Years and years ago, I was 12, I was deeply hooked on sailing; my favourite place in the whole world was crashing through the waves of the Crouch estuary. Some of my best childhood memories are of steering a Westerly Longbow “Faraway II” trying to see how quickly we could get to Whitaker 6 from Burnham-on-Crouch.

Faraway II on her 2018 mooring in Spain (photo from google images)

My parents wanted us to try a family activity, we didn’t have our own boat yet so we looked at chartering as an option and quickly found Bill, Cora and Faraway II. They taught me how to sail and navigate, tie knots, about tides, how to use Captain Fields rules, how to use the VHF, Radio direction finder, take back bearings, read the wind and so many other things.

Then, Bill and Cora embarked on a journey around the canals of Europe in a new boat, a fantastic new Beneteau First 351, bought after selling their beloved Westerly.

Fast forward to 2018, I have this idea of a sailing holiday on the Norfolk Broads. We hire out Dawn Wind from Eastwood Whelpton and have a great time.

Shortly after I go slightly mad and starting looking at yacht broker sites!

A few months later, and we now find ourselves the proud owners of a solid Westerly yacht.

A Centaur named “Rosie Free”.

So, this little blog will be a little bit about our adventures in and looking after this classic sailing boat.  Maybe someone will find things I post useful.