Winter Gales Halt Scottish Solo Start

by Sail-World Cruising on 4 Apr 2006 Winter gales are holding up the start of Alan Rankin's attempt to become the first person to 'round' Scotland by sail and cycle. It's an inescapable truth that you can’t sail round Scotland, so Alan, CEO of the Scottish Tourism Forum is now waiting for a weather window to start the journey by both boat and bike. And his motto for the 10 day journey? - Never leave home without your jelly babies.

Starting on the Solway Firth Alan will solo sail the 900 miles round Scotland taking its outlying islands such as St Kilda, The Flannan Isles, Rona, Orkney, Shetland and then head south to Blyth. After landing on the north east coast of England Alan will cycle the 150 miles back to Scotland crossing the border at Gretna and return to his start point near Kirkcudbright. The cycling section will involve over 8500 feet of climb along the way.

So how does someone plan for such a demanding journey? There are two prime issues, food intake and sleep deprivation.

Alan was an international athlete and more recently a keen hill runner. He has meticulously planned his diet and food intake for the trip. The energy demands on Alan will be quite different between the sailing and cycling legs.

Alan said: “It is more a case of carbo-grazing during the sail and carbo-loading just before the biking leg.”

“During the sail I will need to keep my energies up to keep my body going and alert as fatigue and sleep deprivation sets in. The plan is to take regular small high carbohydrate-based meals during the day and night. This way I will be able to keep topped-up and avoid energy lows which might coincide with a sail change or some other energy-sapping activity.”

Once on the bike Alan will rely on energy gels, rice puddings, juices and his favourite energy fix, jelly babies. He said: “I was introduced to the astounding effects of Jelly babies by one of my hill running mates and now never leave home without them. Apart from making the pockets of your rucksacks all sticky they have a great instant hit of sugar and instant energy.”

Dee Caffari, ‘wrong way’ round world solo sailor, could probably give Alan a few tips with his other problem – sleep deprivation. As Alan will be alone, managing his sleep patterns will also be crucial. As he becomes increasingly sleep deprived, he is likely to suffer losses in concentration, become less alert and less able to perform physical tasks.

The Edinburgh Sleep Centre is on hand to help Alan to manage his sleep. The centre has already provided Alan with information about how he is likely to feel and perform during his attempt to sail around Scotland and how he can minimise the negative effects. In addition, the centre will be collecting data on Alan during the challenge and will be in regular contact with him, to advise him of ways to combat the effects of severe sleep restriction and sleep deprivation.

Alan is raising money for the Ocean Youth Trust and the Parkinson’s Disease Society.
For more information about the journey or how to donate go to the Solo Round Scotland webpage.