Local Contact Network

Please consider registering

My sail round Britain will take at least a couple of months, so staying fuelled with sufficient calories and finding suitable places to overnight will be a major part of the challenge. To overcome these difficulties I am appealing to the good nature of the sailing community and coastal dwellers in general. Please do consider registering as a Local Contact - you'll be supporting a bid for a windsurfing first and, indirectly, the charities associated with this challenge.

Route

I'll be setting out clockwise, from London and for most of the rounding will simply follow the coast. For the Irish Sea I will consider alternative routes as shown on the adjacent map (click to expand).

The long crossing to Ireland (red route) would probably only be a realistic option if there was another craft heading over in the vicinity as a 'just in case' backup measure. If you have a suitable boat and fancy making that crossing then please do get in touch.

The via Isle-of-Man routes (purple, purple/green) involve shorter crossings but would still require settled conditions.

Timing

Very roughly, I expect timing to work out something like this:

Departure - London (clockwise circumnavigation) June 2015
South coast England, West country June
Wales, NW England and/or Isle of Man Late June / July
West coast Scotland July
North and East coast Scotland Late July / August
East coast England August
Arrival - London August / September 2015
Final choice of route may well be quite a late call, so if you are on any of the possible routes, around the right times, please read on.

Types of help

These fall into 3 categories. If you are in a position and have the inclination to help out in any of these, it would be great to hear from you. Your contribution will likely be afternoon/evening time and I'll be sailing off into the distance the following morning.

Type of help Example
Somewhere to park my board and sail

- a seafront garden or garage
- access to a sailing club
- the offer of a pickup and lift somewhere to overnight, and a means of getting back to the same spot in the morning (with equipment)
Access to food

- a hot meal
- a few supplies delivered or a lift somewhere to stock up
- chip shop recommendation
Somewhere to sleep

- a luxury suite with one of those big baths that has bubbles and things
- no, really:
- a tent in a garden would be more than adequate
- as would a sailing club floor

Your questions

No problem. By registering as a Local Contact you are not committing yourself to helping out. Things come up, people have busy lives. When I contact you please just do what feels right at the time - if you would like to help out that's great; if you've got other commitments or have just changed your mind about being involved, that's fine too. At this stage, just by registering as someone who might help out, you're making this challenge seem a little bit more acheivable.
I'll be sending out regular emails to all Local Contacts with updates on current position, so you'll have a good general idea of where I am and when I am likely to be passing. During the week before I arrive at your stretch of coast I will contact you by email/sms to see if you are available to help.
Absolutely. As mentioned previously, registering as a Local Contact doesn't mean you will be able to help out, so the more backup options the better.
Of course. I'm very grateful for help wherever it comes from. I'm hoping to drop in on some friends and family who I know are on the route, but also to meet some people I don't yet know.
If you live by the sea that's great - but please don't think you can't volunteer if you're a few miles inland (although do remember that a roofrack would be handy).
To register, you will be asked to provide a username and a location name, and click a position to set a marker on the map. Also required are an email address and telephone number, but these will not be publically visible. After verification (I have to prevent automated spam so personally check all registrations) you will show up as a marker on the Local Contacts map. You will also be able to update your details or unregister, should you wish to do so.

Register as a Local Contact

Registering is very simple, you'll be done in about 2 minutes. Please remember to zoom the map to a high level of detail so that you can be as accurate as possible with your marker position.

Sign me up!