20 June 2022: Well, we mentioned in the previous post that we might skip a week for the continuation of the Greatest U.S. warships story and here we've done it. But this story from Great Britain crossed my desk and I had to share it while it was still viable.From SWNS news, a totally crackers sailor (in our opinion) is going to try and cross the Atlantic in essentially a wash tub! Apologies for the quality of the sound in the video - apparently the reporter has yet to discover mic covers!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A dare-devil dad hopes to break a world record by sailing 1,900 miles across the Atlantic Ocean - in his self-built boat that's just ONE METRE long. Andrew Bedwell, 48, who will set off from Newfoundland, Canada, in May next year, compared the journey to being “stuck in a wheelie bin, on a rollercoaster for 90 days”. The mariner came up with the idea after reading a book by current record holder Hugo Vihlen, who made the perilous passage in a 1.6m (5ft 4inch) boat 30 years ago. His fibreglass boat - which is half a metre shorter and has a top speed of 2.5mph - is a modified version of a ship that another ex-record holder, Tom McNally, designed. During Andrew's expected three-month crossing, he'll survive off a protein-rich substance that's moulded around the internal walls of the cockpit to save space.[ed: yuck!] The thrill-seeking father-of-one admitted his wife thinks he’s “crackers” but said he wanted to achieve something “amazing” before he turned 50. He said: “I always like to have a real challenge on the go - although my wife quite often feels I’m crackers - but I said before I’m 50 I want to have done something amazing. “All my life, I’ve done unusual challenges, and it’s slowly got more and more important to myself to get smaller and smaller and smaller.” And speaking about his purpose built tiny boat, "Big C", he said: “I think a space rocket would have more room. "This is like being stuck in a wheelie bin, on a rollercoaster for 90 days - and that’s what it could be in the worst-case scenario.” Andrew, of Scarisbrick, Lancs., delivers yachts around the world and works as a sail maker. He has spent most of his life embarking on nautical adventures. He previously sailed non-stop around Britain and has taken his small 6.5 carbon racing yacht across the Atlantic and up to the Arctic Circle. But as he got older, Andrew says he became fascinated by seafarers who’ve attempted to cross oceans in incredibly small, recording-breaking vessels. He said: “I bought Hugo Vihlen’s book, ‘A Stormy Voyage of Father’s Day’ – that’s about the current world record holder, who has held it since 1993. “That kind of started it all off and since then, it has been a slow but very definite kind of route to try and break his record.” Andrew took over three years to complete the fabrication work with his team on his boat, which measures just 3.5m (11.4ft) tall and has sail area of just 8m.
click below to see the boat: (double click then click the link that opens)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We told you he was bonkers - he even admits it! We are wishing him well, but submit he will be a candidate for rescue before he's half way!
Until next time,
Fair Winds,
Old Salt
No comments:
Post a Comment