Cruiser Sailing
Having been involved with and sailed on cruising yachts there is something quite special about pulling into a port or marina and studying the faces of people who have gathered to watch all manner of craft enter and hopefully moor without incident you also hope as you are about to tie up or drop anchor that you are not the boat to make a mess of things and become a spectacle instead of a sight of pure majesty.

For many people a cruiser is something which is the domain of the rich, this is however different in reality as witnessed in most ports and marinas by the sheer diversity of boats on the water and in the many brokers that are on the coastal resorts around Wales.

The way I was introduced into this side of the sailing community was as crew on a Leisure 23 and then on a Sadler 29 where I spent many enjoyable and interesting evenings and weekends as well as a few holidays ( some of the pictures are in the gallery ) plus as a member of the Newport Uskmouth Sailing Club I took advantage of the RYA training they provided and completed several of the courses.

One of the most memorable trips I undertook was a night crossing to Ireland from the marina at Neyland taking watch every 2 hours and having to keep a special lookout for wayward trawlers which we encountered there was something peaceful even spiritual in the early morning as the sun rose on the horizon and the coastline came into view, the warmth of the sun now replacing the cups of coffee and soup that had seen us through the night.

For many people the choice of keel on a cruising yacht is simply based on where they intend to visit, many people believe in fin keels and would not entertain the bilge variety (2 keels) from my own point of view and cruising in the Bristol channel then the choice is the latter, settling down in the welcoming ports and watering holes that dry out along the South Wales coast, such as Saundersfoot, Tenby, Sully and Barry, it is often reassuring to think that you don’t have to worry about the depth, other than for getting back on board, or having to lay up alongside the walls of the harbour and in many cases even miss out on the beauty and hospitality offered by these inlets.

I will be covering various aspects of sailing and highlighting some of the events happening around Wales in the sections of the site as it grows and would encourage you to participate with this or any section of the site so other can benefit from your input.

Dave