My plan was to sail from Illfracombe to Swansea. A friend of a friend of a friend had kindly said that they would take me in their tri marin. I was delighted. It would be an adventure, and not cheating because I would probably be seasick all the way and wishing I had walked instead. We were to sail 36 hours after my arrival in Ilfracombe. I had planned a rest day. All good.
On the rest day I received a call from the skipper. ‘The engine won’t start. We’re repairing it but there’ll be a days delay.’
‘ Do we really need an engine though. What about the sails? What about using a rowing boat to pull it out like in Master and Commander?’
‘ No, sorry, can’t be done. It’s got no steerage below 5 knots. We need the engine to get out of the harbour.’
Well, I could certainly do with another rest day. I’d just have to make up the time when I got to Swansea. An extra 5 miles a day for four days should sort it out.