I am delighted to announce that the 2023 CA Imray Almanac will feature Spellbinder at anchor in Tinker’s Hole last summer.

I can’t recall whether it was I who took the photo, or my then crew Crispin, but I entered the photo in a competition as I liked it. Clearly others did so too! It certainly brings good memories of a fine cruise up in Scotland last year. Spellbinder is the yacht in the foreground, but we got to know the crews of the others too, and shared much merriment.

Spellbinder is in good shape after the winter and just needs a hull scrub before being ready for the season. I took her to Cowes last weekend and all seems fine. Apart from servicing the engine and undertaking some minor repairs I have not done much to her, other than to replace her carpets. A local firm (non yacht industry and therefore reasonable in price) copied her old ones and I am very pleased with the result – the blue seems to suit her.

Plans for the 2022 season are coming on well. I’ll be sailing locally in April and May, but plan to head to IJmuiden in late May to spend time in Amsterdam and the canals. The rest of the summer sees a gentle cruise down the French coast to Northern Brittany, a return to UK for some maintenance, then Southern Brittany and the Spanish rias beckon later on.

I have crew in place for the legs but there some berths available for those with whom I’ve sailed and who have not yet been able to commit.