Emotional finale for Tikka’s Around Britain Sail family

Laura Hodgetts

Steve, Kaz, Harry Pointon and crew have completed a circumnavigation of the UK in their 28ft yacht Tikka. The challenge took 11 weeks and covered 2,302 miles, raising more than £18,000 for Action for Children.

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Steve and Kaz Pointon and their 13-year-old son Harry celebrated the successful completion of their UK circumnavigation with friends and family at Hornet Services Sailing Club, Gosport.

The trio completed the challenge on Saturday, 20 August, having set sail on 4 June 2016 in their 28ft yacht, Tikka, from Gosport.

Tikka’s Around Britain Sail saw them travel anticlockwise around coast of the United Kingdom, raising more than £18,000 for Action for Children.

For the final leg of the voyage, the Pointon family were joined by record-breaking, round-the-world yachtswoman Jeanne Socrates, who flew back to the UK from Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada – where she is preparing for her next round the world trip.

The Tikka's Travels crew rafted up alongside Gladeye

The Tikka’s Travels crew rafted up alongside Gladeye

Steve said: ‘We arranged to arrive at the Hornet Services Yacht club in Gosport at 1400. We had the tide with us until midday so with the wind behind us and F8 gusting F9 it was to be a quick passage. With just the headsail  with 2 reefs we flew past Southampton and down to Portsmouth entrance at 8 knots.

‘Arriving in Gosport at 1100 we were much too early so took up the kind offer from the Army Sailing Centre to raft up alongside Gladeye at their base just around the corner from Hornet.

‘We slipped our mooring  for the last time at 1355 and were welcomed alongside Fieldhouse jetty by friends and family. Exactly 11 weeks and 2,302 miles later.

‘It was great to see family and friends again and to meet up with Martin once more too.’

Cyclist Martin Torbett and Steve Pointon. Credit: James Torbett

Cyclist Martin Torbett and Steve Pointon. Credit: James Torbett

While Tikka has been at sea, Steve’s friend Martin Torbett, 65, has been following their route on land on his 26-year-old bike, Diana meeting the sailors at ports along the way. Steve said their goal had been to circumnavigate the UK to raise £10,000 plus awareness for Action for Children ‘and help the many disadvantaged children and families in our country’.

He added: ‘I arrived back full of so many emotions, was tired, exhausted  even, but full of pride and admiration for the team that helped us make this dream come true. I am blessed to be married to a wonderful wife and have such a very brave son.

‘The friends and family that have joined us along the way have been brilliant. I hope you  have enjoyed it as much as I have. Thank you too to everyone that has listened to our story, donated to the cause and wished us well along the way. Together we smashed that target and the total has exceeded £18,000 and continues to climb.

‘So what’s next? There are still children in our country suffering every day, Action for Children will continue their work to try to change this.

‘Tikka’s Travels could continue to support them. We could sail, cycle, run, fundraise and continue to  spread the word. Is there the appetite to continue? Do my friends and family want to keep fighting to help some of the most disadvantaged children in our country have a better chance?

‘For now I need a little lie down and some quality time with Kaz and Harry but I wonder…. Hmmm, yes, I wonder……’

Jeanne, who celebrated her 74th birthday aboard Tikka, said: ‘It was lovely to be in Plymouth with Steve and family and on the water – although we were fixing the consequences of a dirty fuel tank on my birthday, in fact! That didn’t matter – the important and good thing was that the Plymouth mechanic did a thorough job and donated his ‘after-hours’ time to the cause – no further charges despite a lot more time taken to finish the job.

‘The sail to Gosport took three days with a very long passage needed to Weymouth, mostly motoring in light winds, taking care late in the day as we rounded Portland Race and the Shambles, and then an excellent sail in good wind the next day to Cowes via the Needles, arriving soon after 11am after a 4am start to make the most of the tide – we made SOG of 10.4kt  at one point!

‘The final sail to Gosport was another excellent one, with F8-9 winds from abaft the beam and a fair tide with us. White horses were everywhere but with just a small headsail we made 9 kt SOG and all too soon arrived at the harbour entrance – mission accomplished…

‘Steve and Karen were full of mixed emotions, only half believing the journey was soon to be finished – a Moitessier moment, for sure!

‘Family and friends celebrated …. and it was good to see Chris, who had cycled around on land, meeting Tikka at many of the stops and contributing a lot to the fund-raising.’

This October, Jeanne will set sail in her Najad 380 yacht Nereida, with the goal of breaking the Guinness World Record of being the oldest person to sail solo non-stop around the world.

She added: ‘I’ve been busy dealing with lots of problems before my flight on Tuesday afternoon back to Nereida (not enough time in the day!) but I have packed rigging parts, newly-repaired instruments, tins of chunky beef and of mince (ready for easy meals on stormy days), Cup-a-Soups for the cold Southern Ocean…

‘It’s a good thing I have suitcases big enough to take them all! On my return, I’ll be hauling out, re-rigging, servicing all my winches, checking all fixtures are good, renewing running rigging, mending, cleaning electrical connections, clearing, offloading more unwanted gear….  A long job list is waiting…’

Follow Jeanne’s progress at www.svnereida.com

To support Tikka’s Travels’ fundraising efforts visit http://po.st/TikkasTravels

Read their blog at https://tikkastravels.wordpress.com/