THE BIG VOYAGE

Robert Drew, a Rodney pupil from 1953 to 1963, is currently sailing to Sydney with his wife Denise, on a five year adventure! Their dream idea was conceived in 1994 and they finally set sail in 2012. Their plan is to take five years sailing from Southampton to Sydney, spending three years in the Mediterranean, a year in the Caribbean and a year across the Pacific, arriving in Sydney sometime in 2017

The boat is called ‘Invictus’ and is a Beneteau 57, purchased in Gibraltar in May 2010. Once the warranty work and insurance had been completed, Robert and Denise set sail for the UK. They left Gibraltar in July 2011 and sailed to Swanwick Marina, Southampton via Lagos (Portugal), Cascais (Portugal), A Coruna (NW Spain) and Camaret-sur-mer, France. Leaving the boat in Southampton, they then flew to South Africa and Australia for six months of sunshine!

Back in the UK, after finalising some technical matters with the boat, Robert and Denise finally set off of their main adventure, slipping the lines at 05:30 hours on 13th September 2012, heading for Cherbourg.

They sailed around Normandy in September before arriving in Jersey in October. The boat was then winterised in Jersey for six months whilst the pair continued their adventure on land. First, they returned to London for four months. During that time, they jetted out to Austria in the New Year for skiing with friends. And then Denise celebrated her birthday in January, in Paris, with many of their friends. And in February, the couple made their first visit to India. In early March, they flew to South Africa for eight weeks, to meet up with friends and family and enjoy the sunshine.

After a further visit to the UK, they flew back to the boat in Jersey where they started the de-winterising work. On 6th June 2013, they departed Jersey, for St Malo, Brittany, France. Later on in June, the couple stumbled across a major sailing rally in Roscoff, France, where they joined in the festivities.

We wish them both well as their adventure continues…….