Well its been just over two months since I landed on Rockall, and things, as usual, have been bubbling along in the background:
I am in the process of writing an expedition report for the landing in June, which I will eventually submit to the Royal Geographical Society, and will upload to the www.rockallsolo.com website once it's finished. I have also set up The Rockall Club (www.TheRockallClub.org) as a resource website for Rockall information. The expedition report will be uploded there too. I also hope that it will become the official record of those who have landed on the remote rock; indeed some of those who have landed are in the proccess of writing content for various parts of the website so that we can make it as detailed and representative as possible.
I have also been moving forward with plans for returning to Rockall next year, and have been very lucky to find a company, Foamspray Technology (www.foamspray.co.uk), who have agreed to insulate the RockPod for free when they are next in Scotland. In preparation, I have now applied two coats of primer to the internal plastic surface so that the foam will bond, as it will not to plastic.
In addition, having approached a number of suppliers and manufacturers, Fibrestar Drums (www.fibrestar.co.uk) have supplied the expedition with a number of 25 litre plastic jerry cans for the fresh water I will need to take to the rock. I am still, however, waiting to hear back from several manufacturers of HDPE drums, which I need to pack and protect my equipment.
The most recent development is a meeting I had with Leven Brown, the ocean rower, who, thanks to an introduction by Mark Beaumont, the cyclist, kindly agreed to sit down with me and discuss my plans so far, review my equipment list, boat choice, and double check my power requirements. I was very please that Leven was impressed with my research, decisions, and the recce expedition,and was only able to recommend that I add additional straps to the RockPod, just to make sure I'm not washed off Rockall!
So now, in addition to finishing the report at some point, I am thinking about financial sponsors again. I have a few emails out at the moment awaitig responses, but would welcome any suggestions or contacts at companies which may consider helping out. Happily, the financial sponsors I had lined up for this year have agreed to role their pledges of funding over to next year, but that still leaves me short of the total I need to pay for the boat charters and various pieces of equipment that I have been unable to negotiate for free.
Ever onwards...
