12 Ports

06/07/2025

17/06/2024

Five years on, here's a new way to explore the voyage we made and the things we learned. Let us know what you think!

Explore Britain and Ireland by sea, with sailor Jonathan Winter and twelve expert authors. Enjoy and then check for accuracy (particularly on technical sailing matters) with www.12ports.com

27/12/2023

Enjoying North Island to Starboard by Liam Thom. An engaging and entertaining account of a gutsy voyage round Britain in a 15ft catamaran. Well worth reading!

We must have crossed paths at some point. He traveled clockwise in the same summer as our voyage

On the 17th June 2019 I set out from Shanklin on the Isle of Wight on a fifteen foot open sailing catamaran to see if I could get round the mainland of Great Britain without dying. I wrote a book about it which you can purchase from Amazon in three different formats:

18/12/2023

Crossing the Irish Sea in our voyage , we reached the Welsh coast and moored up in what remained of Holyhead Marina (it had been largely destroyed in a storm the previous year).

Historically a vital mail route to Ireland, as illustrated by this image of steam ship RMS Leinster, it's now a bustling link in the European road haulage network. Yet, there's more to Holyhead than meets the eye, as documented by Iolo Griffiths in the ninth of our series.

From Roman watchtowers guarding against pirates to its strategic importance in medieval times, Holyhead's narrative is richly layered. Its maritime museum, set in a former lifeboat house, is a window into this diverse history. The town’s evolution is marked by landmarks like the striking Holyhead Breakwater, a testament to Victorian engineering and recently slated for restoration with £40M backing from the Welsh government.

Despite its transformations and challenges, Holyhead remains a resilient and evolving community, exploring new frontiers in tourism, green energy, and maritime innovation.

Rediscover Holyhead with us, another resilient historic town in the 12 Ports series that make up “Around These Islands in 12 Ports” by Jonathan Winter www.12ports.com

Photo: Royal Mail Ship ‘Leinster', from artwork in Holyhead Maritime Museum. In October 1918, RMS Leinster was torpedoed just outside Dublin Bay with the loss of over 500 lives.

11/12/2023

Embark on a voyage through Dublin's maritime history in this chapter of "Around These Islands in 12 Ports."

Co-authored by Lar Joye (Dublin Port Company) and Yvonne Shields O’Connor (Irish Lights), this chapter delves deep into the transformation of Dublin’s once dangerous bay into a bustling, modern port. It chronicles the perilous conditions of Dublin bay in the 17th century, where shipwrecks were common and access to the city was often blocked. The construction of the South Bull Wall, a significant engineering feat of its time, played a pivotal role in reshaping the bay, leading to the emergence of Bull Island and the transformation of Dublin into a significant port.

Recently, Dublin Port has continued to demonstrate its dynamic nature, with the opening of the new €127 million T4 freight terminal, enhancing its role in international trade and futureproofing its capacity for the next decades. This major development, part of the port's ambitious Masterplan, is a testament to Dublin's ongoing commitment to modernization and efficiency, further solidifying its place as a key player in the global maritime sector.

Dublin was the eighth of the twelve ports in our voyage documented here www.12ports.com

IIrish LightsDDublin Port CompanyIIrish FerriesSSea Truck Ferry Port Liverpool
Picture: Samuel Beckett bridge over the River Liffey.

11/12/2023

Dive into Belfast's maritime legacy in the next chapter of "Around These Islands in 12 Ports".

Authored by Alf McCreary you'll explore the remarkable transformation of Belfast from a humble inlet to a titan of maritime industry. Learn about the city's pivotal role in global shipbuilding, including the construction of the legendary Titanic. Delve into the stories of resilience, innovation, and architectural marvels that shaped Belfast's harbour.

This chapter not only honors the city's past but also highlights its vibrant present as a bustling, modern port. Celebrate Belfast with us, the next in the 12 Ports series that make up “Around These Islands in 12 Ports”.



Special thanks to Alf McCreary, the team at Belfast Harbour, Titanic Foundation, and all those who gave us such a warm welcome on our voyage.

04/12/2023

Oban, from the Gaelic "An t-Oban" (The Little Bay) is known as the Gateway to the Isles. As the key port that serves the Hebridean Isles and beyond, Oban is a bustling hub of vessels ferries coming and going (the second busiest after Dover). With the relocation of the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) here in 1969, the population now includes around 8000 students, some studying maritime skills courses.

Under the water there’s another layer of the story. Littered with the wreckage of flying boats damaged during WWII. It is now considered a mecca for underwater enthusiasts as much as for nautical folk on top of the waves.

This chapter was co-authored by representatives of both the above-water and under-water enthusiasts! Mike Robertson, who was one of the first crew members of Oban' lifeboat and served for almost 30 years and John Howe, a senior lecturer at SAMS in marine geology who is also a keen diver.

27/11/2023

From Dundee we travelled north to Orkney. Executive coach and author Nick Ibister explores the storied history and allure of the port town, Stromness. He writes; "Far from being off the beaten track, 5000 years ago Orkney was the beaten track." As a centre for innovation for the British Isles, ideas spread from this place.

This chapter weaves together vignettes of Viking sagas, archeological wonders as well as the literary and musical giants who called Stromness home. It paints a vivid picture of a place where personal stories become rooted in collective myth and enduring monuments.

From Neolithic sites like the Ring of Brodgar to chambered Viking tombs etched with ancient runic graffiti, Ibister traces his own deep familial connection to Orkney. A chance discovery of an 1881 carving bearing his surname unleashes a profoundly human sense of continuity between past and present.

Nick Ibister's reflections inspire us to seek out unfamiliar narratives that shape identity and the idea of being rooted somewhere we don't live. He quotes T.S.Eliot "home is where one starts from" and with monuments constructed before the Pyramids, in 3000 BC, Stromness must surely be considered home to many.

26/11/2023

Sailing north from Hull took us into Scottish waters for the first time, accompanied by a wealth of seabirds. We moored up at Arbroath (of smokies fame), close to the historic port of Dundee.

In this next chapter, Michael Marra evokes Dundee's complex post-Industrial history. With vivid, imaginative sailor's description of the city emerging from the Haar mist, he traces Dundee's rise and fall across whaling, shipbuilding, and jute industries. With its dynamic history of sea-facing industry he describes the British Isles "flipping upon their axis to face the Atlantic" as a bridge was built over the river that was once a lifeline but had become an obstacle.

Marra movingly depicts the human cost of economic change - displaced farmers, Irish immigrants, child labour. He talks of the "great displacement of the physical trade routes in favour of the frictionless digital".

If today Dundee smiles under the glow of tourism and its iconic V&A Museum, stark inequalities remain. Still, there is hope of renewal through sectors like video-gaming (the birthplace of Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto!) and renewable energy. Ultimately, Dundee's true treasure is its people, not the b***y lost in the Tay's silvery depths.

17/11/2023

The extreme tides and treacherous mud banks we encountered on the approach to Hull during our 2019 voyage began to feel feel like a metaphor for the ebb and flow of this great city’s history, as we began to learn from guest author and maritime historian Dr Robb Robinson.

World War 2 was a devastating low point. In May 1941 seventy German planes dropped over 9000 incendiary bombs obliterating around 95% of the city’s buildings.

Being targeted for such brutal destruction was perhaps an indication of the city's significance to Britain's industrial and commercial success. Located close to rich shipping waters and designed to receive vast quantities of international trade, Hull had made its mark as a key maritime hub since its first port was built in 1770.

As Robinson writes; "ripple the surface of many stories of the sea and you will come across Hull people and ships".

More recently, Hull has enjoyed something of a cultural and nautical renaissance. Hosting the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in 2009 and being named Hull, UK City of Culture in 2017 it seems to have been rediscovering its place on our coastal map.