Cruising News

The headline tells you all you need to know. With regret Mike Playle has asked us to announce his decision to cancel this year’s Broads Cruise. This is the first time this long-running event has had to be cancelled.

With regret the UKWA ExCom has decided to call off the 2020 Cruising Conference.

Jeremy Norman will by now have been in touch with would-be participants to confirm this decision and to explain how you will be refunded.

Other UKWA events later in the year will be carefully considered individually as further information emerges on the virus and our response to it.

Thank you for your understanding.

Following their recordbreaking circumnavigation of Britain last Summer, we are delighted to hear that Will Hodshon and Rich Mitchel have been nominated for an award in the February edition of “Classic Boat” Magazine for “Classic Boater of the Year” category, against 3 other selected nominees; very exciting!

It is a public vote and, if you think they and Nipegegi are worthy, please do vote in support of them. It would be fabulous recognition for the Wayfarer and for raising awareness for their charities – Water Smart Foundation, RNLI and Surfers Against Sewage – if they won!

To vote, please follow this link.

Date for your diary: March 27th – 29th 2020. This year’s UKWA Cruising Conference will once again be held at Notts. County Sailing Club. Early expressions of interest advised to avoid disappointment! Places already starting to fill up.  ...read more

Photo: @quinten.photography

NB Update – this event has been cancelled.

We are pleased to announce on behalf of NedWA – the Netherlands Wayfarer Association – details of the 2020 International Rally. This will be happening on and around the waterways at Heeg in Friesland, from 17th – 23rd August.

An invitation giving lots of information about the rally is linked here, and a registration form may be found here. (These should each open in a new tab, depending on your browser).

We’ve just added a link to the video posted on YouTube by Gerard Brown (channel ‘Wayfarer 10630‘) showing some highlights from this summer’s cruise. Why not take a look? (It’s on the Cruise Videos page, linked here).

Ralph Roberts, our WIC representative, wishes to draw to your attention that there are still a few places remaining – please go to https://www.wayfarer.dk/sailing for further details of this unique opportunity to sail an area of coastline the like of which would never be experienced in the UK. There are also more details on a flier (pdf), linked here.

Brancaster, N. Norfolk, February 2019

February 2019 will surely go down in the record books as providing some of the warmest winter days ever. The traditional Norfolk winter sail really didn’t live up to its name this year as 27 crew and 13 boats enjoyed fabulous spring-like weather sailing from Brancaster Staithe in North Norfolk.

Saturday began misty with a very light breeze that filled in as the morning progressed, whilst Sunday saw the fleet largely motoring in brilliant warm sunshine. Tides just off springs allowed the boats to explore the creeks through to Burnham Overy harbour, with a snack stop on the end of Scolt Head Island.

The usual great welcome and the facilities at Deepdale Farm’s bunkhouse made the gathering possible with this years record numbers.

-Matt Sharman

Greta Plowman, in ‘Sea Urchin’ (W1981)

“My wonderful grandmother Greta Plowman will turn 100 this May!

Back in the 1970’s she and my grandfather Piers built and then sailed their wooden Wayfarer ‘Sea Urchin’ (W1981) along the canals of England, the coast of Britain and as their confidence grew, the Friesian and Baltic coasts.

I grew up hearing stories about being quarantined in Gdynia harbour during the Solidarity strike; of Sea Urchin being stoved-in by a large cruiser in a tiny Dutch harbour; hitching a ride back to England on a Polish freighter; and of nearly sinking in Jack Sound, off Skomer, when wind against tide created ferocious overfalls! They were contemporaries and friends of the Dyes but mostly favoured a gentler style of cruising!  ...read more