausting.

Since then, I've graduated to gradually larger boats, learned the rudiments of navigation (just early enough to not take GPS completely for granted) and have cruised far and wide.  Well, far and wide to me means France, Ireland and Scotland, so not really very far in global terms, but holidays are short.   I have yet to summon up the courage to give up work and head off over the horizon long term.

I love sailing, but the British climate tends to make it a summer pursuit, so in the winter (which seems to last at least half of the year) I often escape into accounts of sailing written by others.

My latest reading experience (it's now November, so actually going sailing is not totally compelling) is A Voyage for Madmen by Peter Nichols and highly recommend it.  It is a gripping account of the Golden Globe, the first non-stop round-the-world sailing race, which started in 1968 and finished in 1969.  

I started the book on Saturday afternoon and finished it on Sunday.  Extraordinarily readable, even though I've read about the race many times.  If you have the slightest interest in sailing, and perhaps even if you don't, you should love this.