Following the successful reconnaissance in June, and having sent the
first Tweet from Rockall wishing Her Majesty The Queen a Happy Jubilee
weekend, I received a letter last week from Balmoral congratulating me on reaching
the summit of Rockall!
Having completed the post expedition administration, and having launched a new format website at
www.rockallsolo.com,
which includes links to all the press, TV and radio coverage I received
for the recce, I am now looking forward to heading back to Rockall next
year. I am hoping to take advantage of the publicity I have gained from
the recce expedition, and once the RockPod shelter is complete
(hopefully in October), I will be conducting flotation and winching
tests, which several national newspapers have said they
want to report on. I have also recently secured the loan of a light
weight petrol winch from The Portable Winch Company which will solve my lifting issues.
The continuing hurdle is funding. Having now sent hundreds, if not
thousands, of emails, including pledges of support, I am still
over £10,000 short of the total of the £20,000 required to pay for the boat
charters and equipment that I have not already secured. Being now in the
third year of attempting to get the main expedition off the ground, I
am really pushing hard and asking every contact I have if they will
consider recommending to their contacts that they support the
expedition. The aim is for the expedition to
depart at the end of May 2013, which would allow for any donations to be
split over two financial years. PR opportunities are available, and I'm happy to discuss specific requirements that sponsors may have.
Please let your contacts know...
