Single-handed ocean crossing

Webinar recording

A penguin stands on the deck of a sailboat, cruising the Solent with its sail raised.

Learnings from an everyday sailor

We have partnered once again with the Cruising Association and are delighted to welcome Martin Sutcliffe to the HKJ Webinars. In this session, Martin shares his inspiring and authentic account of planning and completing a solo ocean passage from Madeira to the Azores and back.

Martin is a sailor many of us will recognise ourselves in. He does not describe himself as an expert and he is not an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Instructor with tens of thousands of sea miles behind him. In fact, he only bought his first boat a few years before retiring. His story is an honest one, full of mistakes, successes, lessons learned, and reflections gained from real long distance sailing. There are plenty of practical takeaways for all of us, even if our own sailing plans never take us quite so far offshore.

Topics covered include:

Building experience gradually and honestly.
Moving from coastal sailing to overnight and multi day passages.
Managing fear, doubt and confidence at sea.
Preparing both boat and skipper for offshore sailing.
Sleep, watch systems and fatigue management.
Weather forecasting, routing and decision making.
Lessons learned and what he would do differently.
The realities of solo sailing versus sailing with crew.
Practical equipment that genuinely makes a difference.
Q&A.

We hope you enjoy the webinar, and if you have any questions please email us at marketing@HavenKJ.com

Man wearing sunglasses and a cap sitting on a boat with blue sea and rocky coastline in the background under a clear sky.

Meet the expert

Martin began sailing on Mediterranean flotillas with his young family before progressing to bareboat charters through RYA training and gaining his ICC. In 2015—just four years before early retirement—he bought his first yacht, a Malo 39 based in Marmaris. After retiring, he slowly worked his way west across the Mediterranean, all while wrestling with the question: “Am I a real sailor?”

In May 2026, with Dragon II berthed in the Algarve and the Atlantic ahead of him, he finally set out to answer that question.

A British national who has lived in Switzerland for 25 years, Martin now spends his summers and autumns aboard Dragon II, which has become his ever‑moving home.

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