Water adventures! My natural condition is wet feet …
My biggest sailing adventure was with Joe and Graham. We went from Shetland to Norway in Joe’s 32 foot Contessa, through a gale. It took us from 9am on Monday to 2am on Wednesday. We arrived soaked through but very pleased with ourselves.
The next-door boat kindly gave us mackerel for breakfast.
After that we spent a glorious three days meandering through the fjords. It’s the way to see Norway!
The joys of paddleboarding on one of Scotland's most beautiful lochs.
I’ve done several voyages as a trainee on board the Norwegian square-rigger Sørlandet – yes, Cass’s ship! My proudest moment was helming her into Belfast, with the Captain himself giving me orders just as if I was one of the crew.
Unlike Cass, I have a lousy head for heights, so I never made it higher than the second platform of the masts, but I was first to volunteer for bowsprit work.
This ship’s not going to hit icebergs while I’m on lookout.
I’ve also had some fantastic voyages aboard Shetland’s own tall ship, the converted Fifie fishing boat, Swan.
Swan out at sea!
Mostly I’m sailing Karima on my own, but sometimes we have summer rallies. Here are all the Brae boats moored up at Vementry for a midsummer BBQ.
Not quite sailing, but when I was at the St Hilda’s Crime Conference, Oxford, I had to try out punting. I didn’t fall in, and the students on the river bank were very helpful with instructions, once they’d stopped laughing.
Trying out a coracle at Portsoy Boat Festival. It had a tendency to go round in circles but I made it to the harbour wall and back.