17 July 2007 ~ Bill Bevan and Angus Rutherford from local Raymarine electronics dealer Bevan’s Ltd are on standby as disabled sailor Geoff Holt approaches the Isle of Man. Due to arrive in Port St Mary, the quadriplegic is attempting to sail over 1600 miles solo around Britain in a 15 foot Challenger trimaran. He describes this as his ‘Personal Everest’. It is a very apt description. It is a monumental undertaking for someone who is paralysed from the chest down.
Geoff is supported in his quest by electronics manufacturer Raymarine. Bevan’s Ltd has been a Raymarine dealer since the company started, and the team are ready to help if Geoff or his project manager, Ian Clover, need any help with the navigation, communication and safety products they have with them.
Bill Bevan said; "This is a major accomplishment and he has done fantastically well to get this far, this quickly. We are looking forward to meeting him."
Geoff’s wife and son Timothy are following Geoff in a Landrover while a support team follow his progress on sea in a RIB. Project manager, Ian Clover, specified and fitted the Raymarine electronics systems and tools for all of the modes of transport.
Geoff’s trimaran is fitted with the rugged, waterproof Raymarine RC435 Chartplotter, housed in a custom mount for the job. The display is crystal clear even in bright sunlight and the unit is designed with easy to use navigational buttons. Linked to an external GPS, Geoff will be able to plug in waypoints and see his exact position with confidence, enabling him to plot the best course.
Further instruments on board the trimaran include the Raymarine ST40 digital compass and a separate ST40 depth meter. The compass is invaluable for making a correct heading and avoiding known hazards and the depth display will not only warn Geoff of shallows but also be a useful tool for making the best use of tides.
Project Manager Ian Clover commented; “Space is at a premium on the trimaran, not only is it just fifteen feet long, but also because everything must be useable from Geoff’s seated position. The chartplotter is very compact and has been mounted so Geoff can use it with ease; also it does all the necessary functions that are required.”
While sailing, Geoff will be shadowed by a support RIB so communication between the RIB and Geoff is vital. The RIB will supply Geoff with food and water whilst he is sailing as well as ensuring the trimaran does not run into difficulties. The RIB is equipped with two Raymarine handheld 101E VHF radios and a fixed 240E VHF with an additional speaker.
Ian Clover explains some of their duties from the support RIB: “Whilst Geoff will be sailing the trimaran all the way around, it would be foolhardy to attempt the trip without support. Sailing eight hours a day, he will be eating main meals before and after sessions. The VHF is the best way of communicating with him, especially with the speaker system we have onboard the RIB. If he gets into serious difficulties we can hail him then tow him to safety and restart from the same position when things ease up.”
Whilst the prime objective is for Geoff Holt to sail around Britain, his safety and that of the crew is of equal importance and the team are well prepared. There are many hazards to face and these become far more difficult to deal with in poor visibility.
The team are expecting to be affected by fog on the voyage and the support RIB is fitted with a 2kW radar and fog horn supplied by Raymarine.
One of the big areas of concern on the support RIB is losing someone over the side. In fog or even a slight sea swell, it is easy to lose sight of a man overboard very quickly indeed. The support RIB is fitted with Raymarine’s LifeTag system and all of the crew will be wearing LifeTags. This ingenious system emits a MOB alarm when a LifeTag is more than nine metres from the onboard base station, it can also be linked to the boat’s multifunction display system which operates with a RayStar 125 GPS antenna to give an exact position of activation plus ‘man overboard’ symbol and bearing on the display.
On land, Geoff Holt’s shore crew follow him in the Landrover, communicating with the on water team via the handheld 101E VHF radio. The vehicle is a mobile weather station; it is fitted with a Raymarine Clubhouse weather vane, and the wind speed and direction can be viewed via a ST60 display. Weather data is analysed by the team, using a laptop computer, loaded with the latest RayTech navigational software.
Geoff Holt estimates that the voyage will take somewhere around 90 to 100 days, but that is only an estimate. “The schedule will have to remain fluid” says Holt. “With favorable tides and winds we will endeavour to put in some high-mile days but we factored in several lay-days in the event of poor weather, we are not going to endanger ourselves just to meet a schedule, we’ll evaluate the conditions on a daily basis and this could include changing choice of stop-overs where necessary – safety will always come first”.
Geoff’s Personal Everest Project has been made possible by sponsorship from law firm Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons, who are providing the funds to ensure that Geoff has the necessary back-up team and equipment to make his Personal Everest attempt safe and efficient.
To follow Geoff Holt’s progress and this amazing attempt to sail solo around Britain go to http://www.personaleverest.com/
For further information contact Chloe Bartle, UK Marketing Coordinator, +44 (0)23 9269 3611 Ext. 1395, email: chloe.bartle@raymarine.com or Alice Driscoll at ADPR, Tel +44 (0)1935 826451, Fax +44 (0)1935 826551 or by email: alice.driscoll@adpr.co.uk.
This text can be downloaded from http://www.adpr.co.uk/. For high res images please email: info@raymarine.com.
July 2007 (RM434)
