Grand Tour motorboat UK circumnavigation 1999

Kim filing copy on Mac G3 aboard Missing LinkOne of the biggest enterprises I got involved with as editor of Motor Boats Monthly magazine was to take the company Sealine F36 Missing Link on a circumnavigation of the UK which also touched on several near continental countries.

The magazine had only just moved to IPC Media’s offices in London and the 147-day trip had been planned in just six weeks prior to departure, not over the whole winter as originally intended.

Subsequent reports filled 12 rather long articles in the magazine but I also posted a daily report on the magazine’s fledgling website. Many of those reports were subsequently damaged in a data migration exercise a few years later. I’ll be aiming to add the original raw files back on here, if for no other reason than self-indulgence.

The map outlining our ports of call is below and you’ll see links to each of the relevant pages below that.

Grand Tour map

South Coast

1-2. Day 1 Port Solent to Haslar
2-6. Day 2 Haslar Marina to Weymouth
6-4. Day 3 Weymouth to Poole via Lulworth Cove
4. Day 4 Cobbs Quay, Poole
4. Day 5 Poole Harbour
4. Day 6 RNLI and Sunseeker visits in Poole

West Country

4-8. Day 7 Poole to Torquay Marina
8-7. Day 8 Torquay to Topsham
7. Day 9 Topsham
7-9. Day 10 Topsham to Darthaven Marina
9-10. Day 11 Darthaven Marina to Totnes
9-13. Day 12 Darthaven Marina to Plymouth via Salcombe
13-14. Day 13 River Tamar to Calstock
13-16. Day 14 Plymouth to Falmouth
16. Day 15 Falmouth
16-17. Day 16 Falmouth to Padstow
17. Day 17 Padstow

Bristol Channel

17-18. Day 18 Padstow to Penarth
18-20. Day 19 Falmouth
20-21. Day 20 Sharpness to Gloucester
21-23. Day 21 Gloucester to Upton-on-Severn
23. Day 24 Upton-upon-Severn
23-21. Day 25 Upton-upon-Severn to Gloucester
21-19. Day 26 Gloucester to Bristol Floating Dock
19-18. Day 27 Bristol Floating Dock to Penarth
18. Day 28 Penarth

Wales

18-25. Day 29 Penarth to Swansea
25. Day 37 Swansea
25-26. Day 39 Swansea to Neyland Marina, Milford Haven
26-27. Day 40 Neyland Marina, Milford Haven to Hafen Pwllheli, North Wales
27. Day 41 Hafen Pwllheli, North Wales
27. Day 42 Hafen Pwllheli, North Wales
27. Day 43 Hafen Pwllheli, North Wales
27-28. Day 44 Hafen Pwllheli to Port Dinorwic, North Wales
28-29. Day 45 Port Dinorwic to Conwy Marina, North Wales
29-30. Day 47 Conwy Marina to Liverpool Marina

North West England

30. Day 48 Liverpool
30. Day 49 Liverpool
30-31. Day 50 Liverpool Marina to Whitehaven Marina