At the grand old age of 85, David Lihou is about to embark on a big adventure—sailing from Falmouth, England, to his birthplace in T&T on his catamaran, Swan Song. He expects to reach his destination in time to celebrate Christmas here with family and friends in December, celebrating his 86th birthday along the way in October.
This is not the octogenarian’s first Atlantic crossing. In 2010 at age 75, Lihou sailed to T&T from Spain.
Originally from Port-of-Spain, Lihou left T&T in 1956 with a Shell scholarship to study Chemical Engineering at Birmingham University.
That is where he met his Birmingham-born wife Shirley. They married in 1960 and had two daughters. Their surviving daughter and two grandsons live in Australia.
Lihou, who got the nickname “Taxi” at his alma mater Queen’s Royal College, admitted that his previous Atlantic adventure was not without incident.
He arrived in Barbados on January 14, 2011, after spending ten days at sea without hot food because the gas ran out two days after he left Cape Verde. For the next ten days, he and his two Spanish crewmates survived on canned rations and a daily breakfast of fruit and cereal, with milk.
“They all lost weight but remained healthy,” said Lihou, who dropped from £159 when he left Spain in December 2010 to £130 by the time he completed the voyage, the following May.
Shirley and David Lihou
“This time around, he will be sailing with a crew that includes experienced French skipper Christophe Orion and English aeronautical engineer Richard Overend, who he describes as technically knowledgeable with the skill to fix anything,” Lihou said.
Orion, who helped Lihou sail the Swan Song from Marseilles to Conwy, Wales, in 2016, has crossed the Atlantic at least once every year for the past 20 years. The Frenchman has also designed many types of small sailing boats.
Overend, originally from Manchester, England, trained as an aeronautical engineer with Dan-Air at Manchester Airport. When that company collapsed, he started a refrigeration company and for many years has been self-employed, refurbishing yachts in Falmouth. This will be his first trans-Atlantic trip, although he has sailed all over Europe.
Detailing all the preparations being made ahead of his latest sailing adventure, he revealed: “I do all the catering and cooking because then I have good food ready in advance and easy to cook when meal times arrive. Hot dinners are essential preparation for long night watches.
“Using a satellite phone, Christophe will download weekly wind forecasts for our sea area. From this, we will sail fast and free on whichever course leads most directly to Trinidad.
“Atlantic waves seldom pose problems for yachts, but catamarans do not heel, so the sail area may need to be reduced so as not to overpower the rigging. When close-hauled in wind above 20 knots, I shake the shroud on the lee side. If it feels slack, we need to reduce sail.”
Shirley Lihou at the launch of the catamaran Swan Song, on June 8, 2021.
Lihou said the only other hazard they expect to encounter is passing too close to large ships, but an automatic identification system transponder will enable them to steer clear of those vessels.
He said fishing trawlers are another matter as they normally stay on a pre-set course on autopilot.
Lihou has been sailing since the age of eight, when he crewed for his uncle Conrad Potter and cousin.
On his upcoming voyage, the plan is to sail from Falmouth to St Malo, a port in Brittany, on France’s northwest coast where Orion will join the crew. From there, they will set sail for Trinidad with a possible stop in Madeira if supplies are needed.
Lihou expects an easterly wind for the voyage to Trinidad, averaging at least 180 nautical miles (360 km) a day.