Why Harry Dwyer's epic circumnavigation of Britain is an antidote to its toxicity
YouTuber Harry Dwyer’s beautifully filmed adventure is an old fashioned labour of love that proves tenacity, cheerfulness and optimism can still win the day
If you have 15 days to spare and £7,295 to spend you can circumnavigate the UK in style. You will travel onboard the small, state-of-the-art liner Hebridean Sky, sleeping in one of 59 sumptuous suites and enjoying five-star dining based around local delicacies and the daily catch.
Or you could be Harry Dwyer. In September 2019, Harry set off from London in a tiny dinghy to try to sail around the UK. He had a tent, a camera and a seemingly endless supply of scotch eggs.
Harry also had a job and a family so the whole adventure was only supposed to take a few weeks but with no previous boating experience, things took time. Five years on, Harry’s adventure finally concludes today when he sails up the Thames under Tower Bridge. Job done.
Cape Wrath sunshine after tricky moment
I’ve been totally captivated by Harry’s story since first chancing upon it during lockdown. A talented filmmaker, he has captured the whole adventure in videos on his YouTube channel which celebrate the magnificence of Britain’s coastline.
Harry’s route took him along England’s south coast with a quick jump over to the Scilly Isles, and then round Land’s End and up the west coast. Scotland was a test. Bad weather nearly broke his tiny boat but rounding Cape Wrath, the sun came out and the journey down the East Coast, stopping at Elie, Newhaven Harbour and Dunbar, was relatively trouble free.
But every outing has it’s excitement. From leaks to lost drones, being grounded to fires at sea, the adventure has been filled with drama.
The star of the show is Goodwin, the tiny dinghy which was gifted to Harry by a friend. Built in 1977, it has been patched, mended, refurbished, then fixed again and it’s a lesson to all that new shiny things are not necessarily the best things.
Huge achievement
But there is another star and that is the man himself. At a time when social media is dripping with fire, brimstone, hate and horror, Harry’s adventure is a reminder that it doesn’t have to be that way – that the human spirit is as brilliant as it is baffling.
To even attempt to circumnavigate the United Kingdom in a tiny dinghy is a huge achievement. We all remember the numerous plucky yachtsmen who dream of sailing the seven seas and have to call out the lifeboat the moment they leave the safety of Oban harbour.
Despite not being a sailor, Harry has never needed help or required to be rescued. That’s because he prepared meticulously for his voyage, listened to the experts, took it slowly and learned lots along the way. And that has struck a chord with people.
Odyssey ends today
His YouTube channel has over 100,000 subscribers and every time he sails into a harbour anywhere, people who have followed him on navigation apps are waiting to meet him and shake his hand.
Despite being beautifully filmed, this is not a story you will see being made into a six-part series on TV. It’s taken five years and is a very old fashioned labour of love and not the sex and jeopardy stuff of modern entertainment.
But as Harry ends his odyssey today, he deserves a 21-gun naval salute for proving tenacity, cheerfulness and optimism still matter… and can still win the day.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.