Myself in 1999, Aged 66

I have been involved with boats and sailing for more than 40 years. My experience includes dinghies, ocean racing yachts, large and small multihulls, and many kinds of cruising yachts. I owned a 25 foot engineless sloop, Tamarin, for 11 years in the 1960's and 70's. Aboard Tamarin I made two transatlantic crossings under sail, one of them single-handed. Other long-standing interests are ornithology and hill walking. Now, at the age of 65, I have retired from university teaching and software engineering in order to sail round the world in the track of the Beagle.

I see my forthcoming voyage as both a yachting adventure and as an historical investigation. It should take me four years to complete. The maritime aspect of the enterprise will be informed by an interest in the voyage of the Beagle and in FitzRoy's work, while the historical enquiries are intended to throw some light on the writings of Darwin and Wallace and on the early development of the theory of evolution. I hope that the book which results from the voyage of the Harrier will turn out to be of interest to scientists, historians, yachtsmen, the informed layman, and to all for whom travel is part of a larger search for knowledge, pleasure and enlightenment.