Sails around Wales

"I've got a great idea....."

"...I have had an idea to mark the Trust’s coastal celebration. I thought it would be good if someone were to sail round the Welsh coast calling in wherever possible at our properties and highlighting the cause.  The only problem would be who could do such a thing?  Well, I suppose I could…"

These were the words of John Whitley, when he wrote to the Trust suggesting the idea of Sails around Wales.  

John is one of the Trust’s countryside rangers, based with Trident Trek volunteers George and Bob at the Glan Faenol estate, on the banks of the Menai Strait.

"I'm sure we'll have a few adventures on the way...."
John on Capercaille

John learnt to sail when he was a teenager.  He joined two family friends on a voyage to the Azores and was hooked.  A more recent feat, this time with his own yacht, was to sail around Britain.  “The voyage took me two months and I experienced the sea in all its moods – from storms to wonderful peaceful sunsets” explains John.

“The trip around the Welsh coast was much shorter, of course, but we had a few adventures on the way.  We had to be ready for anything - conditions can change so quickly and our route took us through some treacherous waters, including the Bardsey, Ramsey and Jack Sounds.”

To keep everyone in touch with progress on social media, I joined John for the two week voyage.

The voyage took 13 days, traveled 405 miles, passed all 133 NT coastal places and involved 10 of our volunteers and staff as they joined the boat to view the areas they cared for from the sea.

Read the blog posts of this adventure starting with Day 1