Dan's Blog: Three days to go!
Well, its been three weeks since I was told my dream of sailing round the world might become reality, and today I woke up for the first time ever in Liverpool with only three days to go until my voyage begins! It's been a crazy time getting ready to depart! Most of the people taking part have been planning their trip for a while, but for me there was only a short time to arrange everything. Thanks to help from Ellen, Mark L, Frank from the Ellen MacArthur Trust and many others, everything has somehow come together and I’m pretty much set to go.
In the last few weeks I’ve had to complete sail training on the Clipper and, based in Portsmouth, have sailed West to not far from Plymouth and back, then spent time in the Channel before heading East-wards for a bit. We’ve been putting up the spinnakers and using them, and changing sail plans amongst many other things. It’s been really intense but I’m learning new things every day.
Photo Credit © onEdition
Because of my illness, around all the sailing I’ve had to fit in various extensive check ups at my hospital in London and vaccinations with my GP in Essex to make sure I’m 100% fit for the journey. I’m happy to report my blood levels are the highest they’ve ever been which is a fantastic start!
Having never been further than Europe on holiday, and never sailed further than Spain, arranging and waiting for my Visa appointments was a new experience that certainly took a lot of patience! I now have my visa for Australia and the USA so it was worth the wait.
I’ve had to go shopping for everything I might need for my trip, and also done a few interviews for TV and radio which has been fun. Saying goodbye to all my friends and family in Essex yesterday was hard but they are all really happy to see how far I’ve come and at the amazing opportunity I’ve been given.
Now we have just a couple of days till we leave on Sunday. By tonight all the crew I’ll be sailing with on ‘Liverpool 08’ will have arrived so I’ll be getting to know them, as well as preparing the boat to leave, and taking part in the official events surrounding the Clipper Round the World Race. Its an amazing time for me! Next stop La Rochelle, France!
13 September 2007
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