I am a left-handed Cornishman living on the coast of South Devon. From the window I look across the water to Shaldon and the entrance to Teignmouth harbour, and south along the coast to Babbacombe and Hope’s Nose.

I began this blog in 2006 because I bought a small yacht called a Folksong.  I didn’t know of any other Folksong – (other than the singing variety), so I thought this would be a way of finding out more. It was and is. The yacht is called Blue Mistress.  I sail out of Plymouth.

My interests are mainly nautical, focussing on single-handed sailing and the coasts and harbours of the Westcountry. I also enjoy maritime history with specific interests in the Westcountry trading ketches as well as inshore craft worldwide, including the fishing boats of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Having finished a forty-year career in December 2013, I am no longer contained by the tight discipline of that career and I find myself exploring a wider, less structured world. In these unfamiliar surroundings, I am ‘edging forward‘, stretching the old boundaries, enjoying the freedom to wander.

Over a lifetime, I got many things right and I made plenty of mistakes – more than I care to remember. I hope I have learnt from that experience. Now I am older, this continues at a new level – some things go right, other things wrong . . . and I am still learning.  I am finding ways to write about this too – hence the reworked website.

 ~~~

Regarding the title: My earliest memory is of looking out to sea from Steeple Point in North Cornwall. Steeple Point is where it all began for me.  “Not all who wander are lost” is a quote from JRR Tolkien.