About Us

Mark has always had a passion for sailing and a dream of one day casting off the lines and heading south until the butter melts.

I, on the other hand had always been a landlubber although I had a passion for travelling and visiting new places.

Mark and I got together seven years ago and have combined his passion for sailing with my passion for travel. Together, this is the foundation of our forthcoming adventure and we hope to travel far and wide over the next few years.

We have often spoken of heading off and sailing to sunnier climes and we are now fortunate enough to be in a position to do this. 

After what feels like forever, Offbeat is finally reaching a point whereby she will be ready to take us on our adventure.

We plan to wave goodbye to our families at Ipswich marina and  head off mid June time,  sailing down to southern Spain via the Bay of Biscay and taking in western Spain and Portugal en route. 

If all goes to plan, we will be in southern Spain by mid October. Salute! 

Tough Winter Working!

I'm sitting indoors looking out at the relentless rain, feeling the entrenched chill of a long grey winter, wondering just what the summer will bring us (sun, warmth and steady breezes, I hope) and reflecting on the tough winter working on Offbeat's keel and rudder ready for our big adventure.

I had Offbeat out of the water last summer to examine a slight but persistant leak from the rudder post.  By the end of the summer I'd uncovered a bodge that the boatyard had made of the metal shoe that holds the rudder in place and a crack in the rudder post inside the boat that showed up a design weakness (made worse by the boatyard being over-assertive with a wrecking bar trying to remove the rudder).  I also discovered what 40 years of running aground does to glassfibre on the keel - it wears it away!

The bodged up rudder shoe

The weak rudder post

The bashed up keel. It doesnt look too bad here but, a bit like a bone sticking out of a leg injury, it's a shocking sight to see the insides of your boat from the outside.

But I've beefed up the rudder shoe enormously (thanks to East Coast Stainless), strengthened the rudder post tremendously  (thanks to Terry Clarke, shipwright) and added half an inch onto Offbeat's draught (the depth below the waterline for non-yachties) by reinforcing the keel with 12 layers of glassfibre (thanks again to Terry). Offbeat always was a tough boat; thats why I chose her. But she's even tougher now, more ready than ever for some offshore adventures (and running aground, bashing into things and whatever other rough treatment Teresa and I inflict on her.

The beefed up rudder shoe

The strengthened rudder post

The reinforced keel. The repair is coloured red then painted over so if I'm swimming around the boat and see red, i know its time to get fixing again!

And why does this stuff matter? Because keeping water out of Offbeat and making sure she can steer in the direction we want her to go in are two of the most fundamental things to get right before going off on our adventures. Now, back to that packet of chocolate digestives and daydreaming about summer. Umm, I mean replumbing the fresh water system😶

The Adventure Starts Today

After many months of Offbeat being out of the water and Mark spending practically every day working on her, she was finally ready to go back into the water today.

We were both overwhelmed by this, as it is truly the start of our adventure and our new life together.

Offbeat in the hoist

Offbeat entering the water

Back where she belongs!