Arthur Beale Election Results. We have our winner!

Last night while all the politics was going on we were treated to a very special talk by Paul Heiney. In addition we decided to have our very own election to decide who you would most like to skipper your boat. Paul joined in the spirit of the election by cleverly suggesting Nicola Stugeron would be good, especially for those who may suffer from sea sickness. (Just in case anyone is unaware, Stugeron is a very effective anti sea sickness pill). Paul then whisked us across the Biscay, called in at Cascais where he was fleeced for mooring fees which made the Solent seem like a bargain, skipped Madeira, enjoyed Morocco, topped up in Lanzarote and pushed on down to the Cabo Verde Islands single handed. Like Greenland the name is a bit of a case for the trade description act because generally these islands are blasted by the Sahara dust. However Paul really enjoyed his stay in the islands which he said were wonderfully civilised. I sailed there once before the marina was built and I found everyone to be very friendly despite the warnings in the pilot books. Paul sailed on to Brazil and found it rather unsafe and was relieved to arrive in Uruguay. Now joined by crew he headed south toward Cape Horn. This was a fascinating tale of sailing in these tempestuous waters. The journey was undertaken as a tribute to his son who very sadly took his own life at the age of 23. Paul has written a book about the journey called One Wild Song - A Voyage in a Lost Son's Wake which is proving to be a nautical classic. We almost sold out of copies after the evening's talk. Alex has been reading the Arthur Beale copy and it will feature on our Book Blog very shortly. You can buy it from us on-line or from the shop.

After question time we had the results of the Arthur Beale Election. In third place was a triple tie between Thomas Cochrane, Captain Scott and Tom Cunliffe. In second place was our old customer Ernest Shackleton but the resounding winner by a long margin was Ellen MacArthur! I wonder if we can persuade her to come and talk?