Since the oldmansailing online videos have taken off, I get a lot of questions – very often the same questions, so it makes sense to have a page of answers:

Where are you?

You can find my whereabout at any time here: https://www.polarsteps.com/johnpassmore

Where are you going?

My itinerary and past voyages are at the bottom of the “Contact” page.

Do you fish?

No. It would feel like eating my neighbours.

What are those ropes hanging off the back of the boat?

In fact, it is one rope – 80m long and trailing behind in a loop. This causes just enough drag to keep the boat straight in a large quartering sea – but not so much as to slow her down.

For very strong winds and dangerous breaking seas, I have a Jordan Series Drogue, which is a very long rope, weighted at the end and with dozens of fabric cones spliced into its length. This should keep the boat straight in any conditions.

Other questions:

I have posted videos of what I eat. You can see how I handle the sails and the self-steering on The Oldmansailing Book Club on YouTube. The answers to other questions, such as “how do I sleep”, can be found by typing, for instance, “Sleep” into the search box on the right of this page.

Of course, if you want the full story, see the “Books” page.

Finally, the big question: Why don’t I wear a safety 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 and stopped, I would unclip and manhandle myself round to the stern, where I kept a folding boarding ladder. However, it should be said that Rivals have a reputation for just carrying on by themselves with no one at the helm.

Anyway, the theory was that I would climb up the ladder, dry off and count my blessings over a cup of tea with a large slug of rum in it.

However, when I became seriously old, I rather doubted that I would have the strength to do all this in the sort of conditions that caused me to fall overboard in the first place.

Of course, the real purpose of a harness is to stop you falling over at all – the tether is supposed to stop you before you reach the rail. But to do that, it has to be so short it is impossible for the person on the end of it to move about at all – fine for clipping on to perform a ticklish job with both hands while standing up at the mast (in which case it’s better to lash yourself to the mast) but hopeless for a job like rigging a spinnaker pole which involves lots of moving around.

I have spent many hours thinking about this – I’m not short of time to think – and I have imagined myself falling over the side, coming to the surface, treading water and watching my boat sail away.

And I’m OK with that. I was born in the first half of the last century. A lot of people from that era are living in care homes by now – and we’ve all got to go sometime. I think I should be allowed to decide for myself how I live until that time comes, and how I go when it does.

Once this online discussion had started, we got to: “That’s all very well for you, but what about the people who will be obliged to mount a hazardous and costly search and rescue operation to look for you.

“That’s easy,” I replied. “My next of kin are under instructions to say that I did not want a search and rescue operation.”

“Ah,” responded some know-it-all, “the rescue authorities won’t take any notice of that. How do they know your next-of-kin don’t want you dead?”

Good point. I have now written to HM Coastguard as follows:

I wonder whether there is any way you can keep on file my request that no search and rescue operation should be initiated if it is suspected that I have fallen overboard from my sailing yacht.

I should explain:

I am 77 years old and, a few years ago, I decided that I would no longer wear a harness at sea. I found it cumbersome and knew that if I were to fall over, it was unlikely I would have the strength to pull myself back aboard.

Also, now that I have well over 100,000 social media followers who watch my daily videos, I am sure I would face intense pressure to give up and put myself into a care home.

Frankly, I would rather spend my last moments treading water and watching my boat sail into the sunset.

On the other hand, if I hit the proverbial container through no fault of my own, sink, and activate my EPIRB, then yes, please do come and get me.

The reason for asking this now is that I had assumed that if there should be an emergency, you would contact my next-of-kin, who are under instructions to request no search & rescue. However, someone made the point that you would still go ahead because you could not be sure that my wife didn’t want me dead!

I hope you can help in this. I hate to think of anyone getting involved in an expensive and, possibly hazardous, operation to rescue anyone who would prove so ungrateful.

I have now received the following (inconclusive) reply:

I have replied:

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