Trust Ambassador Dan Monk returns home after five amazing months on the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race
Dan, the first Ambassador for the Ellen MacArthur Trust had a dream a
year ago to sail around the world. Dan first sailed with the Trust in
2004 and immediately took to sailing. The following year Dan suffered a
relapse but still joined the Trust to sail in the JPMorgan Asset
Management Round the Island Race, returning to hospital straight
afterwards for a bone marrow transplant. A year later he sailed Scarlet
Oyster across the start and finish lines of the 2006 race. In 2007 with
the support of the Trust he gained his Yachtmaster qualification and
skippered one of the Trust summer trips. He then voiced this dream of
sailing round the world at The Trust’s fundraising Ball when he spoke
in front of 390 guests about his recovery from cancer and how that was
intertwined with the growth of his love of sailing. Amazingly for Dan,
within a couple of weeks of his appearance he was pencilled in to join
the Clipper Ventures 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, supported by the Clipper, JPMorgan Asset
Management, The Phillip Green Memorial Trust, with help from Musto and
the Ellen MacArthur Trust. On the 16 September 2007 Dan set sail from
Liverpool for the adventure of a lifetime. We reported regular updates
of his progress from our website as Dan journeyed through foreign seas.
Just before Christmas we received the news that Dan was feeling very
fatigued and the decision was made to bring him home for a thorough
check-up. After a three-month break and fitness programme Dan felt well
enough to rejoin the race and subsequently flew out to Hawaii at the
beginning of April to continue his journey.
Dan raced to Santa Cruz, then to Panama but found he was struggling on these legs. Dan recounts the last couple of months of his journey here:
“Leaving Hawaii beating into the wind I was immediately aware once more of the energy levels needed to stay on board. It didn’t take long before I was starting to feel similar to the way I felt before I returned home at Christmas. I couldn’t keep up with my watches and when we arrived at Santa Cruz I started to think I should not have come back and that my body can’t handle these situations. On the other hand, I couldn’t stop thinking that if I rest at this stopover I should be alright. We left Santa Cruz and a couple of days into the race I was feeling tired again, indicating to me it was nothing else but my body telling me to slow down. As the days and weeks went by I got worse. I needed to come home! Leaving the race was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make, but I have learnt a lot on this trip, and one big thing is that it doesn’t matter how headstrong you are, you still need to listen to your body and find that balance.
I’ve learnt so much in this race, the different seas, racing long distances and spending long times with the crews, how skippers work their boats and crew, when things go wrong how to fix the situation in a quick, safe and efficient way. I’ve seen waves the size of two houses, wind like I’ve never seen before, squalls in the middle of a lovely hot day that chase across the sky but will knock you flat if you’re not ready! Birds that follow you for days and days, big albatross, whales, dolphins, sharks, manta rays, mahi mahi, flying fish, and all the lovely countries I’ve been to. I would never have been able to achieve all this without the help and support of Clipper Ventures, the Philip Green Memorial Trust, JPMorgan Asset Management, Musto, and the Ellen McArthur Trust, especially Ellen and Frank. Thank you all for making my dream come true!!”
Frank Fletcher commented on behalf of the Trust “The Ellen MacArthur Trust would like to thank Clipper Ventures, JPMorgan Asset Management The Philip Green Memorial Trust, Musto and particularly Campbell Fleming, Nick Wilcox, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, William Ward, Anna Wardley, Joff Bailey and Lizzie Nichiolas, without whom Dan’s incredible journey would not have been possible. Dan has fought cancer twice and undertaken two bone marrow transplants in the last five years. We are all incredibly proud of him and his achievements.”
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