Les Weatheritt discovered sailing as a deck hand on a 150-foot Caribbean schooner at the age of 21. Back in Britain he taught himself sailing while working as a research economist. He cruised small yachts around Britain and Europe from Sweden to Spain before crossing the Atlantic in 1994 with his ferro cement 32-foot Petronella. After a decade in the Caribbean he returned slowly to Europe, spending a year in the Azores. When he reached the Spanish rias he turned south to explore Portugal and the Algarve, and is still sailing there. He is also the author of Caribbean Passagemaking.