A Foolish Odyssey

In 1984, Neil Hawkesford lost his boat and nearly his life crossing Biscay. He returned to England, defeated, and did what society expected: found a job, got married, bought a house. For twenty years he conformed, weathering divorce, redundancy, and the slow erosion of his dreams.

Then in 2006, at his lowest point, he rediscovered a forgotten book about Wharram catamarans. In that moment, something shifted. He made a decision that would consume the next eight years of his life: to build a 38-foot sailing catamaran in a barn, miles from the sea.

A Foolish Odyssey is the story of that journey. Part memoir, part builder's log, it follows Hawkesford year by year through 4,000 hours of work. He teaches himself epoxy and fibreglass, wrestles with marine plywood in freezing temperatures, and learns that building a boat is as much about building yourself.

Along the way he finds love, confronts the ghosts of his past, and discovers an online community of dreamers and makers who understand what drives a man to take on something this absurd. The book chronicles the highs of seeing his creation take shape and the lows of setbacks and self-doubt.

This is not a how-to guide. It's a story about escape: from conformity, from regret, from a life lived according to other people's expectations. It's about what happens when you finally commit to a dream you thought you'd lost, and follow it through to the end.

The story concludes with Gleda assembled at a Devon boatyard, ready for the water, and Hawkesford on the brink of sailing south to lay the ghost that has haunted him for three decades.