After sailing tens of thousands of miles solo over many years, this June cruise included my longest solo passage, from Den Helder to Lowestoft, since suffering a total heart block three years ago. During a month away I celebrated my 70th birthday, completed a rewarding southern North Sea circuit, and once again proved to myself that good seamanship is about preparation, sound judgement and bringing both boat and skipper home safely. “An unremarkable passage means a safe voyage.” “I don't do adventures. Adventures mean I've made mistakes.” “Almost always, the crew is the weakest link on a well-found vessel.” Route Harwich – The Colne – Ramsgate – Oostende – Scheveningen – Amsterdam – Den Helder – Lowestoft – The Ore – River Stour – The Colne – Harwich Yacht Westerly Typhoon Talisker 1 For more detailed accounts of this cruise, passage planning and navigation notes, please visit my official website: https://samingosailing.com #SoloSailing #Sailing #SingleHanded Follow Me Website: https://samingosailing.com X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ Chapters 00:00 Homeward Bound 01:13 Four Weeks Earlier – The Orwell to The Colne 02:40 The Colne to Ramsgate 03:52 Ramsgate to Oostende 06:19 Oostende to Scheveningen 08:43 Scheveningen to IJmuiden & Amsterdam 09:49 Amsterdam to Den Helder 11:42 Testing Myself – Den Helder to Lowestoft 14:54 Back in Home Waters 20:01 Return to the Orwell 21:21 Reflections

My latest Samingo Sailing film premieres on Sunday 2 August at 20:00 BST. Join me for a month-long single-handed cruise around the southern North Sea, including my longest solo passage since my total heart block and my 70th birthday in Amsterdam. I hope you'll join me for the Premiere. https://samingosailing.com #SoloSailing #Sailing #SingleHanded

James sails from Orford, Suffolk to Falmouth & back in 2025. Down Channel day sailing without a break to the Orwell, Ramsgate, Brighton, The Solent, Studland Bay, Dartmouth and then Falmouth. Up Channel day sailing to Dartmouth, Studland Bay, The Solent (where he n 'Talisker 1' had a days rest in the Beaulieu River), Brighton, Dover, Ramsgate, The Orwell and then to Orford. Health has been severely tested thanks to Covid but James still dreams of a return to Shetland, a voyage to Iceland and together with 'Talisker 1' wiping their feet in the Pacific Ocean. It might be a pipe dream ... *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g #sailing #sea #sail #sailinglife #yacht #boat #sailboat #ocean #yachting #boating #sailor #sailingboat #boats #solosailing #singlehandedsailing

James demonstrates more east coast sailing without the use of the engine. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g #sailing #sea #sail #sailinglife #yacht #boat #sailboat #ocean #yachting #boating #sailor #sailingboat #boats #solosailing #singlehandedsailing

James demonstrates how to sail in light airs against a foul tide without the need of an Engine. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g #sailing #sea #sail #sailinglife #yacht #boat #sailboat #ocean #yachting #boating #sailor #sailingboat #boats #solosailing #singlehandedsailing

By Wind & Tide. Clumsily Following in the Wake of Masters of the Past. James attempts to demonstrate the use of Wind & Tide to Sail in the Thames Estuary without the need of an Engine. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g #sailing #sea #sail #sailinglife #yacht #boat #sailboat #ocean #yachting #boating #sailor #sailingboat #boats #solosailing #singlehandedsailing

Health of the Crew. Rig Inspection. Winter Work. Know Your Life Raft. Kemp Sails. Injury curtails Sailing Plans. A Cruise to France & Belgium. Hydrovane. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g #sailing #sea #sail #sailinglife #yacht #boat #sailboat #ocean #yachting #boating #sailor #sailingboat #boats #solosailing #singlehandedsailing

A late September cruise from Orford Suffolk to Oostende, Belgium. The weather is terrible as we search for a weather window to return to the UK. We finally return early in October. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g #solosailing #singlehandedsailing #sailing #sea #sail #sailinglife #yacht #boat #sailboat #ocean #oostende #belgium #sailor #sailingboat #northsea

Following the repair to the engine which took two weeks I run out of time to sail to Shetland. I sail home to Suffolk from Peterhead, Scotland. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g #solosailing #singlehandedsailing #sailing #sea #sail #sailinglife #yacht #boat #sailboat #ocean #yachting #boating #sailor #sailingboat #sailingscotland

I plan to return to beautiful Shetland but I don't get further than Peterhead. The engine fresh water pumps fails in Scotland. An encounter with RNLI Peterhead and lengthy, frustrating engine repairs. RNLI footage of a remarkable rescue of a FV by RNLI Peterhead. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g #solosailing #singlehandedsailing #sailing #sea #sail #sailinglife #yacht #boat #sailboat #ocean #rnli #enginefailure #sailor #rnlipeterhead #scotland

Sailing with a Westerly Storm 'Force Ten'. ‘Kestrel’ in The Deben. Last sail of a very short year on the water. Haul out. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g

A sail to The River Crouch. August Electrical Storm at anchor. Idyllic anchorages & sheltering from a late September Gale. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g

Haul Out January 2020. Winter Work. Do the knowledge & support the RNLI. How I manage my Halyards and Reefing Lines. First Sail in July! I visit RNLI Penlee. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g

I have been asked many times how I rig my main sail reefing lines on my sailing boat, Westerly Typhoon ‘Talisker 1’. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g

I sail from Orford, Suffolk to the River Blackwater & in to the River Crouch before sailing across the southern North Sea to Ostend (Oostende) Belgium. With the weather volatile late in the year, we have to wait for a small weather window before sailing to Harwich & the River Orwell before returning to Orford. *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g

I sail from Orford Suffolk across the Thames Estuary to Ramsgate. We sail across the Straits of Dover to Ostend (Oostende) Belgium returning to the east coast of England via Dunkirk (Dunkerque) *****Follow Me: ***** Twitter: https://twitter.com/samingosailing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samingosailing FaceBook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/samingosailing/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6TpIGTLEsBUrBY-vwiq_g

Having crossed the Atlantic Ocean in Part 2 James Robinson and me sail with David and Kris on their Kaufman 49 ‘Taipan’ from Martinique to Grenada via Rodney Bay, St. Lucia and beautiful Bequia to experience a little of sailing in the Caribbean.

James Robinson and me sail across the Atlantic Ocean in 20 days from Las Palmas, Gran Canary to Martinique in the Caribbean aboard SV ‘Taipan’, a Kaufman 49 belonging to Australians David and Kris. David and Kris choose an unusual route on this, their third Atlantic crossing. We see a Minke Whale, a Pied Wagtail and some tenacious Tropicbirds.

I'm not sailing alone on this cruise. James Robinson and me fly from the UK to the Canaries to join Australians, David and Kris, on board their Kaufman 49 ‘Taipan’ for their third Atlantic crossing. We sail from Lanzarote to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to prepare the boat for the ocean crossing. Amongst the many jobs to do ‘Taipan’ requires a new windlass, a new fridge compressor and new starter batteries.

A gelcoat repair. A sail to Belgium from the UK. Sailing from Oostende to Harwich. Sailing the Essex & Suffolk Coast.