Something About You ...

Not a very easy challenge today. There's not a tremendous store of fascinating information about me to mine. I'm a pretty average person. No extraordinary gifts, talents, or double jointed body parts. No scandal or heroism worth noting.

So, this is what you get about me:

In 1974 when I was 17 years old, I participated in something called Operation Sail. It was a Tall Ships race that began in Copenhagen, Denmark and ended in Gdynia, Poland (then still behind the Iron Curtain).

The boat I sailed on was named Dusmarie, a 43' Oyster Smack built in 1884. She belonged to the woman who ran the A-Level college I was attending at the time. (Dusmarie qualified as a "Tall Ship" not because of her great size and many masts, but on account of her age). I was part of an all-female crew, and we sailed from Ipswich across the North Sea to Copenhagen for the start of the race. After the race ended in Gdynia, we spent several glorious weeks cruising the Swedish Archipelago before returning to England.

Somewhere in some dusty BBC archive, there is a documentary film following our exploits as we bounded the mighty main.

Google is a wonderful thing. Within seconds of typing in a search for Dusmarie, up popped her picture on my computer screen. So, here is the boat, along with a photograph of yours truly aboard her, and a commemorative glass that I have somehow managed to keep unbroken lo these almost 40 years!