Earlier this year I announced that I would be sailing single handed around Great Britain and Ireland. This was to help build up my profile and be a warm up to me competing in the 2013 edition of the OSTAR – the original single-handed transatlantic yacht race. Unfortunately, due to lack of sponsorship, this didn’t happen. So it’s been a very disappointing time considering the amount of time and sheer hard work I put into the project to try and make it happen. But these things happen.

I think a big part of the problem has been where I live. My home is in Bradford, Yorkshire and about as land locked as you can get. It’s not the thriving center of sailing excellence as you would imagine! Working from a base so far from the sea, has put me at a serious disadvantage. I would really have loved to be able to bounce some ideas around, rub shoulders and talk face to face with people, who frankly have a lot more experience than me at putting together a sailing campaign. But chances like these have been few and far between.

However, in July I was offered a job in Southampton – I snapped there hands off and took it. So for the first time in my life, I’m leaving Yorkshire, my family and friends, to live by the sea – on the Isle of Wight!

It’s a really exciting time but  it’s also a stressful and emotional time. As I write this I’m in my rented room in Southampton whilst my Wife and Daughter remain hundreds of miles away in Yorkshire until we sell the house. Changing jobs is stressful anytime, as is moving house and changing schools, but doing them all at once is a whole new level. I sometimes thought I was never going to survive it but things seem to be moving – slowl.  All being well I should be reunited with my family around the middle of October when we finally move into our new home after a long time of being apart.

I’ve had some real kind words of encouragement from friends and family. They have all said it’s a brave move and that they admire me for doing it. But to  me the real heros of this move are my Wife and Daughter, they are both making massive sacrifices for me. Fiona is giving up a job which she absolutely loves and Megan is having to leave her friends behind and move to a new school.

So here we are, starting a new chapter in life and working hard towards me competing in the 2013 edition of the OSTAR. So if anyone is able and willing to back me, a disabled sailor wanting to compete against the able bodied in the Original Single-handed Transatlantic Race, then please contact me. It’s going to be a fantastic story and you can be a part of it.

I now have a launch date for my new boat (old boat but new to me). I’m really looking forward to finding out how well she sails.  There is still lots to do before she is ship-shape and time is a bit tight, but she’s coming together nicely.

In 2009 I also have new cruising grounds to look forward to.  My previous boat, which I shared with a friend, was moored at Whitby.  This was great because you could sail out of the harbour at any state of tide.  But in my opinion the scope for cruising was limited.  If you want to sail offshore from Whitby your options are more or less limited to Norway, which is fine if you have lots of time on your hands.

My new boat will be moored on the west coast of England.  The marina is a little bit more restricted than at Whitby.  You can only pass in and out at certain times based upon high water.  But in my view the scope for sailing is much better.  From my marina I can sail to Ireland, Wales, the Scottish Islands and the Isle of Man.  So much choice!

Knowing my humble background, if three years ago you would have told me I would soon have my own boat and be sailing half way accross the Atlantic I would never have believed it.

I’m sure anyone reading this will think I’ve lost the plot, but she’s more than just a boat to me.  For starters she represents lots of hard work just to get this stage of owning a boat.  Then there is the time and money invested in getting her ship-shape before she goes back into the water.  There is still lots to do and the pressure is on, but I don’t mind that, I always find a way to get things done.

It’s the feeling I get when I’m out at sea that drives me.  On land its obvious I’m different from most other people and in some ways I am restricted.  At sea however, all things are equal and I am free. The feeling of freedom, mixed with excitement, beauty and exhilaration are all things which I associate with being at sea.   I can feel it just thinking and writing about it now.

The thing is, I know that if I want succeed and excel as a sailor, which I do more than anything, then its down to me in the end and my attitude to hard work, experience and a willingness to learn.  I can assure you, I still have much to learn.  Above all I will need grit and determination and to keep my eyes on the prize (which for me is the single handed sail across the Atlantic).  It would be far easier sometimes, when things are not going to plan, to use my circumstances as an excuse to give up.  My attitude however, is that problems and circumstances are there to be overcome and therefore greater is the achievement having overcome them successfully.

On that note, roll on spring and the sailing season.