One Little Boat, One Very Long Voyage — The Story of Jack de Crow

How far would you go in a Mirror dinghy?

For Sandy (A.J.) Mackinnon, the answer was all the way from the UK to the Black Sea.

Sandy is the author of The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow, the wonderfully entertaining story of an extraordinary small boat adventure in a very ordinary little sailing dinghy. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Sandy for the NanoCruising Podcast, and this turned out to be one of those conversations where the stories—and the laughter—just kept coming.

How It All Started

Before we get into the epic voyage, Sandy tells us how he got started with sailing and how the idea of taking a Mirror dinghy on such an ambitious journey developed.

And that's one of the things I find so fascinating about dinghy cruising. You don't necessarily need an expedition yacht or a huge budget to start an adventure. Sometimes you just need a small boat, a destination, and enough curiosity to see what happens.

Of course, taking a Mirror dinghy from the UK to the Black Sea takes that idea to an entirely different level!

The Adventure of Jack de Crow

Sandy shares some of the experiences that eventually became The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow.

We talk about travelling such a long distance in a tiny boat, the people he encountered along the way, the unexpected situations that come with slow travel, and the realities of spending so much time in a small sailing dinghy.

But this isn't simply a discussion about navigation and sailing.

It's about adventure.

And Sandy has a wonderful ability to find the humor in his experiences. There are plenty of funny stories and moments where you can't help but wonder what he was thinking when he decided this was a good idea!

Why Small Boats Make Great Adventures

One of the reasons I wanted Sandy on NanoCruising is that his story perfectly illustrates something I believe strongly in:

You don't need a big boat to have a big adventure.

In fact, travelling in a small boat can make an adventure more interesting. You're closer to the water, you travel slowly, and you interact with places and people in a completely different way.

Sandy's journey is an extreme example, but the underlying idea is very familiar to anyone who enjoys small boat cruising.

And There's More…

This is actually only Part One of my conversation with Sandy.

Sandy has just published The Realms of Gold - Another Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow, the follow-up to his original book, and in our next episode we'll talk about that new adventure and what brought him back to Jack de Crow.

So if you've enjoyed hearing about Sandy's original journey, make sure you come back for Part Two.

In the meantime, if you've ever looked at your little boat and wondered, "I wonder how far I could actually take this?", Sandy Mackinnon's story might give you a few ideas.

Or at least a good laugh.

Listen to the episode and join us for this remarkable small boat adventure.