Now that’s a tight ship!
Daredevil dad to sail across Atlantic in boat just 1m long
A DAREDEVIL father hopes to break a world record by sailing 1,900 miles across the Atlantic in a boat just one metre long.
Andrew Bedwell, 48, who will set off from Newfoundland, Canada, in May next year, compared the journey to being ‘stuck in a wheelie bin, on a rollercoaster for 90 days’.
He came up with the idea after reading a book by current record-holder Hugo Vihlen, who made the perilous passage in a 1.6m (5ft 4in) boat 30 years ago.
Mr Bedwell’s fibreglass boat, ‘Big C’, is half a metre shorter and has a top speed of 2.5mph. At 6ft tall, he cannot stand up in the boat when its dome is down and will have to do physiotherapy to keep his legs going.
During his expected twomonth crossing, the father-ofone will live off a protein-rich substance made by his wife and moulded around the walls of the cockpit to save space.
‘It will taste pretty vile, but it’s just to do the job, basically. There’s not going to be any kind of niceties in there – but my daughter might put the odd skittle in,’ he said. An on-board desalinator will provide him with fresh drinking water.
‘I always like to have a real challenge on the go – although my wife quite often feels I’m crackers – but I said before I’m 50 I want to have done something amazing,’ he added.
Mr Bedwell, of Scarisbrick, Lancashire, delivers yachts around the world and works as a sail maker. He has spent most of his life embarking on nautical adventures, including sailing non-stop around Britain.
Andrew and his team took over three years to complete the work on his boat, which measures just 3.5m (11.4ft) tall.
He said: ‘The vessel itself is incredibly strong. It’s literally built to survive oceans. Capsizing is absolutely not an issue whatsoever because she’s designed to go over.
‘The hatch seals down to keep it completely watertight, and it will self-right. We know she will be rolled, and she will be battered around, but I’ve got a full harness in there. If it is sealed, I’ve got 40 minutes of air.’
Mr Bedwell hopes to reach Lizard Point, in Cornwall, in July or August next year.