Timothy Long from Buckinghamshire in England is only 15, and by the time he finishes his fundraising solo sail around Britain, he will have 1,600-miles under his belt.
In his Hunter Impala 28 'Alchemy' Timothy covers around 45 miles a day with some longer passages of up to 100 miles. Due to Storm Ellen and Storm Francis, he expects the trip to take longer than the estimated 6-8 weeks.
Timothy is raising funds for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust. He has been sailing since he was nine, but this is his biggest challenge yet. He left Southampton on 16th July, and his passage took him east along the English Channel and then north up the east coast of England and Scotland. A long time before the trip, Timothy's aim was to go round the north of Scotland, but this was scuppered by Lockdown which delayed the trip by three months, making the venture logistically very difficult as he is due back at school very soon, so he decided upon the Caledonian Canal.
Bangor Marina Manager Kevin Baird (left) welcomes teen solo sailor Timothy Long
From Oban, where he was stormbound for six days, the passage took him into the Clyde through the Crinan Canal and south to Largs and Troon. After another forced halt of two days in Troon, he stopped off in Loch Ryan and then made a challenging passage down the North Channel in a strong Force 6 -7 Northerly in which he came close to a knockdown. Alchemy arrived safely in Bangor Marina on late Saturday evening last.
Reflecting on his efforts, Timothy said " So far the trip has opened my mind! My world has just got so much bigger as well as my thirst for adventure. I am not quite sure what I want to do afterwards, but I want to pursue sailing as my career, especially offshore racing".
Timothy's fundraising page is here
