Around the UK in

We have recently closed the fundraising activity for the trip and I'm pleased to say that we raised a grand total of £2,464.67, well over the target of £2,000. Many thanks to all those that contributed.

27th. Sept. It was an emotional final sail that took us from Cowes, across the Solent, up the River Hamble before berthing at the Elephant Boatyard, Bursledon at midday; 89 days after departing from the very same berth! We had made it. It was wonderful to be reunited with family and friends.
It has been a fantastic adventure; we have seen many wonderful places and met so many interesting people. James and I have sailed around 2,000 miles in about 60 separate passages. Some were considerably more challenging than others but we have enjoyed the experience and have come through as better seamen. We could not have done this without the support from the team in Bursledon and from the rest of the family, in particular my wife, Joy.
The only objective not yet achieved has been the �2,000 donation target for our chosen charity, Myleoma UK. If you would like to make a donation, please click on this link. www.justgiving.com/timmitchell1. Many thanks

26th Sept. It seems that all the good weather has been packed into the last 2 weeks of the voyage. After dropping off Phil, we took advantage of the Easterly breeze to make the short hop over to Cowes, past a town on the starboard side, the name of which, as a Southampton supporter, I cannot mention in this blog! For our final night out we visited a few pubs in Cowes - surely the most "Yottie" town on earth. We met up with some friendly folk from South Africa, who helped us celebrate the end of the voyage.

25th Sept. We had another dose of great sailing weather for the 47 mile trip West to Chichester Harbour. By the time we reached Selsey Bill the wind dropped and we needed to turn the engine on to buck the 3 knot tide. Chichester is a wonderful sailing harbour, home of 10,000 yachts and more than a dozen sailing clubs, apparently. We picked up a mooring just before dusk, pumped up the dinghy and rowed ashore for an eveneing meal at the Anchor Inn. Clearly Phil was enjoying himself

24th Sept. Passing Brighton Pier

23rd Sept. We are now on the South coast and, frankly speaking, the stretch from Dover to Brighton is the least attractive part of the British coast we have visited, characterised by articificial marinas full of large, expensive floating caravans. So we've decided to move along quickly. The Indian summer (with a nice Force 5 Easterly) made for a pleasant sail to Eastbourne where Phil Totney joined us. The following day we moved further up the coast to Brighton, via the infamous Beachy Head (notorious for people jumping off!).