Giant Haystacks!

Early this morning I went to Haystacks Rock in the Firth of Forth to recce it as a potential marine testing site for the RockPod and my equipment prior to going to Rockall. It meant a very early start (0500hrs) in order to meet the boat at Granton Harbour, and although the tail end of a hurricane was forecast, the sea was flat and there was little wind. It was however raining pretty hard.

It took about 40 minutes to motor across the Firth to Inchcolm Island and then a quick RIB ride onto the rock. Landing was easy from the sloping western side, but having circumnavigated the rock prior to landing I noted that the eastern flank was near vertical, which should provide some experience of a scramble/climbing landing and somewhere to practice hauling the gear up from a boat.

Haystacks is similar in size at high tide (30m x 20m) to Rockall (25m x 22m), but is only 8 metres above sea level as opposed to 19.2 metres for Rockall. I think the extra space provided by Haystacks being much more level will be good for testing as it will enable me to spread stuff out a bit and get used to rigging before having to do it in a more restricted space.

There are some signs of nesting, although the four nests I could identify had all been vacated, and the build-up of guano means that there are a few level areas which could be suitable locations for the RockPod. One in particular I measured to be about 9‘ x 5‘6’’ (narrowing to 3‘2’’) and is right above the cliff, so this is the most likely candidate for mimicking Hall’s Ledge (11’ x 4’). There were also some signs of previous occupation, perhaps by “birdy people” to quote the skipper, in the form of a cairn and a concrete base and clasp, probably for an aerial. The latter is raised and suitably close to the level area that it could act as the summit of Rockall with its defunct navigation light, and would be a suitable spot for a wind generator.
In all, I spent just over an hour on Haystacks and I think it was worth the trip, getting wet and the early start. Unless something better comes along I’ll be using the rock as a testing ground at some point in the future.

Equipment and Sponsorship Update

It’s been a great few weeks working towards this goal, which seems sometimes to be almost impossible to achieve. I have been reminded though, by both the recent failure of a Belgian team to land on Rockall and by unseasonable storms in July, that the weather may well be my biggest hurdle and no amount of preparation will give me control of this.

In terms of organising equipment, I have agreed with Norco that they will polish the ‘RockPod’ design and manufacture the end product. They have very kindly agreed to provide the tooling for free; and on Friday I was approached by a potential financial sponsor with the specific aim of paying for the manufacture!

From a recommendation from Norco, Lewmar have come on board and have promised to provide me with their hatches for free which will give me secure access and observation to and from the Pod. Furthermore, I approached Ampair for some advice and costings for a wind generator to provide me with power on Rockall. They have been amazingly helpful, calculating my power requirements and donating generation equipment to the expedition. Ampair have also said that they will use their industry contacts to try and obtain sponsorship from manufacturers of the other power system components I will require.

Also, this week, I have agreed a window for the expedition in 2011 with the Captain and owner of the Elinca which is a boat which has assisted several previous Rockall landing attempts, both successful and otherwise. They are without a doubt the most experienced in this particular area of the Atlantic and therefore I am very glad that they are involved.

Finally, this coming Wednesday, I am going on a recce trip to some rocks in the Firth of Forth which I hope will make a suitable marine testing ground for the pod and all the equipment in the final months before the expedition; I am very grateful to Bill Simpson who is kindly taking me there (and hopefully back!) for no cost. I will post more details of this recce after the fact.

Surreal Reality Check

Stuart Farish at Giberts3D has just sent me an animation of the model he is producing, which I hope to use for personal inspiration and to demonstrate the challenges of the expedition at various talks I have been asked to give. It includes a scaled man on Hall's Ledge, which dramatically shows just what I'm taking on. A still of the animation is shown below, the animation will follow in due course.

If you'd like to see the full animation before it's uploaded, click here.

Post Edinburgh, plus hills!

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since Edinburgh and I'm back running with the MdS in mind: weight, hills, distance, and more weight! Edinburgh was tough, a dull course, not much of which was in Edinburgh, 24 degrees C, and the infamous 'theft' of water made it much harder than London. I ended up 2 minutes slower in Edinburgh than London, so was happy. Thanks to everyone who came out to support me.

The MdS is very much a priority for me at the moment, however I have finished my costing of Rockall 2011, and at circa £30k including contingency and excluding any possible financial or equipment sponsorship, fund raising is going to be a challenge in itself. Unless a fairy godmother comes forward, I think it wise to leave this until the economy is looking healthier (hopefully in 2010?).

I always wondered how professional 'explorers' managed to fund and organise their endeavours, but I have been amazed how much support and how many volunteers have already come forward to help - and I haven't even started asking yet!

You've probably seen or read for yourselves, but I'd like to mention all that Phil Packer has achieved recently for Help for Heroes (and, I suspect, for himself) he puts me to shame!

So, for now it's on with more running, and hills, and weight...

Nick

Marathon des Sables

Thanks for your support of Rockall 2011 so far.

In April 2010 I will be running the Marathon des Sables (MdS) in aid of both Help for Heroes and the National Association for Colitis and Crohn's. More information on the race, along with videos and photos of past events can be found at my website http://www.mds2010.com/.

On Sunday 31st May I will be running the Edinburgh marathon (my second in a month) as part of my training. If you would like to sponsor me for either charity please do so via the MdS website.

Many thanks in advance,

Nick