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.

This is the beginning of a journey for me. My aim is to make a single handed voyage in a sail boat across the Atlantic Ocean and not only that, but to race. This would push most able bodied people to their limits, let alone someone with a physical disability like mine. I have Spina-Bifida, a spinal defect from birth. However, I am really fortunate because I am able to sail a yacht and sail single handed.

Sailing the Atlantic for me will be a first and I intend to make the whole experience from start to finish a really special time of my life.  It’s a challenge which I would never have thought possible.  But that is what life is all about, living life to the full, pushing through boundaries, achieving great things and inspiring others to make the most of their potential.

I’m not out to change the world, I shall leave that to far more capable people than I.  But should I succeed I hope that in my small way that I might be able to inspire and motivate others to do something far beyond what they thought themselves capable of.  Everyone has a fire in their belly, a desire to do something fantastic with their lives, but it is up to us to do something about it.  Something which I aim to do from this moment on.  Obstacles are to be expected, but obstacles are there to be overcome.

I can honestly say that already I am having the time of my life.  I’m a disabled working class bloke from Bradford. Yet I sail the open sea, with its ever changing moods.  It really is the most beautiful thing.

I hope you enjoy my blog and follow me as I take my journey from landlubber to ocean yachtsman. I welcome all your comments.

Cheers, Julian