In praise of the North Sea

I am a great fan of all things Paul Heiney, and of the North Sea. It was very unfortunate that Paul had such an eventful and difficult crossing from Ostend (PBO October) and of course I sympathise.

However, I would like to put in a good word for East Coast sailing. In June this year I also crossed from Ostend and had one of the best days sails of my life. A brisk northerly meant storm jib and heavily reefed main as my Nova 27 Maisie tackled the elements at a steady 5 knots... good for an old girl like her. We were passing through Fishermans Gat 15 hours later following a setting sun having experienced all the exhilaration that our sport can so often provide. I like the North Sea. John Kingsnorth Pin Mill, Suffolk