93 Days to Go. And the race of my life starts in... LONDON!

Boris and Robin KJ

Its taken nearly 18 months to find out where I'll be starting from - and it was worth the wait!  Boris (noch) announced the St Katherine's Dock start point.  Yep, we'll probably be motoring for quite a while up the Thames, but how exciting to have London as the backdrop.

Still got loads to do - I'm buying lots of stuff I don't need and spending most of my time sending it back.  Trying to sort everything out whilst I'm working in Madrid is not easy - but hey - there are definitely worse places to be in the world!

I finish work 2 months today - can't believe it! The announcement has meant its never felt more real.

100 Days to Go. Some FAQs...

TOP 10 QUESTIONS

Q1 (and by far the most common): Do I get seasick?
A: Not so much that I think it will be a problem.  But yeah - have a feeling that on the Southern Ocean, me and the back of the boat are going to get well acquainted!

Q2: How many people are on the boat?
Around 20.  We get put into 2 shifts, so really will only see 10 of them for most of the time.

Q3: How big is the boat?
70ft - thats around 24m.

Q4: What will you be doing?
No idea at the moment! There are lots of jobs to do - and I'm hoping to get round to all of them.  I'll be expected to helm, work the lines, trim the sails and generally get stuck in.  One day a week I'll be Mother which means two of us will be responsible for cooking for everyone - but we do get a shower!

Q5: What previous sailing experience have you got
Er none... Hadn't stepped foot on a boat before I signed up for it.  Now I've probably had about 4 weeks...

Q6:  What's your route?
Set off from the UK, then to France, and then non-stop to Recife in Brazil.  From there to Cape Town, then to W. Australia, then Sydney and then finishing probably somewhere in Queensland.

That's where I get off, but the race continues to China, across the Pacific to San Fran, through the Panama Canal and up to New York, and then to the UK.

Q7: How long will you be in port for?
A:  Depends how good we are!  If we get good winds and nothing breaks, then we could be in port for up to 10 days.  But if it all goes wrong, it could be only 3-4 days.

Q8:  What are you going to eat?
Loads of carbs - porridge for breakfast then probably rice, pasta and tinned foods.  Not doing this for the gastronomy.

Q9:  When do you sleep?
We will have 2 watches - probably running 4 hours on, 4 hours off....

Q10:  What are your crew-mates like?
Don't really know them yet - but a really good mix.  From 18-69.

104 Days to Go

It may not be the most interesting, well designed or useful blog out there - but hallelujah! here it is.  Not that I could even do this on my own.  Thanks Frank for the awesome logo, and Barnaby for the name of my campaign.

So - for those of you that don't know what this is all about, let me bring you up to speed.  About 18 months ago I signed up to race a sailing boat to Australia (without ever having stepped foot on a boat).

About 4 weeks after that, my Mum was diagnosed with Breast Cancer for the third time, and whilst it was a pretty shitty time for me and my family - reinforced the reasons for doing this.  My Mum also loves adventure, so I thought I could also give something back by raising money and awareness for the Breast Cancer Campaign.

Thankfully, she's doing really well now, with a brand new funky haircut to boot, and is looking forward to this (nearly) as much as I am!

With 104 Days to Go - I have a team and a start date, but that's about it.... Don't know where we're starting from, where we're going, when we'll get anywhere, or how many pairs of socks to take.

It may not be for everyone - but that's the fun of it!