Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page for The Stroke Association.
Background
2009 marks 10 years since my mother, Clare Macfarlane, sadly died. She became unwell suddenly in June 1999, having suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage, a form of stroke. She was a fantastic mother, and friend to a great many people. During her life she did a huge amount to help others, and I felt that this year I would like to do something in memory of her.
Clare enjoyed many things, but particularly valued time with family and friends. She would have been thrilled to know her three grandchildren, but regrettably this was not to be. Sailing was something she especially loved, and I decided to enter The Fastnet Race, a 608 mile sailing race from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock off Southern Ireland and back to Plymouth. It seemed fitting to use the occasion to raise money for The Stroke Association; a charity I feel is particularly appropriate in light of the manner of her death.
The Fastnet
In January I signed up to join a team onboard Challenger 2, a 72-foot, 57-ton yacht built for the British Steel Global Challenge Race, now owned by The Tall Ships Youth Trust. The preparation for the race started in April, with a weekend safety and sea-survival course, followed by a training weekend at sea, and three cross-channel qualifying races. The Fastnet Race itself took place this month and we completed the course within 6 days, leaving Cowes at midday on Sunday 9 August and finally arriving back in Plymouth late Friday evening 14 August. The preparation for the race, and the race itself was an amazing experience. I became much fitter, learnt a lot about sailing, and coped with the challenges of a 3-hour watch system, and a total of over 128 hours at sea. There were times when the going was uncomfortable, we had a few frustrating episodes with fog and lack of wind, but other times were pure exhilaration. I thought a lot about mum throughout the journey and was conscious of how much she would have enjoyed it should she ever have had the opportunity. (She had quiet determination, and could be quite intrepid!). I was lucky enough to be with an amazing group of people, who it has been an honour to get to know. It has been a personal challenge, and an incredible experience I will never forget.
The Stroke Association
Stroke is something that is likely to be well known to you. It is the single most common cause of severe disability in the UK. Each year in the UK over 130,000 people have a stroke; one third of patients die and half of those surviving have some form of long-term disability. The impact of this can be shattering and support is essential to help those affected live as independently as possible. The Stroke Association is the only UK charity solely concerned with helping everyone affected by stroke, raising awareness and offering support for sufferers of stroke and their families/carers. Stroke is a medical emergency and every second counts. For those that survive, ongoing support and help is critical.
Donation
My sister Nicky and I have been extremely lucky in having had such a wonderful mother and I hope you feel this has been a fitting way to remember her. Any donation to support the work of The Stroke Association would be hugely appreciated. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - raising more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now!
Further information
We were lucky enough to have 2 members of the BBC on board our boat, because of the link with Tall Ships. If you would like to see something more of our journey, there is some information on the BBC Southwest website, see Johnny Rutherford’s blog under www.bbc.co.uk/devon/people and click on ‘Mission accomplished!’I would like to acknowledge the work of The Tall Ships Youth Trust, (www.tallships.org), and the skill and expertise of their wonderful skipper and mate, Alan Haynes and Martin Layng. Thanks to them and all the crew of Challenger 2 for being such fantastic team-mates. It has been an amazing experience and they are the best! A very big thank you also to all those who encouraged and assisted me in taking this forward.
