REALISATION OF A DREAM

A boyhood dream comes to life as Dominic Barratt specs his dream Dale 28

- Dominic Barratt

Growing up a stone’s throw from the sea in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, it was difficult not to fall in love with the ocean. As a child, I would have to rely on the generosity of others to get out on the water. Whether that was a quick trip on a friend’s speedboat, a gruelling sail on an old captain’s wooden-hulled racing yacht, or a precarious and frantic row on a 5ft tender to drop our mackerel feathers into an incoming shoal, I always grabbed any chance I could. But the highlight of any year was a trip on the Conservancy Board pilot boats that I would often sit and watch in fascination from the rocky little beach at the bottom of the hill near my home, known locally as Cunjic. Those moments would guide me in my choice of boat and the name I would eventually choose for her.

After university, I spent the next 25 years or so living and working all over the world, invariably in places where getting on any sort of boat was impossible (Kazakhstan), undesirable (Moscow) or, frankly, not one of my top priorities (Tokyo). When I retired and returned to the UK in the summer of 2018, buying a boat was at the top of my bucket list. I would moor her at Milford Marina (five minutes’ walk from my family home),and spend as much time on her as the weather would permit exploring the Pembrokeshire coast and beyond.

WHY DALE?