Many sailor’s have their own private dream of a particular voyage. It can be anything from a cruise around the lake to circumnavigating the word. Circular voyages have a special place in our imaginations and aspirations. They lack the practical purposefulness of going from point A to point B. There is in fact no point except the one hidden in our psyche. We never seem to find ourselves by traveling only in straight lines.
Dylan Winter is a man traveling around in order to get around the big island he lives on. He has been sailing since he was 8 years old and had never been around the whole thing. At age 44 he decided it was time to see England from the water, and sample as much coast line as possible. Dylan is a cameraman and video journalist. Filming the event was something he would do as a matter of course. Rather than let a lot of unedited video go to waste he started posted it on Youtube. His journey is being taken in stages to fit in with his real job schedule. Have a look at his first video and see if you are as captivated as I was.
he makes an effort to poke his bow into as many estuaries and rivers as he can along the 20,000 mile coast line of Britain. His narrative style is personal and engaging. The approach to equipping the voyage, which will be spread out over several year,s is one I can relate to. Dylan is an ordinary working guy with limited funds and no sponsorship of his effort. He has begun to monetize the journey a bit with a website where you can subscribe via PayPal to get access to high def downloads of all the videos he takes along the way. It’s well worth it for a load of vicarious enjoyment that beats what passes for “reality television” by a nautical mile.
The vessel featured in the videos is a 19 foot Mirror Offshore. The design is the result of a competition run by the Daily Mirror newspaper which had as a theme to create a “yacht for the working man”. Dylan named the boat “Slug” and states candidly that she she sails like a pig. I have to give the man credit for honesty.
On his website, Keep Turning Left , there is a Google Earth map showing the locations for each place along the way that he explored and recorded on video. You can zoom in and get a bird’s eye view and star the video clip at the same time. It makes for a nicely interactive experience.If you are too busy having your own summertime sailing adventures remember Dylan Winter this Winter. As you curl up by the fire with your laptop have a little point and click time. Dreams can warm the heart as well as any fireside can.
