Sailors share fundraising round-Britain adventure in new book
by Paula Irish 27 Jun 2021 01:53 NZST
Sailors share fundraising round-Britain adventure in new book 'Blue Star Adventure' © Mike Goodwin & Roger Colmer
Two sailors who circumnavigated Britain to raise money for charity have shared their experiences in a book titled Blue Star Adventure after the name of their boat.
Mike Goodwin from Staffordshire Coastal Cruising Club and south coast-based Roger Colmer bought the yacht together after deciding to tackle the round Britain challenge to broaden their sailing experience and raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
The doublehanded team sailed a figure-of-eight route in stages over 2015-6, joined by around 20 guest crew members along the way who supported their fundraising by making donations in return for enjoying a week of sailing aboard Blue Star.
Mike's son Daniel, himself a keen sailor, died from Cystic Fibrosis aged 36 in 2017 and was sadly too unwell at the time of the challenge to take part. The adventures of Mike and Roger aboard Blue Star now continue to raise money for the Trust to improve the outlook for others with the disease and have so far reached a total of around £30,000.
Their book tells the story of their circumnavigation through anecdotes of not only the memorable highlights but also the challenges they encountered. Although it is not a technical guide, they hope it will be a great read for sailors and armchair explorers, while providing useful insights for anyone thinking of taking on a similar expedition.
Mike, a retired Staffordshire University faculty dean, says: "We're both qualified yacht masters and have done lots of sailing over the years in the UK and overseas, so we're fairly experienced, but we really wanted to do this project to raise money for the Trust and to test ourselves as sailors. Blue Star Adventure is the tales of what we experienced and how we coped with various situations, so it will give people a feel for what they're likely to have to deal with if they are sailing around Britain."
Highs and lows
Having bought a second-hand Bavaria 37 for their voyage and renamed it Blue Star, Mike and Roger tackled an anti-clockwise route from the south coast to the east coast to Scotland, then cut through the 60-mile Caledonian Canal to the west coast of Scotland, followed by the nine-mile Crinan Canal through the Kintyre Peninsula to leave the boat over winter at Greenock.
They then returned in 2016 to head north around the top of Scotland and to the Orkneys before heading back once more through the Caledonian Canal, then south and back to their starting point via Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wales and the West Country.
Mike's highlights included the Scottish canal passages, spellbinding wildlife encounters and sailing days when "the sea was flat, the wind was in just the right direction, the sun was shining and the scenery was magnificent".
"Sailing the coast of Northumberland past Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands, it just happened to be the best day for sailing," says Mike. "And we had another good trip from south Wales, across the Bristol Channel to Padstow in Cornwall, with a perfect breeze and good seas and dolphins jumping out of the sea alongside the boat. We also saw gannets, kittiwakes and puffins in the North East and sailing across St Bride's Bay off Wales you can see half the world's population of Manx Shearwaters. There was just a huge number of them on the sea and in the air and it was an incredible sensation sailing amongst all these birds!"
With so many miles of sailing, there were also difficult days with conditions which, although both experienced yachtsmen, Mike and Roger hadn't previously encountered to the same extent, ranging from relentless 6m waves on the North Sea to dense fog at both ends of the British Isles.
As Mike recalls: "I'd experienced fog before but perhaps not quite so much and in such difficult circumstances as we had sailing across the Pentland Firth at the top of Scotland, which is a treacherous stretch of water as it is. We'd prepared ourselves well for the trip and before we set out, we updated all the electronic systems and had a new modern radar and an AIS fitted, so I wouldn't say we were desperately worried, but it does change the atmosphere on board when you're relying entirely on instrumentation for navigation.
"We had fog as well at Land's End, which was a disappointment because we'd been looking forward to seeing it from the sea, but it's all part of the experience and good to look back on.
"It was an experience too going to the Orkney islands. That far north it didn't get very dark at night and although it was the summer it was bitterly cold when we were there, and sailing across Scappa Flow and thinking about the sunken ships from the two wars that are down there and the people who lost their lives, it was quite an eerie feeling.
"I think there are some really challenging aspects to sailing around the UK, particularly dealing with areas of strong tide, which you have to think about carefully, but equally there is some amazing scenery. It ought to be on everybody's to do list if you're a sailor."
Home and away
In addition to Mike and Roger sailing Blue Star around Britain, they were joined along the way by 35 different people, with a crew change every week or so and some guests coming from as far away at the United States, New Zealand and Sweden though various family and work connections.
In return for joining the journey, those taking part were invited to make a donation afterwards if they'd enjoyed their time onboard, with a suggested sum of just under what a yacht charter might cost, and this provided a key source of fundraising.
"Daniel would have loved to have come with us, he enjoyed our sailing adventures but unfortunately wasn't well enough and didn't feel up to it," says Mike. "He was following us though and we ran a blog with an entry every day with a few photos showing what we'd done and where we were."
Mike first got into the sport in his 30s through dinghy sailing at Nantwich & Border Counties SC before moving into coastal yacht sailing. The Midlands, despite being landlocked, has a number of coastal cruising clubs and Mike urges anyone interested to find out more.
As he explains: "Staffordshire Coastal Cruising Club is about as far from the coast as you can get so we're half sailing club and half social club - we meet regularly and people are welcome to get in touch. A good number of members like to come along just for the socials and there's no pressure to step on a boat if you don't want to but equally you have the opportunity if you want to sail with us."
Among the guest speakers to have visited the club is professional round-the-world sailor Tracy Edwards MBE, who kindly wrote the foreword to Mike and Roger's book, which she says is "delightful and beautifully written".
Tracy adds: "The descriptions of the ports, scenery and sailing are just wonderful and it was easy to imagine myself back out there. I loved getting to know Mike and Roger and the many people with whom they shared their journey. It reminded me how blessed we are in the UK to have such a stunning coastline with so many varied and fascinating communities."
All author royalties from Mike and Roger's book are donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Mike also raises money by giving talks to clubs and business groups, and as an RYA Day Skipper Theory instructor, from which he gives all proceeds to the charity.
Blue Star Adventure - A Circumnavigation of Britain, by Mike Goodwin and Roger Colmer, is available online and in bookstores, with a greater margin available for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust if ordered direct from Mike at www.michaelgoodwinsailing.blogspot.com