GREAT SEAMANSHIP
EXPLORING EUROPE’S ARCTIC MARGINS BY WINDSURFER IS AN EXTRAORDINARY CHALLENGE FOR JONO DUNNETT
Most of my deepwater sailing I’ve done in conventional yachts or classics. Board sailing and windsurfers, although I tried my hand years back and enjoyed it, are a world of mystery, so when Jono Dunnett’s book landed on the doormat I was intrigued. Within the pages of In the Balance, Jono tells of his voyage around Europe without backup, from the arctic border of Russia and Norway to the Black Sea, leaving the continent to port all the way.
But this is more than a tale of physical endurance, skill and mental toughness on a par with the great explorers of the early 20th century, the prose is so good that reading it is not far off an epic poem. His self-sufficiency on a vessel that promises so little but which, in his visionary hands, delivers so much, is an inspiration
This is a thoroughly modern man who embraces what technology is available to so basic a craft, yet who remains in uniquely tactile contact with the nature that surrounds him.
Welcome aboard for a tour of my ship. Up front we have a spray deck, sewn from orange PVC, with a transparent top pocket for a solar charger. Beneath this is a waterproof backpack stuffed with lighter, bulkier items including sleeping gear. Stuffed up front are also 20 freeze-dried expedition meals, two reserve gas canisters, and a pair of Crocs. The spray deck has a shallow angle at the front so that it is not torn away by oncoming waves, and elastics pull it tight at the back.
On the back of the board is my barrel, which has previously accompanied me round Britain. It is strapped to a support over the rear footstraps, then strapped again to the footstrap fixings themselves. The barrel is filled with food including three weeks’ supply of expedition porridge, cooking gear, clothes, repair gear, tracker and sundry essentials. The support itself also holds a thermos flask, fishing line, and a system for balancing the sail when in paddling mode.
On my back is a smaller backpack that would be nice to keep light, but ends up feeling heavy. Inside are a VHF radio, gloves, hat, snacks of nuts and chocolate, water in a bladder with a tube for drinking while sailing, spare rope, a knife, sun cream and the like.
Both backpacks seal as roll top drybags. In contrast to the barrel, these are not 100% waterproof when submerged, so additional drybag layers are essential for water tightness. Inside my smaller pack, wrapped within two extra drybags, I also carry a small laptop computer.
When sailing, under my drysuit I wear a woollen thermal base layer, and synthetic layering on top. A fleece-lined waterproof hat paired
