I suppose it's all about not missing opportunities. The idea to do this has been brewing in my head for quite a few years and if I leave it until I retire there is no guarantee that I'll be fit enough. Leaving family and work for four months in order to head off on my own requires an understanding family and a tolerant employer. It also needs considerable organisation and juggling to get everything in order before going. So far I only have one trial to come back for in the middle (as a witness not a defendant)! Although I will undoubtedly get cold, wet lonely and probably scared witless on more than one occasion, I can also reasonably expect to encounter sun, convivial company, spectacular scenery and great sailing for much of the time.

Although it's somewhat glib to write off odd, middle-aged male behaviour as a 'mid-life crisis', there is more than a grain of truth there! I am lucky enough to have in Snow Goose, a very seaworthy boat in which we have cruised as a family on the East and South coasts of England and the Northern coast of France. I would like to take things further and find out how she and I cope with the rigours of a longer voyage and the weather and seas of the West coast. This is not a major undertaking, not even remotely like a solo circumnavigation of the globe! I will be stopping for most nights and will have company at selected points where I need to stay awake for longer than 24 hours. Nevertheless to an overweight, molly-coddled middle aged man, the challenge, particularly of being alone, is an exciting interlude and I hope a tonic in the middle of my working life.

In the hope that some people will find my antics interesting and/or amusing I am trying to raise £5,000 each for the Ellen MacArthur Trust and the East Anglian Air Ambulance. There are details of these highly worthwhile causes on my fundraising page and if you can dig into your pocket then it will make the whole thing so much more worthwhile.