During the winter of 2024, two brave crewmates will undertake an unassisted 3000-mile voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in a 50-year-old tiny 17ft sailing boat to raise money in aid of four charities:
Macmillan Cancer Support, Mind, MS-UK, and St Helena Hospice.
The skipper, John-Kenneth 'JK’ D Habbershaw, is a health retired 'blue light' Emergency Service volunteer. He started this project to assist and focus his recovery from PTSD whilst also using the opportunity to spread help and hope to others. And so, the ‘Sofa To Sailboat’ name was born.
First Mate, Farris Collins, is a former Team GB Gold medal Commonwealth and World Bronze medal Powerlifter. Farris joined the crew in 2023 and is no stranger to pushing himself to the limit; however, this challenge is a completely new one for him, as he has never sailed before. Forget about "Couch to 5K"; his journey really is from Sofa To Sailboat!
THE ADVENTURE
- The 3000-mile crossing will be east to west from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean.
- The boat will average a fast walking pace of 3.5 knots per hour (4mph).
- The trip across the Atlantic will take about 30-35 days.
- The largest waves can measure up to 20ft-40ft high – That's higher than the boat mast!
- At its deepest, the Atlantic Ocean is 5.28 miles (8.5km) deep! There is no toilet on board – the crew will use a bucket!
THE BOAT
- ‘Poppet’ is an early MK1 ‘Leisure 17’ made from fibreglass by Cobramould in Essex. The boat is around 50 years old.
- ‘Poppet' measures just 17ft (5.2m) long – that’s smaller than a Ford Transit van!
- The boat, fully provisioned, will weigh about 850kg. That is about half the weight of a large family car.
FURTHER INFORMATION: www.sofatosailboat.co.uk
For verified donations of £5.00 or more, your name will be included on the boat hull as part of Poppet's 'Sofa To Sailboat' logo!