Tapestry   of Ipswich     

Lesley was born in Gateshead and lived in the north east until 1974. She first crewed in a National Enterprise dinghy on the very cold River Tyne during the late 1960s. She married Ian in 1970 and then had two children. She had no desire to continue sailing and was a reluctant crew on an RYA competent crew course in 1984. She was encouraged by the instructor to get involved and learn how to sail properly, and soon sailed with the family in Turkey on a flotilla holiday. Several flotilla holidays in the Mediterranean followed. Despite a big commitment to equestrian sports she found time to sail regularly with Ian both at weekends and annual cruises to Holland, Belgium and France. She subsequently attended and passed her RYA Yachtmaster theory course and strictly supervises Ian to make sure that he sails by the book! She sails about 1200 miles each year.

Lesley retired in April 2007 and was very keen to sail around the world. She has been very involved with the preparation for the trip, and her only reservation was that she will miss her three grandchildren while she is away.

Ian was born in Lincolnshire within two miles of the sea at HW (but eight miles at LW). He made an early escape to the west country and later to the north east where he met Lesley.  He astonished his family almost as much as himself when he moved back to Boston over 30 years ago.  As a boy he sailed in a variety of dinghies.  His first yachting experience was on a RYA competent crew course in 1982 around the Channel Islands and North Brittany.  He subsequently persuaded  Lesley to sail in the Solent on a RYA course before embarking on four flotilla holidays in Turkey, Greece, Corsica and Sardinia.  In 1992 he purchased his first boat, a Moody 31, T’Narra. Much to his surprise, he passed his Yachtmaster (Offshore) in 1995. In 1997 T'Narra was replaced by Harmony, a Moody 336 and in due course she was replaced by Tapestry in 2000.

He skippered his first overseas passage in 1993 and has subsequently explored most of the foreign harbours between the Friesian Islands and Brittany. His longest passage before this voyage was from Plymouth to Bayona in 2000.

Ian spent several years preparing Tapestry to sail around the world before he retired from working as a general practitioner in July 2007.