Welcome to the new, all-singing-all-dancing, Sumara of Weymouth website, which is all about, er…….,
Sumara of Weymouth. Well, it was all about Sumara but I’m afraid there has been a bit of job creep over the years and now the website includes almost anything even tenuously linked to the good little ship.
Sumara is a 26ft Vertue class wooden yacht. The original “Vertue” was designed by Jack Laurent Giles in 1936 but Sumara was built in 1990 by Terry Newman, who lived in Weymouth. I have owned her for over 31 years and had many grand adventures in her, some of which rather push the limits of small boat sailing. Occasionally we feel fit to call our little voyages “Expeditions” and sometimes a bit of climbing might be involved. In 2010 we sailed to Jan Mayen and climbed the world’s most northerly volcano for which myself and Tim Loftus won the prestigious Royal Cruising Club “Tilman Medal”. So, although this is a predominantly a sailing website, I do drift around to cover all the aspects of training and choosing equipment for our adventures.
This year, 2022, we are going to attempt to reach Scoresby Sund on the East Coast of Greenland. It is a rather ambitious voyage for a little wooden yacht so it could be quite exciting. There will be a live blog updated by satellite phone whenever I get a chance. Do feel free to make comments or ask questions on the blog.
Talking about drifting and job creep, we bought a little Volkswagen Beach camper van a couple of years ago and we have acquired a dog which we call Tilman after the great H W “Bill” Tilman, so there may be a few posts about dogs, and vans, and dogs in vans, and dogs in boats.
Did I mention the little varnished dinghy we keep at Walton on the Naze?
Maybe its easier to say what the website isn’t about.
The website isn’t about selling stuff. It is non-commercial for fun only – just like my boat. Although I used to own Arthur Beale the Yacht Chandler that was based on Shaftesbury Avenue, I am no longer connected with the company. On this website, I will say what stuff works and what stuff doesn’t work.
Now that it is 2022, the website is pretty much fully functioning. We have:
- An active website which is updated regularly – especially when we are on expeditions
- A blog which is divided up into handy searchable categories and will give live updates of any “expedition” voyages
- A download section where you will find equipment lists, sailing schedules, chart lists etc
- A section about the yacht and Vertues in general
- Product reviews (strictly non-commercial)
- Links to anything that might help like-minded people
- A link to some little videos
When the Greenland Expedition gets underway, you should be able to track Sumara and join in the excitement.
Enough of the introduction, I need to get on with some varnishing while the suns out!