Irish sailor Pete Hogan spent 60 days this summer circumnavigating Great Britain in his 1982 Jeanneau Symphonie, sailing around half of the 1,600-nautical-mile voyage single-handed. From Scotland and the North Sea to Whitby, Dover and the English south coast, he recounts the highs, surprises and practicalities of a two-stage cruising adventure.
This summer I sailed right around mainland Britain. I was sailing a Jeanneau 32 dating from 1982, a family cruiser. For about half the trip I sailed single-handed, and for the remainder I was accompanied by members of my family, my wife Micaela and son Joshua.
Family Crew: Pete Hogan with his wife Micaela and son Joshua, who joined him for part of the 1,600-nautical-mile circumnavigation of Great Britain; Hogan sailed around half the voyage single-handed. Photo: Pete Hogan
Why the UK?
Irish cruising boats regularly sail around Ireland. Every summer sees a procession up and down the west coast, stopping on the islands, lingering in West Cork and rushing through the North Channel. It’s a comfortable 700-mile jaunt.
Is there some cultural impediment to why one does not hear of Irish boats attempting a circumnavigation of our neighbouring island? Perhaps. Irish people go to Britain to work, less often for a holiday. British boats, on the other hand, often circumnavigate their island, many of them doing it for a good cause and collecting for charity.
While the length of the voyage could be cited as a deterrent — up to, and more than, three times the length of a circuit of Ireland, at around 2,000 miles as opposed to 700 — surely there are compelling reasons why this nautical mountain is worth bagging for the serious cruiser?
Scotland has arguably the finest unspoilt cruising coastline in Europe, Wales is a challenging but convenient destination for the Irish cruiser, and England itself has a varied and fascinating historical coastline which should attract any serious yottie.
In my case, I was attracted by the prospect of sailing into Whitby, coincidentally at about the same latitude as Dublin but on the east coast of England.
Whitby was the home port of Captain Cook, whose most famous ship, Endeavour, had been a Whitby collier supplied and fitted out for Cook by the Royal Navy. As a much younger person, I had carefully made an Airfix model of Endeavour.
Of less import to me was the connection between Whitby and Dubliner Bram Stoker, who holidayed there and used its environs and maritime history in his celebrated Dracula fantasy.
In any case, to sail to Whitby seemed to me to be an admirable objective.
Cook’s Country: The Captain James Cook monument overlooking Whitby, the Yorkshire harbour that provided one of Pete Hogan’s original reasons for making the voyage. Photo: Pete Hogan
The Route
Should one go clockwise or anti-clockwise on a journey around Britain?
I was anxious to be as far north as possible for the summer solstice. Thus, at the beginning of June, I headed north, committing me to a clockwise route. On the other hand, by heading south first, you cruise the south coast of England, one of the highlights of the journey, early in the season when it should be less busy.
An alternative strategy might be to take a long-range forecast close to the date of departure and go whichever direction the winds dictate. Sort of like the French long-range sailors who use routing when trying to set round-the-world records.
It’s worth considering that Cape Wrath, at the north-west tip of Scotland, is further north than Cape Horn is south.
As things transpired, I think I was very lucky with the weather I got for my cruise. Who could have planned for the long spell of settled weather which descended on the UK in the summer of 2026?
In other respects, I did almost no planning or preparation.
The Boat
Built and sold as a family cruiser, my Jeanneau Symphonie was nevertheless based on racing boats of its era, with a fin keel and masthead rig, so it has a good turn of speed under sail. I had little difficulty getting 50 to 60 miles out of it in a 12-hour day.
I did my best to lighten the boat down below while keeping its excellent sailing characteristics. I threw out some internal joinery and bunks. I installed a good self-steering vane, plonked an anchor winch on the foredeck and invested in a life raft. A friend gave me a kayak, which I used as a tender.
We were ready to go.
Cruising Companion: Pete Hogan alongside his Jeanneau Symphonie during the 1,600-nautical-mile summer voyage around Great Britain.
I brought no guidebooks or charts. The three most important things on board were my tablet with Navionics, my mobile phone and my credit card.
I did not even stow many provisions. With no refrigeration on board, I expected to do some shopping at each port and hoped to stop somewhere each night.
I had no AIS machine. Consequently, it was my intention to keep a watch at all times.
Daily Stores: With no refrigeration aboard, provisioning became part of the routine ashore as Hogan worked his way from port to port. Photo: Pete Hogan
How Much Does It Cost?
I frequently nowadays describe yachting to non-sailors as very similar to going about in a recreational vehicle or caravanning. And so it is probably similar in costs.
Gone are the days of sailing into remote fishing harbours and tying up to fishing boats. Now we expect marinas with full facilities and have to pay accordingly.
But it’s good value really, with the average cost of a berth per night about £40 for my 10-metre boat. A bit less in Scotland and a bit more on the south coast of England. The maximum I had to pay anywhere was £52, in Brixham.
This makes dropping an anchor in some beautiful cove all the more appealing. I never encountered a marina or harbour which was full.
I left the boat in Dover for about 16 days, something which cost in excess of £600.
Other costs, the boat owner will be familiar with. ‘The wind is free.’ No?
The Good Bits and the Bad Bits
I enjoyed the whole experience. The contrast between the north and south of Britain is striking.
We all know of the depressive and run-down nature of the north of England. This is also evident in Scotland, anywhere north of Aberdeen — under-populated towns, boarded-up shops and houses, the traditional industries of fishing and boatbuilding gone, and derelict industrial sites everywhere.
By contrast, the south coast is still the popular yachting Mecca it has always been. On shore, the tourist industries are booming, villages are smart and confident, with local people complaining that they cannot afford to stay in their own towns.
Island Passage: Barra provided one of the quieter stops on the Scottish section of Hogan’s clockwise route around Great Britain. Photo: Pete Hogan
I was struck by the lack of marine traffic in general everywhere I went. There was the normal ship traffic visible on the horizon in the shipping lanes. But inshore, where I tended to be, there were very few vessels of any sort.
In particular, I saw very few fishing boats compared to days of yore. A few lobster fishermen near the bigger ports but almost no trawlers.
There were some yachts. The largest contingent by far were Dutch boats, followed a long way behind by Danish. I saw surprisingly few French yachts, normally much in evidence everywhere you go — could this have something to do with Brexit? Perhaps cruising itself is going out of fashion.
Continental Cruisers: Dutch and other European flags were a feature of the visiting yachts Hogan encountered, with Dutch boats forming by far the largest overseas contingent he observed. Photo: Pete Hogan
The striking feature of the east coast of Britain is the proliferation of wind farms. From the Moray Firth all the way south to the Thames Estuary, they are everywhere.
Quite a contrast to the east coast of Ireland where we do not seem to be able to get planning for a single windmill, never mind construct it. Is there a climate crisis?
I received different advice from locals about whether I could sail through a wind farm. In general, I stayed out of their extensive coverage. I motored through one which was under construction in the Firth of Forth.
One cruiser in Harwich, who was crossing the Thames Estuary and who advised me, claimed a traditional right of way across and through the wind farms, much like hill walkers do on land.
Turbine Territory: Offshore wind farms became a recurring feature of Hogan’s east coast passage, extending from the Moray Firth south towards the Thames Estuary. Photo: Pete Hogan
In their way, the wind generators are beautiful objects. They spin around gently in calm winds or strong. They are laid out in mathematically precise grids. They are accurately charted and so can be used for navigation. The industry installing them and servicing them is a welcome boost to remote economies.
The most extreme place I visited was probably Lowestoft. Here the people are moving out and the seabirds are moving in, nesting and shitting on the beautiful Victorian brick buildings. It seemed to me to be a serious problem. Here, Hitchcock could make another movie if he were around.
The only harbour to turn me away was Aberdeen, but that’s another story!
Dover was crawling with Border Force police, as one might expect, but I did not see any signs of the much-publicised immigration boats while passing through the Dover Straits.
I was questioned once by a highly armed Border Force RIB and passports were checked, but that was in Portsmouth, well away from the Channel ports.
Channel Passage: The white cliffs provide a familiar landmark from the water during the southern leg of Hogan’s circuit of Great Britain. Photo: Pete Hogan
Brighton Marina is worth seeing. It’s the biggest marina in the UK but is more a marina attached to a retail, residential and entertainment complex.
My son, Joshua, was delighted to find a Wetherspoon’s as part of the extensive infrastructure.
The huge marina is good for boat watching, with many fancy visiting yachts. But living aboard is also permitted. There are houseboats and it is home to an assorted collection of yachts which obviously have not gone anywhere in a long time, their bearded owners peering out from under faded blue tarpaulins.
The dream has died.
Whitby itself was a bit of a disappointment when I got there. It is a beautiful town in a scenic situation with lots of history.
I ran aground in the harbour. The opening bridge leading to the marina was broken. It’s full of day trippers and guest houses, ye olde pubs and fish and chip shops.
At least the statue of Captain Cook is still standing, overlooking the harbour.
The most scenic harbour was, perhaps, Dartmouth. There would I like to moor my yot and have a waterfront cottage.
Closing the Circle: A yacht at anchor off Rathlin as Hogan’s circumnavigation brought him back towards Irish waters after a summer circuit of Great Britain. Photo: Pete Hogan
The trip took me 60 days in two stages. Total mileage was in the region of 1,600 nautical miles. I visited 20 harbours or marinas and dropped anchor 15 times.
I haven’t had so much fun sailing since I sailed around the world in 1993!
