When you learn to sail a boat yourself, it gives you the ability to enjoy being at sea and experiencing the excitement and beauty of the ocean. There are many places in the UK where you can go to sail and learn, such as this day skipper course https://www.solentboattraining.co.uk/rya-sailing-courses/rya-day-skipper-practical-sailing on the Isle of Wight, as well as places like the Lake District and of course Cornwall which is renowned for its strong ties to the sea.
But do you know, there is an Island that is part of Britain, that is so remote, that a boat is the only way to access it? The island of Tristan da Cunha in the south Atlantic is a curious place and somewhere that very few people have ever visited.
It is the world’s most remote inhabited island and has one town – named Edinburgh of the Seven seas. The island was first settled upon during the time of the East India company and was used as a port by trade ships. Being an English settlement, it is English that is spoken on the island and the many cultures that make up the residents have heritage going back to Dutch, American and Scottish.
Although isolated, the island does now have the internet, although it is a limited service, and the islanders rely heavily on fishing and farming as they need to be very self-sufficient being so isolated!
For most of the islanders, leaving the island is not something that they do, although some do choose to study abroad. In 1961, Britain evacuated all of the islanders to the UK after a volcano erupted, but after two years, 90% of them chose to return to the island, preferring the simple life with no crime to life in the UK.