Tom Cunliffe
Tom Cunliffe
B
y the time this edition of Sailing Today lands on the doormat, Easter will be upon us. Brexit may have affected the hassle-free option of an early trip to France for South-Coast boats, but sending in customs forms isn’t the end of the world. It’s true that in recent years we’ve enjoyed a period of seamless travel, but the good old days of bottles of rum tucked away in pillow cases and
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MAY 2022 Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting
packets of fags stashed in the anchor locker are still within living memory. In a way, the formalities that are back with us add to the sense of occasion. We’ve really ‘been foreign’ now, rather than just nipping over to a nearby ‘member state’. Easter has always been busy for the cruising sailor. Boat hoist slots must be booked in good time. A lightning fit-out follows the launch, invariably rushed, then bank holiday weekend arrives with car-loads of charts,
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victuals, lifejackets, excited sailors and, once again now, customs forms. When I’m in home waters, my initial target is often a trip across the 60 miles of open sea to Cherbourg from the Solent. It’s a suitable challenge with a tangible reward. These days I’m sailing a 44-foot cutter with a useful engine, a decent suit of sails and a large GPS-driven chart plotter. Time blurs the memory and it’s hard to equate this ideal arrangement with
ILLUSTRATION: CLAIRE WOOD, PHOTOS TOM CUNLIFFE
Spring is in the air and cross channel trips are back on the agenda. Tom recalls an early misadventure and an important lesson learnt
