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A LONG DRIVE FOR A SAIL, A SEAL AND A BIT OF HEEL

November 20, 2016

Who in their right mind would drive 200 miles from Poole to the furthest fringes of Essex, hop aboard a boat for a two-hour sail, and then get straight back in the car to drive all the way home again? A boat-tester for the yachting press, that’s who. No one else would be daft enough.

A few weeks ago we were in Essex for a couple of missions, one of which was to test a new and very different little boat. It was a lovely day and we achieved much of what we needed to, but the forecast wind failed to appear.

We were left with a choice: either be suitably vague about the boat’s sailing qualities when writing the article, which would have been the sensible approach, or go back another day. As a freelancer you don’t get paid a penny more for going back again but, being a martyr to our cause, that’s what we did. We faced the M25’s traffic jams both ways, spending more than 9 hours on the road and covering over 400 miles – all for what will probably boil down to little more than a couple of paragraphs. 

At least we had a decent breeze this time and learned a good deal about the boat that hadn’t been possible before. It will add value for the readers – at our expense. We also saw loads of seals, which are a common sight in these parts but a novelty for many south-coast sailors. 

You never get any sympathy when people learn that you sail, test and photograph boats for a living, but at the end of a day like that you can’t help wondering why you do it.

Seal on the Walton Backwaters
Seal on the Walton Backwaters
This seal didn't hang around to be photographed from closer range.
Boat-testing on the Walton Backwaters
Boat-testing on the Walton Backwaters
Getting the gunwale wet – well, nearly wet in this case – is all part of testing a boat.
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