My husband Andy and I have been members of the MOA since 2018. For many years we were active members of Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club sailing an Enterprise and then a Laser 2000. In addition to club racing we participated in traveller series. When the children disappeared to university we were ready for a change too and decided to opt for something that didn’t capsize. Our first yacht was ‘Freya’ a modest Etap 21, a big dinghy with a fixed keel. We kept her down in Plymouth and when the tides and weather were right we enjoyed visiting Fowey, Salcombe and Dartmouth. We participated in the 2015 Dartmouth Regatta which was great fun, but by then we were enjoying the cruising more than the racing and after a period decided the Etap was somewhat cramped.

In 2018 we bought ‘Safina’ a Moody 31 Mk 2. Located on the Hamble we kept her there as our children can easily join us. Also as a chaulkhead (I’m a Gurnard lad) I’ve enjoy exploring the Solent and visiting the Island. We initially joined the MOA for the technical guidance on the website but decided to join a rally to East Cowes in August 2018. We were made very welcome by the members and continue to enjoy rallies both sailing and social. We’re also members of the Royal Air Force Yacht Club.

March 2021

I learnt to sail with my Uncle in his Mirror Dinghy on the Norfolk Broads and then at school I joined the Navy Section of the CCF and I sailed a variety of dinghy’s in Portsmouth, Chatham and Plymouth.

A friend of mine also had an Enterprise Dinghy that we used to race on Ruislip Lido on a Sunday morning. But my first introduction to yachting was on a Flotilla sailing holiday in Greece 36 years ago when I became hooked. So in 1984 I joined the Discovery Sailing Project, a youth sail training charity, as an adult volunteer, and I eventually became a Commercial Yachtmaster. Since qualifying I have enjoyed 25 years as a volunteer skipper taking their 60’ ex Clipper Ventures yacht all around the UK, Northern Europe and up to Poland and back.

As a family we also went on many flotilla holidays in the Med and Caribbean. We were also in a yacht syndicate for 16 years. Initially we had a 31’ Westerly Longbow and then a 36’ Westerly Corsair. In 2010 we left the syndicate and bought our own yacht ‘Lady J’ a Moody 38CC. We then joined the MOA and have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the Solent branch rallies and races.

I was fortunate to spend many years hitching trips on yachts we had access to whilst my husband Jon was with the Army. I also completed a dinghy course and I picked up the basic terminology. Children, work and other interests took over until in 2009, we bought our first sailing boat – a Dufour 28.
We joined the MOA in 2014 after buying our first Moody, a 31’ called Meerkat. Jon found the technical help invaluable, and we both quickly discovered we enjoyed the friendly, active social side of the association. Jon subsequently joined the committee where he served as race officer and treasurer. We upgraded to our Moody 336 Tigermoon II in 2016 and have since cruised to the Scillies and down to southern Brittany while still enjoying rallies with the Solent Branch.
This year Tigermoon II has gone to a new home and we have acquired a Malö 36 ‘Windsong.’ Thankfully the MOA allows us to remain members even after purchasing another make of boat, so we can continue to enjoy rallies and social activities. We plan to stay closer to home for a season or two and I thought this would be an opportunity to repay the association for the fun and friendship it has offered us and therefore I have joined the committee ‘without portfolio’ to help out where I can.

My sailing career started at a very early age. My parents owned a Folkboat moored at Weymouth, and I was strapped in to the boat from the age of about 3 months old. Sailing seasons consisted of Saturday races and Sunday leisure sails, with holidays afloat in Normandy and the West Country. The winter months at the boat consisted of us all tacking the significant maintenance tasks that come hand in hand with owning a wooden boat!
My later teenage sailing years were spent between Freya and racing my own Laser sailing dinghy.
My father sadly died when I was in my mid-twenties, and I acquired the Folkboat. I kept her for a few more years until the pressure of work and family commitments meant that I could no longer spare the time to maintain her. I did keep sailing though, initially in a National Squib and numerous small dinghies.
In 2010 I purchased my first ‘proper’ cruiser, a Westerly which I kept at Parkstone Yacht Club in Poole. I subsequently purchased ‘Gentle Whisper’ my Moody S31 in 2022 which I have been delighted with. I have only just started getting involved with the Solent MOA but have been made to feel most welcome and look forward to participating further in the future.