The separate discussion in this forum of the late Bill King and
Galway Blazer II reminded me that, when we were in Noss Marina, Dartmouth (UK) recently getting our Perkins Prima M50 sorted, I spotted not just the Chandlers (ex Somalia hostages) preparing
Lynn Rival for her next trip (seen again in Falmouth when we were there), but also a mention of Peter Crowther in the marina's handbook. Peter of course sailed
Galway Blazer, thouigh not the same one, in several transatlantic races, until she sank beneath him. (I've forgotten the connection with Bill King's boat.)
It's OK, Peter is not another 'oldie' that's 'moved up' - far from it. The marina handbook reported that 'In 2013 and in his eighth decade Peter will ... be taking part in his
ninth transatlantic race, this time in
Aiokee, his recently acquired Nicholson 32, a boat that he describes as 'the sort of thing that a gentleman of my age should be campaigning'. You can read the full article 'Noss Connections'
here, in which the word 'junk' doesn't get a mention, despite which the feature is a good read.
What is it about sailing that keeps 'elderly' gentlemen (er, like David Tyler) fit and long-distance sailing? I asked Juliian Mustoe that question today. Julian is in his seventies and is berthed alongside us in Sutton Harbour Marina, Plymouth (UK). Around two weeks ago he completed a 10-year circumnavigation in the wake of the Beagle (see
here), part of which was in a junk. "What else would I be doing?" he said.