THE SOLO SKIPPER

Donald Begg had always dreamed of sailing around the world on his Bowman 48 Lydia: “My problem is that my wife doesn’t like long-distance sailing,” he explains.

Nevertheless, Begg completed his circumnavigation by breaking the world tour down into sections and using a variety of approaches over three years. He joined the 2016-17 World ARC and sailed Lydia with friends from St Lucia to Tahiti, where he laid the boat up and went back home.

Later that year he returned to sail singlehandedly from Tahiti to New Zealand. He and his wife spent some time in New Zealand, before he single-handed on to Australia, where the couple spent a month exploring.

Then in 2018 he rejoined the World

ARC in Queensland, and completed his circumnavigation with the rally, using a mix of crew he had recruited from crew sites, and ‘floating’ crew who had been with the World ARC for previous stages on other boats.

“I started off sailing with friends, but I ran out of friends – not in a pejorative sense but there’s only a limited number of people who could get away for long periods of time.

“That floating pool of manpower on the World ARC has been quite handy for someone like me who hasn’t got a natural crew.”

Although Begg is confident in singlehanding long passages, he admits: “It is a great challenge, and it’s a terrific thing to have done, but you’re also very glad to arrive.

“You get bored in your own company, you get lonely. In my case you get very fed up with your own cooking! And it’s nice to share it with people.”

Practically speaking, solo skippers are not allowed on the World ARC, and while Begg was insured to sail solo prior to 2017, he has found it more difficult and expensive since.

Spending long periods away from home is not for everyone. “It’s been tough, but we’ve found a compromise,” he comments.

“I’d always said when I had the time I wanted to sail around the world, but when reality comes it’s not that simple.”