110 miles for British Red Cross

We made it back!

I just spent two weeks hiking the Cape Wrath Trail with my friend Helen to raise money for British Red Cross. Our assault on the UK's toughest thru-hike was amazing - despite the midges and the crazy heat wave - and we had a fantastic time and met some great people along the trail.

I managed over 110 miles and 6km of ascent/descent in 2 weeks before multiple injuries meant I sadly had to pull out of the final stretch, and Helen managed an impressive 130 miles. Fear not though, we'll be back to finish the last section after I sail across the Atlantic next year!

Thank-you so much to everyone who sponsored us and helped us raise a whopping £1,325.31 (including GiftAid) so far for the British Red Cross.

If you haven't already, please support the amazing work of this charity and help us hit our target here: www.virginmoneygiving.com/redshoescaitlin

Lochan Fada

Nosey neighbours at Strathcarron

Mount Everest

While reading up on the Race (I'll admit it, I'm starting to become a bit of a Clipper Geek), I came across this startling fact - 

More people have climbed Mount Everest than have sailed around the world

Over 4000 people have climbed Everest, but just a fraction of that number have circumnavigated the world by sea. I couldn't believe it! I grew up thinking that hardly anyone climbs Mount Everest as it's so physically and mentally challenging, and never really thought about how hard it is to sail around the world in comparison.

Thinking about it though...

• Climbing Mount Everest takes around 2 months in total, while the sailing around the world takes about 11 months. 
• The temperature range on Everest only has a small variance, from pretty darn cold at -20°C to even colder at -35°C, while during a circumnavigation temperatures range from freezing cold at 0°C to the sticky energy-sapping heights of the tropics at 35°C and above. This kind of variance puts a huge strain on you physically (and mentally) as you adjust from hot to cold and back again, while coping with the consistently sub-zero temperatures of Everest is far more manageable. 
• On Everest, the furthest you will ever be from the nearest human will be around 2.1 miles. Sailing across the Pacific Ocean, the nearest human being will either be 248.5 miles away on the International Space Station (if it happens to be passing over) or around 2000 miles away in Japan or Alaska. 

Put it like that, and I'm not at all surprised more people have tackled Mount Everest than have circumnavigated the globe by sea.

Remote

"At times, the closest humans to you will be those on the International Space Station"

While I knew that crewing in the Clipper Race would take me to some isolated places, the realisation that at times the nearest human being outside the Race will be in space adds a whole new meaning to the word 'remote'.

Coping with that isolation will be tough, but luckily I'll have 22 other brave (and/or crazy) souls to keep me company during the 5 week crossing. Might have to pack a star chart just in case we get a bit of down-time on deck and see if we can pick out which dot has the nearest humans on it and give them a wave.