How we got started

All we need now is a boat...

Two good reasons not to wear sailing waterproofs indoors.

Back in 2015 we spotted an ad for a catamaran for sale. Only problem was that she was laid up in a yard in Rochefort, France. We had a few discussions and decided to pay a deposit, book ferry tickets and go take a look. So, one hot day in May, after a long drive south, we walked into the boat yard in Rochefort and this is what we found. Robin is trying to look knowledgeable and not at all over-awed by the whole business!

Rochefort boat yard, sunglasses off for a better look.

It was love at first sight so after many questions and answers with Bruce and Caroline, Distant Drummer's then owners, we shook hands and got on with the logistics of getting Drummer from France to Falmouth. Buying her was the easy bit!

Happy boat owners to be!

And that's a shiny propeller, and that's another shiny propeller. They don't look quite like that when they've been in the water for a few months. Being a catamaran Distant Drummer has two of most things. We later learned that having twin props it was quite possible to spin Drummer on a sixpence with one going forward and one reverse. Very handy for getting into and out of tight spaces.

The rather sharp looking blade thing is exactly that. A very sharp cutting edge to slice through fishing nets and lines if they get tangled on the props. Not put to the test yet. Little did we know how useful these would prove to be. Discarded fishing nets and inadequately marked lobster pots are an ever present problem in our coastal waters. We altered course more than once in attempts to avoid them.

This is how you get a 5 ton yacht from dry land to water. We then had to decide who was going to sail her all the way back to Falmouth. In the end we opted for a yacht delivery service as we couldn't take sufficient time off work and also because we really weren't confident or experienced enough to make the trip.

Photo courtesy of Bruce and Caroline Trott

So we made the trip back in a larger yacht courtesy of Brittany Ferries. Note smiley faces!

And a few anxious and excitable days later we received a text message from Chris, our delivery skipper saying, "Not so Distant Drummer now!" He and his crew Seb were only twenty miles off the Cornish coast.

New home in Falmouth

Photo courtesy of Rhiannon Griffith