A Kemnay man and his crew will become the first to ever sail a double circumnavigation of Britain next month.
Brian Munro dedicates all of his time to sailing and completed a clockwise sail around Britain in memory of his friend last year.
Now he is preparing to go to do two circuits of the UK – one clockwise, and the other anticlockwise, while raising funds for Mental Health UK.
It will be the first time the 5,500 nautical mile sail will ever be completed and will involve an anticlockwise and clockwise circuit.
The 47-year-old said: “There is a debate in the sailing world about what is the best way to sail around Britain, so I’ve decided to do both.”
Sailing for mental health
Mr Munro said his mental health has greatly benefited from sailing and this is his way to give back and help others.
He added: “Sailing is just something that I really love and it forces you to live in the moment. When you’re focusing on sailing you can’t think about the past or the future.
“It washes away a lot of things that you can come back to with a clearer view when you’re back on land.
“For me, sailing and mental health go hand in hand. Everyone is in different boats, some have dinghies and others have yachts, but it’s important to respect and understand that everyone is going through something.”
A team effort
Mr Munro will be joined by Noa Goovaerts, Paul McIndoe and Octavio Nev Sievers who each have their own reasons for taking part in the challenge.
They will depart from the Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth on June 5 and the trip will take between four and six weeks to complete.
Mr Munro added: “We should be able to do between 150 and 200 miles each day, but it completely depends on the weather. Considering we’re going around Britain it will realistically take longer.”
Even though it will add an extra 500 miles to the journey, Mr Munro said he is most looking forward to seeing the Faroe Islands for the first time.
“It has been on my bucket list for a long time,” he said. “We’re going to take some drone footage of the waterfalls which will be a highlight for me.”
Future sailing adventures
Mr Munro will have sailed a total of 50,000 lifetime miles by the end of the charity challenge next month. His first experience of sailing left him stuck in the North Sea for three days, but he said he has learnt from his mistakes and completed a 4,500 mile transatlantic trip to the Caribbean last year.
He added: “My favourite part of sailing is the adventure and I love to travel to new places away from home.
“Travelling around the world is a dream of mine and something which would be a more personal challenge. I definitely feel more ready to take that on and am thinking about doing it in 2023.
“I think people I know are just waiting for me to announce it.”
Mr Munro also hopes to continue using sailing as a way to support others and to raise money for different charities.
He added: “I want to offer people who are struggling the opportunity to go out sailing because it does give you total freedom. I want to make it adventure based and sail to places such as Shetland and Norway, but we will need to build up to that so they’re comfortable.
“I am trying to make a difference because I know what sailing has done for me.”
To donate, people can visit Just Giving or Sailing Around Britain.