Disabled Solo sail Round UK & Ireland for charity

Trilleen is heading north, north, north. Thank you for your support

Thank you for continuing to support Sailing Trilleen. As I write this I’m storm bound in Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides. What with weather and medical issues - which are a fact of life as a disabled sailor - it hasn’t been a great start to the season. Things are however looking up and I’m looking for a window to sail out round St Kilda and then on to Shetland. 

I’d like to say a particular thank you to all my donors this year - especially Foyle Port for their large and entirely unanticipated donation. 

I’ve written a few updates and made some videos which you might be interested. 

First: https://sailingtrilleen.org/getting-to-the-start-line/ “Trilleen is finally positioned on the North Irish coast, ready to cross her track from 2022 and begin the next leg of her Round Britain and Ireland sail. Up to this point this season has been all about getting to the start line. This is the point at which it all starts to get very real and I face some long testing passages ahead.”


There’s a related video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_rq1Ogihd4c&t=77s


Then, https://sailingtrilleen.org/on-to-barra/. “Barra lies 130 miles to the north of the Foyle Estuary, across the approaches to the North Channel and into the South Minch. These are unforgiving open waters exposed to the full fetch of the Atlantic rolling in from St Johns, Canada, 2800 nautical miles to the west. As such they demand the greatest of respect from the crew of small boats. I had been working my way west in the expectation that the persistent northerly wind stream would continue, or that the predominant westerlies would set in. However sitting in the Foyle a forecast for a strong southeasterly stream registered, a wind too good to miss, as it would make the passage to Barra a lighting fast reach.” 

The related video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VurBE9ZYpOY

Thank you again for your support.

Yours aye,
SV TRILLEEN
at: Arcairseid Mhor, Eriskay, Outer Hebrides

The best Christmas present for a boat: a new rig

Trilleen is on the move again. It’s a huge relief to be on the way again. The damage to Trilleen’s mast in the start of 2022  resulted severe delays to my attempt to sail round the UK and Ireland solo, raising funds for the Andrew Cassell Foundation, but I’m back on board and getting the project out of the deep freeze, even as I sail through the wild winds of winter on the west coast of Scotland. 

My reasoning for getting west is related to the fact that my passage to the West Coast depended on the Caledonian Canal, and that will close after Christmas until 25 March at least, which is well into the start of the what I hope will be the sailing season that will take me round the North of Shetland. 

Trilleen was remasted at the end of November thanks to the work of Caley Marine and Selden’s agents AllSpars from the South Coast. Brilliant technicians for whom nothing was too much trouble they loaded the mast onto a trailer and drove it the length of the country to get it installed and effective. 

The plan, subject to weather is to take Trilleen south to the Clyde and sail her in that vast partly sheltered estuary to enjoy the conditions and get the boat and myself back up to speed. 

Ian and Trilleen have made it round the west of Ireland and are resting in Scotland on Islay.

This passage west round Ireland takes Trilleen and my someone broken body as far west as we will go in this voyage. It’s been a wild ride at times up the west of Ireland and I’m grateful to everyone who has donated to the Crowdfunder. If you are able, this would be great time to help top the Crowdfunder total up! Everything you give goes straight to the Andrew Cassell Foundation. 

Trilleen and I are  now waiting for suitable weather to move Trilleen up to Fort William, and then to Inverness for the winter, before returning to Port Ellen Islay in the new year to begin next season of this enormous challenge. 

Video Updates from Ian on Youtube... 

D-3. We are go for start at 1600 on 15th August from Cowes Corinthian Yacht Club

I’m at D-3 for departure round the UK and Ireland supporting the Andrew Cassell Foundation. It’s all getting very real very quickly now. I never thought that I’d manage to climb a mast again, but with the help of some trainers in Yorkshire, and the encouragement and mentoring of the Andrew Cassell Foundation I succeeded in doing that independently a few days ago. This is the sort of transformation that the Foundation can bring about in disabled people’s lives, and why I want to raise funds to support them. 

The plan is to sail Trilleen west starting on the 15th of August, with a departure from Cowes Corinthian at 1600. Visitors or well wishers are very welcome. 

If you are able please donate what you can afford. Every pound helps, and goes directly to helping get more disabled people sailing. I appreciate as I know the Foundation does, that many of you are struggling with the cost of living. Disabled people are among the most severely affected by the crisis. The risk is that many in the Disabled community will experience a worsening of their conditions because their increasingly constrained budget prevents them accessing sport or rehabilitation activities like those offered by the Foundation. You can help prevent those harms by donating - if you are able.

Storing ship in the intense heat down here in Cowes, where the UK Met office has declared a Amber Heat warning for extreme heat has been extremely trying. The consequences 9mm of polypropylene covering more than half my legs, an incontinence pad, and the bag which contains the urine from the suprapubic catheter are akin to being boiled in a plastic bag. Not fun, but the worst of it has been done. In the late evenings it has been more tolerable and I’ve been able to do some work on deck. Mind you, work on a sailing boat is never done so there are plenty of small jobs still to do. There will be enough un-sailable days in the next three months for all of them. 

I've made it through Cowes Week: Departure awaits...

I’ve made it through Cowes Week in one piece and with that, the last activity related barrier to Trilleen’s departure Round Britain and Ireland has been cleared. This Cowes Week with the Andrew Cassell Foudation has been inspiring and exhausting in equal measure, much as last years was, except this year I was skippering and suddenly responsible for four people, and a boat, in a fleet of 18 others. I’d like to thank everyone who has already given to this Crowdfunder. Your support is already making it easier to get more disabled people sailing sooner. The inspirational aspect of Cowes Week for me is down to seeing what the mentoring and training with the Foundation can achieve, and how far winter’s work and some summer training can get non sailors or long lapsed sailors, towards a sufficient degree of competence to race competitively in Cowes Week. This amazing work is what stimulates me to take Trilleen on a long slow solo trip round the UK and Ireland raising awareness of the Andrew Cassel Foundation. As many of you will know I’m also hoping to raise funds for the Foundation in a way that will help us to get more disabled people sailing in Sonar’s on equal terms. I’m now in the throws of the last frenetic preparations to get my passage underway. I knew expedition planning was complex, but expedition planning with a disability is a whole new level of stupid. My ideal is to carry as much of the kit I will need for the trip round Ireland on board before I start. That means storing Trilleen with medical kit for 90 days, and food for 60 days. The difference comes down to the fact that it is possible to get hold of food along the south coast of England fairly easily but arranging medical supplies is a lot more complex. I am very grateful to my logistics partners Board Games Extra who are standing by to mail stuff to me if I need it. I’ll be planning to make more regular updates from now on and the tracking page for Trilleen will be going live soon. Trilleen should also be visible on AIS for those of your with apps or receivers. Her name is TRILLEEN Solo Sailor and her MMSI is 232033736. Please do look me up if you are nearby.

Thank you to all who have donated

Please scroll down for the most recent update... 

I've just published a little update on my, and Sailing Trilleen's preparation to sail Round Britain and Ireland. It's so very easy to get stuck down in the weeds, but a post from the amazing Pip Hare reminded me to keep my focus on the big picture. Read more about Ian's journey @acfsailing.

Please do pop over there - You can explore the work the Andrew Cassell Foundation does and find my YouTube content.