England 2026 on Sailing Lucy

Sailing Sabbatical in England

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Every morning I still dream of sailing, and when I wake it takes a while to realise I am no longer aboard. For three months I was there, day and night. Home again, though everyday life has yet to catch up with me. Whatever shape it takes… first, a fresh start. I am still making sense of all I experienced and the people I met. Here are a few things that meant the most to me.

3 months of sailing — a wealth of experiences and 1950 nm covered

From Hamburg to the Solent aboard Lucy

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

or: Sometimes even Gentlemen need to sail to windward

Casting off
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At 7 am on 1 June 2026, we cast off and Karsten steers the Contessa 32 Lucy out of Finkenwerder harbour and into the Elbe fairway. Our destination is the Solent – the traditional mecca of the sailing world. Two days earlier, as arranged, Karsten had collected me from Hamburg Central Station. We had previously spoken by video conference and both had the same feeling: this could work for the two of us aboard Lucy on the 600-nautical-mile passage from the Elbe, across the North Sea and through the Channel to Lymington in Britain. We have the ebb with us, but the wind deserts us. Under engine, we reach Glückstadt in the early afternoon. There is ample time for a stroll around the pretty little town. Before long we are sitting in the sunshine outside a bakery, whiling away the afternoon over cappuccino and cake and gradually getting to know one another better. Yes – this will work!

Route England 2026

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

It’s nearly time
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From June 2026 I have three months free and can go sailing for that period. I am very much looking forward to being away for so long, meeting new people and discovering new places. It is still some way off, but time is moving on. It is still the end of January and it is bitterly cold outside, so the voyage feels a long way away for now.

Leg: Classic Channel