A Week of Wonder
Since my last post I have been busy with some interesting adventures. My wife and I popped over to the Isle of Wight for a friends wedding celebration and then, after the bank holiday, I took a day out to support one of my friends as he took on a challenge that few of us would ever contemplate.
On 30th August 2016 I was part of an on the water team put in place to support a great friend's endeavour to swim solo, non-stop around the Isle of Wight. For those unfamiliar with this island, it is situated on the South Coast of England with its western-most extremity reaching to just south and west of Lymington and at its eastern-most point it is to the south east of Portsmouth. The rough distance around the island is (as defined by the annual Round the Island Yacht Race) approximately 50-53 nautical miles (93 km) or so. Crossing the English Channel (Dover to Cap Gris Nez) is 'ONLY' about 21 miles so take a moment for this to sink in...
Scott Dawson has become only the 5th person to ever successfully circumnavigate the Isle of Wight...
I could use some comparisons of how many people have climbed Everest, how many people have walked on the moon or something like that but I don't think they could really set the magnitude of what Scott achieved that day. It wasn't just getting in the water and swimming, this had been planned with meticulous attention to detail. He put together a team of over 15 people to accompany him (kayakers, safety boat drivers, medics, a mothership for people to rest and recover on as well as a base for his food and drinks to be prepared from). Each person was chosen for their specific skills and had the relevant qualifications and experience to execute them. this would be necessary to ensure that Scott and his wife, Polly, didn't have to worry about anything, they just had to do their own job.
He persuaded one of the world's top yacht racing navigators to support him, a man with more World Records for speed than any other on the planet, he's used to going round the Isle of Wight at over 24 knots (On 20th August his team claimed the outright record of 2 hrs 4 min.14 sec.!!) so going around in a support boat at 2 knots was going to be a bit different! Scott also brought on board a highly regarded vascular surgeon as part of the medical team in case he got into difficulties and to ensure to didn't go into shock once he completed his challenge. Many others were brought in for specific skills and managing them all was Polly, Scott's wife and the mother of their two young children. Make no mistake, this was truly a family endeavour as for months Scott juggled a full time job, training swims, gym, running (often up to 70 km per week) as well as being a dad and husband. He sought knowledge and information from others, including Anna Wardley who was the last successful circumnavigator back in 2013.
I cannot express how awed all of us on the support team were at Scott's calmness, determination, good humour and focus throughout. Why did he do it? Well, you'd best speak to him about that but he did want to raise awareness of the Meningitis Now charity and Marine Conservation Society. He hopes to raise over £30,000 from his swim and I urge you all to go to the Facebook page and find the link to the JustGiving page he and Polly set up. Please donate what you can. If you want to see more about what Scott has achieved (in 25 hrs 56 min. - a total distance swum of 103.77 km) please go and check #SoloSwim #HumanTuna Isle of Wight swim by Scott Dawson or on Twitter @ScottDawsonSwim
It is no surprise then that I choose to celebrate my friend's triumph with a little #SketchBeforeBedtime... To add to the #PostcardPicture series: 'HumanTuna - Scott Dawson, Isle of Wight Swim, 30/31 August, 2016' A6, H & HB pencils .
