81-year-old David Temple will set sail around the UK from Yarmouth to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s UK and Cure Parkinson’s next Tuesday (24th May).
The main motivation for the epic journey of the West Wight resident is that his wife Hazel has suffered from the debilitating disease for many years. He aims to raise as much money and awareness for 2 charities doing their utmost to find a cure for a disease which affects over 145,000 people in the UK alone.
What makes this voyage exceptional is the age of David and his crew. Sailing with him is 69-year-old former Olympian André Usborne. Other sailors will join them on their epic 2,100-mile journey, including Kit Noble who himself suffers from Parkinson’s.
The challenging route includes navigating round the most northerly point of the British Isles, a rock called Muckle Flugga (nearer to Norway than mainland Scotland). The journey is expected to take at least 29 days, with some tricky stretches of coast, overnight sailing, and everything the British weather throws at the crew of the 34ft yacht.
David says:
“My lovely wife was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease some years ago. For those who don’t know, it’s a degenerative disease affecting your whole body in so many ways, slowly attacking and breaking down the body systems.
“Every day, my wife relentlessly and gallantly struggles through it. She is not alone; there are 145,000 in the UK living with Parkinson’s, and every hour 2 more are diagnosed; the numbers are rising.
“Parkinson’s UK are funding research that can give hope for the future. They need better treatments now. Not in 10 years. Not in 20 years. That’s why Parkinson’s UK are pushing to deliver a new treatment by the end of 2024. They invest more into Parkinson’s research than any other non-commercial funder in Europe.
“I am in my 80s with many ageing issues but still active and able to support her. My challenge is to sail my small 34 ft Yacht around Britain (some 2,000 miles) and round the most northerly point of the British Isles a rock called Muckle Flugga (nearer to Norway than mainland Scotland) in 4 weeks.
“It’s a tough one, I’ll visit remote locations where you can see 4 seasons of weather in one day with tricky navigation and lots of overnight sailing. André Usborne, a good friend and sailor, will stay with me for the whole journey, but we will be joined at various stages to get through the tricky bits of the journey by Kit Noble (who also has Parkinson’s) John Smith, Steve Burton, and my grandson Sam.
“Follow me on the Marine Traffic App, on your phone and search for ‘Second Wind UK’ to follow us. We leave Yarmouth Isle of Wight on Tuesday 24th May at 6:00 and, with a fair wind, will be back (via London) on 3rd July.”
Anyone wishing to donate to David Temple’s Parkinson’s research fundraising may do so by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/davidtemple81.
