WE SETTLED HERE
For the past two and a half years British/New Zealand couple Tony Brighton and Rachelle Turk have sailed to numerous countries around the North Atlantic, living aboard their 42 foot yacht. With so many options around the world why did they choose Dartmouth for their return ashore?
Finding Our Land Legs by Rachelle Turk
In fact, she wasn’t even the second. It all started six months ago when I asked my husband Tony where we were going to live.
T
he hairstylist from Torquay wasn’t the first person to ask me why we chose Dartmouth.
It’s not as strange a
question as you might think – with our lifestyle and passports we had plenty of options. Tony has been sailing ever since his father left the Royal navy and taught his two boys to dinghy sail in the solent. When I started dating Tony it quickly became apparent I needed to learn to sail too. Despite growing up in new Zealand - reputed to have more boats per capita than anywhere else in the world - my little bit of sailing on lake Taupo did nothing to prepare me for the alarming lean of Tony’s 25 foot sailboat in the english Channel. Over the course of many years my sailing skills became more proficient and Tony’s desire to stretch our legs
further afield led to an upgrade in boat to 34 feet. Over 2004/05 we took a one year sabbatical from our london life and sailed from the solent to Gibraltar, Balearics, Corsica and sardinia, returning from the south of France during autumn via the Canal du Midi to Biscay. Our winter return to the uK
showed us something surprising about the south West – out of season, some towns seem to fall asleep. Main centres of Falmouth and plymouth be- come quiet but Fowey and salcombe were so silent it was difficult to find a pint of milk. Happily, Dartmouth (a place we have enjoyed sailing to many times) was still thriving. less tourists than usual, yes, but most businesses were still open and the community was clearly active throughout the year. Having proved we could live in a
small environment and not drive each other mad, we returned to london with dreams of sailing across the Atlantic. Five years slipped past but
were not wasted as we saved money, changed the boat to a 42 footer, and began the process of planning routes and upgrading boat equipment. By mid-2011 our london house was sold and we were making ready to leave the uK. By november we had made our way to the Canary Islands to join the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. Our three week 2,900 nautical mile sail from las palmas to st. lucia was a challenge in terms of sleep deprivation and cooking with three metre follow- ing seas but in general we had ideal weather and made it across safely. During the course of 2012
we cruised the Caribbean islands, Bermuda and the entire east Coast of America north to south. 2013 found us in Cuba, Bahamas, and back to the Virgin Islands before visiting Bermuda again for the passage back across the Atlantic to the Azores. At this point we faced a big
decision: head to the Mediterranean, sell the boat and move to new
visit
www.bythedart.co.uk - for everything & anything about Dartmouth
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132