Sail Yacht

Wonder Years

Jersey

Owners: Bierston Ltd.- Francis House, Sir William Place, St Peter  Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands. GY1 4HQ
Telephone: 01481 723573  Facsimile: 01481711353

To whom It May Concern

Keith Taylor was my first mate on four legs of Wonder Years from Sweden to New Zealand.  I couldn't have had a better mate.  His seamanship is remarkable, and sustained by a fine gift of intellectual curiosity for all aspects of navigation and sail handling.  He was always ready for the more unpleasant and difficult tasks, always cheerful, relaxed in adverse conditions and giving confidence to the rest of the crew.  I let him skipper the boat on the final stretch in New Zealand- the ultimate sign of confidence.  Keith is a first class skipper in his own right,  but, being a good seaman, was always supportive of my decisions.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

 February 13,  2000

In April 1994 my wife and I set out to spend six moths in the Mediterranean in a boat we purchased, after being let down several times, in late January.  Searching around for those with enough knowledge to help us in the time available, and enough patience to tolerate us, we were lucky enough to find Keith and Jenny Taylor.

Keith helped us fit the boat out (and, indeed, nothing he ever fitted ever did come off), and then sailed with us in stages from Medway to Dartmouth, as we learned how hard it could be to beat continually to windward through the Easter South-Westerlies.

At Dartmouth, Jenny joined us for a trip across the Bay of Biscay to Corunna.  After two days of magical sailing amidst dolphins we became aware that our slow progress (again, all to windward ) was going to leave us in the path of serious South-Westerly gale.  There was little we could do except continue beating through Force 9 winds and waves which broke sometimes half way up the mast.

Keith was the mate on board, with a role repairing the damage from the storm as well as the daily work of helming, navigating and helping the less experienced crew-including both owners.  We we very proud to reach Corunna, but we wouldn't have managed it without Keith and Jenny.

After the baptism of fire, both of them sailed the rest of the way to Gibraltar with us.  We stopped in Spanish bays, Portuguese harbours, and a storm bound interlude in a beautiful hotel in Tarifa, before the final celebration ( a Chinese meal, curiously), and they returned home.

We had a truly wonderful tour of the Mediterranean after that, and our thanks go to Keith and Jenny who made it possible for us to get there, and gave us such fun while we were on the way

Registered Address:

72 Englewood Road, London SW12 9NY
Telephone: 0181 673 4715

Registered in England No: 3057739

Mr S J Robertson
Dunnichen Gardens
Dunnichen
Forfar
Angus DD8 2NX

25th February 2003

Re:
Delivery of Sun Magic 44 "Triskell" from La Trinite sur Mer (Brittany) to Ardfern (Scotland) March 2002.

I had never used a delivery service before. Having contacted several agencies for quotes, I decided upon Keith Taylor of yacht-deliveries.co.uk. The principal reason for this was the very personal approach. I was away a lot at the time and my wife did most of the dealings and Keith was very straightforward and helpful. He also managed to allay my wife’s fears about the trip much to my relief.

We met in Brittany at the boat. She had been on a mooring for almost a year with no attention or maintenance. Keith insisted on an engine service before leaving and he thoroughly inspected the boat. There were several extra spares to be bought and he had given me a food list for the trip. There were 3 of us making the trip, Keith, his assistant Brian and myself as owner. Before leaving Keith and Brian gave the boat an internal spring clean and general tidy up. We finally departed on the Friday afternoon.

The trip was mostly done under motor and auto pilot due to surprisingly calm weather for the time of year, various sail problems and a problem with the steering.  We stopped off in Falmouth for half a day for repairs to the mainsail furler and a nice Sunday lunch. Then it was another stop overnight in Howth to repair the jib furler and a pub supper. On the subject of food I must mention that Keith is an excellent cook and we ate very well during the trip.

We finally arrived Thursday afternoon in Ardfern after an eventful trip.

I had never done overnight sailing before and it was a fantastic learning curve for me, both for experience and also getting to know my boat. Keith was very patient and found the time to give me some tuition and pass on tips along the way. When things went wrong, found ways round the problems to ensure we could reach Ardfern.  At times he could easily have halted the trip but instead was able to discuss alternatives and keep going.

Keith has since been in contact a couple of times to see how the boat is doing, which I think confirms the personal touch.

Stephen J Robertson