I left on the 18th May and now its 18th August, so its taken exactly 3 months.I've covered 1911nm (2,200 miles) over the ground, or more correctly over the sea and river bed, according to my GPS. I estimate about 1809nm have been through the water, based on my calibration of my paddle log, so the tides, rather than sail or engine have taken me 101nm (117 miles). Most of the time I have sailed, though I may have motor sailed for 20% of the time and solely motored for 5% .Sometimes the wind drops, or just comes from the wrong direction and there is not much choice. All the trips have been day sails. The longest was Milford haven to Wexford (72nm) followed by Scarborough to Grimsby (65nm), then Wells to Lowestoft (57nm).
So now it's over, what's it all been about? What have I learned, What's been good and what's been bad and has it changed me?
When I set out, I was looking to retrieve some of the self confidence that had been knocked by being made redundant. This has been achieved in spades. There is a huge sense of satisfaction at having pulled this off in a small boat.There are probably only a handful of people who do this trip each year and for everyone of them their experiences will vary. Each circumnavigation is therefore unique. Nobody has done the trip I have made, though some will have done something similar.The experiences and memories are intense, as only those which are hard won under risky conditions can be.
Not thinking much beyond the needs of each day, has stopped me from possibly brooding about my old job. Indeed the press coverage about cuts and raids on pensions have left me thinking I got out just in time. I shall need to supplement my pension, but how is for tomorrow, or the day after.
Whilst there have been times when I would have liked some company, and I'm generally of the view that most things are better for being shared, I have never been lonely.There have been many hours spent just looking at the sea,but its always moving and you are anticipating the movement of the boat as each waves arrives. I think it must be similar to fishermen who sit and watch a float all day. It is both contemplative and purposeful. A sort of active readiness.I have needed to gain the confidence to know what is OK and what is not quite right and needs to be fixed. Such as does that cloud mean I need to reef now, or am I not reallygoing to be over pressed? You can never completely relax, there are too many fishing buoys out there to let you. I'm also convinced fiberglass is magnetically attracted to those floating lumps of plastic and line. Also conditions change quickly and suddenly everything which was calm is now chaos. Getting back to calm is always the focus and the challenge
I have never been bored either. Every place I have been has had interesting things to discover. Linking them all as been their association with the sea and shared histories.Doing a blog has been a good discipline. It has made me explore more thoroughly, to ensure I have understood things well and remembered them properly. I have described it, as a bit like writing a continuous postcard. My researches have reinforced my understanding of how the sea has shaped us.The fishing, the boat building and the trade is why so many of us have come to live on its edge, in houses built for those who used to do these things. It has influenced our language. It has both defended us from invasion and it has been the way the the invaders have come. It fascinates us, gives us pleasure, scares us and takes our lives. It is a massive influence on where and how we live.Those of us who sail maintain this strong connection and the friendliness and helpfulness of those I have met shows me that it brings out the best in people, I have met some great folk on this trip, including the fellow circumnavigators. It is the people and the places that have been important, which is why I'm more interested in this sort of sailing than doing transatlantic crossings. People who do that sort of thing alone are made of different stuff.
I confess to having a perverse satisfaction in doing this in a small boat. I have been able to go everywhere that larger boats have been at a fraction of the cost .Mooring fees, fuel costs have both been less. Whenever I have had the opportunity to compare Hylje's sailing performance, she has done really well to keep up with larger craft, so I have not paid the price of being any slower, or being constrained. Phil Ashwin's example of doing it in an even smaller 17ft craft should show that we do not need to feel limited by our length. Size really does not matter. Furthermore the ability to lift the keel and creep up drying rivers has allowed me to go places, which bigger and fixed keel boats owners don't tend to think about doing.
The hardest thing for me has been the difficulty of striking the right balance between making progress and spending time in places. Sometimes my stays have been through choice, and sometimes because bad weather has pinned me down. In either case I have been frequently nagged by the feeling that I should be pressing on.It has been important to feel that I was still moving.
I did not go around the top of Scotland because I thought I may be stuck in places waiting for the right conditions. As it turns out, I probably had sufficient time, but if I'd gone that way then maybe everything would have been different. Before I set out and since returning, people express the opinion that it was not a real circumnavigation.I don't think anyone who sails would say that.It does not cheapen the achievement. I'm comfortable that the route I took. It was just one of the many judgements I needed to make.
Doing this journey has made the UK seem bigger, rather than shrink it. It takes for ever to get beyond that headland you see in the distance and a whole day at sea does not take you far. The sense of the scale of the place and the riches it contains just makes me want to go back to so much of it and see the bits I missed. The one exception is Grimsby though. Whilst its redeeming features are the price of the beer in the bar and the friendliness of those in the marina, I won't rush back.
I have enjoyed the ongoing spectacle of the clouds the weather and the light.I should like to have seen more of the dolphins, and the odd whale would have been nice, but the birds and seals have been a constant fascination. Even on the last night as Joe and I rowed back to Hylje in the dark, a seal surfaced and sniffed the air loudly."This isn't much like Peckham".. he'd said on the way up the river.He'd been near where buildings had been set on fire as part of the recent looting.Totnes and the Dart is a long way from London and I'm aware that doing what I've done is an opportunity not available everyone. It has been a privilage to have this opportunity and I've tried to extract the very most from it.
The blog stats tell me that there have been about 5,015 viewings of my blog pages, with about 65 people looking at my ramblings on a daily basis. Many will not have read them all, but will have dipped in and out.The fact that you've stuck with it, and some have made positive comments suggests its been worth the effort. Some say they have learned more about me and how I seem to be fixated by things like clap board buildings. Others have said their own memories have been sparked by my descriptions of places.Whatever you have got out of it, thanks for sticking with me. To know that you have been reading and some have been emailing me has been a bulwark against any loneliness I may have felt. The opportunity to be in contact like this would not have been possible when I bought Hylje some 15 years ago.
Has it changed me? It's maybe too early to say, and perhaps it is not for me to answer, but I feel at one with myself. Like I said after being at Findhorn, its perhaps not what you gain from the outside, its what you discover inside you that are the real benefits of the best experiences.
Finally, a last plea to put a few quid towards the 2 charities I have been collecting for. I have made the case why I think they are important, so please now is the time for those who haven't signed up. See it as a small price for the entertainment you've had in reading the blog. For those who have already contributed thank you very much.
The addresses are:
1. For the RNLI www.justgiving.com/Stephen-Munday/
2. For the RSPB www.justgiving.com/Stephen-Munday-RSPB/
Just click on the one you want to contribute to and follow the instructions. As they say on the VHF radio...Out.
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