An 82 Year Old Man's Dream to Sail His Mirror Dinghy Across Some of the World's Most Dangerous Seas

The Atlantic Ocean between The Isles of Scilly, some 28 miles southwest of the United Kingdom mainland, and Land's End is dangerous. There are probably more wrecks per square mile in this area than anywhere else in the world, but this did not stop 82 year old Tony Clee from dreaming about making the 40 mile passage from The Isles of Scilly to Marazion in his 10 and a half foot Mirror sailing dinghy, 'Auk'.

However, Tony was not just a dreamer. He really wanted to turn his dream into reality so the planning commenced. More than a year and a half later, at 07:07 hours on Friday 25 July 2008 Tony and his crew, 16 year old Beth White, finally set sail in a very light southerly breeze, and headed out of St. Mary's harbour, Isles of Scilly, north-east into Crow Sound - destination Marazion.

The visibility was poor but both wind and visibility were forecast to improve. By 08:00 hours 'Auk' had crossed Crow Bar and just passed the south cardinal mark for Hats rocks. The wind had increased to force 2-3 (still from the south) and the sea state was a one foot swell. Visibility had improved, but the sky was still overcast. Over the next hour as Auk began to pull clear of the islands at three knots the seas gradually increased to a two foot swell. The skies were still overcast, but it was beginning to look like the perfect day for a sail.

Tony passed the helm to Beth, who decided immediately to hoist the spinnaker. The wind had now veered slightly towards the west, the seas had decreased a little and speed over the ground had increased to five knots. And the sun had finally come out. By 10:30 hours they had reached the south bound shipping lane, between The Isles of Scilly and mainland Cornwall. Two ships, a small coaster and a container ship, passed ahead and then it was all clear. Just before 11:00 hours 'Auk' passed the Scillionian ferry on its outward passage to St. Mary's. The support boat made contact by VHF radio and staged some photographs. By 12:00 hours Tony and Beth had cleared the north bound shipping lane without incident and were some three miles north-west of Wolf Rock lighthouse. The wind had now veered further, steadying at force 3 and 'Auk' was now travelling at five and a half knots with the spinnaker still flying.

The wind continued to veer and by 13:00 hours it reached westerly; after more than five hours on starboard tack it was time to gybe onto port. There was no way that Beth was going to pull the spinnaker down so the gybe was carried out with the spinnaker flying. The change in wind had by now given rise to a two foot swell with some occasional larger waves to surf down. 'Auk' was still managing to average five and a half knots.

The advance passage planning had indicated that it was essential to get the tidal flow right. This meant that 'Auk' had to keep well clear of the coast from Land's End to Mount's Bay and keep a sharp eye out for shipping. By 14:00 hours the wind had backed just a little and Marazion and St. Michael's Mount finally came into view in the very far distance. 'Auk' was now travelling at four knots. Over the next hour the wind began to drop. By the time they reached Tater Du lighthouse it had dropped to force 2 and the swell had increased to three feet. 'Auk' was now travelling at just two knots.

It then took an hour to reach the fishing village of Mousehole, and a further hour to cross Mount's Bay to reach St. Michael's Mount. Finally, at 17:17 hours Tony, Beth and 'Auk' landed on the beach at Marazion. Tony is certain that they are the oldest and the youngest crew in the smallest sailing boat ever to attempt the 40 mile crossing.



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