YOUR MBY

YOUR MBY

AUTOPILOT

I thought you would enjoy this true story spotted by a friend on the Cruising Association forum. It just goes to show there is a solution to every problem if you think laterally enough!

“I live in Stockholm and a member of our yacht club bought a boat in Finland last summer. He could not go to Finland to collect it due to Covid restrictions and the delivery crew couldn’t bring it to Sweden either. Here is how he managed to get the boat home:

The delivery crew cruised his new boat towards Sweden followed by a taxi boat. Half a nautical mile before the border the delivery crew put the boat on autopilot and jumped over to the taxi boat. The new owner meanwhile was waiting on the Swedish side of the border in a RIB. The boat then motored itself across the border where the new owner boarded her from the RIB and cruised her home. Everyone, including the customs officer, was happy!” Rob Burrell That is pure genius but somehow I don’t think HMRC or the Border Force would be quite so understanding if you bought a boat in France and tried to cruise it across the Channel unmanned! Hugo

PETROL PAUCITY

In December I decided to buy a brand new boat because I am no longer willing or able to mess about doing much maintenance. I was also determined not to miss another season. I ended up buying an outboard powered Jeanneau Merry Fisher 795 Series 2 on the understanding that modern outboards offer decent fuel efficiency and reliability.