050:42.370 N
001:30.260 W

Final photos and thoughts II – tweaked version

Below are some happy snaps from Thursday night in Swanage, our fabulous downwind sail on Friday into the Solent and our memorable homecoming. Thanks to Alan HH for capturing us off Yarmouth Pier, and very special thanks to Marion and Richard for making the enormous effort not only to see TC’s arrival, but to photograph it!  We really appreciated your efforts.

We were so happy then to have visitors to TC on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and finished with a meal with Isabelle on Sunday in the cockpit.

If you haven’t let us know already, we would love to know if you have been following the blog, please do drop us a text or email; robinminchin {CHANGE TO AT} yahoo {DOT} co {DOT} uk or 07785 750 394, thank you.

Below are our independently written our thoughts on the trip, ie we didn’t read what each other wrote before writing our own thoughts.

Bol’s thoughts about the trip away on TC 2026

We've sailed or motored just over 2,000 miles in the last 4 months to the Orkney Islands and back, we have been in a 40-year-old boat which is not let us down. The engine has

clocked as many as 250 hours on this trip and has never failed to start or run when required. (Even when it was overheating!) Initially the engine suffered a blocked cooling pipe and a disintegrated impeller, but after that it ran faultlessly for the rest of the trip.

Thursday's Child sailed and handled as well as ever and never let us down. The new powered Anchor windlass was a huge success and was used a lot, especially in Scotland.  When not at anchor, marinas varied from huge rows of pontoons with 800 boats to tiny ones with room for only six boats, rafted up and basic facilities, but without fail the staff were all friendly and helpful. One Harbour Master walked to quarter of a mile through the commercial dock to give me one pound which he had mistakenly overcharged. Wherever we were, the people we met were incredibly friendly.

Discovering Antares Charts opened up so many anchorages in Scotland that we would have otherwise missed, it left us wishing for similar charts for the Irish coasts. Sometimes we were the only boat in a secluded anchorage which gave us a wonderful feeling of freedom. With that and Navionics on a cheap, waterproof tablet, navigation was normally straight forward.

The tidal gates tested our skills of navigation, timing and of arrival which we only got wrong once in any significant way, which cost us by prolonging our departure from Bardsey island! The trip tested feelings of apprehension to go around many of the major headlands, but rewarded us with a feeling of satisfaction of having achieved our goals of getting safely to the Orkney Islands and back.

It was fascinating seeing all the different places, geology and wildlife as we made our way along our route. From gentle rolling hillsides to dramatic mountains towering above us.

Kwells anti seasickness tablets were a game changer for me as I could go below when sailing and for the first time in my life was hungry whilst sailing.  I also took Pro Plus caffeine tablets to counteract any drowsiness.

My greatest pleasure is the time we have had as a family experiencing the trip together when Harry and Isabelle have been able to join us at different times. The trip gave us time to sail with them and experience some beautiful places and work together to explore new ports and coastlines.

It has been a pleasure going away on such an adventure and it makes you appreciate how nice most people are, and how much we need to appreciate those we've left behind and later returned to.  Sadly two people, Colin Marsh and John Clarke, whose friendship I have valued immensely over the years are no longer here on our return, but I know they would have been cheering us on and with many of our friends who came to meet us as we sailed back in.

JoJo, as always, has been the best companion to share the trip with! Her boundless enthusiasm, energy and positive attitude to exploring and creating memories knows no bounds and is a joy to share.

Jojo’s thoughts

I can hand on heart say that this trip has been everything and more. For many years my lunch breaks have been standing at the end of Yarmouth Pier looking west and dreaming about sailing off over the horizon; mid-April this year, that dream came true. What was extra special was how positive everyone was about our plan, no-one questioned ‘why’ and everyone agreed that it made sense to do this while we can, and encouraged us to go.

However, for such a journey to work a few things are required; full trust in the skipper, full trust in the boat, confidence in myself. Having sailed together on TC since 1997, these factors were pretty secure, all we needed to do was to upgrade TC so she could be sailed short-handed as we normally race with four.

Our 2014/15 year away on TC taught us to keep things simple and sailing in UK waters enabled this; Harry and Isabelle could easily join us, dramas could be dealt with more easily, and we were only a train ride away should anything occur.

The best bits?

Skomer Island with its thousands of puffins, shearwaters, razorbills and guillemots around the boat.

The incredible 7 weeks in Scotland, the wildlife, scenery and anchorages meant every day brought a new excitement, a new interest, a new scene. Mull of Kintyre landfall, Crinan, Oban, sailing up the Sound of Mull then visiting the whiskey distillery tour and rounding the Ardnamurchan Peninsular with Isabelle, having Harry on board for 3 weeks to go right around the top of mainland Scotland, visiting Scarpa Flow, the 5,000 year old neolithic village, the Caledonian Canal, Tiree Music festival, seeing a Stag on the beach in Islay and meeting up with friends in various places.  

But the very best standout bit? Rounding Cape Wrath on 23^rd June! It still gives me goosebumps when I think of the moment when we were level with the corner, and looked east. There stretching off sixty miles into the distance was the north coast of Scotland. We were on our way to achieving our goal of sailing around the top of Scotland and that felt wonderful. The wind was wild and TC flew, we worked the 30+ knot gusts instinctively and silently together, just knowing what was needed, and that really felt great. Also it was my birthday so that felt pretty special too. 

However, I’ll end by paying tribute to Bol. His seasickness dominated our 2014/15 year long trip and afterwards TC was ‘never again’ going anywhere. But time is a great healer and a decade later thoughts began to turn to doing something. We’d been advised about a different medication but circumstances meant we never got to trial the Kwells; it was a total gamble whether the Kwells would work at all! Thank goodness they did, Bol could enjoy being back at sea and the trip was as happy and relaxed as we could ask for. Huge credit to Bol for being so brave. And huge thanks to him for preparing TC so beautifully, his attention to detail is awesome, as a result, TC gave us the most fabulous memories to cherish forever. I feel so very lucky to have done this trip with such a kind, resourceful and brilliant sailor! 

Thank you for following our blog, we’ve really enjoyed sharing our journey with you.

Until next time….

Jojo and Bol Minchin signing out

9^th August 2026

Thursday’s Child

Yarmouth Harbour