Duror’s Joey skippers Children in Need sailing challenge
A Duror man is planning a sailing challenge this November to raise funds for Children In Need.
Joey Gough, 71, will skipper Oban yacht Tangle o’ the Isles with a crew of four experienced sailors to sail continuously round the Island of Mull, starting tomorrow (Friday November 8) for a week, coinciding with the duration of the BBC’s Children in Need Rickshaw Challenge.
Not only is this a huge challenge for the team, but a massive personal challenge for Joey, who is recovering from major surgery.
Since his 10-hour operation at the end of August he has been working hard to regain fitness for skippering the yacht – a First 32s5 – for the event. Joey had surgery and radiotherapy for cancer in 2010/11. But an unexpected level of damage from that radiotherapy necessitated this recent surgery.
Joey, a past Commodore of both Oban Sailing Club and Royal Highland Yacht Club, is an experienced Argyll sailor having raced all over the world.
To help him with the challenge, he has enlisted similarly experienced local sailors Twig Olsen (Taynuilt), Christine MacFarlane Slack (Balachullish), Colin Campbell (Acharacle) and Robert Bradley (Melbourne). In 2013, Joey and Robert won the 5,500-mile Melbourne to Osaka race, sailing in Robert’s yacht, so Robert is no stranger to challenging ocean sailing conditions.
The Tangle team aim to raise as much money as they can for the fund-raising spectacular BBC Children in Need appeal 2019.
Joey said: ‘No one sails on the west of Scotland in November for fun and especially not at night. These are tricky waters to navigate and the weather will be extremely challenging, potentially cold, wet and uncomfortable. This is going to be a tough eight days and nights.
‘Despite the experience of the crew, or perhaps because of the experience of the crew, we know this will be a real challenge.
But we’re doing it to earn your sponsorship – and every penny will go to Children in Need, which is such a worthwhile cause. Please give generously – we have a JustGiving site set up via our web page www.tangleotheisles.com.’
Joey added: ‘We have already decided on the upper limits of extreme weather where we would shelter as required. The boat is fully kitted out for offshore sailing and the sailing challenge will be carried out with safety uppermost in our minds.’
During the challenge, the team will be regularly streaming video reports accessible via the website and social media, and Tangle o’ the Isles will be trackable on AIS.
The graphics on Tangle’s hull outline the aim of the challenge – sailing continuously Round Mull for a period in November.
A raft of commercial supporters have already given help in kind to get the challenge off the ground.
Oban-based Pole Position has built the website and will offer software support, CGL (Oban) has printed posters and flyers advertising the challenge and Navigators and General are supporting with an insurance extension.
Creran Marine has donated an additional launch and recovery, and Dunstaffnage Marina will provide free berthing before and after the event. Oban-based Art and Sea donated by providing the graphics on Tangle outlining the challenge details and PFM Pictures have given free use of photographs for publicity purposes. Finally, the Bank of Scotland has provided a free of charge account for the Challenge to use.
The sailing team is backed by a shore team of Alison Chadwick, Murray MacDonald and Jude Monson. They will be working to try to make the story go viral on social media. And the Lochaber Times’ readers can help by following and spreading the word of the Tangle team’s efforts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
For more information, visit www.tangleotheisles.com also to sponsor the team, and a Facebook page to follow progress on the challenge. For any individual queries contact the team at rickshawsailingchallenge@ tangleotheisles.com