On 21st November 2010, along with a multi-national crew I will be setting sail to compete in the 2010 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC). This is a 2700 nautical mile, trans-atlantic race for sailing vessels of various sorts and sizes.

I will be completing this challenging crossing in memory of Lucinda Florence Mary Page, the daughter of my close friends Jon and Trish Page and sister of Francesca. Lucie tragically died from meningitis earlier this month aged just 16 days. You can read more about Lucie at www.forlucie.com

I hope to raise funds for Meningitis UK in the hope that further research into this silent killer can be conducted, sparing more children from its grip and other families from this unimaginable loss.

Apart from the owner, skipper and "first mate" the other 8 of us are mainly inexperienced, novice sailers. For example, the longest single trip that I have sailed is 14 hours shore to shore - to cover the distance on the ARC it is anticipated that we will be at sea for between 15 and 19 days, dependant on weather conditions. Therefore whilst this will undoubtedly be an enjoyable experience, we are all expecting it to be both mentally and physically demanding. With Jon, Trish and Francesca's strength and Lucie's memory in my mind, along with the knowledge that together we are raising money for meningitis UK, I am sure that the more challenging times will be that much more bearable.

You can follow my progress on the trip by visiting the ARC website at www.worldcruising.com/arc and clicking on "fleet viewer". Our yacht is called "Eira" and, for those interested in boats, is a Swan 51

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