Tuesday 21 December 2010

Sad News

Unfortunately, as half-suspected, I have not been able to agree funding to date. My current yacht charter requires confirmation by the end of this month and it being unlikely that any monies will appear between now and the New Year, I have had to relinquish my booking. This is not to say that the expedition will not be going ahead, it is only postponed and just means that not only do I still need now to find the money, I will have to secure another boat too!

I'd like to thank everyone for their help and support so far, and hope to be back on the blog with some better news in the near future.

Merry Christmas!

Nick

Wednesday 1 December 2010

Chicken and Egg

Well, I have to confirm the yacht charter by the end of this month, which I cannot do without funding in place: its not looking hopeful. Without transportation there's obviously no going to Rockall.
I realised at the start of all this that a major part of this challenge was going to be raising the money required to pay for equipment and transportation, but I hadn't quite realised how hard it would be. As an unknown entity, companies are unsurprisingly reluctant to promise equipment or clothing to me without some guarantee that the expedition is going ahead and that they will get some major PR out of the exercise.
Similarly, I have spoken with and also met several TV production companies who have expressed serious interest in making a documentary/film of the expedition. They cannot do this without a TV channel on board to purchase the film, and they can not get a commitment from them without a guarantee that I'm going.
Potential funders won't consider promising cash without a tangible PR return, which I can not guarantee until the expedition is booked and paid for, and so we go full circle!
So, where does that leave me? Hoping for someone to bite the bullet and commit to paying for me to undertake one of the most risky expeditions around, both in terms of risk to myself, but also because of the risks associated with actually getting there and landing on Rockall.
Is anyone mad enough in these tough financial times?