Saturday 21st January 2012 

 

I've done it!!!!!!!

 

I completed the distance between London to Brighton (53miles / 85km) in 3 hours and 13 minutes this morning at Isleworth LA Fitness Gym.  I am pleased it's over as I can get back to my normal fitness regime but I am grateful to the very kind donations that I have received.  You can still donate as this page remains live for 2 months so please spread the word.

 

Thank you very much,

 

Toby

 

 

Hello everyone,

 

I am going to cycle the distance from London to Brighton on Saturday 21 January 2012 to raise money for Blind Sailing. This is a small charity that organizes training weekends and coaches the teams for the world Blind Match Racing Championships in Perth last March and continues to train and coach blind sailors for national, international and world championships.  

  

So why am I raising money for Blind Sailing? 

Blind Sailing helps blind and partially sighted sailors of all abilities, from giving people their first taste of sailing to coaching more advanced sailors to sail competitively in international fleet and match racing regattas.

 

Over the years through Blind Sailing I have had the great opportunity to compete at both world fleet and match racing championships from Weymouth, Miami, Rhode Island to Italy and Perth being part of the Great British Blind Sailing Team winning three fleet racing championships and winning one match racing championships.

 

Being part of this exhilarating sport has given me the opportunity to compete at all levels and race with and against other blind and partially sighted people like me who love and enjoy the sport of sailing. 

 

The  training that we have done has not only helped to build our sailing skills but also has helped to build people’s confidence, communication skills and teamwork.

The Blind Sailing website can be found at www.blindsailing.net 

 

Funds raised go towards the purchase of equipment, cost of professional coaches for training weekends, volunteer coach expenses and subsidizing the cost for students or those on lower incomes.  The cost of a training weekend for 12 sailors is about £5,000 including boat charter and coaches.  The charity obtains sponsorship for some of these costs and then the rest of the cost is divided between the sailors. 

 

The current priorities for fundraising are:

 

- Maintenance and acquisition of additional audio buoys and other equipment for match race training.

 

- Raising over £10,000 to host a blind match racing world championship in the UK in September 2012.

 

What I am going to do to raise money?

I am going to cycle the distance from London to Brighton which is 53 miles or 85 kilometers on Saturday 21 January.  

 

As I am blind and it would be much too short notice to find a tandem and a sighted pilot so I am going to cycle the distance on an exercise bicycle at my local gym in Isleworth.  

 

I know that many of you receive other requests for sponsorship, so thank you for taking the time to consider this one.

 

Kind regards,

 

Toby