This new series follows Ian Furby’s extraordinary circumnavigation of Great Britain in an 18ft speedboat...
I am fifty-three and a half years old, a proud Yorkshireman and a self-confessed boat addict. Thankfully, I have a very understanding family who share (or at least put up with) my passion. I’ve been involved with boats for more than 30 years. In my 20s, I was an avid wreck diver and for several years I was both crew and a helm on the Runswick Bay Rescue Boat.
I have my yacht coastal skipper’s certificate and various other powerboat licences. I own a Nordkapp Enduro 550 called Summer Buoys that I bought in 2015 for £25,000. It is 18ft long and powered by a 115hp Evinrude ETEC outboard engine.
ADVENTURE BECKONS
These days, my family and I do most of our boating out of Runswick Bay, North Yorkshire, where we’re fortunate enough to own a cottage. If you’ve never been, don’t come, it’s horrible! Just kidding; it’s a beautiful Cornish-type coastal village with narrow winding lanes and an incredible sandy bay that won the best Best Beach in Britain award in 2020. The Royal Hotel pub overlooks the bay with stunning views of the Jurassic coastline. Runswick even has its own microclimate, hence its nickname, Runsbados.
We’ve enjoyed many years boating with the kids; fishing, water skiing, wakeboarding and doughnut-towing but my favourite thing is to “go on a trip”. When I first started boating from Runswick, a big trip would be 6nm south to Whitby, from where Captain Cook set off aboard the Endeavour to find the world. But one day, a few years back, I encouraged three other boats to join me on a massive voyage to Robin Hood’s Bay, some 14nm south of Runswick, doubling anything we’d ever attempted before. Some in our flotilla were concerned about which time zone we were steaming into and whether we’d need to take euros. We survived unscathed and now do it regularly. We go in an hour before low water, beach the boats, lob out an anchor front and back. The tide goes out for an hour, then comes in; giving us just enough time for fish and chips and a couple of beers. It’s ace.
After our brave escapades to Robin Hood’s Bay, we got adventurous. Two of us set off to Filey, 30nm south, and once we even went to Flamborough Head, 35nm south.
HATCHING A PLAN
Then Covid hit. The longer we were locked up, the more I dreamed about a rather bigger adventure for me and my boat – not just a round trip to another bay but a trip round Britain. All of it. This is a journey of 1500-2000nm, depending on how closely you hug the coastline. So if I did 200nm a day, it would take ten days to get round. Si
