Wanting to prove that we can sail with young children we ventured north with the Wanderer in tow to join the fourth Wayfarer / Wanderer family gathering.

Arriving at the campsite we found the reserved area and pitched our tents, were greeted by Simon, the organiser from Nottingham, and met up with some friends from Northumberland who had brought their Miracle over for a few days.

The 4^th Wayfarer / Wanderer gathering was indeed a family affair with several families with children under 5: our youngest (Rowan) is just over 3, Toby is 6.

On the other side of the spectrum were several senior citizens.

The week was very pleasant: everything was up to each family to take part in or not as they liked: as it happened we sailed every day but one (when there was no wind, and then we used the outboard to travel the whole length of Ullswater to Glenridding and back).

We did several interesting trips with the Wayfarers in a variety of wind conditions: the strongest being a gusty force 5 (during which Rowan fell asleep and was wedged on the floor boards for an hour or so), including a trip to Howtown Bay, and two visits to Sandwick Bay, (one on a glorious day which featured a spontaneous game of rounders for all ages. As well as the sailing we learnt a lot about handling the boat and anchoring just off the beaches to avoid damage, which might have resulted from the wake of the two graceful steamers that ply the lake. The Topper came in useful too as Toby is at a "mucking about" age and loved being towed around on his body board (wet suit & lifejacket were essential).

Unexpectedly one of the highlights for me was swimming in the still, empty Ullswater in the early morning with the mountains in the distance: glorious.

As it happened we were the only Wanderer crew at the event, which was a bit of a shame as, we had read about it in the Wanderer’s association magazine, and assumed there would be more of us. However, this provided an excuse for me to perform a rather erratic version of "The Wanderer" at the group BBQ: I might even learn the proper words for next time.

As for the kids: I’m sure the presence of other children on other boats was an encouragement, and we managed some good long days out. And of course there was plenty of informal entertainment for the kids in the campsite too.

If you are interested, next year’s event is already planned for the week beginning Saturday 17 August 2002. It would be good to see some other Wanderer families at the event.

Jeremy Iles, Wanderer 605