CONNECT WITH BEN:
On returning from his successful and amazing feat of sailing around Britain and Ireland non-stop in a mini 6.5, a world’s first, Ben was able to rest for a ½ day before he was back unpacking and sorting out his boat, working and getting ready for Cowes week!
He was due to sail with ‘Toe in the Water’ but they entered only 2 of the intended 3 boats. Ben was disappointed not to be sailing with them however this gave Ben the opportunity for the first part of the week to race with Barnett Ravenscroft who came away with a third in their class, for the latter part of the week he crewed on Atomic Farr 45 which didn’t start Cowes Week until the Wednesday. The winds and racing were generally good but all a bit tame after the 4 gales he had encountered and conquered on the west coast of Ireland in the previous week!
Ben was delighted to be invited to do the Fastnet Race on Artemis the Profit Hunter. The Profit Hunter was skippered by 33-year-old Simon "Lovely" Clay and crewed by a crack team of aspiring young professional sailors - Oscar Mead, 19, Sam Goodchild, 19, Olly Young, 21, Mikey Ferguson, 26, and Andy Tourell, 31 and of course 25 year old Ben himself. They did exceptionally well giving Hugo Boss a much newer boat a good run for their money! You can read about the race on Rob Hodgetts report on BBC sports. Ben enjoyed sailing with Rob as he was a great guy and it was hard to believe that he had little sailing experience as he fully mucked in with the manoeuvres, stacking and grinding.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/robhodgetts/2009/08/fastnet_fever_takes_grip.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/robhodgetts/2009/08/night_of_the_long_grinds.html?page=0
''The team were a really good bunch of guys even whilst working hard and with lack of sleep it was still a lot of fun and a great experience.''
So what’s next?
Ollie Bond another Mini Sailor is due to start the Mini Transat 2009 race on the 13th of September, Ben will be flying out on the 29th August to help Ollie prepare for the race and see the start, giving Ben valuable experience for the 2011 race.
Since returning from the Fastnet Ben and Brian Thompson have been working on Ben’s Mini Transat campaign 2011.
A huge thanks from Ben to all who have supported him and for all the donations/sponsorship given towards his RBI campaign and to all those who followed his progress throughout his non-stop RBI campaign and for all the many wonderful messages of congratulations sent to him on his mobile and email on his triumphant return. A big thanks also to those who came out in their boats on an overcast damp evening to meet and escort him back into Cowes and home, to Philip Thwaites for the beer which was much appreciated and to Ski for the speedy tow up the Solent in the Ran RIB!
For those who may be considering sponsoring Ben for his 2011 campaign please contact Ben for all details including branding and media opportunities. E- brochure and hard copies are available.
Ben also hopes that he was successful in raising awareness for ‘Toe in the Water’ and wishes all the injured servicemen a happy and successful future. For more details on the organisation please visit www.toeinthewater.org