Another day, another hotel, another speaking engagement.  Thursday night saw me in Bourne, Lincolnshire talking to local residents as guest speaker in the Len Pick Trust lecture.  Len Pick was a prominent local farmer who died several years ago and, in his memory, each year, their is a memorial lecture for the local residents funded by his Trust. It was a sell-out with more than 200 people which made for a great evening.  Friends from Rutland Sailability also turned out, as did my ex-crew member Sarah Outen who, in little over a month, sets off from Australia in her 16ft rowing boat to become the first woman to row the Indian Ocean. More info here.

Yesterday I drove direct from Lincolnshire to Bristol where I am now, preparing for a talk to the Westerley Owners Association who are holding their AGM here today in little over an hour with about 150 guests attending. 

Being in Bristol gave me an opportunity to do something I should have done years ago.  If you have read my book, you will recall the generosity of British Caledonian Airways and a medical repatriation company called Wings, without whom, I would not have been repatriated to the UK after my accident 25 years ago.  Well, Wings is based here in Bristol so I took the opportunity to meet with Roy Harrill who set up the company Wings and it was he who flew out to Puerto Rico in 1984 to bring me home.  The last time we saw each other, he was handing over responsibility for my care to the Spinal Unit in Salisbury on the heli-pad at Odstock hospital, that was 25 years ago.  So it was quite emotional to see him again yesterday and we spent a busy hour catching up on my life since then.  It was strange to hear that his first memories of seeing me in hospital in Puerto Rico were the same as my vidid recollection - that of the blood stained pillow supporting my head bequeathed to me by the mother of a young man who had died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head hours earlier. It was the only means I had of resting my head which, despite having broken my neck days earlier, was left unsupported without even a collar. Horrific memories.

On a brighter note, I see that Michel Desjoyeux is about to win the Vendee Globe.  30 boats started last year, only about 12 are left, including my friend Dee Caffari who is currently at the equator.  When she finishes, she will have become the only woman to have sailed single-handed around the world in both directions.  WOW.  She's a great lady, a true inspiration.  I wish I was there to see them all safely home, it's going to be very emotional,

Right, back to work, I have an audience waiting for me.

Welcome to what (hopefully) will become a regular part of your enjoyment of this site, my blog. In the coming months, this site will be growing and developing as the Personal Atlantic project itself develops, culminating in the daily blogs I will be posting during the event itself - we aim to leave the Canaries early December but there is much to do before then and time is disappearing fast; can you believe Christmas was a month ago already. 

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In a strange way, I find myself in exactly the same situation I was before Personal Everest. The plan is in place, most of the component parts are ready to fit into place, but we are in that period of limbo, the calm before the storm.  It's as though I have dozens of balls in the air, waiting for them to come crashing down all at once. For example, when will I appoint a carer? Who will become my primary sponsor? All major nuts to crack but I've every confidence I will.  The boat is not due back from Malta until May so we can not start to make any modifications to her until then.  Nor can we start spending money until we find a sponsor.  Yet still we must plan for the eventuality; arrange berthing for the boat when she's back, arrange delivery crew to get her back, arrange the PR plan, plan for the voyage itself.  You get the picture.

This is only my first blog on the new site so I'll keep it short but I thought you might like to see a picture of me in the Canary Islands a few weeks ago practising for the start of my trip from Gran Canaria. In case you are wondering, I'm actually sitting in the back of the thing - no miraculous leg peddling ability I'm afraid.