John Passmore

Clearly, I must be doing something very different. Judging by some of the Instagram comments, I am being lumped together with the YouTube sailing channels. I had this discussion with Paul early on (it became rather heated). He, too, had the idea that, because I post on YouTube, I want to be a “YouTuber” – … Read more

Why don’t I wear a harness? This is a contentious topic. I used to wear a harness – indeed, I contrived a sort of “self-rescue system” involving a line around the scuppers on both sides, which I could reach up and pull to disconnect the self-steering. Then, when the boat rounded up into the wind … Read more

It’s one of the perennial questions. Well, I do have a fishing line – with a huge, murderous-looking hook. It was on the boat when I bought her, and I’ve never opened it. Then I became a vegetarian. The reasons were complicated – mostly too much time on the internet. This started years ago when … Read more

When I bought Samsara, she came with two 100-litre fibreglass water tanks tucked away under the bunks. This was a huge improvement – Largo only had a single 25-litre stainless tank in the bilges (it once lasted me for 32 days). But Samsara’s  tanks leaked around the inspection hatches – as soon as the boat … Read more

I had better do some explaining. This blog has always been free – and I have been proud of that. I write it because that’s what I do. Even if nobody took the trouble to read it, I would write it. I have written stuff for more than 70 years. I feel more comfortable writing … Read more

  “You’re not stopping in Bermuda? Or the Azores?” It was something people had trouble processing – to sail directly from Sint Maarten in the Caribbean, directly to Ireland. “But that’s, what? Four thousand miles?” “About 3,500, actually. It’s what I do. I sail long voyages and write about it.” It’s true. There are three … Read more