After more than 20 years of browsing listings and daydreaming, I finally did it—I bought a boat! A Jaguar 22, spotted on Facebook Marketplace, funded by the proceeds of a recent camera sale.

The seller was brilliant—he sent me loads of photos, a good bit of history, and described her as a “rough diamond.” Sail-ready, but in need of some TLC. To me, that sounded perfect: not a basket case, but a project I could get stuck into and learn from.

So, on a random Sunday in September, my wife Katie, father-in-law Ron, and I set off on a little adventure. We arranged to meet the seller at a motorway service station near Bristol—a slightly unusual handover location, but it added to the sense of risk and excitement.

When we arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. The boat looked great, and the seller took his time walking me through the equipment, showing me how to step the mast, and sharing some of his sailing experiences. After that, it was time to hitch up and head north.

We stopped at Gloucester Services (highly recommend—proper independent services with local farm produce) for some lunch. Up until then, the trip was smooth sailing.

But just 5 miles further up the M5, disaster struck. The trailer’s nearside tyre blew out with a bang, destroying the wheel arch and forcing us onto the hard shoulder. Not exactly how I pictured my first day as a boat owner!

A quick call to the Highways Agency and RAC later, and thanks to some excellent service (and a rolling road block that no doubt annoyed a fair few drivers—sorry about that!), we were back on the road.

At last, we got her home safely. We toasted her arrival with the only alcohol to hand (a can of Stella!), kindly provided by the compounds neighbour Ian. After a quick look inside the cabin (surprisingly promising), I called it a day—it had been a long one.

There’s plenty more to come: an inventory, a project plan, and plenty of updates as I get stuck into this little adventure. In the meantime, you can check out the YouTube video of delivery day to see how it all unfolded.