A decade of offshore sailing, Scottish cruising, substantial repair and renewal, a new engine and Meander's 2015 voyage to the Faroes.
Chris Phillips records a two-handed west-to-east Atlantic crossing aboard Meander in 2009. He later received the Royal Naval Sailing Association's Tim Sex Trophy for the passage. Later material identifies Alec Townley as the person whose watchkeeping system Chris used during the crossing.
The precise departure and arrival ports and complete passage dates remain unresolved, so the archive does not infer them.
Chris's surviving walk-through records a substantial accommodation refit in 2009–10. Changes included work to the saloon, galley and heads, together with a pilot/seaberth, a longer settee berth and a purpose-built chart table.
This is important when interpreting later interior photographs: they show Meander during the Phillips era and should not automatically be treated as Bob Grimson's untouched 1992 arrangement.
Explore Meander below decksChris's archived 2011 writings describe his return to his “beloved Meander” and plans centred on the Outer Hebrides, Barra, Skye, the Inner Sound, the Small Isles and Knoydart. Planned destinations are distinguished from places independently confirmed as visited.
Meander was out of the water from September 2013 until May 2015. The surviving SERCHTHRIFT archive documents a prolonged programme of structural repair, renewal and mechanical work.
Chris records that Meander floated again in Loch Creran on Monday 4 May 2015, the first time she had been afloat since September 2013. Her masts had been restepped at Barcaldine on 1 May. The new Beta engine started and sea trials followed.
Loch Creran / Barcaldine → Oban / Kerrera / Dunstaffnage → Tobermory → Inverie / Knoydart → Rona → Stornoway → Tvøroyri, Suðuroy → Sandur → Miðvágur → Tórshavn → Kinlochbervie → Ullapool → Tanera Beg / Summer Isles → Loch Erisort → Stornoway → Plockton → Mallaig → Tobermory → Puilladobhran → Loch Creran / Barcaldine.
Full voyage recordChris's later writing explains that finding crew became increasingly difficult and that much of his sailing was consequently single-handed. His 2017 account describes being mentally better prepared for solo cruising after the challenges of the previous season.
The 2017 material places Meander on a substantial northern circuit including Kirkwall, Wick and Inverness, through the Caledonian Canal and onward from Corpach. This later Scottish chapter is now part of the expanded voyage archive.
Chris's own Meander page records the sale on 16 July 2019 and names the new custodians as Peter and Maureen. Other evidence identifies them as Peter and Maureen Hennessey, who brought Meander to the North West and Liverpool.
Chris's ten years with Meander left an unusually detailed documentary record: personal writings, technical descriptions, voyage accounts and photographs that together show not only where the boat went, but how she was maintained and lived aboard.
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