Weather Bird is a Bavaria 32, built in 2001 and currently berthed in Hythe marina on Southampton Water. Her name was inspired by a wonderful duet of the same name by Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines which I would commend to anyone who likes music! She is a typical modern AWB (average white boat), relatively light and beamy with excellent accommodation and decent sailing characteristics. Bavaria yachts occasionally come in for disparaging criticism on account of their cheapness (cheapness? everything is relative!), but this criticism seems to invariably come for people who've never sailed one. Weather Bird has been a pleasure to own and sail, looking after me in bad as well as good weather, and showing a decent turn of speed in all sorts of conditions. My sailing is mostly day and weekend outings in and around the Solent with an annual cruise, typically across the Channel to northern France and the Channel Islands.

'Weather Bird' photo album