Solo in a Sadler
I bought my Sadler 25 with a friend in 2016, and by summer 2017 I was champing at the bit to take Vela further afield than the Solent. After seeing my sister take a sabbatical to spend three months in Spain, I realised with some planning I could do the same and the idea to sail round Britain was born.
My sailing experience to date had consisted of being crew on three two-week trips on a Nicholson 55 and sporadic sailing on Victoria 34 and similar size boats. I’d done my RYA Day Skipper in 2012 but never really used it. The catalyst was having my own boat. This allowed me to build confidence in my sailing abilities and the boat itself.
Sadler 25s are marvellously seaworthy and easy to sail; they lend themselves to single-handed use because they can be manhandled if necessary when berthing, and raising sails can be done without too much physical effort.
Even so, by May 2019 when I set off from Portsmouth, I’d only done about four solo trips in the Solent. But I had practised many single-handed techniques and my philosophy was I’d probably never feel ready so I might as well just ‘go for it’. Over the previous winter I’d passed my Yachtmaster Theory and completed an
