When my husband Mat and I set off from Sidmouth, England, our destination was the Mediterranean, roughly 870 miles (1,400km) south. We planned to reach it through the inland waterways of France. We had two months off work and arranged for friends to meet us with the boat trailer in the port of Sète on August 5, 2017, to bring us home. We estimated we’d need to row at least six hours every day to make it. With just weeks to go before we planned to depart, Mat finished our boat, DUNLIN. The lapstrake dinghy, 13′ 7″ long with a 4′ 6″ beam, was the first boat he’d built and is based on a traditional workboat designed for both rowing and sailing with a gaff sloop rig.As our families waved goodbye from Sidmouth beach, we clumsily zigzagged east along the English Channel coast, unable to row in a straight line. We had only rowed DUNLIN together for the first time a few days previously and we weren’t helped by a poor distribution of gear that had disrupted the proper trim. That morning we’d stuffed the tiny lockers with camping gear, a gas stove, a solar panel, some clothes, and emergency canned food, all inside waterproof bags. Stowed under our seats were water bottles, inflatable rollers, and swimming floats, which made cheap, compact fenders. .
Roger Siebert
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Kinda disappointed that you didn’t include a single good shot of the boat’s exterior…
Polly and Mat posted a few profile shots on their Instagram page. Click on these links:
Rowing
Planked hull
Sailing
What a great adventure—thanks so much for sharing it, Polly! On the opposite side of the world I often think of how to see France/Europe/the Med, and while the canals are obvious, doing it in a row boat wasn’t. Really enjoyed your story, thanks again.
Congratulations, Polly and Mat. A grand adventure that most of us only think about, well done for making it happen.
For those who like small-boat adventures I can highly recommend The unlikely voyage of Jack de Crow by AJ Mackinnon in which Jack de Crow, a Mirror dinghy, is sailed, rowed and towed from north Wales to the Black Sea, a distance of 4900 km by canal, river, and sea. An epic voyage told with great humor. (One of the very few books I have read multiple times). Now out of print, second-hand copies are the way to go.
The book is also available in a Kindle edition.
Fantastic, what a perfect trip for a that boat!!! Takes courage to do such a thing, no video games onboard that trip!
A fabulous tale of an awesome adventure. Well done you two! Where to next?
Loved this adventure. Thank you Polly for sharing. What a trip. You did what most of us only think or dream about. Of interest, we have been following Impetuous Too on their blog and Facebook for three years. Their worldly travels in a sail boat have been wonderful as we feel we are often with them. Over the past two years they have added two babies. Really amazing…… I think you would enjoy following them. (Duncan and Ruth met about 10 years ago on a canal in Bath, England.) Thank you.
Thank you for the lovely passage. I have wanted to do this ever since I was stationed near there almost 60 years ago. One has to prioritize, however. I surely did enjoy your trip!!
Hello Polly and Mat,
Thanks a lot for your beautiful story with your small boat. In a few years I would like to go with a Drascombe from the Netherlands to Greece. I am influenced by Ken Duxbury who made with his wife Brenda a trip from Greece to the UK in an open Drascombe. I read this story 30 years ago and my wife and I had one plan: to sail in Greece with a small boat. And we did it. Have a look on our web site.
Please make more of such wonderful journeys and write about them.
As a British registered ship you could have sailed your dinghy across the Channel. French regulations apply to French vessels, not British ones.
Having spent the past eight summers on the French canals on a 21-meter Dutch barge, I was fascinated by your adventure. Good for you. And good for the French lock tenders for bending the rules to let you use the locks. We have a blog—On a barge in France: Adventures on HOOP DOET LEVEN—about cruising the French canal.
Hello,
What is the boat’s design? Are plans out there?