Day 2

Well today sneaked past in what felt like minutes. We have put more stuff on the spirit of falmoth than i thought she would be able to hold. I think if we pushed anymore stuff into the cupboards it would start poppi g out like a game of "whack a mole" We have nearly a full compliment of crew. Just a couple to arrive now. There is not much space on board. Living conditions are going to be pretty cramped. We slip lines at 1845 tonight and will sail up to foye about 4 hours away (depending on the wind). Life is going to be hard for the next 2 months.

Tonight will be our first meal onboard. No idea what it will be but with any luck it wont be spag bol. Its not that i dislike spag bol its just i have a real concern that will be a staple over the next 2 months and would like a more inventive start to our catering than that.

Its good to get to know new people and quite nerve racking at the same time. The crew are already trying to become a team i guess its just the military way. People just want to help.

Stay safe, speak soon

Russ

Day 1

Today i woke up onboard a tall ship. It is really the start of my adventure. I will be  leaving my family for 2 months. While leaving them feels like the hardest part of this challenge i am sure there will be others during the voyage. When i first decided to take part in this adventure i realised it would be all or nothing. I would have to let the world of material things go.

Even as i write this i know it is another world i will be entering over the next two months. The motion of the water and the sounds of the sea will be with me 100% of the time. I will have my guard up 100% of the time as i have some serious trust issues. This will all be exhausting. I hope over the course of the voyage i can address these issues and build my self confidence which has been low for some time. I have a companion for the journey and his name is Fraser. He is a teddy bear given to me by my daughter because "he wants a great adventure too" I will through his eyes show my daughter the diversity and beauty of the english coastline.

After my first night on the boat i realise i need to make my bed more comfortable. It was not a great sleep. I have the need to sleep some more i just cant wait for tonight but today is going to be busy preping the boat for setting sail tomorrow.

Stay safe, speak soon

Russ

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New social media

I have been playing with this new social media appover last few days.its good fun give it a try

Follow me on Beme. https://beme.com/the_russellpollard

The voyage part 1

Well its not really the first part of the voyage its more about my prep. I have been getting excited and scared about the challenge ahead of me.

I have started to pack and laid out everything i thought i would need on my bed. I then looked at the bag i have and realised i was slightly over optomistic of the possible tardis function of my bag.

2 month on a boat with 1 small bag leads me to think long and hard about the people fleeing syria and how hard it must be to pack knowing you may never get home. I realise i will get home my point is it made me think.

So packing aside i have bern teaching myself all about night identification of boats. Well revising i had an amazing skipper who managed to get this stuck in even my collinder of a brain. He had a real talkent as an instructor.

Well its all good for now with 25 days to go i will definitely be updating here youtubetastic and audio booming the hell out of the trip.

Below is the route with the dates and its all looking good. If you are going to be near any of our stop offs come say hi.

Stay safe, speak soon,

Russ

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Date: 2016 Voyage Note the schedule
May 31 Falmouth.
June
1 Depart Falmouth. Arrive Plymouth. 
2 Depart Plymouth.
3 Arrive Weymouth or Poole
4 Depart Weymouth or Poole
5
6 Arrive Margate
7 Depart Margate.
8 Day Off/Shore side engagement
9
10 Depart Ipswich.
11
12
13
14 Arrive Whitby or Brunswick Bay
15 Depart Whitby. Arrive Newcastle.
16
17
18
19
20
21 Depart Newcastle. Arrive Holy Island or Firth of Forth
22 Depart Holy Island
23 Arrive Peterhead 
24 Depart Peterhead.  Arrive Wick. Depart Wick
25
26 Possible Pentland Firth Race in this slot
27
28 Arrive Orkney.
29 D.O/Shore side engagement
30
July
1 Depart Orkney.
2 Arrive Stornoway, Isle of Lewis.
3 D.O/Shore side engagement
4 Depart Lewis
5
6 Arrive Tobermory, Mull.
7 D.O/Shore side engagement
8 Depart Mull.
9 Arrive Greenock. (Glasgow) 19 DAYS
10 Day Off /Shore side engagement.
11
12 Depart Greenock. Arrive Isle of Arran
13 Depart Arran
14
15  Arrive Isle of Man.
16 D.O/Shore side engagement
17 Depart Isle of Man. Arrive Whitehaven. 
18 Depart Whitehaven.  
19
20 Arrive Liverpool
21
22
23 Depart Liverpool. Arrive Holyhead.
24 Depart Holyhead.
25
26
27 Arrive Lundy
28 Depart Lundy.
29 Arrive Isles of Scilly
30 D.O/Shore side engagement
31
August
1 Depart Scilly. Arrive Falmouth

When illness is unallowed

This post takes me back to one i did a while ago about fibromyalgia. 

As i have mentioned in that post it is easy to feel guilty and resentful at the same time.

The issue i have at the moment is i feel (fully self imposed) that i am not allowed to be ill or tired as i dont have anything wrong with me (apart from some mental health stuff that i have had under control for a while now). I feel like if i am ill then its not real or does not count. Its not that i get ill alot its just even when i want to sat about hiw i feel (as we all do from time to time) its not really on the same level as shells issues.

Take care, stay safe

Russ

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Raise the main sail

I have spent the last few days pretending I'm a pirate. Well that's not exactly true. I have been down in Falmouth on a familiarisation trip. I spent 3 nights living on board "The Spirt of Falmouth" A tall ship belonging to Turn to starboard a Military charity helping retrain ex soldiers for a career as a yacht master.

They do so much more than that which could be almost impossible to write down and quantify. I came away on Saturday with sense of well being I have not had in years. I had started to come out of my shell and started to feel like myself.

While out on the water the worlds problems melted into the sea and I was untroubled. Time between moving sails left time for mindfulness and it was nice to be in the moment. The sense of belonging from just being on the boat while it was along side (I never knew that was the term for being at the marina until now) gave me a place I felt secure.

The lads who were on the boat, who have been with the charity for a while, were outstanding hosts. As were the office staff and volunteers that I met.

The experienced guys who joined us made it so we were always supported during any activity on deck. Of all the things I have done to help my personal mental health, this has had the biggest impact over the shortest time.

During the summer I am part of a team that are circumnavigating the British coastline with Turn to starboard. Thay are always looking for funding and donations so if you think you can help out then please get in touch with them so they can help more people. My issues around reajusting to civilian life are nothing in comparison with many of the people they help. It leaves me feeling like a fraud. I dont feel like i should even be allowed in the same room as these guys. I really have nothing to moan about in comparison. It really helped to put things in prespective. I really should just get over myself.

You can give here

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=RussellPollardroundBritain

Stay safe, speak soon

Russ

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Train shame prices

Well in early Feb I went sailing I I drove down in my own car. I am due to go again on the 4th of April for a week, this time however I am not taking the car due to shell needing it as the kids are off school so they can get out and about.

I looked at the prices of the trains and realised that they are quite expensive £187 from Warrington to Falmouth . that's just under 8 hour with 3 changes. It seems quite expensive.

Next I looked at coaches and again it was really expensive I had to go via London and it would take about 12 hours. I then remembered the young lad who flew home via Berlin because it was cheaper and after a couple of mins sure enough it was only £145 1 hour flight. Then I looked at onward travel and the train was the only option and nearly £40 and 2 hours!! Plus the train to the airport it seemed I was going to have to bite the bullet until I saw an advert for car hire. I did some price checks and found I could hire a car for less than £100 even with petrol it was cheaper than the train. I kept looking and eventually managed to rent a car for the week for £82. Fuel will be £70 at the most. It will be door to door and I will have access to the car all week. Not sure how this can be allowed to happen. I can even pay £1.25 to offset my carbon. I'm not sure how that works I guess they will plant a tree or something.

Well that's my rant over

Speak soon, stay safe

Russ

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