June 1989 - May 1991		(1)   (2)   (3)   (4)
May 1991 - June 1992		(1)   (2)   (3)   (4)   (5)
June 1992 - April 1993		(1)   (2)   (3)   (4)
April 1993 - December 1993		(1)   (2)   (3)   (4)   (5)  (6)   (7)   (8)   (9)
December 1993 - December 1994		(1)   (2)   (3)   (4)   (5)  (6)   (7)   (8)
January 1995 - December 1995		(1)   (2)   (3)   (4)   (5)  (6)   (7)
January 1996 - December 1996		(1)   (2)   (3)   (4)   (5)  (6)   (7)   (8)   (9)  (10)
January 1997 - September 1997		(1)   (2)
Articles

The beginning:  We were both working in Ankara in Turkey when we met. Julie was working as a seismologist in the oil exploration business and Nigel worked at the British Embassy as the consul.  We originally met on the Hash (Hash House Harriers) which was a great institution for getting out, meeting people and having fun. When Nigel was transferred back to the UK we decided to stay together but to do something completely different (our careers didn't match) so the sailing idea started.  We planned to spend a couple of years learning the basics and looking for a boat while Nigel worked in the foreign office and Julie got a job locally in Dulwich as a typist in an accountants firm.  Julie was already doing a RYA correspondence course on the theory and Nigel was keen to learn as his uncle was a sailor.  We went to Gibraltar to do a RYA practical course and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the challenge of learning something pretty new. In the spring of 1989 we were doing some more courses in the Solent when we had some time to spare and dropped into the Westerly Brokerage. At the London Boat Show we had looked at the Westerly boats and liked the Seahawk very much but a new model was quite expensive.  At the brokerage we were shown a second hand boat (called "Gladlee of Guernsey") which was perfect for our plans. After a second visit we put in an offer that was accepted and the great adventure had begun - the fact that we had never sailed a boat only by ourselves seemed a minor problem!!

To solve this we booked a fortnight on a 26 foot sailing boat with Sunsail in the Sporades Islands in the Aegean Sea in Greece.  A great success and we even won the Regatta. A couple of days after returning to the UK we went to pick "Gladlee" up and the diaries were started.....

The Players:

The Cousins: