Interview with sailor Timothy Long
Timothy Long is a 14 year old sailor who is aiming to be the youngest person to ever sail around Britain solo.
He’ll set off on this voyage in the summer of 2020, in a 19ft British Hunter 19, departing from Southampton and circumnavigating Britain anti-clockwise. The total distance is about 1800 nautical miles, and will be doing this in 200-300 mile legs which will each take from 2 – 6 days depending on conditions.
He is currently fundraising for the trip on PledgeSports, We caught up with Timothy to get to know this future sailing legend!
So, what put this idea to sail around Britain into your head?
Now that’s something I get asked a lot! I decided to sail round Britain because I was inspired by reading about other sailors who have taken on tough challenges – for example, Ellen MacArthur, Pete Goss, Alec Rose and David Blagden – and it got me thinking, what could I do? Solo sailing will test me in every way – apart from sailing and navigation skills, coping with lack of sleep, being on my own for lengths of time, and taking on whatever conditions the British coastline throws at me!
Have you ever been sailing in very rough, big seas?
Yes…it’s very wet! I recall last August being stuck in a huge depression in the northern Mediterranean. It was 4 days of non-stop thunderstorms. You could watch them form as they towered above you. It was quite daunting! What struck me the most is how much more aware you must be of what’s around you and your boat.
Will you carry everything you need on the boat or get supplies along the way?
I will be carrying all the essential clothes and equipment I need on board and I will have enough basic ration packs for the trip. The only supplies I plan to get on the way is fresh food and stuff for repairs.
What other sports to you do?
I play quite a few other sports. My main ones are rugby, squash and athletics, and I recently started rowing which I love!
What will be your snack of choice on the trip?
Energy bars and hot drinks. Having lots of snacks is always good to keep your energy and morale up.
This will be a major achievement for someone so young, so we highly doubt this will be the last of your endeavours, what’s next?!
Of course, I would love to carry on sailing and what particularly interests me is solo sailing. I want to get my Yachtmaster Ocean qualification and look for other opportunities and challenges. However, in the years following the project I will mainly focus on GCSE and A’ levels. Once I am out of school though, the world is my Oyster!
If you’d like to support Tim on this adventure here the link : PledgeSports
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