When recently we were pondering how to get our family of four boys and a mildly neurotic collie dog out on the water for some sailing adventures my father-in-law, boat builder Jeremy Rogers announced he had a spare Contessa 32 deck "in the yard which needs using up". So, after a collective emptying of piggy banks, the work of building our very own sailing boat has begun. My husband Kit is a teacher and will work alongside his father in the school holidays and on weekends, so that hopefully by late summer "Calypso" will be ready. The plan is to make her as green as we possibly can. Although there's not a lot going for fibreglass in the green department, Contessa 32s are at least built to last. The first 32s were rolled out of the factory in Lymington 40 years ago and there's every reason to believe they will last another 40 and 40 after that, which is more than can be said of their cheaper counterparts. Fibreglass hull aside, we'll be looking at other ways we can reduce the environmental impact of the boat, not only during the build, but also so that when sailing it is easier to make the right environmental choices.
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