Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

The world class team at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery have been helping me and thousands of others for over a decade.  Only they can help identify and manage rare conditions which nevertheless affect many people, their families and friends to a devastating extent.

Now a limited walker and wheelchair user, I have previously run half marathons and sailed ocean races for charity but this is no  longer an option.  What I did do last year was get accepted on to the Royal Yachting Association's High Performance Training for the Paralympic pathway  in a one person scaled down yacht called a 2.4mR.  The RYA Coaches are the best, and understand disablilty.  So do the selfless volunteer people at Sailability, the RYA nationwide project at local clubs providing sailing for disabled people.  I want to help too.  Hence taking this one-off opportunity to contribute the the National Brain Appeal and Sailability.

Anyone who knows me will tell you how sailing has been a lifelong  passion.  This year is Olympic and Paralympic year but my training and health have missed it.  Sailing will not be in Tokyo Olympics 2020 even if I miraculously got there.   So I have taken the plunge to enter the European Championships in France in July and then the UK Nationals in August.  Neither are a Paralympic event so I will compete against  all comers including the current World Champion (who happens to be a disabled Brit woman and fantastic role model).  To be able to compete is great though my target was simply to complete, given the level.  http://www.cerclevoilebordeaux.com/voile/liste.php  With the experience of the Euros against the best in the world I am now turning to do well in the UK Nationals on my 'home gound' of Rutland Water in August.

So here it is - my campaign for the Brain Appeal and Sailability https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/John-Gunner3? (I have had to do them separately as they cannot be combined).  Please support either or both to make real difference to many lives.  

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity. You can increase the value of your donation through gift aid too.  By the way, this isn't one of those 'free holiday' things that go around (though they support good causes too).  I have paid my own entry, accommodation, converted my car for a boat trailer, ferry tickets, tolls and fuel and all the rest.