wayfarers
Many many years ago now I used to do a lot of dinghy sailing. I learnt to sail over in North London when I was about 14 or so. It was one of those things my dad signed us up for during an Easter or Summer holiday. I didn’t want to go. Typical teenager home from boarding school the idea of getting up early every morning for a week to go on a course was not my idea of fun – by by the second day I was smitten. I loved it.
We learnt on Wayfarers – very stable dinghies. Very good teachers. Yep I was definitely hooked!
I moved on from reservoirs to the sea in Scotland (Tighnabruaich) – staying at the Youth Hostel there – with a crazy Glasweigan friend who tried windsurfing! – and my dad; and next holiday was back to North London for some advance training and from there I headed to the Greek islands. A wayfarers fortnight in paradise.
Because Wayfarers are stable you can easily go off exploring in the Aegean.We always sailed as a flotilla and I remember having fab days out in different locations – visiting some inaccessible (by foot) caves, and a long day trip to the tip of the island and stopping off for lunch. But dinghy sailing is not like yachting – you get to sleep on land every night, and visit tavernas.
It seems a lifetime ago
Today the word wayfarer carries a different meaning for me.
Wayfarer- pilgrim- sojourner – traveller on the Way.
The lovely thing about dinghy sailing holidays is that you sleep on land – and eat in Taveras, but
Woke up this morning thinking about wayfaring. The pilgrim kind.
