In December 2015 we wrote a blog post about James Muggoch a Londoner who bought bought 'Annie of Orford', a David Sadler Frigate from Corinne at Boatshed Isle of Wight in February 2015.

We were very pleased to hear from James again this week as 'Annie' and James completed the 3500 mile trip on Monday 14th March after 41 days at sea.

Rather than us tell you the story below is a message from James -

I must admit that she took it all in her stride, while I struggled a bit - I didn't realise how much the trip would take it out of me and that my damaged left eye would mean that I couldn't see at night, so changing sails, judging the wind and actually seeing the compass would make the whole thing much more difficult! 'Annie' was knocked down by 30 foot waves, caught fire, had a hole the size of my hand in the deck, tore the mainsail and lost all electric power to the VHF radio, Sat Nav, CD player, AIS and 12 volt charging, I left Lanzarote with the engine not working and for over three weeks couldn't have hot drinks or hot food as the cooker had broken loose in a force 9 storm......

Apart from all that and winds not dropping below 30 knots for the first 10 days, 'Annie' proved she is a tough little boat, sails very well, copes well with large seas and will look after the young sailors who will be sailing her once the professional repairers have worked their magic putting right the things that I put wrong.....

My heartfelt thanks to all those who helped with the preparation for the trip, Simon Judge for delivering her to the Canaries, Louise for putting up with me, all those who put their hands in their pockets to help with the funding and all those who wished us well with this adventure......Thank you all!!

The arrival in Grenada surpassed any expectations I might have had, the Governor General, the Grenadian Government Ministers, Joslyn Whiteman, Elisha St Louis and his team of Sea Scouts, the staff at Siesta Hotel, Sandals Hotel and Robin Swaisland all of whom, together with others (forgive me if I've not mentioned you!) made the 5 days 'recovery period' the best part of the whole trip!

The plan now is to get 'Annie' up and running and get the young people of Grenada out on the water as soon as possible. My good friend Brian Everest has offered to cover the cost of purchasing a small (3 man) sailing dingy so they can practise their skills in sheltered waters and in the fullness of time I am hoping to fund the purchase of a secondhand mini-bus to help with transportation around the island.

As you can see, this is an on-going project and we still require funding....sorry to ask, but if anyone feels they can help, please get in touch.....

I'm very proud to say that I have been made an honorary lifetime Sea Scout Commissioner by the Grenadian Sea Scouts and will use this position to raise awareness (and funds!) for the young people of Grenada to gain skills that might well help them in future.

Thank you again,

James Wilson Muggoch

What a wonderful ending to one part of 'Annie' and James' history and a fabulous start to the new job that 'Annie' will be undertaking in Grenada.

If you would like to see more about the journey - please take a look at Sailboat to Grenada Facebook page.