HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2015-05-20, Page 66 News Record • Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Contributed photo
Seaforth residents Ian and Joy Winterborn pose on the deck of
their sailing boat, the SV Reberth, which was designed and built
in Goderich.
Seaforth couple fulfill dream
by sailing across the Atlantic
Marco Vigliotti
Postmedia Network
In a continent spanning
voyage touching Portugal's
scenic south coast and the
hilly terrain of the Cape
Verde islands, among other
dazzling destinations, Sea -
forth residents Ian and Joy
Winterborn were instead
transfixed by the stars.
The British expatriates
both pointed to the quiet
nights drifting along peace-
ful waters, with only the
stars and constellations illu-
minating an otherwise
pitch-black sky above, as
their favourite memories
from a massive eight-month
sailing trip across the Atlan-
tic Ocean last year.
"Being out at night is one
of the most dramatic things
for us. Looking up at the dark
sky...seeing the planets (and
stars)," Ian said in an inter-
view with the Expositor.
"Rarely these days can you
find somewhere where there
isn't light pollution:'
"To see the Milky Way is
just unbelievable - that's my
memory," Joy added. "We
were lucky enough to see
dolphins alongside the boat;
we saw a whale. It's just
incredible!'
Their 9,000 nautical mile
journey traversing the Atlan-
tic included stop -offs in
numerous marinas and
ports dotting the Caribbean
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and southern Europe, such
as Lagos, Portgual, Las Pal-
mas, Grand Canary and the
island nation of St. Lucia.
The trip, made on a
41 -foot long sailing boat
dubbed the "SV Reberth"
designed and built by Goz-
zard Yachts in Goderich, was
partly spawned by positive
experiences on previous
ocean -crossing cruise trips,
the Winterborns said.
"We have travelled across
the Atlantic on a cruise ship
and you look out and you
say 'wow, wouldn't it be
good to be out there on our
boat," explained Joy. "This
opportunity arose; it
seemed like a good idea.
And it was a good idea."
"We have a well -found
boat; a beautiful boat, a
strong boat;" Ian noted.
The Winterborns, who
moved to southern Ontario
from the United Kingdom
in 1993 for work, purchased
the Reberth brand new in
2002. For its maiden long-
distance journey in 2004,
the retired couple trucked
the boat from Huron
County all the way to the
Chesapeake Bay in Virginia
and then sailed from there
to Tortola in the British Vir-
gin Islands.
Every winter since, they
have sailed it across the Car-
ibbean, with the boat typi-
cally left hunkered down in a
harbour in Grenada for the
duration of the Atlantic hur-
ricane season.
In 2012, the Winterborns
brought the Reberth back to
Goderich for its 10th year
anniversary and once again
sailed it from Virginia to the
British Virgin Islands.
By this time, Ian had
become greatly intrigued by
an ocean -spanning rally
called Arturo organized by
the World Cruising Club that
travelled from the Caribbean
to Lagos.
"I said to Joy, 'I got a crazy
idea, perhaps it would be
fun to take the boat on
Arturo and bring it back on
(a different boating rally),"
he explained. "In 2013, I
started to think about it,
contacting people and
started to do some plan-
ning. And the crazy idea
became a reality."
The couple left Tortola for
Bermuda on May 3, 2014.
After a few days, Ian set out
with two crewmembers for
the Azores islands in the
mid-Atlantic, where Joy
would later re -join the
group.
From there it was off to
Lagos, where they spent a
few days before disembark-
ing again for the popular
coastal city of Estepona in
Spain.
After spending some time
in the famously sun -soaked
beach destination, the Win-
terborns left their boat there
for a while, eventually
returning in the fall to ven-
ture out to Las Palmas.
The couple joined another
rally to travel from the Grand
Canary port community to
Cape Verde and then St.
Lucia, where they arrived
safely on December 4.
The Winterborns listed the
Azores as their favourite
stopping point during the
journey, despite boasting
what the coupled termed as
"underdeveloped" and rela-
tively modest ports and
marinas.
"The Azores are just magi-
cal," Ian said. "The Azores
islands we visited are all
different."
"The marinas there are
very basic but the people will
do anything for you. They're
just incredible," quipped Joy.
Now back at their home
in the Bridges of Seaforth
subdivision, which they
purchased in 2006 after
Ian became intrigued
about the planned devel-
opment during his many
work trips from the cou-
ples' then -base in George-
town to Goderich, the
Winterborns have no con-
crete plans for their next
sailing adventure.
Planning out an encore
might prove difficult with the
Atlantic crossing trip repre-
senting something of a
dream come true, the couple
said, who encourage others
to aggressively work towards
making their own dreams a
reality.
"If you have a dream, get
out there and live it," Joy
said. "Do not say 'I will do it
tomorrow,' because you
never know what tomorrow
will bring:'
"That's something we've
learnt," added Ian. "If you
want to do it, do it."