This year I decided to take on a life-changing challenge. I
wanted an adventure, to create a memory and in the process, help others.

I had never set foot on a sailboat before April this year
and after taking a leap of faith the team at Clipper have done a great job at
turning me in to a proud, competent crew member in just 4 weeks of
unforgettable training.

Training for what?..

In about 5 weeks’ time I will travel to Uruguay in South
America to meet my crew mates in Punta Del Este. We will then race against eleven
other yachts to Cape Town 24/7 for about 20 days to cross the South Atlantic.
The crew are made up of people like me and two awesome professionals. Some of
the crew are circumnavigating the world which will take nearly twelve months!

So what is this post all about and where is it going?

Over half a life time ago, my mum was diagnosed with Cancer.
After successful treatment and lots of support from friends and family, she
managed to beat it.

There were times when it was just me and my little brother,
who was 10 years old at the time, looking after our mum as well as ourselves, maintaining
a home and keeping school on track.

It was tough and has undoubtedly shaped our futures and who
we are today.

Back then we did not know about some of the amazing charity
support available to us and right on our doorstep.

This is where Me & Dee come in.

I have been a part of the Me & Dee family for a few
years now.

They offer incredible support and those all-important
memories for families when time is short or uncertain.

If I had known about their support all that time ago and
perhaps even had the opportunity to go on one of their memory making holidays,
it would have taken some of the burden off our family and friends and perhaps
given us something fond to look back on now from that dark time.

So here is the ask.

Whilst I’m sailing across the South Atlantic and the waves
are eight meters high, the winds are near Hurricane force and I have not
showered for days or had no longer than three hours sleep; I need something to
keep me going.

If you can support this epic charity and the work they do,
it will make my time on board a whole lot easier knowing that it has a greater
purpose and is helping others access the help they need; help that I did not
know existed when we needed it the most.

Please donate what you can to Me & Dee by following this
link.

To track our progress you can follow this link.

My incredible team and I will be on board the bright yellow
boat called Punte Del Este. 

I will do my best to share information via my wife Yvonne
but we will have very limited data and our nearest other humans will be in the
space station!

Thanks again you lovely people and I’ll see you back on dry
land when I return.