Ellen MacArthur Trust arrives in London
by Emma McKinney 14 May 2009 15:06 PDT
14 May 2009
Thursday 14 May, the Ellen MacArthur Trust Skandia Round Britain Voyage sailed up the river Thames and arrived in London to a warm welcome from hundreds of onlookers and well-wishers. Dame Ellen MacArthur was onboard with five young people in recovery from cancer to experience the once in a lifetime opportunity to sail underneath Tower Bridge and moor alongside HMS Belfast on the South Bank.
Ellen MacArthur said; “I have been lucky enough to sail under Tower Bridge before, but being able to share the experience with young people from The Ellen MacArthur Trust made it feel like a real first. And seeing friends, family and colleagues waving at us from the deck of HMS Belfast made it all the more special.”
The young people onboard were Maxine Duggins (16, from Notting Hill), Jay Wheeler (16, from Ruislip) Michael Stefaniw (17, from Barnet) Dan Goulding (15, from Hoddesdon), and Dan Monk (23, from Basildon). Tomorrow (Friday 15 May) Ellen and the young people will visit University College Hospital to talk to those currently undergoing treatment for cancer about their experience.
Jay Wheeler said; “Today was just an epic experience! I’ve lived in London all my life but I never dreamt that one day I’d get to sail up the River Thames with Ellen MacArthur. It’s something I’ll never forget and I can’t wait to tell the other young people about it tomorrow.”
The Ellen MacArthur Trust Skandia Round Britain Voyage involves 85 young people across 17 legs, sailing the 48 foot yacht Scarlet Oyster the 2000 nautical miles around Britain on a four month voyage stopping at 17 ports around Great Britain including; Brighton, Dover, London, Ipswich, Hull, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow, Belfast, Douglas, Liverpool, Cardiff, Torquay and Southampton. The voyage started from Cowes on 3 May and will finish back in Cowes on 13 September. Scarlet Oyster arrived in London from Dover and will leave for the third leg of the Voyage to Ipswich on Thursday 21 May.
In conjunction with the Voyage Ellen is also giving a series of talks across Great Britain about her life and career. The talks are the first time Ellen has spoken publicly since her record breaking round the world voyage in 2005. On Saturday 16 May at 2pm Ellen will be speaking in Greenwich in the Lecture Theatre KW315, King William Building, University of Greenwich. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at www.roundbritain.org
Follow the progress of this inspirational voyage online at www.roundbritain.org where a Geovoile interactive tracking map will update the boat’s position every hour, and have the ability for visitors to watch video, listen to audio and read crew blogs flagged from where the content was sent.
You can also show your support for the Trust by donating £10 and ‘buying a mile’ of the Voyage through the website or by calling 0870 0636774. A virtual yacht has been created to track fundraising online and each donation will move it forward one mile.