Solo in a boat?

I may have been solo in a boat but by no means was, this a challenge I undertook all by myself. So many people have helped me along the way so I just want to use this space to say thank you to those people individually.

Firstly my sponsors,

When I set out to do this challenge I knew getting to the start line would be impossible without the support and assistance of sponsors. I was looking for brands and companies that were as excited by the challenge as I was. They had to have the bravery to put their name to something which had risks associated with it. They had to be bold and daring. I found some great companies who fitted the bill.

So a special thanks to Fyffes, Rowhire, 53 Degrees North, Extreme Ireland, Relinquish Clothing, PowerBar, Fifty Digital, Brodericks Brothers, Feed me.ie,  Crewroom, Timex, Numa Optics, Soleo, Beyond First AID (EPAX), The Little Coffee, O’Leary analytics  and the Talbot Hotel in Carlow.

My support Team,

Toby Garbett

I spent almost 2 years training for my row across the Indian Ocean. I was fortunate to have Toby Garbett as my trainer during this time. I had a lot of things to worry about when crossing the Ocean. The one thing I was never worried about was my physical ability to get across. I knew I was strong enough and fit enough to get across. This was all down to the training program which Toby designed for me. I can’t thank Toby enough for his efforts and patience along the way. It’s not an easy task to take a “non-rower” to the standard required to get across an Ocean with just 2 years of training.

Rob Eustace,

There are some people you meet in life that astound you with their generosity and willingness to help. Only Rob and I know the extraordinary efforts he made on my behalf to make my dream of rowing an ocean happen. In addition to this he kept me updated with weather throughout and was on hand to help at 1am in the morning when I needed help. Rob I will be forever grateful for your help and support.

Emily Tully

As anyone who has been reading the blog will know Emily was my PR lady and all round media guru. She ensured over the past year or so that you would have to be living under a rock not to have heard about “the naked adventurer”. Emily, thank you so much for all your help and support. You have been my right hand women through all of this.  You stuck by this and put your reputation on the line for this challenge and quite simply I would have been lost without your help and professionalism.

A few personal ones,

I have had a lot of surprises throughout this challenge but by far and away the most astounding thing to me was the enormous support and encouragement I have had from members of the public. So many of you were kind enough to support my chosen charity and to give your time up to help me along the way! Thank you to everyone who has helped

A quick word of thanks to Paddy Behan who was good enough to help me and give up his time when I was learning to row at Carlow rowing club! Thank you very much Paddy. I know you will hate the fact I even mentioned you. A further testament to your character!

There are so many other people I met while in Australia and they all blew me away with their generosity and all round enthusiasm for my challenge. So if you can indulge me for a few more minutes I would like to just thank a few of these people also.

“Jez” and all the crew aboard the Gerrard on the Abrolhos islands! Thank you for all your help and assistance.

Ashley Newton + Family and friends,   I really was astounded by your generosity and that of your family. You got me back on the water and invited me to your family home as a perfect stranger. When I told everyone back home how good you had been they were even aghast at how good you had been to me. I enjoyed the slagging and the humour. You made a difficult situation an enjoyable one. Thanks again for all the help both in Geraldton and on the Abrolhos Islands.

The North Islanders;

On North Island I met some of the most colourful characters in one of the most unique places on earth.  Thank you for the amazing hospitality you showed me there.  Jeff + Family, Steve and Keryn,  Jeff F, Tom, Blake, Bulldog, Cliffy, Terry and so many others. I really an indebted to you all!

Last few,

I am sure I will have left out some people along the way so please accept my apologies if I have not mentioned you here. There are a few more names I would like to mention, Greg in Bunbury. Thank you sir, for looking after me so well!  All the crew on board the fujisuka, Bunbury sea rescue and Perth water police.

There are a whole host of people in my personal life; without whom, this challenge wouldn’t have been possible. There are too many to mention here and I would rather thank those people in person.

So I hear you I hear you…”enough of thank yous” already!” So what next I hear you ask?? Well that’s the 64 million dollar question.. But I am in the process of making up my mind on some things and I will post them here soon as to what comes next for the naked adventurer.