One of your best sailing experiences?

johnalison said:
One great experience we had was when we did the HR 3-day regatta in Germany, in spite of my knowing no other useful German words than 'achtung'.
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I think I've only met one German in my life that didn't speak English better than most Brits. The only German one really needs is: bitte, ich spreche kein Deutsch.
 
newtothis said:
I think I've only met one German in my life that didn't speak English better than most Brits. The only German one really needs is: bitte, ich spreche kein Deutsch.
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This wasn’t the case in the old DDR, where Russian had been the second language. It took a number of years before we were occasionally understood, and I suspect that they are still ‘behind’ the west.
 
newtothis said:
I think I've only met one German in my life that didn't speak English better than most Brits. The only German one really needs is: bitte, ich spreche kein Deutsch.
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I pit stopped once on a Nicholson 55 at the British Kiel Yacht Club. The drinks were amazingly cheap and enabled the 12 of us in the crew to be fluent in just about anything. Bill and Ben would have found friends.
 
billyfish said:
Ours was BUSH BABY a burnes build sail number 66.great boat but started to spend more time under it than in it.
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We owned Bush Baby between 2016 and 2021. 😀

Keeping on topic - one memorable sail on her was beating back through the entrance to Chichester Harbour in a rare northerly, with my daughter. Tacking close enough to the Hayling shore, with the tide under us, to be able to exchange "good afternoon" greetings with the dog walkers.

Another memorable sail on our next boat, a Sweden 36. Beating single handed up from the southern limb of Loch Spelve on Mull. Light winds, early morning sunshine with just me and a solitary road cyclist in a red jersey making our way up the loch.

Oh, and anchoring in Soa, a tiny island SW of Iona, only enough room for 1 boat. A rare treat made possible by Antares charts and calm weather. IMG-20250917-WA0002.jpg
 
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Mine was on my Coastal Skipper course. Night navigation from Tobermory to Muck. Absolutely cloudless sky so amazing views of the Milky Way, Then pilotage into the harbour on Muck, anchor set first time. Instructor said well done. Glass of celebratory whisky taken into the cockpit and the Northern Lights came out. Perfect end to a great day.
 
ashtead said:
Sailing through the straits of Messina early one morning having sailed from Palma -then stopping for an early morning drink or 3 in a Sicily bar/coffee shop before the shops opened.
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We went looking for Sylla and Charybdis looking for excitement with giant waterspouts and sea monsters writhing about. Seen more waves on a puddle....
 
Best one was perhaps leaving St Vaast at 0200 and when 10 miles off realising that the white band in the sky was the milky way. Mrs Mate was so in tune with everything she insisted on first watch and sent me below for an hour or so where I could hear her very quietly singing every song she knew, including many girl guide ones.
 
Two memorable ones. Fist was crossing Biscay at night ( Gironde to Bilbao) with clear skies and nice beam reach - twinkling stars, phosphorescence (?) from the little creatures disturbed by the boat, a few dolphins and no light pollution. Def Leopard on the earphones and wife asleep below. The second was rounding Lands end in the early hours, stiff southwesterly sending rollers underneath the boat wife asleep below ( is there a pattern) and this time Slade on the earphones.

I just love sailing at night and I love being the only person on deck. And reading posts above, I dont think I am alone in this
 
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barca nova said:
The second was rounding Lands end in the early hours, stiff southwesterly sending rollers underneath the boat wife asleep below ( is there a pattern) and this time Slade on the earphones.
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We were miles out to sea
Did we float you and me
Maybe one day we'll go back for more
We were miles from the bay
Did we float I should say
Maybe next time we'll leave from the shore
 
barca nova said:
Two memorable ones. Fist was crossing Biscay at night ( Gironde to Bilbao) with clear skies and nice beam reach - twinkling stars, phosphorescence (?) from the little creatures disturbed by the boat, a few dolphins and no light pollution. Def Leopard on the earphones and wife asleep below. The second was rounding Lands end in the early hours, stiff southwesterly sending rollers underneath the boat wife asleep below ( is there a pattern) and this time Slade on the earphones.

I just love sailing at night and I love being the only person on deck. And reading posts above, I dont think I am alone in this
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Last time I saw Slade I didn't need earphones-------You could hear them from five miles away.
 
When I was 11 years old my folks took me and my brother and sister to a local Yacht Club’s introduction to sailing. I was put aboard a 16ft clinker sailing dinghy and a light bulb went on in my head which still hasn’t dimmed some 60 plus years later.
Many other adventures but absolutely nothing matches that first experience
 
^^^^ I can relate to this, my earliest memory of sailing was aged about 5 or 6, sailing with my parents in their 18ft National, She was an Uffa Ace design built by my Dad on the driveway next to the house. Named Marlenemar she may still be going renamed Tipple.
I remember laying under the foredeck in a nest of cotton sails & looking back at the tiller bending in dads hands, the roar of the water rushing under the clinker planking. 18's are quick boats!
Hardly surprising that i became a boatbuilder!
 
Keith 66 said:
^^^^ I can relate to this, my earliest memory of sailing was aged about 5 or 6, sailing with my parents in their 18ft National, She was an Uffa Ace design built by my Dad on the driveway next to the house. Named Marlenemar she may still be going renamed Tipple.
I remember laying under the foredeck in a nest of cotton sails & looking back at the tiller bending in dads hands, the roar of the water rushing under the clinker planking. 18's are quick boats!
Hardly surprising that i became a boatbuilder!
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Great boat a National 18 on which I learnt a lot in my early teens. Ours was number 101
 
First time I got a dinghy to plane, solo in command-ish , that was pretty amazing. And it wasn’t really a planing sort of dinghy as it was round bowed with a Gunter rig… but the hook was set as it were.
 
Circumstances conspiring to mean that I had to forgo a berth on a yacht for the 79 Fastnet.
Other than that very similar to those of JM with the exception of sailing into NY
 
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dunedin said:
It was a route to dream of. Had left boat at Lochinver, and was thinking of heading to Orkney. Looking at the forecast changed plans and went
- Shiant Isles,
- Taransay,
- St Kilda
Perfection.
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Pretty much exact same route I took last september :) cept had come from ballahulish via port appin, tobermory, inverie & applecross. Then followed your itinery, though popped into leverburgh for a pint on way to taransay. Came back via the monach isles and Barra.
One of the best? Jeez, too many to mention… my first trip out in my wee boat all the way to scotland from england ( well, across the solway from maryport to kippford :) ) so technically I had arrived at my first foreign port (ignoring the fact I’m from glasgow )
My first time round ardnamurchan, an amazing careering 10mile goosewinged sail from easedale right past kererra and oban in biggish seas, a stunning night anchored among the cairns of coll, yup…too many. Sailing is amazing.
 
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