SOLENT to Dundee

The crew of yacht Nova set out around Britain anticlockwise to discover the past and present of 12 of our most significant ports. In the first of a series, Jonathan Winter describes their first sail north up the east coast

- Jonathan Winter

Wisps of sea smoke rose from the Beaulieu River as we got up with the sunrise on Easter Sunday. The sound of curlews, geese and even the occasional peacock are familiar here in the New Forest. It’s a peaceful setting. Yet three miles away lies the oil refinery at Fawley, and it is just six miles from the bustling port and city of Southampton. Perhaps this juxtaposition of industry, history and landscape would be a foretaste of the experience of sailing around these islands.

The marina at Buckler’s Hard was our place of departure. It’s an historic place. In Napoleonic times, grand warships were built here. In World War 2, D-day preparations took place here. In sailing circles it is famed as the home of Sir Frances Chichester’s yacht Gypsy Moth IV, in which he completed the first solo circumnavigation of the world.

We hosted a ‘casting-off party’ for 40 people at the Master Builders’ Hotel – a rather grand gesture for such a relatively modest voyage. Yet the British coast and weather needs to be treated with respect.

Later we met a couple who said that sailing round the British coast was more challenging than anywhere else in their own four-year voyage round the world. Anyway, it was a good excuse for a party. Family, friends and collaborators visited Nova in warm sunshine over the weekend and waved us off as we motored down the windless river, against the rising tide. Setting out in very gentle conditions with novice crew, the journey ahead of us felt unreal. We really didn’t know what lay ahead. We had prepared the boat immaculately and taken six months sabbatical – more time than most. But were we ourselves prepared? Did we have the stamina and skill? Under the surface I carried a fear of incidents and accidents that would go beyond my capabilities.