The long drift

Engine failures on sailing yachts account for a majority of the RNLI call-outs, I keep telling students on the RYA Diesel Engine courses. Engines provide a back-up in an emergency (or if you are becalmed and have to be back to work in Monday), they charge batteries, and yet over the years they have been more of a nuisance to my sailing than any other system on a boat.

So it is no wonder that when our 40-year-old Volvo went through its final stroke off Ushant, I couldn´t help feeling, among other emotions, relief.