Liz

One of the best things about having a boat is the amazing people you meet. The sailing community is a fascinating one. It is full of all different sorts of people from a wide range of backgrounds; people who have one thing in common, a love of being on the water, a thirst for adventure, be it big or small.

It is also a very ‘fluid’ community; people come in and out of it. This leads to friendships developing very quickly. It is not unusual to meet someone in the afternoon and by 9pm be sharing life stories over several beers. Then, to travel in different directions, only to meet a few weeks or months later, somewhere further afield.

Two such people are Liz and her partner, Colin. We met at Fox’s Marina last year, sharing a common goal in life to re-fit our boats, retire from work and head off into the sunset. Many an hour was spent discussing our plans and preparations. Liz and I focused on our newness to sailing, our excitement and worries. Colin and Martin, the boat systems and equipment.

We shared their re-fit journey with its ups and downs and celebrated the start of their adventure last June, by joining family and friends at their going away party.

Since then we have kept in touch (social media is a wonderful thing) following their journey across Biscay, down the coast of Portugal and into the Med to their winter berth in Cartagena. This season saw them travel along the south coast of Spain and France, then explore Corsica and Sardinia, reaching their winter berth in Sicily a few days ago.

They have shared photos of beautiful bays and historic towns, tips and advice covering things they have learnt on their travels and their encouragement for our future plans. We have been lucky to sail with them at the Isle of White and also Palma and spend the one of our best New Year’s Eve with them and our friends at Fox’s Marina.

We were therefore shocked and deeply sadden to hear from Colin at the weekend that Liz was no longer with us. It was not from a sailing accident, a violent storm, an encounter with pirates or a man-eating shark (the things that most people seem to worry about when I tell them of our sailing adventure). It was a simple everyday event, walking down the pontoon back to the boat that had become her and Colin’s home. We are still unsure what exactly happened, but what we are sure about is that the world was a better place when Liz was with us; the people whose lives she touched, no matter how briefly, will never forget her.

Sending Colin and Liz’s family all our love x