A circumnavigation under sail
Around the world aboard Moonbeam
Colin and Sarah bought an Oyster 55 in Lymington in May 2006 and sailed her westabout around the world — the Caribbean, the Pacific, nine months in New Zealand, the Indian Ocean and the Cape — arriving home in Brittany six years and 44,500 miles later.
About the boat
Moonbeam
Moonbeam of Dartmouth is an Oyster 55 — chosen, after years of looking, as the most pristine 55 Colin had seen. Her name is an anagram of the children's names. Before she left England she was given a new galley in blue Corian and new heads at Fox's in Ipswich, a refit that took four months and taught her new owner every inch of her bilges.
- Type
- Oyster 55, cutter-rigged sloop
- Length
- 55 ft / 16.8 m
- Built
- 1992, Oyster Marine · launched 1993
- Home port
- Dartmouth · later La Roche Bernard
The voyage log
“The Odyssey” — the full account in 26 chapters, from Lymington to La Roche Bernard, with the complete log to download.
Read more →Photographs
Moonbeam, her crew and the places she carried them — anchorages, passages and landfalls.
View gallery →Command course
Colin's ten-part video course for airline pilots preparing for command, on YouTube.
Watch →