Hello and thanks for even getting this far.

The RNLI operate in Britain and Ireland, they are volunteers who are solely dependent on donations and receive no government funding. They make a difference and save lives.

Why start small I thought. The challenge I set myself is big so the objective has to be big as well. £39,000.00 is a vast amount of money, and co-incidentally is also the purchase price of a new Inshore Lifeboat for the RNLI. 

Its taken me some years to get to the stage where I would even contemplate doing something like this, and this year I decided to prepare the boat and get stuck in. The Challenge is open to all boats, and 27 of them, all of various sizes, are taking part. Mine is one of the smallest, and I am the only single handed sailor - maybe I just dont dislike anyone enough to ask them along. When the sea is calm and smooth its an easy and fun high speed ride, but when the sea turns lumpy it feels like your in a washing machine. 8 hours of that will make every bit of you ache.

On the 26th of July I will cross the 80 miles from Milford Haven in Wales to Kilmore Quay in Ireland - its at the South East corner.

The challenge itself starts from Kilmore Quay and is an anti clockwise circumnavigation, arriving back in Kilmore Quay on the 3rd August. I will cross back to Wales on the 4th of August. 

I have already been asked - "am I sleeping on the boat?" ... the answer is NO, the journey is divided up into legs ranging from 80 miles to 175 miles long. I will be sampling the delights of B and B's and guest houses in several Irish ports, a few hours sleep, a hot breakfast and away again. It has taken a lot of effort and money to get to the start line, it will be quite the fuel bill by the time I get to the finish. 

I will be publishing a blog and you can follow along ! http://aroundirelandinawashingmachine.blogspot.com

UPDATE 1st September

This page will stay open for donations until November 1st.

For those who havn't been following my blog, the event turned out to be a lot more dramatic than I expected.

It started with me going overboard in the Irish Sea for a few hours while making my way solo to the start in South East Ireland, which turned into an air sea rescue operation involving two lifeboats, two irish sea ferries, an irish warship and a helicopter. The helicopter eventually picked me up and put me back into my boat, and I returned to Wales. After effecting a repair on the boat the next morning, I again set off solo and crossed the 110 miles to Dun Laoghaire and joined up with the Challenge fleet. 

A few days later, and having run through two days of Force 6 and Force 7 seas, the steel under deck fuel tank on the boat split from a hard landing, and I spent the night in A and E in Tralee Hospital while my back and shoulder were looked at.

I had to retire the boat in Dingle and get it and myself back to the UK. So - I never made it all the way round, the West Coast of Ireland was an experience for sure. The irish people I met along the way were brilliant, engaging and generous spirits. The fellow competitors I boated with were exactly the same. But having had 2 lifeboats launch for my rescue, I am even more determined to raise what funds I can for the RNLI with your help.

Thanks for reading this far and thanks for donating.