Thank you for visiting my fundraising page.

Update 26th March

One year has passed since Matthew died and fund raising has come along really well in just a few weeks.  Already we have raised 25% of the final total figure which has ticked off 82 of those 326 marathons.

I only have a couple of weeks left before I head off to join the race and there still seems so much still to do i.e. visa; flights; acommodation at race pit-stops for a steady, warm and dry bed for the night and not to mention all usual day-to-day stuff that has to keep running whilst I'm away.

My blog is up and running at; www.trudywillowssailing.vox.com and I will also be posting stuff to my Facebook profile.  My web page should be live in a few days, www.trudywillowssailing.com

Trude

Sunday 18th March 2007 was already a significant date on our family calendars with a birthday and as it happened that year Mother’s Day.  Sadly there is another reason we will always remember it for this is the day my nephew Matthew died of Epilepsy (SUDEP) at just 20 years young.

Matthew always knew what he wanted to do when he grew up; he was going to be an airline pilot and he never waivered from this ambition. At 17 he began planning his career: then came epilepsy and he lost his chance of flying forever.
Matthew spent the next few years re-evaluating what he was going to do and went to Uni but it wasn’t for him and so in January 2007 he moved to Dunoon where his family had recently relocated and was happy being with his siblings again and was enjoying his work on the helpdesk of a large telecoms company.

Paradoxically I have never known what I want to be when I grow up but have been fortunate to work in the aviation and then telecoms industries.

Matthew faced up to a lot in those last couple of years of his life and this has made me realise it’s about time that I faced my own demon, my fear of water.

I will be race sailing Legs 6 & 7 of the Clipper-Ventures 07/08 round the world yacht race and aim to raise £8550.00 for Epilepsy Action and your sponsorship will help me hit this target.

The race; Leg 6 will take me from Santa Cruz (CA) down the Pacific Ocean to Panama City, through the canal and across the Caribbean Sea to Jamaica.  Leg 7 is the final leg with stops in New York, Halifax and Sydney (NS), then on to Cork before finishing in Liverpool.

I will be away for 3 months from April – July 2008, will cross the Tropic of Cancer twice and will cover in excess of 8550 miles, or to put it another way will sail just over 1/3rd of the way round the world. - or 328 London Marathons. 

Now if I could find 328 people to sponsor me the equivalent of £1/mile of a marathon (£26) then I will easily make the target.

I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, I know I’ll never be a pilot but I might one-day be your skipper :o)


Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to donate: Epilepsy Action will receive your money electronically and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in Gift Aid will be added to your donation at no cost to you.

Many thanks for your support.

You can follow race progress via www.clipperroundtheworld.com

Trudy